"HD Radio Grabs the Ear of Satellite Rivals"

[PocketRadio]

"HD Radio Grabs the Ear of Satellite Rivals"

"In 2006, the number of HD radio receivers sold was about 200,000. That number is projected to reach 1.5 million this year, according to the HD Digital Radio Alliance... It's not news to us that HD radio is a competitor, Karmazin said... Peter Ferrara, president and chief executive of the HD Digital Radio Alliance, said he thinks satellite radio is complimentary to traditional radio."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070201730.html?hpid=sec-tech

"XM + SIRIUS = MONOPOLY"

http://xmsiriusmonopoly.org/

No, according to Struble the TOTAL number of HD radios sold is 150,000 (yea, right) - Bridge Rating's does not expect more than 500,000 HD radios sold by the end of 2007 (yea, right). Well Peter, you do not consider Satellite Radio a competitor ?

 

[Mike Walker]

Bridge Ratings is just guessing Everybody is just guessing. Ibiquity is holding sales figures close to the vest. They WILL release them at some point in the future, but other than a few manufacturers who have said they have sold thousands, nobody knows. Nobody. EVERYBODY is guessing. And everybody is probably wrong.

By the way...Apple hasn't released true sales figures for the iphone, either. Everybody is also guessing on it's sales.

 

[PocketRadio]

Bridge Ratings is just guessing Everybody is just guessing. Ibiquity is holding sales figures close to the vest. They WILL release them at some point in the future, but other than a few manufacturers who have said they have sold thousands, nobody knows. Nobody. EVERYBODY is guessing. And everybody is probably wrong.

By the way...Apple hasn't released true sales figures for the iphone, either. Everybody is also guessing on it's sales.

"AT&T: virtually sold out of Apple iPhones last night; admits some activation problems"

"AT&T Inc. sold almost all its initial stock of Apple Inc.'s iPhone within hours of the device going on sale, an AT&T spokesman said on Saturday, Reuters reports. An Apple spokesman was not immediately available to comment on the number of iPhones sold at its 162 U.S. outlets. Virtually all of our stores sold out of the iPhone last night,' AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said, declining to specify how many units had been sold, Reuters reports. AT&T... runs about 1,800 stores in the United States, Reuters reports."

http://www.macdailynews.com/index.p...rtually_sold_out_of_apple_iphones_last_night/

You get the idea !

“But is ‘availability’ of HD radios the problem?”

“And one broadcaster reported to me that he asked an iBiquity rep how many HD radios had actually been sold as of the most recent accounting. And this was his answer: 150,000.”

http://www.hear2.com/2007/04/but_is_availabi.html

150,000 HD radios sold minus the fudge-factor and returns puts the number in the tens-of-thousands - if a zillion HD radios were being sold, then the number wouln't be such a secret.

 

[R.F. Burns]

Bridge Ratings is just guessing Everybody is just guessing. Ibiquity is holding sales figures close to the vest. They WILL release them at some point in the future, but other than a few manufacturers who have said they have sold thousands, nobody knows. Nobody. EVERYBODY is guessing. And everybody is probably wrong.

By the way...Apple hasn't released true sales figures for the iphone, either. Everybody is also guessing on it's sales.

"AT&T: virtually sold out of Apple iPhones last night; admits some activation problems"

"AT&T Inc. sold almost all its initial stock of Apple Inc.'s iPhone within hours of the device going on sale, an AT&T spokesman said on Saturday, Reuters reports. An Apple spokesman was not immediately available to comment on the number of iPhones sold at its 162 U.S. outlets. Virtually all of our stores sold out of the iPhone last night,' AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said, declining to specify how many units had been sold, Reuters reports. AT&T... runs about 1,800 stores in the United States, Reuters reports."

http://www.macdailynews.com/index.p...rtually_sold_out_of_apple_iphones_last_night/

You get the idea !

“But is ‘availability’ of HD radios the problem?”

“And one broadcaster reported to me that he asked an iBiquity rep how many HD radios had actually been sold as of the most recent accounting. And this was his answer: 150,000.”

http://www.hear2.com/2007/04/but_is_availabi.html

150,000 HD radios sold minus the fudge-factor and returns puts the number in the tens-of-thousands - if a zillion HD radios were being sold, then the number wouln't be such a secret.

