GEORGE IS ON A ROLL!

[Savage]

Wow, gotta give an A-plus to the tone of THIS thread over the past 24 hours! Intelligent, informed and informative exchange, as opposed to the recent endless rhetoric and bomb-throwing. Great job, guys!

RE: marketing of IBOC. HD boosters would be well-advised to go to school on how NTSC color TV was marketed in the mid-1950s. Like our beloved HD radio, color TV of the era was controversial, prohibitively expensive and trouble-prone (particularly on the receiving end.) It was initially controversial because of two aggressive competitors who didn't like each other, General David Sarnoff of RCA (proponent of NTSC standards in effect to the present day) and CBS honcho Bill Paley, whose famed engineer Peter Goldmark had cobbled a noncompatible semi-mechanical system that only worked on UHF.

When NTSC prevailed, Sarnoff did NOT run promos on NBC that said, "buy color TV! We've got ALL the colors: red, cyan, magenta...and a lot of colors in between the colors, too!!"

No. NO! NBC debuted an attractive, albeit initially limited schedule of prime time color shows, highest-profile of which was Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, the old "Disneyland" lured away from B&W ABC. Yep: it took a decade, but NBC ultimately cultivated the market for NTSC color with....say it with me....PROGRAMMING. By the mid-1960s NBC had the first all-color prime time network, and economies of scale brought color sets down within reason. This resulted in a doubling of sales for several years in a row.

Promoting "technology" directly to the general public, which has little interest in engineering or technical matters, is doomed to failure. If you want to get listeners to buy new technology the best way - no, the ONLY effective way - is to give them the only real reason they listen, better programming.

Andrew Carnegie said it: "Pioneering don't pay."

Listener #1 might have said it: "Why are you listening to that sucko morning show with the boring DJs and the 300-song repetitive playlist?"

Listener #2 then said: "Because of the sparkling HD digital sound, of course!!"

 

[hipporadio]

THEY CAN’T! They’ve been TOO many years on an FCC and FTC-unsupervised spending spree – tossing cash around like one intoxicated with the game and “comp favors” waiting in the frequent-player suite at a casino hotel...

You make what appears to be a valid point - if you think like radio in the 80's. But it's 2007...

Notwithstanding the past five years, my perspective spans the “FM Klondike” of the 80s thru the “Anything and EVERYTHING Klondike” of the post-Telecom late-90s/early-00s. I bought my first facility in the mid-80s and became a “Pop-minus-the-Mom” at the height of corporate radio’s “land grab” after passage of the Local Radio Demolition Act – so I’ve personally-traversed much of the history. Actually, there are but TWO practical differences between those eras: the addition of several integers to the left of the cent-point and THE SOURCE of the capital that filled them... A day at Chicago’s commodity exchange will sufficiently-explain the rest [Vegas comp-favors are only a salacious bonus].

Clear Channel alone made over $197,000,000 after taxes and interest in Q2... If reduces down to about $2,100,000.00 a day... The idea that all the cost savings of consolidation were going to generate better radio was BS.

I would suggest that if you are searching for a picture with the least-pixilation and required airbrushing – avoid the “corporate candor” present at that entity’s website or in its Annual Sales-Pitch [I mean] “Stockholders’ Report”. This SEEMS “impressive”, albeit “scary”; given this company’s formerly-unpredicted size [when the Congress voted “yea”], escalating arrogance, and near-total-disregard for their charge as a PUBLIC TRUSTEE. They are past the point of having to even contemplate the outcome of asking permission for their assorted self-promotion and misadventure. For those living in Rio Linda: In the past 30-years, they have morphed from an outstanding example of pride-driven radio broadcasting offering envied opportunities as an ethical employer and community partner INTO an obese poster-simian—devoid of “art” and driven by a turbo-charged edition of the “size matters – size is the end-all” ethos.

They are a mediocre example of a “corporate citizen” as defined by nearly-ANY retro-recipient of an MBA... I guess I don’t care too much for ‘ole CCU; and for the record: I have never applied and been hired [thus fired] or forcibly-acquired or beaten into ANY form of submission or disadvantage by them... I just don’t respect their current operation [and I was a huge fan of the prior] – how times and the Raydee-O biz change :'( ...And we’re talking about the primary antagonist; dreaming, scheming, and otherwise-FORCEING the current flavor of “HD Radio” upon a disinterested and non-obliging public... Not-so-luckily for CCU [and their intra-ego iNiquity], those “lay” among the masses have the final proxy!

