Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host
The face of entertainment and news broadcasting is changing. Technology, and public frustration with the mainstream media outlets and their allies, have taken their toll. Thanks to the boom of smartphones, tablets, and other devices, people want their information mobile, short, quick, and without the hands of large corporate media giants in the pot.
Within the next five to ten years cable television and terrestrial radio will no longer be what it is now. These platforms will either need to adjust and evolve, or be pushed aside. Already, streaming services, satellite radio, and the ability to pretty much access anything you want is available on the world wide web. Internet reach is expanding, and services are becoming faster and less expensive. The emergence of unlimited data is making our mobile devices even more valuable tools.
One of the leading cable and internet providers, recently, aired a commercial where a couple kids are using their devices while a spokesman discusses television, and the various ways available to watch it. At one point the kids are shocked by the spokesman's reference to people watching television on a television. One of the children says, "Who watches TV on TV?" The other chimes in, "Yeah, weird."
A friend of mine has a dock for his phone, and it replaces his radio. He can talk on the phone, listen to music, access news reports, and even access what is playing on his television at home, with his smartphone, which, when it is plugged into the dock, plays everything through his speakers.
My mother's car doesn't even need the dock. Her phone is programmed into the car, so if it is near, the car automatically picks it up and provides similar services as my friend's now archaic dock.
On top of that, with Sirius/XM, what you can't get with your phone is available through satellite radio.
Some cars are now being equipped with their own WiFi. Who needs the phone with you when the car has everything except an ashtray?
With all of this technology, how long before terrestrial radio becomes a relic of the past?
While I am not sure that terrestrial radio will completely die out, the age of massive radio networks is surely on its deathbed.
The radio network which owns the most radio stations, I Heart Radio, which owns 858 stations nationwide, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The network is not only on the verge of possibly going out of business, it has been forced to use a Chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure its overwhelming debt load. The plan is to work with the creditors who holds more than $10 billion of its outstanding debt. The debt has reached upwards beyond $10 billion, and revenue has been in a death spiral.
I Heart Media was also recently a news item when Liberty Media offered to purchase 40% of the radio industry giant last month, which would have brought I Heart Radio into the same family that owns Sirius/XM. The February 26 proposal never became a deal.
That said, not all of I Heart Media is up against the fence. Clear Channel Outdoor, a subsidiary of I Heart Media, and one of the world's largest billboard companies, did not commence Chapter 11 proceedings.
The primary controllers of I Heart Media, Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners, own 68% of the voting stock of I Heart Media. These are also the same private equity firms who led a $17.9 billion leveraged buyout of Clear Channel Communications Inc in 2008.
I Heart Media's shares have been losing value since 2015. The network giant began back in 1972 with the purchase of KEEZ-FM in San Antonio, Texas, where it is currently headquartered.
Of course, media is not the only collateral damage to emerge during the technology revolution. Toys R Us is closing all of its U.S. stores, as online sales of items continues to skyrocket. Brick and mortar stores, aside from independently local ones, are also on their way out.
Did you notice the common link between I Heart Radio's demise, and the death of Toys R Us? Aside from the fact that online outlets are taking over a large share of the market, and the big boys just haven't figured out how to compete in the world of online sales and online information?
While technology is a large part of the story, so are independent outlets. The exodus of large corporations from our neighborhoods to online storefronts and entertainment empires has left us with a wonderful thing in our communities. We are returning to localism.
While the the top two radio hosts are a part of the large corporate networks, Rush Limbaugh with I Heart Radio, and Sean Hannity with Cumulus Media Networks (formerly ABC Radio Networks) and Premiere Radio Networks, Dave Ramsey at number three is a star in the new world of independent radio.
Ramsey grew his network over twenty years station by station. No networks. No syndication companies. He contacted independent stations one by one, and kept adding to his network. Now, he's on over 500 stations around the country.
The reality is, independent stations, stores, and local services are on the rise. Large corporations like Toys R Us, I Heart Radio, Macy's, large movie theater corporations, and various other large corporate entities are facing financial turmoil . . . except for the ones with a great internet presence, and except for their smaller, local colleagues.
While Netflix and Hulu are killing the desire to go to the theater, local theaters that play movies as they are on the way out for a lower price are thriving.
While Toys R Us and Macy's are experiencing economic death, the mom and pop shops are popping up everywhere.
While I Heart Radio is trying to save its fiscal booty, smaller independent radio stations with locally produced content are growing.
I am not expecting local independent offerings to displace the dying corporations in a neighborhood near you, largely because while most of the business is going online, local and independent stores, radio stations, and services are going to fill a large part of the void left behind.
In short, keep that old radio in your car, and the antenna on your car. While the big guys will eventually only be tuned into through satellite or internet streaming services, the local stations still want to bring you local weather, local news, local sports, locally produced programming, and likely a few shows like Dave Ramsey's.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Important Postcript: In addition to the death of corporate radio and the rise of independent airwaves, the same is going on in television and video. Who needs cable when you have You Tube? Who needs big news media when you have other video services, and a plethora of news and commentary websites, like Political Pistachio? That is why we are working on developing video serials teaching constitutional principles, while we also work to expand Constitution Radio. The Constitution Radio program, which moved from online's BlogTalkRadio to terrestrial AM Radio in 2011, and from KCAA to KMET in 2015, is ready to grow some more. A year ago we went from one hour to two hours. Now, the slot for Monday through Friday from 6:00 am to 8:00 am is available, and we are currently working to grab that slot. Like Dave Ramsey, we are independent, and not beholden to any network or syndication company. While we used to be on stations in Kansas City, Missouri and Youngstown, Ohio (stations we are working on getting back as I write this), if we are able to grab California's morning drive slot we will be able to offer our constitutionally-centered programming to more stations around the country from coast to coast and corner to corner. But, we need sponsors, donors and more advertisers than we currently have to pull it off - and we are only a third of the way there.
Send your contributions, or begin a monthly contribution, at http://www.douglasvgibbs.com/donate.php, or if you wish to advertise, contact me at constitutionspeaker@yahoo.com. We are in the midst of a revolution to restore the United States Constitution, and you can be a part of it. Let's build Political Pistachio, Constitution Radio, and Constitution Perspective Video together.
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