Analogue radio hasn’t bowed out. Despite the flood of digital formats, FM stations continue to hold their ground, sometimes stubbornly, sometimes cleverly.
It’s a media tug-of-war that’s more layered than it looks. There’s a kind of reliability in analogue that digital can’t quite replicate. It doesn’t depend on a data connection. It works during blackouts. You don’t need a login, an app, or a monthly subscription. And there’s something tactile about tuning a dial, something hard to define but easy to miss once it’s gone. For many stations, that’s enough to justify keeping the signal alive.
In some ways, this duality mirrors other industries navigating their own offline-online balancing acts. Take iGaming, for instance. With the introduction of online casinos, physical casinos have gotten a brand new competitor. Just like the video “Who’s That Girl? “, as we know now, so too are both versions of casinos alive and well. And both have their place and benefits. Digital casinos offer access from anywhere and without limitations or lengthy registration processes if you are using selected platforms ( source: https://adventuregamers.com/online-casinos/non-gamstop )
And why are physical casinos still a thing? Because the casino floor offers something digital platforms can’t reproduce: a physical atmosphere. The clink of chips, the thrum of slot machines, the psychology of being there. It’s a sensorial experience that digital platforms only approximate. So instead of dying, physical casinos adapt. They target tourists, add bars and entertainment, and often integrate digital tools themselves.
That’s not so different from how analogue radio stations now behave. Many have hybrid models—FM broadcast paired with online streaming, podcasts, and social media engagement. They’ve learned not to see digital as the enemy but as a layer. A way to expand without abandoning their foundation. Retail has seen this, too. E-commerce changed the game, but stores haven’t vanished.
What’s happening instead is more subtle: physical shops become showrooms, click-and-collect hubs, brand touchpoints. The same logic applies. People don’t just shop for stuff—they shop for interaction, for ease, sometimes even just out of habit. An online-only model doesn’t always scratch that itch.
Music’s another example. Streaming has eaten the charts alive, yet vinyl sales have hit a new record and vinyl is somehow more alive than it was a decade ago. Strange? Not really. Digital offers immediacy and scale. Physical formats offer emotional weight. Different users, different needs. It turns out, the binary between old and new tech isn’t always a real one.
Meanwhile, in the US and UK, stations continue broadcasting both ways. Commercial stations are cautious. Public broadcasters, too. They’re hedging their bets. FM still brings ad revenue. And more importantly, a sense of reach that digital alone can’t always guarantee. Local news, live shows, drive-time programming—these still draw listeners on analogue signals, especially in traffic or out in the countryside.
Back in the radio world, competition between analogue and digital remains uneven across countries. Norway made headlines years ago for switching off FM entirely, signaling the end of FM radio in Norway. The move wasn’t popular. A lot of people felt left behind, particularly older listeners. Complaints about coverage gaps and hardware incompatibility followed. It’s a lesson. Speeding into digital isn’t always progress if the infrastructure and audience readiness aren’t fully aligned.