...anyone would agree that the marketing of HD has been less than stellar. However HERE'S a thought and a calculation... Clear Channel decides it wants to have HD radio in cars, so it picks CHRYSLER as the Guinea Pig... HD in every car - $300 ADDITIONAL per car - Consumer gets it for free - Chrysler get's the upgrade for free - CCU Pays...
$300,000,000 cost for the year...

Respectfully; your interesting and creative idea may fail to overcome TWO flawed assumptions, Mr. Inspector:

Let’s find ten CEOs with the requisite imagination to entertain the motion that upon briefly-assuming the identity of Randall Mays, WOULD THEY dramatically-increase the temperature of their chair cushion and agree to gamble HALF of their after-tax profits on the fortunes of Chrysler and that science-fair project known as “HD Radio”? Am I hearing even a one-in-ten projection from this Masters-level Sociology of Business 557 class? I’ll take the “sure-fire A” and say, “ZERO”!

More flawed is your optimistic projection that hordes of brand-loyal GM customers will suddenly forget about those mornings when Mr. Goodwrench gave them a loaner or ride to work while their Chevy was in the service bay – for no-more than the irresistible opportunity to enjoy all the defects of IBOC transmission on their so-called “FREE” HD-equipped Delco radio. Sidebar: VERY-FEW [if ANY] of those initiated into the art of savvy vehicular purchase are going to BELIEVE the “HD upgrade” is REALLY FREE! Furthermore, I can easily think of several-dozen OTHER features that are many-magnitudes of importance ABOVE the mere asterisk that accompanies the radio reception... If I were the Randall Mayes replacement; a SEAT COOLER would be a nice start

 

[clouseau]

Actually, there are but TWO practical differences between ...eras: the addition of several integers to the left of the cent-point and THE SOURCE of the capital that filled them... A day at Chicago’s commodity exchange will sufficiently-explain the rest [Vegas comp-favors are only a salacious bonus].

I think you have over simplified the situation. Clearly CCU (Which I have never worked for either) has found a way to improve station PROFITABILITY. This is caused by a couple of factors.
1) Seriously cheap automation compared to Giant ITC cart carousels, etc...
2) A much more effective sales effort than existied at most stations prior to their aquisition.
3) A much clearer perspective of the "Point of diminishing return" when it comes to an individual station's profitability. (BTW, this particular item has caused what we all perceive as "The Sucky Radio" effect.)

As I see it, they do a much better job of maiking a profit than Mom & Pop did, overall. (Obviously there are individual exceptions)

I would suggest that if you are searching for a picture with the least-pixilation and required airbrushing – avoid the “corporate candor” present at that entity’s website or in its Annual Sales-Pitch [I mean] “Stockholders’ Report”. This SEEMS “impressive”, albeit “scary”; given this company’s formerly-unpredicted size [when the Congress voted “yea”], escalating arrogance, and near-total-disregard for their charge as a PUBLIC TRUSTEE. They are past the point of having to even contemplate the outcome of asking permission for their assorted self-promotion and misadventure. For those living in Rio Linda: In the past 30-years, they have morphed from an outstanding example of pride-driven radio broadcasting offering envied opportunities as an ethical employer and community partner INTO an obese poster-simian—devoid of “art” and driven by a turbo-charged edition of the “size matters – size is the end-all” ethos.

You're a little cryptic here, but I agree, there isn't a pile of CCU history to draw from. Then again, they borrowed the money and are cashflowing the payments with a good chunk of change left over. (Apparently) I would be hesitant to accuse them of "Cooking the books". If you have had contact with them, you know they are always concerned about money and profitability, are intensely focused on sales and don't like to pay for anything not nexcessary to make a profit. (Not always the best course of action as far as I'm concerned, but I don't have enough $$$ to buy pro sports franchises, so I can defer to them on profitability, I guess.)

They are a mediocre example of a “corporate citizen” as defined by nearly-ANY retro-recipient of an MBA... I guess I don’t care too much for ‘ole CCU; and for the record: I have never applied and been hired [thus fired] or forcibly-acquired or beaten into ANY form of submission or disadvantage by them... I just don’t respect their current operation [and I was a huge fan of the prior] – how times and the Raydee-O biz change :'(

Respect is a broad term.
I respect them for ammassing the biggest radio company in the world.
I respect them for finding a way to make more money from existing facilities.
I respect them for finding a way to have numerous owners toiling away at their stations being able to achieve a just reward.

I DON'T respect them for gutting many proud and fine broadcast outlets for a quick buck.

I also respect them for seeing that they don't do small and medium market radio very well and getting out of it.

Say did I mention I don't like them as a company?

