Radio Hall of Famer Mark Levin has accused auto manufacturers of removing AM radio from vehicles as an attack on conservative talk shows. On Friday’s Mark Levin Show, Levin was talking about the push for electric vehicles and how AM radios were being taken out of the dashboard. Automakers say the reason for removing the AM band is that the frequency gets too much interference from the vehicles’ operating systems.
Levin commented on-air, “Let me be the first one to say it right at the manufacturer level, rather than going after us through the FCC, rather than going after us through legislation, rather than going after us through boycotting advertisers and all the rest – just don’t make AM stations available in automobiles anymore, because not all, but most conservative talk shows are on the AM band.”
Levin’s largest broadcast affiliate is New York City AM WABC. At one point, the Center for American Progress estimated that 91% of AM talk was conservative-leaning.
The customer base for AM in the US is over 50 million people. The demand is there. The alternatives being offered are manufacturer specific connection options. Sooo, my tin hat theory is it has everything to do with locking people into the manufacturers connectivity as a monthly paid for service than it does anything else. That’s not even touching the fact that the emergency systems are heavily heavily based on AM. Should they be updated? Sure. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the manufacturers are putting the cart before the horse a bit by removing access to those channels before the systems have been updated. Relying on cell towers to disseminate information during an emergency is fools gold.
This is absolutely the stupidest comment we’ve ever heard. Clearly Levin is trying to grab publicity. Automakers are focused on sales and profits, not politics. Automakers will or will not include AM based on the demand, or lack therein, of their customers for AM. It’s that simple. Also, demanding government intervention/regulation to force automakers to include AM radio is a misguided strategy. Coercing automakers does absolutely nothing to increase customers’ interest in AM.