What I’m more concerned about with this potential “zonecasting” is interference. I’m assuming it’s for zonecasting as boosters would’ve been added decades ago if it were a reception issue.
Even with master clock-derived timing where the boosters are on-sync with the main signal, there’s going to be spots where the commercials will be a mish mash of stuff. For a lot of people, that’s a tune-out IMHO. When you’re getting people commuting in their cars, you may drive ears off the station!
My big question will be how this gets sold: if I buy commercial time on CBS-FM, could I choose to just advertise to Stamford at a cheaper rate? Will the ad rates on the main signal go down since they may not be broadcasting to all of its original coverage area? Are they going to go with separate advertising for each booster, or package all the boosters together as a “suburban” package with the main being a “city” ad rate?
If it’s sold properly, and the transition zone between the main and booster is rather small, I could see this as a win for broadcast radio…it would lower the price per spot to a point to potentially allow smaller businesses to advertise on a larger station and better compete with geo-located internet streaming for ad dollars.