Respectfully; your interesting and creative idea may fail to overcome TWO flawed assumptions, Mr. Inspector:

Let’s find ten CEOs with the requisite imagination to entertain the motion that upon briefly-assuming the identity of Randall Mays, WOULD THEY dramatically-increase the temperature of their chair cushion and agree to gamble HALF of their after-tax profits on the fortunes of Chrysler and that science-fair project known as “HD Radio”? Am I hearing even a one-in-ten projection from this Masters-level Sociology of Business 557 class? I’ll take the “sure-fire A” and say, “ZERO”!

I wrote this idea merely to address the allegation that "This CAN'T happen". The fact is...
IT CAN.

I would also almost guarantee that it won't. However even if it doesn't, it shows a degree of ambivilance from CCU which is notable.

More flawed is your optimistic projection that hordes of brand-loyal GM customers will suddenly forget about those mornings when Mr. Goodwrench gave them a loaner or ride to work while their Chevy was in the service bay – for no-more than the irresistible opportunity to enjoy all the defects of IBOC transmission on their so-called “FREE” HD-equipped Delco radio.

Now your doing it again. I never even hinted at this. I said people who are exposed to this may request it in their cars. (Remember back when you could get a factory CB in a Caddy? Because people might want it. Weirder things have happened.) I would suspect very few would change brands based on unavialbility of HD radio. But seriously, why did BMW offer it? Answer, so the salesperson doesn't need to say "NOPE, can't get it".

Sidebar: VERY-FEW [if ANY] of those initiated into the art of savvy vehicular purchase are going to BELIEVE the “HD upgrade” is REALLY FREE! Furthermore, I can easily think of several-dozen OTHER features that are many-magnitudes of importance ABOVE the mere asterisk that accompanies the radio reception... If I were the Randall Mayes replacement; a SEAT COOLER would be a nice start

Cute. But it would not be marketed as an upgrade. That's the whole problem with the "HD Upgrade" If needs to just be there. Like CQUAM was. Remember if you bought a GOOD AM-FM Radio you GOT CQUAM for "Free".

Now let me quash the crazies who will now assert that I am calling for, or expecting this. Not gonna happen. And If you don't like Chrysler, do it at Ford. Get the radio "Upgrade" down to $150 and do 2 million radios.

Fact is, I don't believe "Big Corporate Radio" want's this HD thing enough to do this.

Clouseau

 

[radioskeptic]

In Reply # 40, Savage said:

RE: marketing of IBOC. HD boosters would be well-advised to go to school on how NTSC color TV was marketed in the mid-1950s. Like our beloved HD radio, color TV of the era was controversial, prohibitively expensive and trouble-prone (particularly on the receiving end.) It was initially controversial because of two aggressive competitors who didn't like each other, General David Sarnoff of RCA (proponent of NTSC standards in effect to the present day) and CBS honcho Bill Paley, whose famed engineer Peter Goldmark had cobbled a noncompatible semi-mechanical system that only worked on UHF.

When NTSC prevailed, Sarnoff did NOT run promos on NBC that said, "Buy color TV! We've got ALL the colors: red, cyan, magenta...and a lot of colors in between the colors, too!!"

No. NO! NBC debuted an attractive, albeit initially limited schedule of prime time color shows, highest-profile of which was Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, the old "Disneyland" lured away from B&W ABC. Yep: it took a decade, but NBC ultimately cultivated the market for NTSC color with....say it with me....PROGRAMMING. By the mid-1960s NBC had the first all-color prime time network, and economies of scale brought color sets down within reason. This resulted in a doubling of sales for several years in a row.

You’ve got it mostly right, Bob, but let me straighten out the dates. First, I’ll preface that by quoting what I said about this on another thread:

RCA's early color sets were outrageously expensive, and trouble-prone to boot. And the color was terrible -- grass, sky and sea looked good, but natural flesh tones were impossible to attain -- until the "rare-earth red" phosphor, discovered around 1960, finally made it into production receivers around 1964 (by which time the circuits were becoming more dependable, too)… RCA never expected those early sets to sell to anybody but "early adopters." They were making them at a loss to position the company as an industry leader, in the vain hope that the public would associate color with RCA.

The point is, nobody wanted a color TV that made everybody looked sickly because the skin tones were so unnatural.

