iBiquity, Broadcasters Announce "Second Generation" of HD2 Programming

[DToTheJ]

Press release:
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/...nd-generation-of-hd2-programming,392469.shtml

From Classic to Cutting Edge, Stations Demonstrating Unprecedented Creativity With 70 Million Radios Sold Annually, Huge Opportunity for Consumers to Upgrade All Their Radios and Receive New Programming for FREE

ORLANDO, Fla., May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The HD Digital Radio Alliance, a joint initiative of leading radio broadcasters to accelerate consumer adoption of HD Digital Radio, today announced that member companies are continuing the outpour of creativity and ingenuity with the second generation of HD2 programming by providing airtime to local and unsigned acts, bringing beloved stations back on the air, and offering unparalleled relevance for various demographics. Additionally, consumers purchase 70 million radios annually, and there are plenty of reasons to upgrade all those receivers to HD Radio.

"The Alliance members and many other engaged broadcasters know it's up to them to drive and deliver excellent programming on their HD2 and HD3 stations. It's also imperative that broadcasters market that programming to listeners," said Peter Ferrara, president and CEO of the HD Digital Radio Alliance. "Manufacturers are making a plethora of HD Radio receivers, retailers are putting HD Radios on their shelves (or on-line), and now the programming must motivate listeners to upgrade their radios to HD Radio."

From classic to cutting edge

With the additional stations that broadcasters are adding to the dial, new and emerging artists are able to receive airtime. If you want to hear a local, unsigned band, the nearest coffeehouse isn't your only option anymore. Stations on HD2 are playing global and unsigned acts, with some allowing bands to become actively involved with the ability to upload their music online for possible airplay. Also, local tastes can be experienced in various markets with these new, fresh formats. Be sure to check out indie music from these stations:

-- "iChannel" (Bonneville / Chicago, IL; Washington, DC; St. Louis, MO;
Salt Lake City, UT)
-- "Radio You Boston" (Greater Media / Boston, MA)
-- "Local 107 -- Local Artists" (Emmis / Austin, TX)
-- "Indie & Ultra-New Rock" (CBS Radio / Boston, MA)
-- "Local Music" (Entercom / Seattle, WA)
-- "Indie Rock" (Clear Channel / Portland, OR; Oklahoma City, OK, Seattle,
WA)
-- "Rock Independent Radio -- 94.7 Too" (Entercom / Portland, OR)
-- "erockster" (Clear Channel / Los Angeles, CA; Philadelphia, PA;
Washington, DC)
-- "RIFF2" (Greater Media / Detroit, MI)


Stations that you thought were long gone are now being revived on HD2. The extra stations allow for old formats that were once on the radio to return once again, with some featuring live performances from your favorite bands of the past. There are also formats that have recently been flipped on analog FM that are finding new life on HD2. Rediscover some of your other favorite stations here:

-- "Live Rock -- WMMR Archives" (Greater Media / Philadelphia, PA)
-- "WNEW" (CBS Radio / New York, NY)
-- "Smooth Jazz" -- (Clear Channel / Pittsburgh, PA)
-- "80s Based Adult Hits" (CBS Radio / Las Vegas, NV; McAllen-Brownsville-
Harlingen, TX, New York, NY)
-- "Radio Free Hawaii" (Clear Channel / Hawaii)
-- "Haney's Big House 96.1 HD2" (Beasley / Ft. Myers-Naples-Marco Island,
FL)
-- "Classical Music" (Greater Media / Philadelphia, PA)


Further fulfilling on the promise of HD by offering niche stations that are hyper-focused to target audiences, HD Radio gives broadcasters the chance to provide an even more robust radio dial. Stations can focus on a specific targeted group on HD2 and concentrate to their particular tastes. Formats that speak to various demographics include:

-- "Gretchen 99.9" (Beasley / Miami, FL)
-- "Country/Southern Rock" (Citadel / Atlanta, GA)
-- "Old Skool Hip Hop" (Clear Channel / Boston, MA)
-- "Punk Young Alternative" (Emmis / Chicago, IL)
-- "Oldies" (Buckley / Hartford-New Britain-Middletown, CT)
-- "80's Channel" (WBEB / Philadelphia, PA)
-- "Chick Rock" (CBS Radio / Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX)
-- "International Hits" (Bonneville / Cincinnati, OH)
-- "Solid Gold 106" (Beasley / Ft. Myers-Naples-Marco Island, FL)


