You’ll soon have to make a tearful goodbye to the AM radio in your car as manufacturers begin phasing it out in newer models. Ford, BMW, and Tesla are already excluding it from their new models due to declining interest and a quirk in which electric engines disrupt their signal.
Several automotive brands, namely BMW, Mazda, Polestar, Rivian, Tesla, Volkswagen, and Volvo, have already eliminated AM radios from their electric vehicles, and Ford has announced that it intends to expand the removal of this feature to encompass both future electric and gas-powered models.
Other automakers, such as Nissan, Toyota, and Honda, have resisted removing AM radios from their vehicles thus far.
Bipartisan lawmakers have been advocation for the preservation of AM radio due to its distinct advantages, including local reporting, crucial updates during severe weather events. Conservatives in particular have pushed to save AM radio, including media giants like Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and Glenn Beck, all of whom have AM radio programs.
Ford’s recent decision to remove the AM radio feature from their vehicles was supported by internal data indicating that AM radio accounted for less than 5 percent of in-car listening. However, according to the National Association of Broadcasters, an estimated 82 million Americans still tune in to AM stations on a monthly basis.
Challenging the notion that radio audiences are primarily composed of older demographics, a recent analysis of listener data by Edison Research revealed that Gen-Z listeners continue to regularly choose AM and FM radio options. The study also highlighted that traditional broadcast signals still dominate in-car listenership, commanding 60 percent, while SiriusXM satellite radio holds 16 percent, and drivers’ personal music libraries via phones account for 7 percent. Podcasts and YouTube music videos each garnered 4 percent of in-car listenership.
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10 Responses
Am radio is used to detect dirty electricity too
First, in they took down Michel Savage. Then Tucker Carlson kicked off of FOX.
Now AM is on the chopping block. Marxists are coming!
Conservative talk radio, which is the primary platform of conservative media in the US, is almost exclusively broadcast on AM.
I love listening to the radio in the car. Why would they do this?
5% is many millions of people in the auto industry. Of course the idea here is to silence conservative talk shows.
and btw why is FM radio still on? what’s the difference here besides conservative shows?
If this continues probably these talk shows news programs will just move to the FM band. Just like WINS 1010 is now on FM in addition to the AM band.
If there is as much of a market of “conservative talk radio” as claimed, than FM stations will gladly carry this programming and make gazillions of dollars in ad revenues from Hannity, Savage, etc rather than what passes as music these days. Fewer than 5% of drivers is not a reason to retain the AM radio signals. After a minute or two of set up, you can stream any of these great Americans from your iphone anytime you want.
That’s if the show is still on, and for it to be on advertisers need to pay up.
No AM = no advertisers = no show!
CSv.CN, FM radio is mostly music, and more people listen to music than to talk shows.
So buy a radio and listen to it