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Big Group CEOs forgetting about HD Radio?

P

Play Freebird

Interesting report on the recent New York Market Radio Summit:

http://www.audiographics.com/agd/092608-1.htm

Audio: http://www.wadvradio.com/2008/09/25/session-nymrads-radio-ceo-summit/


"In this entire 58 minutes of discussion with five of the most powerful CEOs in radio, the term HD Radio only showed up once - at 32 minutes into the conversation. It was as a side mention to another topic being discussed (navigation systems)."

Then again, does HD offer any real value to advertisers?

Or can it help struggling locally-programmed small market AM stations like WATO survive? See:

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/oct/16/no-more-airing-it-out/

When facing the need to replace a rusted-out 1948 three-tower directional array and thousands of feet of buried corroded copper wire, AM IBOC makes no sense at all -- especially in comparison with a VHF-based system like the expanded-band plan proposed by the BMC.
 
This is what I've been saying all along; HD Radio has NOTHING to offer the small market AM station.

If the management of WATO, in a fit of delirium, had decided to borrow the money to repair and refurbish their antenna system and install the expensive upgrades for HD Radio, what would happen? Would new advertising revenue miraculously appear on wings of angels? Would the population of Oak Ridge (which according to the article is aging) suddenly become younger and more numerous?

WATO's predicament is being repeated by AM stations all across the country (I've personally visited two which were for sale). HD Radio wouldn't have helped them.

C5
 
In just a few short years devices competing for radio time multiplied. And seeing how we love gadgets made in China, I’m assuming they’ll be more! When FM radio first started there simply was no comparable competition. FM radio was it, sounded great, and gave rock listeners real choices.

In 2008 it’s a different story. Rock listeners have unlimited choices that out perform FM/HD radio. Listeners enjoy radio for more than music. But HD is just that, a jukebox stuck in dark dusty old closet. Broadcasters have all they can do managing and providing content for AM – FM. And radio is still cutting talent.

Time alone won’t fix HD. And if HD stations grab any audience, AM-FM listening will fracture further making it that much more difficult for an advertiser to hit a home run.
 
HD radio on FM is good for one thing only - carrying the local AM station, albeit at a much lesser distance that what the AM can usually cover.
HD radio on AM is good for nothing. Citadel has figured that out.
 
Engineers of some other companies may be having second thoughts about HD as well.

Compare this Chief Engineer's commentary of last December:
http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0044/t.10299.html

With his more-recent thoughts (starting on Page 6):
http://www.crawfordbroadcasting.com/~cbc/Local_Oscillator/October 2008 Local Oscillator.pdf

Some may call this "flip-flopping", but I prefer the term " taking a more enlightened position".

By the way, a real, feasible and realistic alternative to AM IBOC has now been proposed:

http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0052/t.15575.html
 
In the practice of law there is an analytical tenet called "the negative pregnant" - meaning, what a witness does NOT say is frequently more important than what he DOES say.

I found Poole's utter silence on HD-AM, which was the focus of his earlier elitist HD rant, very telling.

Can't we just agree that HD-AM is a disaster and turn the damn thing off industry-wide?

In the northeast the AM band at night is a wall of noise from 1000 kHz to 1220 kHz. Just like I predicted in August 2007. Come on now, people. It's a bad idea! There aren't even any HD-AM defenders left HERE. Even the most stubborn HD adherents have been throwing HD-AM under the bus for months now.
 
“Joe the Plumber” isn’t in line at the Best Buy check-out with an HD [in]capable radio... Pols aside – IT’S TRUE! The CES reports near-ZERO consumer interest in HD Radio after THREE *big* “launches”... You can blame it on the current economy – I prefer to affix responsibility on those irresponsible in this industry—the “hacks” who managed to migrate to “radio management” after they were tossed from Radio Shack.

I read an Indianapolis Star article that proclaimed that Emmis’ current capitalization [as defined by the marketplace] was a mere 18-mil—MUCH less than what they paid for ONE of their major market acquisitions AND ONLY ten times what I sold a couple SMALL-MARKET transmitters for just a few years ago... ‘Now that is downright edifying my friends in radio land :)

Current HD radio is NOT “new technology”... It is a mere “mirror show” to prop-up these depressing so-called corporate fortunes. FACT IS – Guys like Bob Savage and myself have successfully meandered the labyrinth and eecked a profit courtesy of our like for radio and decent business sense, and now we have basic cred to comment on the tech!
 
In addition to being long-winded, I've always thought Crawford's newsletter had a kind of creepy 'Socialist Daily Workers' feel to it. "Thanks to Our Dear Leader's far-sighted five-year plan, dairy production is up 31%. Workers are happily milking cows at 3 A.M. while singing praises to Our Dear Leader."

