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  1. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by bubbagump
    Where'd you manage to score Sirius service for two units at 6.95/month?
    My apologies.$12.95 for one.$6.99 for second one.

  2. #27
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by nightflier
    It's not so much a debate as a discussion, from my end at least. I learned a lot here and the fact that iPod sales are more than 2x the total a/v market comes as a big surprise to me. The Wilson Audio demo is also troubling for the industry, in my opinion. It worries me about the future of hifi.
    FYI, I don't view this as a debate either.

    When I first came across the Consumer Expenditure Survey data a couple of years ago, it surprised me as well. But, it totally made sense after I thought about it. I mean, a lot of us wonder why there aren't more high end audio dealers out there, and the answer's right there -- the spending levels just can't support a high end audio dealer in every town. Given how many companies out there manufacture audio components, it was surprising to me just how small an industry it actually is.

    For example, the total size of the loudspeaker market is only about $500 million, and you figure there are more than 100 companies that make speakers. After the big mass marketed speakers like Bose or JBL take their share, that leaves a lot of companies vying for a very small market.

    To give you some perspective on what all this means in the big picture, consider that South Coast Plaza (a shopping mall in the OC, for those of you unfamiliar with the terrain) alone takes in over $1 billion in sales annually. That means that just one Southern California shopping mall generates more sales than the entire home audio component market. In your neck of the woods in Newport Beach, Fashion Island (another SoCal shopping mall) takes in just over $500 million in annual sales. Again, just one mall has about the same market force as the entire loudspeaker segment.

    Quote Originally Posted by nightflier
    Wooch, regarding the demise of KFAC, I know that was a big let down but I'm not sure that the ownership had changed, though. In the 70's Jazz was not generating the revenues that they needed to keep afloat and they had to decide to go on or sell the station. As they say in the godfather, "it was just business, nothing personal." Of course, this is why many people are worried that they will leave classical for a more profitable format. Since they are operating at twice the bandwidth of most other FM stations, the circling sharks are getting hungry. Poetic justice may be romantic, but it won't help classical music in LA.
    KFAC was actually sold to a corporate conglomerate, and they operated the station with the classical format while spending the better part of a year conducting surveys and focus groups to come up with a format that would replace KFAC's classical programming. When the station was sold, everybody knew it was only a matter of time before the bean counters would reprogram the station to try and bump up the ratings, even though the new owners kept BS'ing about how they would keep the classical format if their market research found support for it.

    A whole year of market research resulted in KFAC getting turned into KKBT "Rock With A Beat," which was a wretchedly boring blend of bland, derivative, lightweight album rock for those who could not get enough of one-hit wonders like Mike & The Mechanics and Mr. Mister, and music that was already overplayed on countless other stations like Fleetwood Mac and Foreigner. The ingenius market research that created that format lasted longer than the actual format did, as the ratings were a disaster and KKBT scrapped that format and reprogrammed the station into an urban R&B format that they (or their highly paid consultants) copied from a local black-owned station.

    The ripple effect of KFAC's demise was jazz station KKGO changing over to classical. I credit owner Saul Levine for not selling the station and letting the format go over to yet another top 40 or oldies station when he had the opportunity. But, this was still a money grab for the ownership. KKGO's ratings went down when it changed to classical, but classical music is so much more heavily subsidized by public money, foundation grants, corporate grants, and sponsorships, despite its smaller audience. Jazz to a much larger extent has to carry its own weight, and that's not easy to do for a commercial station.

    Quote Originally Posted by nightflier
    KUSC, is also being pressured to go commercial. Eventhough they have a large support base, including several corporate sponsors, it is not enough to keep operating commercial-free. The university and the alumnis have all but abandoned the station and they are not able to make ends meet. Several of the companies, including ClearChannel, that hope to buy the station have already said that they would have no choice but to change the format to generate the necessary profits.
    Problem is that KUSC has never been the only classical station in town, and I'm not altogether sure that any radio market in the country can support more than one classical station at a time. The money for classical music in L.A. is out there, but right now it's split between two major stations. If KMZT or KUSC goes away, whatever station is left with the classical format will be a powerhouse. KMZT has been under family ownership for decades with no long-term debt, so they can operate much more profitably from a niche format than a top-heavy and leveraged operation like Clear Channel can. KUSC is a pretty valuable property, so it would not surprise me to see the university sell the station, since they can probably get more money from a one-time station sale than from an annual fundraising drive.

    Quote Originally Posted by nightflier
    And to the best of my knowledge nether station has shown any interest in HD. KMZT certainly could benefit by multicasting more programming (gasp - maybe even Jazz), but they apparently don't have the funds to make the move. KUSC certainly has no extra funds for this, and I also don't think they see this improving their financial woes.
    KMZT and KUSC are both already broadcasting in HD Radio. But, even in plain old FM, KMZT (when it was still KKGO) I recall had one of the best sounding FM signals around. In L.A., KTWV is also multicasting a traditional jazz feed via HD. But, IMO nothing can replace KKGO's air staff and open-minded approach to jazz programming (unlike KLON and other traditional jazz outlets, KKGO played fusion and avant garde jazz).

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  3. #28
    nightflier
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    KMZT & KUSC are broadcasting in HD? That's news to me. I did a quick search on the KUSC website and it does say so in the "Station History" section, but nowhere else. KMZT does have the HD logo on their website, but no other mention.

    Can someone with an HD radio confirm that they are available in HD? Also are there any multicasts?

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