"We know from our research if consumers hear content they can relate to in their market -- and they can find it easily on HDRadio.com -- the programming will inspire them to buy an HD Radio," said Diane Warren, executive vice president of the HD Digital Radio Alliance. "These great new stations only scratch the surface of the technology's capabilities. Combined with the station listener's love on the AM and FM dial, a new HD Radio provides them with an even richer and more exciting experience. The work the broadcasters are doing is impressive and they're maximizing the opportunities with these new stations by giving listeners more choices while demonstrating their capacity for innovation -- so stay tuned."

Station guide available

Finding stations broadcasting digitally has been made easier with the station guide that is featured on hundreds of Alliance Web sites. They can tune-in to the stations they love on their radio dial now and the new formats in their hometown. Donning a flashy new logo, the multicast stations stand out in a bold orange box, making it simple to locate the new stations in a market that can only be heard with an HD Radio. Moreover, users can now print out the station guide to take on the go or carry along with them on road trips and discover the new stations in various markets.

Millions of radios sold annually

With consumers purchasing 70 million radios every year, including 6 million aftermarket receivers, and over four radio receivers in each household in the U.S., the prospects for selling HD Radios are exceptionally bright. Whether for the home, office, your "NOW" car or your "NEW" car, there's an HD Radio out there to fit your every consumer need. Also, with receivers now as low as $89.99 and as high-end as home entertainment systems, there's a price-point that's right for any consumer.

Momentum has been accelerating for HD Radio, with over 1,600 stations around the country broadcasting in HD and over 800 HD2 / HD3 stations. There are more than 60 unique HD Radio receiver models available, national and regional retailers are onboard, and automakers backing the technology include Toyota Scion, Mercedes, Ford, Volvo, BMW, MINI USA, Jaguar, and Hyundai.

About the HD Digital Radio Alliance

The HD Digital Radio Alliance is a joint initiative of leading radio broadcasters to accelerate the successful rollout of HD Digital Radio. Current members include major radio groups and independent station owners: Beasley Broadcast Group, Bonneville International, Buckley Radio, CBS Radio, Citadel Broadcasting / ABC Radio, Clear Channel Radio, Emmis Communications, Entercom, Greater Media and WBEB Philadelphia. For more information on HD Digital Radio, visit http://hdradio.com

HDRadio.com now offers a full range of radios from a wide variety of manufacturers for your "NOW" car and your "NEW" car. Select from a simple-to-use buyer's guide that can sort by device manufacturer and price. Easily find a station broadcasting in HD and additional formats you can only hear on an HD Radio with the station guide.

SOURCE HD Digital Radio Alliance

 

[GreedMongers]

From Classic to Cutting Edge, Stations Demonstrating Unprecedented Creativity With 70 Million Radios Sold Annually, Huge Opportunity for Consumers to Upgrade All Their Radios and Receive New Programming for FREE.

What you really mean is that most of the HD channel programming is just clever reworks off the main analog channels.

Additionally, consumers purchase 70 million radios annually, and there are plenty of reasons to upgrade all those receivers to HD Radio.

What you really mean is that 70 million ANALOG radios, which has been in decline for years.

"Manufacturers are making a plethora of HD Radio receivers, retailers are putting HD Radios on their shelves (or on-line), and now the programming must motivate listeners to upgrade their radios to HD Radio."

What you really mean is that retailers have just about stopped stocking these clunkers, and the ones that do, have reserved dusty shelf space at the back of the store, or in the case of Radio Shack, putting the HD radios on clearance.

Stations that you thought were long gone are now being revived on HD2. The extra stations allow for old formats that were once on the radio to return once again, with some featuring live performances from your favorite bands of the past. There are also formats that have recently been flipped on analog FM that are finding new life on HD2. Rediscover some of your other favorite stations here:

What you really mean is that Gen Y has abandoned radio for iPods, cell phones, the Internet, Pandora, Slacker, Last.fm, etc, so might as well just concentrate on Gen X.

