MMMM # 70 - Broadcast

     I've had more than my share of conversations this week about the future of over-the-air broadcasting, a field with which I have a more-than-passing relationship. I met with one longtime broadcaster who told me he sees little future for radio, which like virtually all traditional media, has seen declining ratings. Radio now faces an even more difficult future with competition from Internet Radio in cars.
     As I blogged about earlier, my meeting with students at Trentholm Tech was instructive, at least for me, if not for them. They don't read newspapers, of course...unless there happens to be one sitting around that someone else paid for, and maybe not even then. Not sure if I specifically asked about radio, but I'm confident they are not big users. And network TV isn't much on their radar either. Which beings us to The Media section of The N.Y. Times, which last week included a rather pessimistic story about the future of broadcast TV. The story is tied to O's announcement that she is starting her own cable channel.
     A dozen or so years ago I suggested that the day will come when some little boy will ask his Dad what all those big  metal sticks are on top of Red Mountain in Birmingham, and Dad will say they have cell phone antennas attached and they used to carry TV signals. That was before cable penetration got so high it became more expensive than it was worth to actaully broadcast TV over the air to the tiny non-cable audience.

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this blog.]