HD Radio - New Initiatives

[kfbkfb]

http://www.twice.com/article/457777-HD_Radio_Outlines_New_Initiatives.php

The HD Radio Alliance is teaming up with major retailers and
CE brands to launch a 100-market radio campaign to drive
consumers into stores to buy HD Radio during the fourth quarter.

Kirk Bayne
http://avdtv.tripod.com/avdtv.htm

 

[tomservo]

*sigh*

They still don't get it.

You don't get radios in people's hands by telling them to go out and buy them. No one buys radios anymore! They buy things (cars, alarm clocks, phones, mp3 players, home theater systems) that happen to have radios built in.

Therefore, getting more people in HD means getting HD into more products and not depending on fourth-tier bottom dwelling companies like Insignia or Coby to release HD radio only devices.

And it CERTAINLY does not entail putting a low res color screen for album artwork and ADVERTISEMENTS on the display for me to look at while I'm DRIVING. Arrrgh.

 

[mmnassour]

<crickets>

AND...you don't get people to LISTEN once you force your stream onto their devices unless you have (all together now) compelling local content!

We don't want to listen to your tired old playlists.

 

[Savage]

How does the song go?

"Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss."

 

[KB1OKL]

I hate to say it but there's just one more reason to keep avoiding FM radio.

 

[local oscillator]

Wow!!! I was waiting for the next great HD Radio Alliance ad campaign!!! It's been just too long since the last one! I'm going through withdrawal symptoms, but I'll be better soon! How exciting!!! Now if the NAB would just come up with a sequel to "Radio Heard Here," my holiday season would be complete!

 

[landtuna]

WOW! You guys are *cough, cough* "savage"! ;D

 

[JohnnyElectron]

load up the HD2 and HD3 with niche formats for fiercy local listeners (steal format ideas from XM radio and reproduce them on your HD2 and HD3 signals!)

 

[TheBigA]

load up the HD2 and HD3 with niche formats for fiercy local listeners (steal format ideas from XM radio and reproduce them on your HD2 and HD3 signals!)

Actually, that's what a lot of them have done. You see how much those niche formats have helped sales of XM, right?

Look...contrary to what people say, they don't care about niche formats. They really don't care about compelling local content. The fact is, and this came out in a study at the NAB, that people are lazy, have terrible taste in music, and are quite satisfied with the playlists, the quality, and the level of localism currently available on AM & FM radio. They augment it with some cool new gadgets, but they like the cool new gadgets because they're cool and new, not because of compelling local content. Because, for the most part, it doesn't exist anywhere outside of AM & FM. There is no strong compelling motivation for satellite, HD, or even internet radio. In fact the only devices selling worse than HD radios are internet table radios. No one's buying.

 

[mmnassour]

You'll forgive me if I don't put much credence in any NAB study at this point. (This WAS a NAB funded study, right? If not, I'd love to see it.)

However, you're right in that there is no compelling motivation for alternate radio at this point. The programming isn't there. The only place radio still has a toehold for most folks is in the car and that's slipping. They day Internet access becomes common in motor vehicles is the day when radio is pushin' up the daisies.

But let's not include Internet radio in this. It's a niche product that only a few of use give a darn about. At $200+ for anything decent, how could it be anything else?

 

[TheBigA]

You'll forgive me if I don't put much credence in any NAB study at this point. (This WAS a NAB funded study, right? If not, I'd love to see it.)

It wasn't an NAB study, nor was it funded by the NAB. It was just presented at the convention.

However, you're right in that there is no compelling motivation for alternate radio at this point. The programming isn't there.

My point is that the programming IS there. Especially at NPR stations. If you listened, you'd know. But although the programming is there, listeners are lazy and happy with what they have.

 

[hubcity]

However, you're right in that there is no compelling motivation for alternate radio at this point. The programming isn't there.

Here's the funny thing: it's going to get harder and harder to convince advertisers to spend money on radio, period. Wonder when the first wave of member-supported formats will begin to encroach on the 92.1+ part of the band?

 

[R.F. Burns]

In the NY market post 92.1 non commercial stations have existed for years. WNYC 93.9, & WBAI 99.5 are two full power non commercial FM's. WFME 94.7 is a non commercial (sorta-Family Radio) operation. I'm not certain if they sell block time to religious outfits, but they don't do spot sales. WQXR is now a non commercial FM station on 105.9 Mhz.

