The Infinite Dial

An interesting nugget in the recent M Street/Inside Radio format counts for February. As you might expect in the current radio climate, there are now 235 stations off-the-air vs. 140 in February, 2008. And nearly 20 stations were reported dark between January and February. That number, however, has not yet caught up to the number of dark stations in the early '90s. The M Street Directories in those years show 323 stations off-the-air in 1991, 372 in 1992 and 394 in 1993. (Of that last number, 273 of those were AMs vs.121 FMs.) By 2005, the number of stations off the air would fall to 70.

So broadcasters haven't yet been forced to shut down the number of stations they were during the early '90s crisis that was used to build the case for deregulation. Then again, at 20 stations a month, they're catching up pretty quickly. And whatever other truck one might have with the Telecommunications Act of 1996, it will be telling if, ultimately, broadcasters are no more able to keep their stations on the air than they were before deregulation.