Further fulfilling on the promise of HD by offering niche stations that are hyper-focused to target audiences, HD Radio gives broadcasters the chance to provide an even more robust radio dial. Stations can focus on a specific targeted group on HD2 and concentrate to their particular tastes. Formats that speak to various demographics include:

What you really mean is that Satellite Radio found out that niche channels have the poorest ratings.

"We know from our research if consumers hear content they can relate to in their market -- and they can find it easily on HDRadio.com -- the programming will inspire them to buy an HD Radio," said Diane Warren, executive vice president of the HD Digital Radio Alliance.

What you really mean is that this is the same tired fluff that we have been hearing for the past three years.

Finding stations broadcasting digitally has been made easier with the station guide that is featured on hundreds of Alliance Web sites. They can tune-in to the stations they love on their radio dial now and the new formats in their hometown. Donning a flashy new logo, the multicast stations stand out in a bold orange box, making it simple to locate the new stations in a market that can only be heard with an HD Radio. Moreover, users can now print out the station guide to take on the go or carry along with them on road trips and discover the new stations in various markets.

What you really mean is that navigating the HD dial is a nightmare, as with Satellite Radio, except one has to put up with 5 to 10 second acquisition/reacquisition delays, and dropouts on the HD channels having no analog backups.

Millions of radios sold annually...

What you really mean is that the Alliance didn't specify "HD radios", because:

"HD Radio spinners claim a breakthrough year: Pulling a fast one"

"According to a press release from the Alliance 330,000 HD receivers were sold last year. This is a 725 per cent increase from the 40,000 sets purchased a year earlier and therefore 2007 was a 'breakthrough year' for the technology. In 2008 they will sell a million of the things."

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/02/08/hd-radio-spinners-attempt-fast

With consumers purchasing 70 million radios every year, including 6 million aftermarket receivers, and over four radio receivers in each household in the U.S., the prospects for selling HD Radios are exceptionally bright.

What you really mean is that why should consumers replace perfectly good analog radios.

Momentum has been accelerating for HD Radio, with over 1,600 stations around the country broadcasting in HD and over 800 HD2 / HD3 stations. There are more than 60 unique HD Radio receiver models available, national and regional retailers are onboard, and automakers backing the technology include Toyota Scion, Mercedes, Ford, Volvo, BMW, MINI USA, Jaguar, and Hyundai.

What you really mean is that Hyundai is just offering HD Radio in one luxery model and is going with standard Sarad instead, Jaguar is a bust, Ford may sell Volvo, Mercedes has HD in just one diesel luxery model, and that Hyundai is moving to Microsoft Auto, Ford has Sync, and BMW and Chrysler will be offering in-dash Internet.

What you really mean:

"Have 200 HD Radio stations gone missing?"

"The HD Radio camp is advertising that there are currently over 1,500 radio stations now broadcasting in HD (from its website, to press releases as well as in various other promotions)... but yet only 1,300 have filed with the FCC."

http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/have-200-hd-radio-stations-gone-missing.html

 

[Savage]

I missed it. Where was the part in the iBiquity/Alliance release about how HD Radio is working SO WELL that Alliance engineers are desperately lobbying for a not one, not two, not three, but TENFOLD increase in FM digital carrier power in hopes of fixing a system which is performing abysmally in the field??

And where was the cross-reference to how, up to six months ago, the Alliance and the HD had insisted (despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary) that the digital coverage of HD-FM was absolutely the equivalent of the analog? And how they have now developed an amnesic attitude as if they had never made this absurd claim?

Where was the reference to how many "leading radio broadcasters" have been quietly turning off HD-AM exciters at night to avoid mutually assured skywave destruction?? Or the part about how HD-AM conversions have essentially STOPPED?

I guess the Alliance/iBiquity/NAB spam filter has been increased to the point where it screens out "truth" again....damn computers.....

 

[kyscott]

70 Million Radios Sold Annually

That's amazing considering you can't find one on the shelf of a store anywhere. I'd like to know where they got this number from?

 

[Play Freebird]

70 Million Radios Sold Annually

That's amazing considering you can't find one on the shelf of a store anywhere. I'd like to know where they got this number from?

