Could electric cars mean the end of the Twins on WCCO?

[DJL44]

In a Future Filled With Electric Cars, AM Radio May Be Left Behind - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Most electric car manufacturers have removed support for AM radio rather than shielding the radio from the electromagnetic interference generated by electric motors. If radios aren't shielded from the electric motor the AM signal is unlistenable due to static. Many cities, but not all, have an alternate FM station to listen to but there are no clear channel superstations (like 830 in Minneapolis) on the FM dial.

This could spell the end of Twins baseball on the AM dial very shortly. I'll often schedule a long trip to coincide with a Twins game so I have something to listen to in the car.

[IndianaTwin]

MLB Audio app -- $20 for the radio feed of all games for all teams, with no blackout restrictions. 

 

[DJL44]

4 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

MLB Audio app -- $20 for the radio feed of all games for all teams, with no blackout restrictions. 

Which assumes you have cell phone coverage everywhere you are driving.

[howeda7]

23 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

MLB Audio app -- $20 for the radio feed of all games for all teams, with no blackout restrictions. 

 

This. Even WCCO is on the Audacy app the rest of the time. Though it's one of those things that I'll listen to on the radio but not take the time to pull up the app for.

[howeda7]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

In a Future Filled With Electric Cars, AM Radio May Be Left Behind - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Most electric car manufacturers have removed support for AM radio rather than shielding the radio from the electromagnetic interference generated by electric motors. If radios aren't shielded from the electric motor the AM signal is unlistenable due to static. Many cities, but not all, have an alternate FM station to listen to but there are no clear channel superstations (like 830 in Minneapolis) on the FM dial.

This could spell the end of Twins baseball on the AM dial very shortly. I'll often schedule a long trip to coincide with a Twins game so I have something to listen to in the car.

It's probably inevitable. I'm not sure many people under 35 even knows what AM radio is. But the Twins might be more effected by this than any team. They are not only on WCCO, but clear channel 570 WNAX in Yankton, SD and 790 in Fargo. There's almost nowhere you can go in the 5 state region you can't hear one of those signals.

 I assume the costs to prevent the interference is a  minor cost savings but that very few buyers care.

[dex8425]

17 hours ago, howeda7 said:

It's probably inevitable. I'm not sure many people under 35 even knows what AM radio is. But the Twins might be more effected by this than any team. They are not only on WCCO, but clear channel 570 WNAX in Yankton, SD and 790 in Fargo. There's almost nowhere you can go in the 5 state region you can't hear one of those signals.

 I assume the costs to prevent the interference is a  minor cost savings but that very few buyers care.

Well I'm under 35, drive an electric car, and listen to Twins games on WCCO. Had no idea EV's came without AM radio. If I had an EV without AM I'd probably just pay for sirius XM radio, which is great for road trips-listen to twins games in the middle of nowhere in Montana without cell phone service. 

[Otto von Ballpark]

17 hours ago, howeda7 said:

It's probably inevitable. I'm not sure many people under 35 even knows what AM radio is.

True. A lot of people seem surprised to learn that you can still get TV broadcasts over an antenna too.

[Old Twins Hat]

I do listen to the Twins on AM radio on occasion, but I have a different problem.

It usually happens in the middle to late innings, though sometimes, it happens early on.

A Twins pitcher, nursing a lead, usually walks a guy, gives up a hit, then strikes out the next two batters.  So, two on, two out.  Twins need to win.

Sure enough, the next call: "Hit deep to left field," Provus amps it up:  "Buxton going back on that ball, track, wall, and that one is gone.  Way back into the upper deck.  That's the third consecutive game that Emilio Pagan has given up a lead changing home run."

All of sudden, my hands jump into action, and the radio changes to another station.  Just like that.  And I never get that signal back that day.

 

[Otto von Ballpark]

19 hours ago, DJL44 said:

This could spell the end of Twins baseball on the AM dial very shortly.

Unless there is some plan to replace AM radio itself, or repurpose its broadcast frequencies, I suspect it would still hang around for awhile, even if it's not supported in new electric cars.

[Otto von Ballpark]

The last major broadcast radio innovation was the widely ignored HD Radio, which suggests that the public doesn't care too much about broadcast radio anymore in general.

FWIW, the last couple of cars I've owned haven't had very good AM reception anyway. Unless I'm willing to tolerate a lot of hiss and interference, it's typically a much better experience to scan the FM dial for the closest affiliate while I am driving. But I'm guessing most fans would just open an app instead.

[Mike Sixel]

2 hours ago, Otto von Ballpark said:

The last major broadcast radio innovation was the widely ignored HD Radio, which suggests that the public doesn't care too much about broadcast radio anymore in general.

FWIW, the last couple of cars I've owned haven't had very good AM reception anyway. Unless I'm willing to tolerate a lot of hiss and interference, it's typically a much better experience to scan the FM dial for the closest affiliate while I am driving. But I'm guessing most fans would just open an app instead.

I love HD radio, so many niche stations. But, ya, I'm amazed radio even exists at this point given other options. 

[CRF]

The Twins are also on 102.9 FM "The Wolf", which is a WCCO sister station. I don't listen to a lot of the games on radio, but when I do, I listen to 102.9. It's a much clearer signal than 830 AM. 