 

[Chuck]

Here's the funny thing: it's going to get harder and harder to convince advertisers to spend money on radio, period. Wonder when the first wave of member-supported formats will begin to encroach on the 92.1+ part of the band?

Radio is a hard sell right now. Adding additional channels just makes it harder.

Back in the "good old days," there were maybe a half dozen viable stations in many markets. Small markets had even less. You could buy spots on two or three of them and know that 50-60% of the radio listeners in the market heard your message. Buy the right stations and maybe you could get as much as 75-80% penetration. That made radio attractive to advertisers.

Today, there are 30 or 40 stations in the same market. You'd need to buy time a lot of stations to achieve that 50-60% penetration. The cost to do that makes other media more attractive to a lot of advertisers.

The HD folks would like us to further dilute our product by adding sub channels. That might work in some markets, but I'd like to see some numbers to support any claim of success. I doubt very seriously that it has happened in any meaningful sampling. In smaller markets, it makes absolutely no business sense whatsoever. Maybe that's why the HD roll-out seems to have stalled.

 

[mmnassour]

My point is that the programming IS there. Especially at NPR stations. If you listened, you'd know. But although the programming is there, listeners are lazy and happy with what they have.

Well, we're just going to have to disagree about the programming being "there". Yes, NPR stations are doing some nice things. But I don't think there's a single person here who would call HD commercial radio innovative.

And yes, those people currently listening to radio are apparently happy with it because, well, they are still listening <grin>. But to the next generation (12-25 years old) radio is what's in Dad's car, not something they care about. And that's the death knell for this business.

 

[TheBigA]

But to the next generation (12-25 years old) radio is what's in Dad's car, not something they care about. And that's the death knell for this business.

Edison Research just put out an interesting study on that group, and it breaks a few myths. It's in the news section of R-I.

 

[davideduardo]

Today, there are 30 or 40 stations in the same market. You'd need to buy time a lot of stations to achieve that 50-60% penetration. The cost to do that makes other media more attractive to a lot of advertisers.

Los Angeles has over 90 licensed stations within the market.

In sales demos, the top 10 stations have about 45% of the audience on average. Their unduplicated cume reach is about 85% of the market (KIIS, with betweena 5 and 6 share there has about a 33% cume reach). So, doing a campaign on just a few stations will likely reach much of a target even in LA.

 

[tomservo]

I'm surprised that more HD subchannels aren't devoted to "flanking" formats. I think of how Cox in Birmingham operates a country station, and uses a lesser signal to highlight contemporary country. They can't single handedly knock off the #1 country outlet so they do a 1-2 punch to siphon off as many listeners as possible.

In some markets, the HD-2 seems to be taking on that duty, with CHRs having dance subchannels, for example. Or country stations carrying a classic country/bluegrass subchannel. But then I'll come across an Hot AC doing 50's/60's oldies, or variety hits with a comedy subchannel. Those don't make as much sense. In St Louis, if I remember correctly, AC outlet The Arch has a religious subchannel through Bonneville. That's just odd.

Unless a company decides to put on their AM talker or sports station, I think the sensible thing to do is put on a complimentary HD-2 format. Listeners may stray from the main channel and its advertising, but they're still on channel. (Why not run the ads on both the main channel and the subchannel? There's not a rule against ads on the subchannel anymore, are there?)

 

[TSL2]

Time spent listening is down, listeners still like radio but now have more gadgets that take up their time. TSL was 2:45 not it's 1:45. Expect it to continue to decline we haven't hit bottom yet.

Also, our listers like listening to what they want, when they want...

You'll forgive me if I don't put much credence in any NAB study at this point. (This WAS a NAB funded study, right? If not, I'd love to see it.)

It wasn't an NAB study, nor was it funded by the NAB. It was just presented at the convention.

However, you're right in that there is no compelling motivation for alternate radio at this point. The programming isn't there.

My point is that the programming IS there. Especially at NPR stations. If you listened, you'd know. But although the programming is there, listeners are lazy and happy with what they have.

 

[TheBigA]

Time spent listening is down, listeners still like radio but now have more gadgets that take up their time. TSL was 2:45 not it's 1:45. Expect it to continue to decline we haven't hit bottom yet.

The TSL figure is an average, and it depends on the format. For some formats, TSL is up.