They tricked you with decepto-speak! The 70 million figure actually refers to 69,900,000 analog radios and 100,000 digital (I'm being generous) but by cleverly throwing that big number into a sentence ending in "HD Radio", the casual reader might think HD radios are selling like hotcakes.

 

[rbrucecarter5]

From Classic to Cutting Edge, Stations Demonstrating Unprecedented Creativity With 70 Million Radios Sold Annually, Huge Opportunity for Consumers to Upgrade All Their Radios and Receive New Programming for FREE

I'll definitely check out the streams! For free.

 

[kenglish]

In Salt Lake City, we have a few "innovative" uses for HD2 and HD3.....
our own Bonneville has "i-channel" (no, it's not "KSL-FM Talk re-worked", but is all indie music), and KRSP's "Deep Tracks" (album cuts that never made the top of the charts), and the local community station has World Radio Network. The University of Utah has brought back their long-abandoned classical on HD3.

But, otherwise, yes, there is a lot of "more of the same" on the other stations.

 

[Tom Wells]

I notice one new offering in Chicago. Maybe tonight I'll futz around and see if I can find it on the Accurian.

It's probably the HD2 of 101.? WKQX which has been the "alternative" rock station for quite some time.
I could look up what Emmis owns in Chicago, but I'd just rather be impressed with the fact these radio industry experts
manged to convey data stripped of useful information. How much harder would it have been to mention call/freq?

Such presentation is obviously talking to the industry, if it were directed to consumers, it would be using the
(ahem) vanity names that stations identify themselves to listeners as.

Is there any plan to let the consumer world know this new generation of programming is waiting for them?
Are they going to spend some REAL money and have posters printed up?
Newpaper ads, TV ads, car-dealer style balloons?

Here's one for ya, ibiquity, and I won't even ask for any money...

Ibquity ( always capitalize the beginning of a sentence) should put out internet worm attachment files that would hide in your ipod and play an HD commercial instead of a song you picked. Then next it would play the real song.
Changing its name to some other file on the ipod, it would lie in wait for ...25 minutes to 75 minutes, then it would jump in line again.
There's a delivery method sure to get attention, and it's in keeping with the moral direction of the business plan so far.
Like the technology itself, what's wrong being just a wee bit invasive, if it's (been made) legal.

I hope they don't expect another wave of unsold radio airtime to do the job of getting people to notice their radios in
a more meaningful fashion.

Where I work, and the many places I visit in my job, I see radios used as audio wallpaper.
Good luck getting heard above the ambient noise.

 

[GreedMongers]

In Salt Lake City, we have a few "innovative" uses for HD2 and HD3.....
our own Bonneville has "i-channel" (no, it's not "KSL-FM Talk re-worked", but is all indie music), and KRSP's "Deep Tracks" (album cuts that never made the top of the charts), and the local community station has World Radio Network. The University of Utah has brought back their long-abandoned classical on HD3.

But, otherwise, yes, there is a lot of "more of the same" on the other stations.

Is the UofU expecting students to drop their iPods, cell phones, and laptops to stock up on HD radios and mount extenal antennas in dorm rooms - they would be laughed off campus. I'm sure classical music sounds impressive on an HD3 bitrate.

 

[kenglish]

KUER-FM broadcasts all over the state. I don't think their core audience, even on straight FM, is students. They broadcast NPR and other news programming during the day, with real, old-fashioned jazz at night.

As for the HD-3, that was my first thought, too. I haven't spent a lot of time listening critically to that channel, though.

 

[GreedMongers]

"High-def radio is here, but is anyone listening?"

"But 19 Utah stations are broadcasting 31 high-definition radio channels with six more coming soon... It seems the stations are investing in technology the public isn't quite ready to embrace.... Some have heard it referred to but never had cause to get one. Unless you are a gadget person, few of these radios have sold."

http://www.sltrib.com/technology/ci_7852904

All for not.

 

[KB1OKL]

I don't mean you Greedmonger, but why do people insist on calling Hybrid Digital radio hi-def? Hi-deaf, maybe, but it used to stand for Hybrid Digital and now ahem... stands for nothing, which could lead one to believe that maybe ibiquity think they have succeeded in getting people confused between Hi Definition TV and two mile radius Hybrid Digital?