Disney moved from ABC to NBC for the 1961-62 season, as did Bullwinkle (the show was called “Rocky and his Friends” on ABC). Both were on Sunday nights. (Disney had been on Wednesdays at 7:30 on ABC, and Rocky had aired at 5:30 Tuesdays and Thursdays.) That was also when Bonanza (the first Western series filmed in color) moved to 9 Sundays, relegating Dinah Shore to Friday nights.
Of course, NBC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RCA then (and of GE now), had been touting compatible color (and let’s not forget that it was, and is, compatible!) by doing live variety shows starring Dinah Shore, Perry Como and others for several years -- not to mention the specials, which NBC VP Sylvester L. (Pat) Weaver (Sigourney's father) liked to call "Spectaculars." But with the breakthrough of that “rare earth” red phosphor, they knew it would have much greater appeal. The increase in the color schedule in 1961 was the advance charge.

Then when RCA licensed the “rare earth” red to other receiver manufacturers (I think in 1963), and demonstrated the difference it made to the other networks, the obvious improvement made them jump on the bandwagon too. NBC's prime-time schedule went virtually all-color in 1964, and both CBS and ABC began doing at least some colorcasting that year. They knew there would now be an audience

 

[Chuck]

Then when RCA licensed the “rare earth” red to other receiver manufacturers (I think in 1963), and demonstrated the difference it made to the other networks, the obvious improvement made them jump on the bandwagon too. NBC's prime-time schedule went virtually all-color in 1964, and both CBS and ABC began doing at least some colorcasting that year. They knew there would now be an audience

I think you will check your notes, Sylvania, (eventually GTE) not RCA, should be credited with "Rare Earth" phosphors. A gentleman named Lee Davenport was one of the scientists involved in it. Lee also was one of the early pioneers of radar during WW II. He's been featured on a few PBS shows on the topic, and he is still alive and well. http://www.union.edu/N/DS/edition_display.php?e=1445&s=7314

I'm happy to call him a friend.

 

[radioskeptic]

Sorry about that, Chuck -- and my apologies to Lee Davenport et al.

But at least I think I got the dates right. And I'm sure that it was the prospect of finally having a picture tube that could render good flesh tones that made color TV finally look viable to ABC and CBS.

I do remember seeing the early sets, and thinking I prefered B/W to the sallow flesh tones of the original, undersaturated red phosper, which looked even worse by contrast with the vivid blues and greens on those sets.

And I DO remember that when I saw the first color TV that ever impressed me (favorably, that is) in the Fall of 1964, it was a Sylvania!

 

[Chuck]

Sorry about that, Chuck -- and my apologies to Lee Davenport et al.

But at least I think I got the dates right. And I'm sure that it was the prospect of finally having a picture tube that could render good flesh tones that made color TV finally look viable to ABC and CBS.

I do remember seeing the early sets, and thinking I prefered B/W to the sallow flesh tones of the original, undersaturated red phosper, which looked even worse by contrast with the vivid blues and greens on those sets.

And I DO remember that when I saw the first color TV that ever impressed me (favorably, that is) in the Fall of 1964, it was a Sylvania!

For a while, Sylvania picture tubes ran rings around anything else on the market. The real "deal closer" for color was the Sony Trinitron. Sony gets the credit, but the basic design was done by Philco. They called it the "Apple" Tube. Sony figured out how to do it. Philco never did.

To be honest though, I think price had as much to do with it as anything, although the advent of the rectangular picture tube was significant as well.. For years entry-level round picture tube sets from RCA and others hovered around $395.00 retail, with an occasional "loss leader" around $350. Most were $499 to $799 with a few sets over $1000.00. When the Japanese started importing sets in the mid 60's there were several color sets for as little as $199. They all had rectangular picture tubes, which was a bigger deal than the color quality. I think GE even had a stripped down version their "Porta-Color" set for about $159.95, which was just a bit more than a typical 19" B&W set. I remember buying a Hitachi 17” rectangular color portable (with UHF) for $169.95 about 1967. That was quite a deal. It lasted a good 15 years, which was quite remarkable.

Things really took off when the prices came down. Back then ,most people wouldn't know a good picture if it bit them on the a$$. One of my many jobs in my early years was as a TV repairman. You'd go to people's houses and find the TV playing with purple faces, green sky and blue grass. Amazingly, that wasn't why they had you do a service call. They actually liked it that way. It wasn't at all unusual to spend 20 minutes working on it so the color was relatively good, just to have them complain that you "broke" their set.

HDTV is repeating that situation. It is amazing how many people buy very nice HDTV sets and never connect them up so they can actually watch HD. Instead, they sit mindlessly in front of the thing watching bad cable in VHS quality. Because people seem to be so clueless, it gives me little hope that many will actually figure out the good points of HD radio. That will require some work, and most people just won’t bother. There are too many other distractions.

Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the public