In Mr. Poole's RW screed against HD Radio "naysayers" he says this:

"Surveys show that the majority of the under-35 crowd has little interest in FM, and couldn’t care less about AM...We’ve got to do something revolutionary to get listeners back, to win these young people who will be the listeners of tomorrow and to ensure the future of radio in general."

But he fails to make his case that HD Radio will be that "revolutionary" something to bring listeners back to radio other than it's digital. Yawn.

Actually, because of the worldwide economic crisis as well as our upcoming election, I know of many young people who are listening to radio daily, particularly AM talk/news...in good old analog.

Nothing like a disaster or a major issue to bring people back to radio.

C5
 
Amen to your sentiments about The Local Oscillator, Carmine5. It does sound remarkably like Tass or Pravda.
Or kind of an egocentric version of the same. In the edition of TLO which publicly ridiculed WYSL over our stance on HD, Cris Alexander endlessly blabbed about some Colorado vacation he took, favoring (boring) readers with local photos and local history of places he visited.

TLO kicks in my basic management instincts, having to do with efficiency and maximum utilization of effort. I can't help but think: if the Crawford engineering guys have enough time to crank out interminable self-promotion and unjustifiable self-congratulatory "house organs," the company's engineering department is either overstaffed or undermanaged. The effort put into TLO could be better utilized improving facilities and performing maintenance instead of typing mean-spirited nonsense to other engineers. I call TLO "The Local Onanist." And I'm not talking about AC generators.

From what my inside sources tell me about WLGZ and WDC-something here in Rochester, Crawford's engineers would be better advised to tend to their own physical plant instead of lecturing others about HD.
 
Savage said:
I call TLO "The Local Onanist." And I'm not talking about AC generators.
Click to expand...

Last issue, someone at Crawford built and tested an EH antenna. That was actually interesting reading.

But, you're right. There is a high amount of self-abuse (or self-gratification, whichever you see it) going on in The Local Oscillator. :D

C5
 
Savage observed:

In the northeast the AM band at night is a wall of noise from 1000 kHz to 1220 kHz. Just like I predicted in August 2007.
Click to expand...

But for some folks, like the guy who lives in Rockland county and who works in that shielded building in Manhattan, they never have a problem tuning in AM-HD stations, even at night. iBiquity-o-iBiquity, what AM I doing wrong? Oh gee, no pun was intended!

Come on now, people. It's a bad idea! There aren't even any HD-AM defenders left HERE. Even the most stubborn HD adherents have been throwing HD-AM under the bus for months now.
Click to expand...

Where are autopaint-1 and RF Burns when you need them?
 
I think Crawford needs to start worrying about the content on their stations and the poor ratings they are receiving. Here in Chicago,
Crawford owns 3 FM's WPWX POWER 92.3, WSRB SOUL 106.3 and WYCA 102.3. The ratings have tanked here under the new PPM
system. WPWX is a 50K FM that is tied for 27th place 12+ with a 1.2 share, WSRB a 4KW FM(granted not one of the strongest FM
signals in Chicago but, has good coverage over a very populated area on the south side of the city and southern suburbs as well as
as a simulcast with WYRB near DeKalb, that covers Chicago's western suburbs with a decent signal) tied for 41st with a 0.4 share.
Then their is WYCA(which you can cut some slack as they are only 1KW and really only covers the southern suburbs of the city with
a listenable signal)tied for 45th place with a 0.3 share.

I apologize for the long post here on the HD board but, I believe it proves a point. They have made it very well known over the air
(especially on 106.3)and on all of their websites that they are broadcasting in HD. None of them has an HD-2 channel by the way ???, yet
they are in the ratings basement here in Chicago. If they would concentrate on programming their stations better and not wasting so
much time and money on HD, maybe they would be performing better!! My point being all the resources wasted on HD could have been
used to make these stations more attractive to listeners. I don't think most people care if the transmitter is covered in gold, if you don't
have innovative programming people are not going to listen. IT'S THE CONTENT STUPID!!! ;D
 
I'll be the lone one coming to the defence of Mr Poole then - he and had some friendly and informative exchanges a few years ago when I was hard at work (heh) on my Alabama radio website. He was always a nice person to talk to even though I was super skeptical about AM HD.

The two AMs in Birmingham that belong to Crawford are both in HD. A 50kw days powerhouse with religious programming and a 5kw days urban that has been through a lot of formats... The smaller station was simulcasting their FM talker for a while, then went to adult standards with nary an advertiser to be heard. Then back to talk, I think, until the FM flipped to AC music. Now the AM is again talk because the FM flipped BACK to talk. All the while in HD and I can assure you no one was listening in HD except the engineers. ::)
 
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