FM Radio faces Brit Government switch-off as Digital listening passes 50%

Could this happen in America? "Analogue radios could be consigned to the dustbin of history after figures showed that the majority of all UK radio listening was via digital devices for the first time."

Might be some good tuner buys coming from across the pond. What do you UK tuner users think about this?
I haven't turned on my standalone tuner or the tuner in my HT receiver in months. At home, compared to streaming, radio sucks massively, like a sucky thing that sucks things, uh, massively.

When I'm in the truck, the radio supplies background music -- or it's BBC Radio 4 for news -- and I'd miss it if it went away, so I'd have to change the stereo head to something that does DAB digital radio.

In short, at home I won't miss analog radio if it goes away. In the vehicle, I hope DAB is an effective substitute.
 
I only use radio in the only car that doesn't have Bluetooth. Too many commercials or the fact that every other commercial is for the stations app so I can listen online. Go figure when radio is dying.:(
 
The only use I get out of my tuners is to make my set look complete, don't listen to the idiot crap they broadcast now much. AOR and Underground Radio are dead.
 
8-tracks, reel tapes, cassettes, and FM (and AM) radio. All nostalgic historical curiosities at this point, certainly nothing of actual use IMO.
 
Still no reason to ditch those awsome looking and sounding tuners. With a cheap FM transmitter you can still stream to your tuners. :thumbsup::music:
 
Highly doubt it will be switched off. Pirate radio is still big in London, tho I don't know anyone who cares much for commercial stations.
 
I would not be surprised if analog FM is removed from the air in the US. I have not listened to FM radio in years. And the bandwidth is valuable. Look what they did to analog television. The FM frequencies are smack dab in the middle of the old TV VHF frequencies.
 
I have one of those newfangled digital HD Radio receivers in my new car, and I can tell you absolutely not. Drive around the wrong side of a building, or just look at it wrong, and it drops out to analog. On AM it's even worse -- you practically need to be parked directly under the station's tower to get good, consistent digital reception.

Luckily it comes with an option in the setup menu to disable HD Radio.
 
I use my Sansui TU 517 several times a week, while I can and do stream from my chromebook. I love my late night college radio and the warm glow from my components. I hope it stays.
 
Recently heard some stats on this - can't recall them now but fairly certain terrestrial radio is still by far the single dominant form of mass communication in the US.
 
Why does it need to be gotten rid of? Now I would understand it better if the market itself collapsed and the stations simply shut down.
 
Why does it need to be gotten rid of? Now I would understand it better if the market itself collapsed and the stations simply shut down.

Because the FM bandwidth is highly valuable for cellphone calls, and it can be auctioned off for great profit. This is the same reason television went digital, and fortunes were made from the spectrum auctions.

The radio spectrum is inherently limited, and demand for a slice of it is ever-increasing as the world moves to cellphones for communication. That spectrum must come from somewhere, as, like land, they ain't makin' it no more.
 
That’s terrible....

There was a time when everyone across the world was listening to the top ten for free and television too, everywhere you went the same pop station was on. The grocery store or the auto parts store usually had the best system for sound. So now those that can afford the least won’t be able to turn on a radio and relax a bit. The man done got his hands in everyone’s pockets and people are thinking it’s normal and the way of the future....
 
Hurumph. :)
I just noticed that a midstate NY 50,000 watt station sold for $550,000, so the value for a fairly powerful station is peanuts.
 
Because the FM bandwidth is highly valuable for cellphone calls, and it can be auctioned off for great profit. This is the same reason television went digital, and fortunes were made from the spectrum auctions.

The radio spectrum is inherently limited, and demand for a slice of it is ever-increasing as the world moves to cellphones for communication. That spectrum must come from somewhere, as, like land, they ain't makin' it no more.

I wonder how valuable the FM spectrum is for cellular phone calls. The frequency is comparably low and would require a larger antenna, plus it has further range than the current frequencies which means a large “cell” versus many smaller cells.
 
I wonder how valuable the FM spectrum is for cellular phone calls. The frequency is comparably low and would require a larger antenna, plus it has further range than the current frequencies which means a large “cell” versus many smaller cells.

FM frequencies could be used for wireless communication for use with wireless internet devices in the home. This may be the prime mover. All I know is the discussion is about retasking FM for digital purposes.
 
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