Who cares. IBOC marches on and will be coming to a town near you soon.

 

[PocketRadio]

Who cares. IBOC marches on and will be coming to a town near you soon.

“4/4/07 - FCC: Market to Decide Fate of HD Radio”

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/0407.htm

Who cares about how many stations are broadcasting in HD - consumers will decide the fate of HD Radio. I'de love to see the look on Struble's face every day, with that empty box of rebates sitting on his desk !

 

[R.F. Burns]

Who cares. IBOC marches on and will be coming to a town near you soon.

“4/4/07 - FCC: Market to Decide Fate of HD Radio”

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/0407.htm

Who cares about how many stations are broadcasting in HD - consumers will decide the fate of HD Radio. I'de love to see the look on Struble's face every day, with that empty box of rebates sitting on his desk !

Y'know what? I have a life and have more to concern me than how the sales of HD radios are doing. I just bought my third and am happy with it. That's all I care about.

 

[Chuck]

Who cares. IBOC marches on and will be coming to a town near you soon.

You should, because warts and all, (and I'm sure there are some) the I-Phone represents a paradigm shift in the way the public will be getting news, information, music and all those other things that used to be pretty much exclusive to radio and maybe TV.

This may happen well after you are retired, and I'm too old to care, but sooner or later, everyone will carry some type of device like this. It will be all they need to communicate with their friends and business associates, get their news, listen to music or sports, draw a map to wherever they are going and give instant access to more information than a shelf full of encyclopedias. The method of deliver really won't matter, and HD will not be of any consequence to these devices.

The sooner the broadcasting industry figures this out and gets with the program, the better their chances of long term success. What broadcasting really does is provides content. How it gets from the station to the listener is going to be increasingly irrelevant. In my view, HD is just a diversion that may distract many broadcasters from the real task at hand. The I-phone should serve as a really big wake up call.

 

[dbdigital]

Bridge Ratings is just guessing Everybody is just guessing. Ibiquity is holding sales figures close to the vest. They WILL release them at some point in the future, but other than a few manufacturers who have said they have sold thousands, nobody knows. Nobody. EVERYBODY is guessing. And everybody is probably wrong.

By the way...Apple hasn't released true sales figures for the iphone, either. Everybody is also guessing on it's sales.

Sure iBiquity is holding these figures close to its vest. With embarrassing numbers like less than 200K HD-Radios sold in three years, I'd do it too.

In contrast, Apple has much to crow about. According to Bloomberg:

"Apple Inc. ran out of iPhones at more than half its stores less than a week after introducing the combination iPod music player and handset in the U.S. Buyers emptied outlets in 10 states, with 95 of 164 stores reporting sellouts last night, according to Apple's Web site."

And:

"Shoppers may have taken home as many as 700,000 iPhones over the weekend, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst David Bailey has estimated, twice his initial projection."

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a7A4BDWusr2U

Whether you like the iPhone or not, whether you like the iPod or not, or whether you love or hate Mac users (which I am), to paraphrase Mr. Burns: 'Who cares. The (iPhone) marches on and will be coming to a town near you soon.'

db

 

[PocketRadio]

Who cares. IBOC marches on and will be coming to a town near you soon.

“4/4/07 - FCC: Market to Decide Fate of HD Radio”

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/0407.htm

Who cares about how many stations are broadcasting in HD - consumers will decide the fate of HD Radio. I'de love to see the look on Struble's face every day, with that empty box of rebates sitting on his desk !

Y'know what? I have a life and have more to concern me than how the sales of HD radios are doing. I just bought my third and am happy with it. That's all I care about.

Thanks for reminding me - let me amend my original statement:

"150,000 HD radios sold minus the fudge-factor and returns puts the number in the tens-of-thousands - if a zillion HD radios were being sold, then the number wouln't be such a secret."

to:

150,000 HD radios sold minus the fudge-factor, returns, and mutiple HD radios bought by radio-geeks puts the number of actual HD Radio listeners in the tens-of-thousands - even Bridge Ratings assumed that there are 450,000 HD Radio listeners (150,000 HD radios sold x 3 listeners/radio).

 

[vistasuxx]

Who cares. IBOC marches on and will be coming to a town near you soon.

