Radio in the United States
Overview of radio in the United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Radio broadcasting has been used in the United States since the early 1920s to distribute news and entertainment to a national audience. In 1923, 1 percent of U.S. households owned at least one radio receiver, while a majority did by 1931 and 75 percent did by 1937.[1][2] It was the first electronic "mass medium" technology, and its introduction, along with the subsequent development of sound films, ended the print monopoly of mass media. During the Golden Age of Radio it had a major cultural and financial impact on the country. However, the rise of television broadcasting in the 1950s relegated radio to a secondary status, as much of its programming and audience shifted to the new "sight joined with sound" service.
Originally the term "radio" only included transmissions freely received over-the-air, such as the AM and FM bands, now commonly called "terrestrial radio". However, the term has evolved to more broadly refer to streaming audio services in general, including subscription satellite, and cable and Internet radio.
FM | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Date | AM | Commercial | Educational | Low Power |
1922 | 30 | |||
1930 | 618 | |||
1940 | 847 | 3 (Apex band) | ||
1950 | 2,144 | 691 | 62 | |
1960 | 3,483 | 741 | 165 | |
1970 | 4,288 | 2,126 | 416 | |
1980 | 4,689 | 3,390 | 1,156 | |
9/30/1990 | 4,978 | 4,357 | 1,435 | |
9/30/2000 | 4,685 | 5,892 | 2,140 | |
9/30/2010 | 4,784 | 6,512 | 3,251 | 864 |
9/30/2020 | 4,560 | 6,704 | 4,196 | 2,143 |
Radio communication in the United States is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Under its oversight a variety of broadcasting services have been developed, including:
Over-the-air services
- AM band: When radio broadcasting first became popular in the 1920s it was primarily within what is now the AM broadcast band, which spans from 540 to 1700 kHz.[4] The AM band continues to be used, with the most powerful clear-channel stations granted a coverage area of hundreds of miles from its transmitter at night, when atmospheric conditions carry AM signals far longer by reflecting signals that would otherwise head into space back to Earth. Less powerful stations share frequencies and may either shut down, drastically reduce power and/or dramatically change its directional pattern to avoid interference at and near sunset, flipping back at sunrise. Before television, AM radio was the predominant broadcast entertainment medium in America. Beginning in the 1970s, AM listenership has significantly declined, primarily shifting to the FM band. Because of this, the FCC allows some AM stations to simulcast their programming, and in some cases extend their hours of operation, over translator stations operating on the FM band.
- Shortwave: Shortwave broadcasting in the United States also dates back to the 1920s, though the shortwave bands were nationalized during World War II and was not opened to private broadcasters again until 1962. Like AM, shortwave stations benefit from atmospheric propagation and can cover vast areas of territory, but the higher frequencies are reflected during the daytime and require the stations to shift frequencies depending on time of day, which discourages listening for long periods of time. Current services include federal government transmissions, such as the official time signal broadcasts over station WWV, plus a few privately owned outlets that focus primarily on brokered programming, religious broadcasting and alternative political talk, with some exceptions. The most widely known of the government-run networks is Voice of America, which features an international news and information format that serves a general worldwide audience; other networks target specific geographic regions. These government-run networks were, until 2013, forbidden from being marketed to American citizens; they still neither own nor affiliate with any AM or FM stations. The U.S. also provided the American Forces Network, a service for American armed service members stationed overseas that mostly relays commercial programming; AFN broadcasts are pointed away from the U.S. with signals pointed toward listeners in Japan, Korea and parts of Europe, and used single sideband technology to discourage casual American listeners from intercepting the programming. AFN appears not to have operated on shortwave since the mid-2010s. The upper ends of the shortwave band, circa 27 MHz, constitute the citizens band, which peaked in popularity in the 1970s and is reserved for personal communications.
