Signs of the Agonizing Death of Analog AM

A global process

I will detail situations that illustrate this process of decline. Although I will provide specifics about certain cities, they end up being an exact reflection of what is happening across the rest of the country. And in this country, where everything unfolds clearly, showing the degradation process of the AM stations operating there, all other countries, whether of similar or different size, with comparable or vastly different populations, and with similar or differing levels of development, will experience, or are already experiencing, the same phenomenon of AM stations in agony. Therefore, following what I present below will serve perfectly as a simulation of what will happen in countries that have not yet reached this stage of distress.

Natal, RN, Brazil

First, I’ll start with a capital city whose metropolitan area has about 1.5 million inhabitants and hasn’t had any FM station for some years now. I’m talking about Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte,here, we definitely don’t have a single one still alive.

The option given by the government for all AM stations to migrate to FM was accepted by almost all of them. One couldn’t survive long enough to accept the proposal, in other words, the offer came too late. Those that migrated are now on FM and, yes, it seems the change has given them a significant boost.

João Pessoa, PB, Brazil

João Pessoa has one AM station still operating. It could have been an example of why it was worth not migrating until now, but what I heard while I was there was a station with a very short reach, struggling to be received in parts of the city, which is even slightly larger than Natal, and, worst of all, without a single advertiser. I estimate it’s operating at around 100 watts; I can’t say for sure, but it’s a bet I’d make. I also saw that it will be migrating to FM, and it definitely has no conditions to stay on the air with such low coverage and not even a single advertiser.

We literally have the death of a station that didn’t even manage to hold on long enough to have the chance to switch bands, and in another situation, a station that greatly reduced its power to cut down on the high electricity costs and, even without advertisers, kept the brand alive until its migration to FM, and only then was able to recover as a radio station.

Even the largest AM that ever existed in Brazil turned off its transmitter

A station choosing to migrate to FM rather than remain on the AM band is much more a matter of financial survival, not only in Brazil’s Northeast. It is estimated that 96% of the stations that once operated on the AM band have already migrated to FM. There are still some major AM stations, but even the largest AM station in terms of audience ever to exist in Brazil, Rádio Globo in Rio, the tower at the 1,220 kHz park, which I used to pick up here in Natal at night, as long as I was a bit away from the interference of lamps and the power grid in general.

The poetic answer or the realistic one?

When we have examples in capitals with over one million inhabitants in their metropolitan area showing such market fragility for sustaining an AM station, when we see Brazil shutting down the transmitter of the largest AM station it has ever had, what prognosis would a good doctor give for the sector? Once again, I ask: do you want the poetic answer or the realistic one?

Brazil is just an example of AM’s fate without digitalization

Brazil today is a snapshot of what the AM band’s situation will look like in a few years in other countries that, even in 2025, still enjoy a certain economically sustainable audience on the band. But even in Argentina, where AM is still relatively strong, that turning point will come, and thinking ahead about how to carry out this transition can indeed be a way to minimize damage. I find it quite feasible to consider transferring AM stations to an allocation on the FM band, probably on extended FM (76–87 MHz), and at the same time starting digital operation on the band.

Unlike Brazil, where more than 95% of AM stations have already been moved to FM, leaving the AM band empty, Argentina could instead assign an FM frequency for an AM station to operate there in analog mode, while its AM slot would have to be occupied by a digital signal, preferably fully digital without the hybrid alternative. But to be honest, what I see as having the greatest chance of acceptance is for stations to receive a frequency to operate on FM while being required to at least operate in hybrid mode on their traditional frequency.

Analog AM died with honors

To radio lovers, I offer the POETIC ANSWER: AM radio played a beautiful role in the history of global communication. It will be remembered fondly and with nostalgia as a time that shone brightly. It was the protagonist of unforgettable moments, shaped generations, crossed borders, and united the country with its unmistakable sound.

But if we were in a meeting before migration deadline in Brazil, with an AM station owner hesitant to move to FM, I would give the REALISTIC ANSWER: AM radio is over. Today, practically every Brazilian municipality is covered by at least one FM station, with audio quality infinitely superior to any AM station that has ever existed. And internet coverage continues to advance rapidly, including in rural areas.If a site is so isolated that neither FM nor the internet reaches it, the only thing that might reach, if it reaches at all, would be a distant AM station from Rio or São Paulo, with content disconnected from the local reality and an unstable signal that fades in and out, struggling.Today, with a radio app you can listen to any station in the world from anywhere. Even the older audience, theoretically the last to keep the habit of listening to AM, is already on WhatsApp, already using smartphones, and many already have RadiosNet or Radio Garden installed. With a SIM card from their carrier and a data plan, they listen without extra costs, and if isolation is truly extreme, there’s always the option of a Starlink connection. Circling the globe was once AM’s competitive edge, not anymore.

Maintaining an AM station requires not only courage, it requires a lot of money to sustain an expensive, obsolete, and complex structure. Migrating to FM, besides being a technically and strategically sound decision, has been the financial salvation for many stations.

Real example: CBN Natal

Before migrating to FM, CBN Natal faced serious challenges. The AM signal was weak and unstable: it couldn’t reach shopping mall and supermarket parking lots, fluctuated near high-voltage power lines, and in towns just 20 km from the transmitter, even fluorescent lights inside homes interfered with reception. In the end, the market that really mattered to CBN Natal was not a small town 500 km away, where audio was poor, for that audience, streaming already solved the problem.

The transformation on air

The move to FM was a turning point. After the migration, the signal covered shopping malls and parking lots without interruptions, and audio quality became pleasant and reliable. For more distant regions, streaming, made viable by the growing popularity of the internet and apps like RádiosNet, now complements coverage effectively.

AM had a beautiful history, just like vinyl records, enchanting eras that left us with fond memories. But from a market perspective, that golden age has turned into a respected and cherished nostalgia.

A digital future?

AM may come back one day, but as a band for digital radio. That would be the best possible comeback: with high-quality audio, starting in a clean spectrum and allowing the birth of digital radio in Brazil without trauma.

HD RADIO AM ou DRM AM

So far, I have seen DRM as the more viable standard to occupy the AM band, not only in Brazil but in most countries that are completely undecided about how to address the relevance of this band. Of course, there are other options, such as HD Radio, but several factors lead me to bet, with a clear advantage, that the best option is the DRM standard.