You should, because warts and all, (and I'm sure there are some) the I-Phone represents a paradigm shift in the way the public will be getting news, information, music and all those other things that used to be pretty much exclusive to radio and maybe TV.

This may happen well after you are retired, and I'm too old to care, but sooner or later, everyone will carry some type of device like this. It will be all they need to communicate with their friends and business associates, get their news, listen to music or sports, draw a map to wherever they are going and give instant access to more information than a shelf full of encyclopedias. The method of deliver really won't matter, and HD will not be of any consequence to these devices.

The sooner the broadcasting industry figures this out and gets with the program, the better their chances of long term success. What broadcasting really does is provides content. How it gets from the station to the listener is going to be increasingly irrelevant. In my view, HD is just a diversion that may distract many broadcasters from the real task at hand. The I-phone should serve as a really big wake up call.

I read comments about the iPhone and all other types of internet devices here and I wonder why they're being discussed at all on a radio board.

Radio is broadcasting. We're sending audio designed for a mass audience to a mass audience. The iPhone, like any other internet appliance is about content that is very different from what radio can or should deliver.

Comparing radio and the iPhone is comparing apples and oranges. No pun intended.

 

[Chuck]

Radio is broadcasting. We're sending audio designed for a mass audience to a mass audience. The iPhone, like any other internet appliance is about content that is very different from what radio can or should deliver.

My point is that perhaps it is time to rethink that concept. If, all of a sudden, there are millions of people who have a device in their pocket that is capable of listening to "something," perhaps broadcasters might want to be the ones who provide that "something."

I suspect that something along that line is the real "New Generation Radio," which is what this area comes under. If you are going to make a sound business decision, it is important to at least be familiar with other competing possibilities.

 

[dbdigital]

Radio is broadcasting. We're sending audio designed for a mass audience to a mass audience. The iPhone, like any other internet appliance is about content that is very different from what radio can or should deliver.

My point is that perhaps it is time to rethink that concept. If, all of a sudden, there are millions of people who have a device in their pocket that is capable of listening to "something," perhaps broadcasters might want to be the ones who provide that "something."

I suspect that something along that line is the real "New Generation Radio," which is what this area comes under. If you are going to make a sound business decision, it is important to at least be familiar with other competing possibilities.

I suppose, technically, since the iPhone receives it's content from a transmitter it is radio broadcasting.

But, as Chuck pointed out, the delivery and receiving methods for radio (in the entertainment/information sense) is expanding to include devices like the iPhone. The very fact that rating services now measure radio listening by internet shows that the broadcast industry recognizes, albeit slowly and tacitly, this expansion.

db

 

[R.F. Burns]

Radio is broadcasting. We're sending audio designed for a mass audience to a mass audience. The iPhone, like any other internet appliance is about content that is very different from what radio can or should deliver.

My point is that perhaps it is time to rethink that concept. If, all of a sudden, there are millions of people who have a device in their pocket that is capable of listening to "something," perhaps broadcasters might want to be the ones who provide that "something."

I suspect that something along that line is the real "New Generation Radio," which is what this area comes under. If you are going to make a sound business decision, it is important to at least be familiar with other competing possibilities.

I suppose, technically, since the iPhone receives it's content from a transmitter it is radio broadcasting.

But, as Chuck pointed out, the delivery and receiving methods for radio (in the entertainment/information sense) is expanding to include devices like the iPhone. The very fact that rating services now measure radio listening by internet shows that the broadcast industry recognizes, albeit slowly and tacitly, this expansion.

db

Let me comment please. I think we're confusing broadcasting with radio. Broadcasters use radio. Broadcasters also deliver programs via the internet, on television, over a PA system and in many other ways. Not to be redundant, radio is one of the technologies used by broadcasters. As an Amature Extra license holder I use a radio. As to commercial radio broadcasting, HD is a technology employed on the commercial broadcast bands as a method of eventually converting transmission systems from analog to digital. All of these other systems which are being brought up here are equivalent to arguing that television will burry radio. Radio broadcasting has in the past and will continue to adapt to changing technological challenges.

 

[Chuck]

<snip> I think we're confusing broadcasting with radio. <snip>
Radio broadcasting has in the past and will continue to adapt to changing technological challenges.

So which is it? Radio or Broadcasting? You really did not make the distinction a clear one.