- FM band: FM stations have the largest public audience. Commercial FM broadcasting stations were first authorized as of January 1, 1941, following seven years in which many of the same owners operated experimental AM stations in the apex or ultra-shortwave band (which was initially shared with experimental FM stations). Twenty frequencies (88.1–91.9 MHz) are reserved for non-commercial stations (mostly government-run, nonprofit or religious), with the other eighty (92.1–107.9 MHz) normally used by commercial stations (though non-commercial stations are allowed to broadcast in the band as well).[5] Except in the case of rare, poorly understood and unpredictable E-skip propagation, FM radio is limited to line-of-sight and thus has a limited broadcast range; FM range can be somewhat extended depending on weather conditions. The technology also benefits from higher bandwidth than AM or shortwave (thus higher fidelity and stereophonic sound) and a capture effect that reduces interference between two stations of unequal strength on the same frequency. Translator stations, which initially were used to extend an FM station's signal into fringe coverage areas, are now also used—sometimes acting as the primary outlet—for relaying HD Radio and AM station's signals. Most low-power broadcasting in the U.S. is on the FM band.
- AM and FM digital subcarriers: In 2002 the FCC adopted iBiquity's in-band on-channel (IBOC) technology, branded as HD Radio, for adding digital subcarriers to AM and FM radio transmissions. This allows AM stations to concurrently transmit digital versions of their standard analog signals, and also provides a way for FM stations to transmit additional programs. However, adoption has been limited, especially on the AM band. The FCC permits some HD transmissions to also be retransmitted by analog FM translator stations, which generally have far more listeners than the originating HD signal. These digital subcarriers are a subset of the broader subsidiary communications authority all stations have to broadcast additional content.
- DTV radio: DTV radio consists of audio-only services carried over existing digital television systems; such as digital subchannels of over-the-air television broadcasters.
- Weather radio: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration operates the NOAA Weather Radio service of over 1000 stations nationwide, operating on its own small designated 162 MHz FM band.
Two way radio services take up most of the rest of the geomagnetic spectrum, including marine VHF radio, amateur radio, the aforementioned citizens band, the Family Radio Service and the General Mobile Radio Service. Unlike most one-way broadcast services, these services are generally limited to voice transmission.
Wireline and subscription audio
- Cable radio: Cable radio providers include Music Choice, Muzak, DMX, Sonic Tap and Canada-based Galaxie. CRN Digital Talk Radio Networks specialize in talk radio.[6] The FCC does not regulate these stations.
- Internet radio: although the Internet originally was used for only text and graphics, beginning in the early 1990s it was adapted to transmitting audio; improved dial-up modems and audio compression in the 1990s allowed Internet radio to be accessed by the average user years before video content, which generally requires a broadband connection. Many of the Internet radio offerings are retransmissions of existing AM and FM radio stations, however there are also examples of Internet-only services. Although the FCC has some general oversight over the Internet, it has no regulatory authority over these stations.
- Satellite radio: Direct-to-consumer satellite radio broadcasting was introduced in the United States in 1997, although currently there is only a single provider, SiriusXM. Although the overall technical operations are licensed by the FCC, unlike AM and FM stations program content is unregulated.
Reach and prevalence
Despite television's predominance, radio's impact is still extensive, and every day it reaches 80 percent of the U.S. population. Ninety-nine percent of American households in 1999 had at least one receiver. By 2020, that figure had declined to 68 percent within the home, with the average home having 1.5 receivers.[7] Revenue more than doubled in a decade, from $8.4 billion in 1990 to more than $17 billion in 2000.[citation needed] Radio continues to prevail in automobiles and offices, where attention can be kept on the road or the task at hand, while radio acts as an audio background. The popularity of car radios has led to drive time being the most listened-to daypart on most stations, followed by midday (or the "at work" shift). Transistor radios, available since the 1950s, were the preferred listening choice for music on-the-go for most of the late 20th century, before personal stereos, portable CD players, digital media players, and later smartphones (some of which include FM receivers) took those roles in the 20th century. However MP3 players and internet sources have grown rapidly among younger listeners.[8]
Unlike many other countries, American radio has historically relied primarily on commercial advertising sponsorship on for-profit stations. The federal and state governments do not operate stations or networks directed toward domestic audiences, although the federal government does operate overseas through the U.S. Agency for Global Media, an independent agency. The federal government instead subsidizes nonprofit radio programming through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.[9] Nonprofit broadcasting typically comes in three forms: radio evangelism, community radio, and government-subsidized public radio, all of which rely at least to some extent on listener donations. Public-radio broadcasting is primarily run by private foundations, universities and public authorities for educational purposes, which are financed by donations, foundations, subscriptions and corporate underwriting. A primary programming source is National Public Radio (NPR).
