ESPN 98.7?

[Barry]

ESPN has started streamingstarting times of various sporting events on the 98.7 HD2 display. There is still no audio on either the HD2 or HD3, except for a brief snippet of coverage of a golf event that aired a few minutes ago.
So they may show scores on the display, like satellite radio does.

 

[danikayser84]

Deportes on HD2 and maybe KSPN or ESPN TV audio on HD3?

 

[Barry]

Deportes on HD2 and maybe KSPN or ESPN TV audio on HD3?

My guess is Deportes on one of the HD subchannels, and a rebroadcast of Radio Disney for now on the other.
If they land the Yankees or Mets in the future, they could give them their own 24/7 HD channel. There are a couple of teams in some other cities that already have their own full time HD channel.
An article raised the possibility of a Mets channel on WXRK HD4, but I do not know if that is correct.

 

[CTListener]

Deportes on HD2 and maybe KSPN or ESPN TV audio on HD3?

My guess is Deportes on one of the HD subchannels, and a rebroadcast of Radio Disney for now on the other.
If they land the Yankees or Mets in the future, they could give them their own 24/7 HD channel. There are a couple of teams in some other cities that already have their own full time HD channel.
An article raised the possibility of a Mets channel on WXRK HD4, but I do not know if that is correct.

Is all this beefing up of HD content going to be accompanied by a coordinated effort -- broadcasters, manufacturers, Ibiquity -- to get HD into as many new radios as possible? Maybe pushing satellite out of some car models or reducing the licensing fee for the technology that is currently passed on to the consumer? Otherwise, it's just a tree falling deep in the forest.

HD just doesn't seem to be catching on -- and I say this as a listener who was an early adopter and really thought it had potential to turn the FM band into a mini-SiriusXM in terms of variety and playlisst depth. At what point does radio cut this turkey loose?

 

[pjc1961]

A few years ago on the Cumulus AC station WEBE-FM-107.9 "WEBE 108" Bridgeport, CT, their HD2 and HD3 channels were (I think) ESPN Radio's national feed or ESPN News on one channel and ESPN Deportes on the other channel.

 

[stationless listener]

And thus we start another era of New York FM radio. Also, it seems that the WEPN call letters also moved there.

It's going to take a while for me to get used to a radio dial without Kiss FM.

 

[badjef]

And thus we start another era of New York FM radio. Also, it seems that the WEPN call letters also moved there.

It's going to take a while for me to get used to a radio dial without Kiss FM.

I understand that, especially since it caught everyone here off guard.

I still do not like those WEPN calls not including the letter "S".

Jeff in Sa-ra-so-ta!

 

[Barry]

Is all this beefing up of HD content going to be accompanied by a coordinated effort -- broadcasters, manufacturers, Ibiquity -- to get HD into as many new radios as possible? Maybe pushing satellite out of some car models or reducing the licensing fee for the technology that is currently passed on to the consumer? Otherwise, it's just a tree falling deep in the forest.

HD just doesn't seem to be catching on -- and I say this as a listener who was an early adopter and really thought it had potential to turn the FM band into a mini-SiriusXM in terms of variety and playlisst depth. At what point does radio cut this turkey loose?

Today's InsideRadio has an article stating the results of a recent JD Powers survey-"More than half (52%) of vehicle owners surveyed said they 'definitely' or 'probably' would purchase HD Radio as a feature in their next vehicle..." The article says that offering it at an attractive price is probably an important factor.
If this is accurate, it indicates considerable potential for HD radio, and is quite a departure from the past.

 

[jvn]

It was posted on another thread that after the switch this morning that

ESPN Deportes was on HD 2 and
ESPN NEWS (audio from their cable TV Channel) was on HD 3.

They apparently were saying that now you could hear Local play by Play coverage in stereo.

The Rangers in Stereo How Interesting.

 

[disney fanatic]

Nice try "jvn", ESPN is now doing play by play coverage in stereo, just like they did with the Yankees when it is simulcasting on FM which is on a country station 94.3/97.3 "The Wolf", but Beth Christy says on that promo that "You can hear Yankees play by play on FM clarity", just like the did with the CBS-FM HD3 channel. "The Wolf" is in Poughkeepsie playing country music while running a Yankees simulcast from WCBS-AM all season long.

