I was pretty disappointed when right after Christmas our local radio station announced they weren't renewing their FM licence and instead would be moving their output entirely online.
Can a station that does this really still be called a radio station, and is this a trend for the future? I hope not because I like listening to the radio, but small stations do seem to be facing tough times.
gofar99 Messages: 1955 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, I suppose that relates to your definition of a station. We call programming on the CATV stations....so why not radio shows. We call videos that are on news channels "taped" but there is no tape involved. You could be in Sweden, they are terminating all FM broadcasts and going to all digital signals soon.
The biggest issue I see with radio stations going on line is that the internet is not available in many vehicles. I use XM satellite radio in the car and it works fine. It is not super fi. but then the car is not a great audio environment anyway.
I think "radio" is kind of an outdated term anyway. If owners have a station on rhe radio and an online equivalent, then choose to drop their station from the radio, it doesn't change what you call the equivalent that's online. It's still the same radio station, but only without the FCC.
I've noticed that more and more radio stations are starting to disappear. We are down to only a handful of them in my area that actually come in. I just wonder if eventually everyone is going to be required to switch over to satellite radio like they did with cellphones that had an analog signal.
gofar99 Messages: 1955 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, Anything is possible. Even though the actual "hifi-ness" of satellite radio is well below that of high definition net music it is quite good for use in autos, offices and just background in the home. Much like folks were doing with broadcast radio. While some folks had (and still have) high quality FM systems and can get good quality music, most individuals don't. For probably 90% of the casual listeners the quality of satellite would not only be fine...it would be better than what they have now. Plus it is available everywhere. I like being able to tune in a channel and listen to it anywhere I go. Naturally it will not work in tunnels and places like subways...but then nothing else much did either. The only real alternative for portable high quality music is a player with downloads on board. This is a good solution but can get a bit costly. Cheap players and cheap headphones equate to marginal sound quality. For home use a PC or net based system can deliver quality sound, but then that is where you hope we don't end up. While a bit OT, the same arguments can be used on television. There hasn't been an off the air signal in our house for decades...and I still get everything I watched before and more. YMMV
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Even though the actual "hifi-ness" of satellite radio is well below that of high definition net music it is quite good for use in autos, offices and just background in the home. Much like folks were doing with broadcast radio. While some folks had (and still have) high quality FM systems and can get good quality music, most individuals don't. For probably 90% of the casual listeners the quality of satellite would not only be fine...it would be better than what they have now. 
Plus it is available everywhere. I like being able to tune in a channel and listen to it anywhere I go. Naturally it will not work in tunnels and places like subways...but then nothing else much did either. The only real alternative for portable high quality music is a player with downloads on board. This is a good solution but can get a bit costly. Cheap players and cheap headphones equate to marginal sound quality. For home use a PC or net based system can deliver quality sound, but then that is where you hope we don't end up. While a bit OT, the same arguments can be used on television. There hasn't been an off the air signal in our house for decades...and I still get everything I watched before and more. YMMV
