What is AM radio? Most of us might not know what it is since we seldom tune into an AM station. However, being on an AM or FM frequency could well make or break a radio channel, especially if it is in English, according to a local broadcaster.
Michael Vincent, programme director of Metro Plus (AM 1044), said the success of an English-language channel hinged on whether it was being carried on an FM frequency.
'Now it's mainly the ethnic minorities who are willing to go beyond FM,' he said. 'Once we broadcast on FM, we can start from where we are and go on to attract people who use English as a second language.'
His comments came after a fellow English radio channel - HMV864 - was taken off the air by Commercial Radio last Thursday. At the moment, Metro Plus' accumulative listernship ranges from 80,000 to 100,000 per week.
However, Hong Kong's airwaves are already packed with, and dominated by, Chinese channels. To solve this problem, Vincent said that there had been discussion between the government and radio stations on the bandwidth issue: 'I cannot divulge what has been said ... but digitisation has become the centre of debate for a while. No one knows how soon it can come true.'
Digital technology, which has already been adopted in many European countries including the United Kingdom, could open up more channels - be they television or radio - but a decoder is needed to receive the signals.