 

[satech]

They apparently were saying that now you could hear Local play by Play coverage in stereo.

The Rangers in Stereo How Interesting.

660 WFAN did broadcast in C-Quam AM Stereo for years, but dropped it in the early 2000s. I don't recall hearing any play-by-play in stereo on WFAN, although I did once hear 1120 KMOX broadcast a baseball game with the crowd noise in stereo in the '90s and it really great to listen to. I don't know if WFAN is broadcasting anything in stereo on the HD signal now.

 

[pjc1961]

When WFAN is in HD (and you're listening in HD), the bumper/background music and some commercials are in stereo, similar to the AAC online feed.

Since they rarely are in HD when broadcasting a game, it's hard to tell if there's a stereo feed from the game site. I'd think not - only by going on history: whenever there's been a Giant football game on the FM side (either 92.3, 101.1 or 102.7 in primarily preseason), the feed has been in mono, same as would be used if the game were being broadcast on WFAN.

I wouldn't use the HD3 of WXRK 92.3 as an example for game broadcasts being as that feed is in mono at all times.

 

[ansky212]

Today's InsideRadio has an article stating the results of a recent JD Powers survey-"More than half (52%) of vehicle owners surveyed said they 'definitely' or 'probably' would purchase HD Radio as a feature in their next vehicle..." The article says that offering it at an attractive price is probably an important factor.
If this is accurate, it indicates considerable potential for HD radio, and is quite a departure from the past.

The problem is HD radio simply doesn't work well in vehicles. Ask anyone that has it. People can put up with a little static on analog radio (and often probably don't even notice it). But nobody is going to put up with the constant audio dropouts that plague HD radio in moving vehicles.

 

[ansky212]

According to the TuneIn app on my Blackberry, the Hum-Desi asian programming that used to be on 98.7 HD-2 is now on WQHT 97.1 HD-2.

 

[whdh1920]

according to the tune in app wwpr is home of soul??

 

[davideduardo]

The problem is HD radio simply doesn't work well in vehicles. Ask anyone that has it.

I have HD in my car, and it works fine on both AM and FM unless I am in the fringe coverage areas of a station...

 

[michael hagerty]

The problem is HD radio simply doesn't work well in vehicles. Ask anyone that has it.

I have HD in my car, and it works fine on both AM and FM unless I am in the fringe coverage areas of a station...

The number of cars I test (I'm an automotive journalist) with HD is increasing steadily. What I notice is that, even in strong signal areas, a hill or very large building can cause HD dropouts. If it's the HD1 of an AM or FM, it just goes back to the standard signal (very noticeable on AM, a bit less so on FM), but if it's an HD-2, 3 or 4, it's dead until I get past the obstacle...pretty much the same as going under bridges with satellite radio.

 

[Barry]

My experience is that the few local FM HD stations that are using relatively high power come in quite well, for a distance of about 25-30 miles from the transmitter, with only occasional brief dropouts. The others are more subject to the problems listed above.
WLTW and WWPR are both running HD at 4% of the power of the main signal, as opposed to the 1% that many if not most of the others use. I am not sure about WBLS, but am guessing it is also transmitting with enhanced strength, based on the solidness of its signal. And there may be one or two others in this vicinity.

 

[pjc1961]

Note that much like its sports talk predecessors who've made the move to simulcast on AM/FM recently (WEEI Boston, WIP Philadelphia), WEPN has pretty much dropped any references to "1050" in its on-air presentation, only mentioning "98.7 FM".

In this case, it's even more understandable as the AM portion of the simulcast will be gone by September. Better to build awareness that:
1) the simulcast exists;
2) there's the cachet of being on FM - newly branding the product, discarding "old-fashioned" titles (and in this case, technology, too)

 

[TheBigA]

Note that much like its sports talk predecessors who've made the move to simulcast on AM/FM recently (WEEI Boston, WIP Philadelphia), WEPN has pretty much dropped any references to "1050" in its on-air presentation, only mentioning "98.7 FM".

The simulcast will only exist for a few months.