The total listenership for terrestrial radio in the United States as of January 2017 was 256 million,[10] up from 230 million in 2005.[11] 82 million Americans listened to AM radio at some point in June 2023, with listenership strongest in the midwest (Western New York was noted as being the only media market where a majority of listeners listened to AM) and portions of California where terrain makes groundwave reception more reliable.[12] 68 percent of homes have at least one radio, with the average home having 1.5 radios as of 2020, both figures being steep declines from 2008.[7]According to information collected from a data analytics company in 2019, it was found that every week, approximately 92% of all American adults listen to radio.[13]
As of 2021, an estimated 12% of listenership to FCC-licensed AM and FM radio stations comes from means other than the actual AM or FM signal itself, usually an Internet radio stream.[14] In an exceptional example, a radio station that had abandoned terrestrial broadcasting in 2022 (KRTY in the San Francisco Bay Area) retained half of its listening audience after selling its license and going exclusively to Internet streaming, while the FM station itself lost 90% of its listenership after it flipped to national religious broadcaster K-Love.[15]
The majority of programming in the United States is in English, with Spanish the second-most popular language; these are the only two languages with domestically produced, national radio networks. In the largest urban areas of the United States, "world ethnic" stations broadcast a wide variety of languages, including Russian, Chinese, Korean and the languages of India; although the relatively widespread languages French and German have comparatively few radio outlets; in the case of German, due to the fact that most of its speakers are Amish or from similar sects and thus shun radio technology. French speakers can generally receive programming direct from Canadian broadcasters, which are receivable across the Canada–US border, and a handful of local stations serving the Haitian diaspora and Creole populations also serve areas in the southeast.[16] There are also radio stations broadcasting in the Navajo language to members of the Navajo tribe in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.[17]
Spanish language radio is the largest non-English broadcasting media. While other foreign language broadcasting declined steadily, Spanish broadcasting grew steadily from the 1920s to 1970s. The 1930s were boom years.[18] The early success depended on the concentrated geographical audience in Texas and the Southwest. American stations were close to Mexico which enabled a steady circular flow of entertainers, executives and technicians, and stimulated the creative initiatives of Hispanic radio executives, brokers, and advertisers. Ownership was increasingly concentrated in the 1960s and 1970s. The industry sponsored the now-defunct trade publication Sponsor from the late 1940s to 1968.[19][20][21] Spanish-language radio has influenced American and Latino discourse on key current affairs issues such as citizenship and immigration.[22]
All AM and FM radio stations are assigned unique identifying call letters by the FCC. International agreements determine the initial letters assigned to specific countries, and the ones used by U.S broadcasting stations—currently "K" and "W"—date back to an agreement made in 1912.[23] The assignment of the letters "K" and "W" to the United States was randomly made and there was no particular reason given for their selection. (The United States was also allocated full use of the letter N, and later some of the range for the letter A, but does not allocate those initial letters to broadcasting stations. A small number of U.S. Navy stations with N call signs made broadcasts in the early 20th century, including NOF, NSS and NAA.)
In the United States, by tradition the stations west of the Mississippi River normally receive call signs starting with "K", with "W" assigned to those east of the river.[24] Almost all of the earliest AM band radio stations received three-letter call signs, however beginning in 1922 most have been issued four-letter ones, and the last new AM band three-letter assignment occurred in 1930. (FM and TV sister stations are permitted to share the same "base" three-letter call.)[25]
While some stations, especially on the AM band, still use their call signs as the main way of identifying themselves to the general public, a majority now prefer to emphasize easy to remember identifying slogans or brand names. Stations frequently choose call signs that relate to their slogan or brand; the longtime flagship of the CBS Radio Network, for example, has used the call sign WCBS since 1946.