MCRFB Billboard News: 1965
Ascension of FM Radio Popularity Stokes Consumer Choice For 2 Band Radios, 1965
CHICAGO – Dealers have been reporting a revolution in radio sales that could see AM-only models go the route of 78 r.p.m. There is one exception to the trend: low-end AM portables in the $5-$10 range which serves as the vital link between the teenager and his rock ‘n’ roll radio station.
“Even in the moderate-cost table lines our customers want AM FM,” goes the typical dealer observation. The changing market is clearly reflected in factory sales figures just released by the Electronic Industries Association. And one need not go too much further in search of an explanation than the record of FM station growth during recent years (see chart below).
Sales Tripled
EIA figures show that sales of auto and home radios equipped to receive FM have more than tripled since 1960. An increase of 40 per cent above 1964 is expected before the end of next year. In 1960 – the year FM really started to catch hold – one FM receiver was sold for every nine radios purchased. Last year one of every four radios sold could receive FM. By 1966, EIA expects the ratio to increase to one of three.
AM-only sales have hovered between 16 and 20 million since 1960. Some 20 million of these sets are expected to move this year. Of the domestic-brand FM sets sold, the EIA has found that some 40 per cent are incorporated in phonographs, 25 per cent are table models and the remainder are portable or combined with clocks and TV sets.
Portables Lead
Portables have registered the highest rate of FM sales increase. Radio Advertising Bureau statistics indicate that 23 million FM sets were included in the 151 million reported in home use today. This share is expected to rise to 30 million of 161 million this year and 38 million of 170 million in 1966.
The increase in FM model sales has remained in step with FM broadcasting growth. While set sales have tripled since 1960, station number has increased from 821 in 1960 to 1,205 in 1964.
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(Information and news source: Billboard; October 9, 1965)