I think it is all Broadcasting. The delivery method has little to do with the product. The whole point is distributing programming to the masses. The deliver method will not fix any problems that are inherent to the content of the broadcast.

 

[R.F. Burns]

<snip> I think we're confusing broadcasting with radio. <snip>
Radio broadcasting has in the past and will continue to adapt to changing technological challenges.

So which is it? Radio or Broadcasting? You really did not make the distinction a clear one.

I think it is all Broadcasting. The delivery method has little to do with the product. The whole point is distributing programming to the masses. The deliver method will not fix any problems that are inherent to the content of the broadcast.

HD is a radio technology. HD has nothing technologically to do with broadcasting. It's like saying that Stereo multiplex has anything to do with programing.

 

[Chuck]

It's like saying that Stereo multiplex has anything to do with programing.

Not a very good analogy. If history is any teacher the advent of FM stereo had quite a bit to do with programming.

I think it is ALL broadcasting. I suggest finding a copy of Marshall McLuhan's "The Medium is the Message." It's a bit dated, but he made some good points that are still valid.

 

[R.F. Burns]

It's like saying that Stereo multiplex has anything to do with programing.

Not a very good analogy. If history is any teacher the advent of FM stereo had quite a bit to do with programming.

I think it is ALL broadcasting. I suggest finding a copy of Marshall McLuhan's "The Medium is the Message." It's a bit dated, but he made some good points that are still valid.

However, I am strictly adhearing to definitions. I use HF, vhf & uhf ham radios, are those radios the same as what we hear on AM or FM? Technologically similar but that's it. They have nothing to do with one another. Broadcasters make use of technology but they are two different things.

 

[vsa]

It's like saying that Stereo multiplex has anything to do with programing.

Not a very good analogy. If history is any teacher the advent of FM stereo had quite a bit to do with programming.

I think it is ALL broadcasting. I suggest finding a copy of Marshall McLuhan's "The Medium is the Message." It's a bit dated, but he made some good points that are still valid.

However, I am strictly adhearing to definitions. I use HF, vhf & uhf ham radios, are those radios the same as what we hear on AM or FM? Technologically similar but that's it. They have nothing to do with one another. Broadcasters make use of technology but they are two different things.

Which reveals and explains why you are such a rabbid HD radio booster. To you, "radio" is only allowed to be delivered via AM or FM. You are a prisoner of definitions.

The public does not think like this. Radio geeks do.

A superior method has been invented to deliver what radio has historically delivered. This new method, the Internet, can do this and so much more without the limitations of stick and transmitter technologies.

The old railroad companies, who used to be the kings of transportation, are a mere shell of themselves today because they defined themselves as only being in the train business. Therefore, they essentially stayed out of the air and truck transportation business - which eventually whipped their butts.

The same thing will unfortunately happen to most "radio" broadcasters. Wake up before your butt gets whipped!

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

I read comments about the iPhone and all other types of internet devices here and I wonder why they're being discussed at all on a radio board.

Radio is broadcasting. We're sending audio designed for a mass audience to a mass audience. The iPhone, like any other internet appliance is about content that is very different from what radio can or should deliver.

Comparing radio and the iPhone is comparing apples and oranges. No pun intended.

If you want to stay stuck in the past, that's your call...but your assertion is 100%, Grade-A horse manure. Radio companies no longer transmit their content just over the air via energy-hungry transmitters, tall towers and acres of land. Radio companies are content providers, and it matters not what the actual delivery medium is. Any radio company which believes it can stay RF-only will, in short order, be out of business, while the rest of the industry passes them by. The company I work for has already stated to its employees that it is NOT solely a "radio" company. In addition to feeding audio to transmitters, we stream, podcast, text, and push content...and that's where the future is. With the number of cell phones out there which can receive more than just phone calls, what makes you think cell phones are not just as much a mass medium as radio is?

Try visiting a college campus sometime. Watch how the students get their entertainment and information content. Hint: It ain't via old-fashioned radio (which, to them, is their parents' medium, reason enough not to use it). But, every single one of them has an MP3 player and a cell phone (quite possibly, both in the same unit). The college students of today are the coveted 25-54 demo of tomorrow. They don't have the radio habit that previous generations had. That's where we're headed. Ignore it at your own peril.