S
SayNoToIBOC
Guest
"From ba.broadcast - Another Negative Report On "HD" Radio"
>From www.MusicBiz.com:
* Bearer Of Bad Tidings
That honor, of sorts, has to go to Mark Ramsey, whose recent findings
threw a dash of icy cold water on the high hopes of those in corporate
radio who believe that high-definition will be the savior of the
industry. According to the industry experts he talked to, HD radio
faces significant obstacles, many of which are corporate radio's own
making. Start with there not being any established model to derive
revenue from radio, nor is there any plan to invest significant amounts
on programming. No one has even come up with a strategy on growing HD
radio's audience without cannibalizing listeners and ad dollars from
the terrestrial radio cash cows.
Then there's the current paucity of affordable HD hardware. The small
number of radios now in circulation translates into indifferent
interest in those advertising on it. Ramsey adds that even when the
number HD radios nationwide run into the millions, "there would be no
'local sales' model since millions of radios nationwide don?t amount to
significant numbers at the local level." Which prompts the question:
Why would automakers invest in the expense of installing HD radio in
their cars when there's absolutely no proof that it would be a
noticeable programming improvement over their current satellite radio
deals and would help them sell more cars?
If that's not bad enough, Ramsey claims to have found evidence that the
hullabaloo about HD "is distracting broadcasters from focusing on
obvious web opportunities, and this is causing us to lose ground on the
web relative to other radio alternatives which might be much more
potent in the future than satellite or HD." Finally, HD goes against
the grain of consumer behavior. "New technology products succeed
because consumers want them, not because an industry does," he writes.
"The trend favors audience creation, not industry rules. Sony wanted
BetaMax, but the market didn't. Philips wanted Laserdisc, but the
market has spoken."
>From www.MusicBiz.com:
* Bearer Of Bad Tidings
That honor, of sorts, has to go to Mark Ramsey, whose recent findings
threw a dash of icy cold water on the high hopes of those in corporate
radio who believe that high-definition will be the savior of the
industry. According to the industry experts he talked to, HD radio
faces significant obstacles, many of which are corporate radio's own
making. Start with there not being any established model to derive
revenue from radio, nor is there any plan to invest significant amounts
on programming. No one has even come up with a strategy on growing HD
radio's audience without cannibalizing listeners and ad dollars from
the terrestrial radio cash cows.
Then there's the current paucity of affordable HD hardware. The small
number of radios now in circulation translates into indifferent
interest in those advertising on it. Ramsey adds that even when the
number HD radios nationwide run into the millions, "there would be no
'local sales' model since millions of radios nationwide don?t amount to
significant numbers at the local level." Which prompts the question:
Why would automakers invest in the expense of installing HD radio in
their cars when there's absolutely no proof that it would be a
noticeable programming improvement over their current satellite radio
deals and would help them sell more cars?
If that's not bad enough, Ramsey claims to have found evidence that the
hullabaloo about HD "is distracting broadcasters from focusing on
obvious web opportunities, and this is causing us to lose ground on the
web relative to other radio alternatives which might be much more
potent in the future than satellite or HD." Finally, HD goes against
the grain of consumer behavior. "New technology products succeed
because consumers want them, not because an industry does," he writes.
"The trend favors audience creation, not industry rules. Sony wanted
BetaMax, but the market didn't. Philips wanted Laserdisc, but the
market has spoken."