 

[Savage]

As Bill Drake might have once declared over a lengthy tympani roll:

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN....THE LIES.....JUST KEEP ON COMIN'......

"HD Radio." Nudge, wink: haw, haw. SOUNDS like HDTV, doesn't it? But it's not anything like "high-def." I can't think of a single example of a consumer item so cynically named in such an obviously deceptive manner. I can't believe consumer law enforcement allows the name to be used.

"IBOC." Well, no. It isn't. As anyone knows the digital carriers are in ADJACENT channels, so it's not "on-channel" at all.

"70 million radios sold annually," followed by a sentence with the term "HD Radio" in the last clause. Except nothing like 70 million HD Radios have ever been manufactured, let alone sold. Not even 700,000 HD radios exist after the system's 5 years of implementation. Another obvious attempt at deception of the general public.

The ongoing HD Radio lies and impossibly implausible Baghdad Bob bloviation from the Alliance and the NAB would make me mildly embarassed to admit I'm in the radio industry but for one thing: nobody's listening and nobody cares anyway, so all the "publicity" is more-or-less harmless as much as it's pointless.

Here's an idea. Let's build and market an overpriced but sleek-looking (from 30 feet) little sports car, bearing a logo of a rearing horse, and make it out of cardboard and power it with a riding lawn mower engine, and call it a "Ferrara."

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

Here's an idea. Let's build and market an overpriced but sleek-looking (from 30 feet) little sports car, bearing a logo of a rearing horse, and make it out of cardboard and power it with a riding lawn mower engine, and call it a "Ferrara."

You left out one very important feature. The cardboard has to be painted red...as in the color of the ink which will soon be predominant in iBiquity's ledgers.

 

[SUPERCASTER]

As Bill Drake might have once declared over a lengthy tympani roll:

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN....THE LIES.....JUST KEEP ON COMIN'......

"HD Radio." Nudge, wink: haw, haw. SOUNDS like HDTV, doesn't it? But it's not anything like "high-def." I can't think of a single example of a consumer item so cynically named in such an obviously deceptive manner. I can't believe consumer law enforcement allows the name to be used.

"IBOC." Well, no. It isn't. As anyone knows the digital carriers are in ADJACENT channels, so it's not "on-channel" at all.

"70 million radios sold annually," followed by a sentence with the term "HD Radio" in the last clause. Except nothing like 70 million HD Radios have ever been manufactured, let alone sold. Not even 700,000 HD radios exist after the system's 5 years of implementation. Another obvious attempt at deception of the general public.

The ongoing HD Radio lies and impossibly implausible Baghdad Bob bloviation from the Alliance and the NAB would make me mildly embarassed to admit I'm in the radio industry but for one thing: nobody's listening and nobody cares anyway, so all the "publicity" is more-or-less harmless as much as it's pointless.

Here's an idea. Let's build and market an overpriced but sleek-looking (from 30 feet) little sports car, bearing a logo of a rearing horse, and make it out of cardboard and power it with a riding lawn mower engine, and call it a "Ferrara."

If you sold your newly made cardboard car to Flip Wilson would it then be "Geraldine's Ferrara"? ;D

Is that the same car HD supporters have long been anticipating and salivating over, introducing HD radio as "factory standard equipment"?

 

[DToTheJ]

Here's an idea. Let's build and market an overpriced but sleek-looking (from 30 feet) little sports car, bearing a logo of a rearing horse, and make it out of cardboard and power it with a riding lawn mower engine, and call it a "Ferrara."

You left out one very important feature. The cardboard has to be painted red...as in the color of the ink which will soon be predominant in iBiquity's ledgers.

You know how they got the huge National Debt clock in Times Square? They should have one outside iBiquity headquarters, only it reflects the debt incurred by money invested in HD technology.

 

[Carmine5]

Talk about killing two stones with one bird, Clear Channel just figured out a way to fulfill their payola settlement obligation with the government while not mucking up their main money-making program channels with something chancy like local or unsigned bands and artists--put these musical unknowns on a HD2 channel.

Since no one's listening, no harm done. Plus they can successfully give every appearance of following the letter of the agreement and trumpet to the FCC and broadcasting watchdog groups that they're doing their bit for "localism."

No doubt CBS, Citadel and the others named in the settlement will follow suit.

C5