[laloesch]

3 hours ago, dex8425 said:

I'd probably just pay for sirius XM radio, which is great for road trips-listen to twins games in the middle of nowhere in Montana without cell phone service. 

I wouldn't.  I hate Sirius XM.  Try and cancel a service with them.  They will literally make you wait 45 minutes as they pass you from one call agent to the next trying to persuade you to change your mind.  They are HORRIBLE about that.  I cancelled my service with them about 2 months ago after they increased my bill to $32 a month and got tired of having to renegotiate with them every 6 months. It was always a hassle. 

I had to speak with 9 different agents, and probably told them "i want to cancel" at least 30 separate times and they stalled and stalled throughout the process hoping I would give up and hang up.  As someone who's spouse works at a call chat help desk I know they can do a cancellation in less than 10 minutes.  

NEVER AGAIN.

[DJL44]

31 minutes ago, CRF said:

The Twins are also on 102.9 FM "The Wolf", which is a WCCO sister station. I don't listen to a lot of the games on radio, but when I do, I listen to 102.9. It's a much clearer signal than 830 AM. 

I also listen on FM whenever possible. Coverage of FM stations tends to overlap with cell phone coverage. If you don't have either you're in AM radio territory. I think we have seen a gradual shift of the Twins to FM stations over the years but it is likely to move faster as electric cars gain in popularity over the next decade.

[DJL44]

2 minutes ago, laloesch said:

I wouldn't.  I hate Sirius XM.  Try and cancel a service with them.  They will literally make you wait 45 minutes as they pass you from one call agent to the next trying to persuade you to change your mind.  They are HORRIBLE about that.  I cancelled my service with them about 2 months ago after they increased my bill to $32 a month and got tired of having to renegotiate with them every 6 months. It was always a hassle. 

I had to speak with 9 different agents, and probably told them "i want to cancel" at least 30 separate times and they stalled and stalled throughout the process hoping I would give up and hang up.  As someone who's spouse works at a call chat help desk I know they can do a cancellation in less than 10 minutes.  

NEVER AGAIN.

I've said a few times that a business can make a lot of money off people under 40 if it is really easy to sign up online but you have to call on the phone to cancel the service. Gen Z HATES having to make an actual phone call.

[howeda7]

13 minutes ago, laloesch said:

I wouldn't.  I hate Sirius XM.  Try and cancel a service with them.  They will literally make you wait 45 minutes as they pass you from one call agent to the next trying to persuade you to change your mind.  They are HORRIBLE about that.  I cancelled my service with them about 2 months ago after they increased my bill to $32 a month and got tired of having to renegotiate with them every 6 months. It was always a hassle. 

I had to speak with 9 different agents, and probably told them "i want to cancel" at least 30 separate times and they stalled and stalled throughout the process hoping I would give up and hang up.  As someone who's spouse works at a call chat help desk I know they can do a cancellation in less than 10 minutes.  

NEVER AGAIN.

I've never subscribed. But when I bought my last car it came with a 30 day trial. They called like 5 times a day for a month trying to get me to sign up. It was absolutely ridiculous.

[howeda7]

11 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I've said a few times that a business can make a lot of money off people under 40 if it is really easy to sign up online but you have to call on the phone to cancel the service. Gen Z HATES having to make an actual phone call.

I'm not Gen Z, but so do I. Often a tweet at the company gets good/faster results though.

[laloesch]

20 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I've said a few times that a business can make a lot of money off people under 40 if it is really easy to sign up online but you have to call on the phone to cancel the service. Gen Z HATES having to make an actual phone call.

yep.  I am just over 40 and my younger co-workers absolutely loathe using the telephone to talk to someone in person.  I don't really get it.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

21 hours ago, howeda7 said:

This. Even WCCO is on the Audacy app the rest of the time. Though it's one of those things that I'll listen to on the radio but not take the time to pull up the app for.

Audacy only works in the theoretical CCO coverage area (Twin Cities and parts of western Wi) even though you can actually tune in WCCO well into IA, ND and SD. On my trip to Eau Claire in August I could listen on the radio, not on Audacy

[howeda7]

1 hour ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

Audacy only works in the theoretical CCO coverage area (Twin Cities and parts of western Wi) even though you can actually tune in WCCO well into IA, ND and SD. On my trip to Eau Claire in August I could listen on the radio, not on Audacy

Why? They own WCCO. Who are they protecting? I'm pretty sure I have listened via the App in South Dakota before.

[lecroy24fan]

1 hour ago, howeda7 said:

Why? They own WCCO. Who are they protecting? I'm pretty sure I have listened via the App in South Dakota before.

MLB mandate, just like the TV blackouts.

[jctwins]

On 12/20/2022 at 3:12 PM, DJL44 said:

Which assumes you have cell phone coverage everywhere you are driving.

When AM radio is gone the idea of cell phone coverage will be done. These apps will either stay with you or stay with the car.

[howeda7]

1 hour ago, lecroy24fan said:

MLB mandate, just like the TV blackouts.

Ah. I thought you meant it wouldn't work for regular WCCO programming. That's an MLB issue. They have to get their $9.99 out of you for the MLB app. Still worth it though.

[Northwoods Doc]

I drive an electric Mustang Mach E and it has AM radio as an option. Unless its storming or you get too far away from the signal it doesn't sound like there is any interference, including WCCO 830.  Though where I live FM 106.9 the Moose comes in better for Twins coverage.