I know this is probably a shock, but it's been on my mind for a long time and it's time to make the hard decision.
Todays "what time do you tune in" thread was a last ditch effort to convince myself that it's worth continuing, but in my heart and my head I already knew it wasn't.
If we had a decent enough audience from 7 - 10 AM Central Time I was going to make an effort to do the "Breakfast Club" thing again to see if this could be the hobby for me that it once was.
My thinking was that I could stay up after work to do the daily show, still sleep from 10:30 - 5 and have evenings to do stuff with my family and friends.
But the reality is our listener numbers have consistently dropped and there's just no reason to continue on. The last two weeks we've never had more than 7 listeners tuned in at any one time.
I just can't justify keeping things going for 7 listeners. The money spent on streaming fees is money that I could put to much better use elsewhere.
I'm at a loss as to how to grow the audience anymore. It's been a non-stop slide since about 2006, from our peak of 150 listeners to today's 7.
Should my personal situation change (like the promotion I hope comes along sooner instead of later) or I find that I just can't live without having the station running, I could always bring it back. Webguy has kindly offered to save a backup of everything so that a return would be fairly easy.
For now, I'd like to thank EVERYONE that has been a part of Freeze-Frame Radio for the past 7 years.
I'd like to give an extra thank you to Webguy for several years of free web hosting, Lady Strange for the awesome bumpers she's provided and that JD & I will always cherish, as well as for continuing to donate to the station every month after the end of our user-owned period (LS, please be sure to cancel that monthly subscription payment as soon as possible), and to MZHartz who has always done whatever she could to help us stay afloat.
The forum will remain intact, and once the station is off the air I will retain the domain name and redirect it straight to the forum so that the friendships we've formed here can continue.
I have no problem with everyone sharing information on any new stations they may find that could perhaps provide a shared listening experience for the group.
You've all become my friends over the past seven years. Hopefully we'll all know each other for many, many years to come!
Aw crap, I figured this was why you were asking us how often we tune in and at what time.
But at the same time I understand. It's costing you money to keep the station up for only a few. I wish we could grab a boatload of listeners so this wouldn't have to happen.
I'm glad you're going to keep the forum up and running though. I'd hate to lose this too. You guys are my friends; without the forum we'd lose contact with each other and that would be awful.
It's a sad decision, but I understand. The reign of internet radio I think is coming to an end. I think the majority of people prefer the internet stream of their local station, or a personalized experience like Blip, Last.fm, or Pandora.
But, to be frank (Who's Frank? And why does everyone steal his identity?), you've done this before. And you have missed it and regretted your decision.
So sad. I had a feeling that was what would come outof that question this morning. Unfortunately, I know you have mentioned this in the past and it has been a struggle for you. My not being able to listen the few years didn't help.
FFR Rocks!
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Stop trying to be what you see. Be what you ought to be.
I figured this was coming. It will be sad but you have to do what you have to do. I would always welcome FFR back if ever you decided to bring it back. FFR has saved me from killing a few annoying people at work many times. I will forever be grateful for that and for finding the forum and all the wonderful people within
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"Am I speaking in a language you're not getting here?"
Yeah, you're right Frank. Though last time the shut down was actually less about my decision and more about an abrupt change in our streaming situation.
But the REAL difference here is, and I'm SURE you'll agree with this, I just don't do anything with it anymore. It doesn't even qualify as a hobby at this point. FFR is nothing more than a box on my desk that costs me money every month.
That's no ones fault but my own. The fire to build the audience just isn't there anymore. It just feels too much like the battles already been lost and it's time to move on.
It's a sad decision, but I understand. The reign of internet radio I think is coming to an end. I think the majority of people prefer the internet stream of their local station, or a personalized experience like Blip, Last.fm, or Pandora.
I think the ability to personalize is HUGE. Everyone can have EXACTLY the station they want, what more could they ask for?
