iBiquity Licensing Fees

[buttonpuncher]

Have any of you read the iBiquity licensing costs info? http://www.ibiquity.com/i/Licensing_Fact_Sheet_2006.pdf

The main channel license fee is $10,000 and it will rise to $25,000 after June 30, 2008. There are extra charges (+ profit percentages) for the secondary and data channel.

The costs alone will scare away many medium & smaller broadcasters who naturally would be the last to adopt HD, and thus be faced with the highest licensing costs. This is a screwed up scheme that iBiquity will probably have to change. (if? or when HD adoption begins to brew in smaller market stations)

Add to that, if there are HD software or system upgrades, (beyond fixes) to obtain these upgrades stations will have to pay the current license fee (see above) or pay an ongoing support fee.

I don’t know about your area, but where I live HD is not even on the radar of radio broadcasters.

I'm actually somewhat positive on the concept, especially the potential to operate hybrid now and evolve to full digital down the road. It's the convoluted implementation that has problems.

 

[700WLW]

Ibiquity Gets Specific With Fees

http://www.rwonline.com/reference-room/iboc/01_rw_fees_5.shtml

I read that it can run into the hundreds-of-thousands, with total conversion costs and licensing fees !

Yea, it is quite a scam !

 

[IBOCRocks]

Ibiquity Gets Specific With Fees

http://www.rwonline.com/reference-room/iboc/01_rw_fees_5.shtml

I read that it can run into the hundreds-of-thousands, with total conversion costs and licensing fees !

Yea, it is quite a scam !

Which is why thousands of radio stations have paid them.

 

[700WLW]

"Which is why thousands of radio stations have paid them."

Those, "thousands of stations", are actually around 1000, and most of them are owned by Clear Channel, which is part of the HD Radio Cartel.

 

[IBOCRocks]

"Which is why thousands of radio stations have paid them."

Those, "thousands of stations", are actually around 1000, and most of them are owned by Clear Channel, which is part of the HD Radio Cartel.

Not true at all. I know of several stations that aren't ClearChannel, and are not part of the HD Radio Alliance.

 

[w9wi]

"Which is why thousands of radio stations have paid them."

Those, "thousands of stations", are actually around 1000, and most of them are owned by Clear Channel, which is part of the HD Radio Cartel.

Not true at all. I know of several stations that aren't ClearChannel, and are not part of the HD Radio Alliance.

As with most things for which thousands of dollars are paid, I would be fairly confident these fees are negotiable - I'd imagine few if any stations actually paid $10,000 in licensing fees.

That said, anything in the thousands of dollars (and remember, these stations are also paying thousands for the HD hardware and the engineering to install it) is certainly going to be a red light for many smaller stations. I don't see any way that all existing stations are going to go HD. Either we're going to have a significant number of analog stations for a LONG time to come, or we're going to see a significant minority of existing stations go dark.

 

[IBOCRocks]

"Which is why thousands of radio stations have paid them."

Those, "thousands of stations", are actually around 1000, and most of them are owned by Clear Channel, which is part of the HD Radio Cartel.

Not true at all. I know of several stations that aren't ClearChannel, and are not part of the HD Radio Alliance.

As with most things for which thousands of dollars are paid, I would be fairly confident these fees are negotiable - I'd imagine few if any stations actually paid $10,000 in licensing fees.

That said, anything in the thousands of dollars (and remember, these stations are also paying thousands for the HD hardware and the engineering to install it) is certainly going to be a red light for many smaller stations. I don't see any way that all existing stations are going to go HD. Either we're going to have a significant number of analog stations for a LONG time to come, or we're going to see a significant minority of existing stations go dark.

I think a significant number of stations may remain analog for quite a while, which is fine. The radios can handle both. I also think that iBiquity may decide to reduce their fees quite a bit if there are still a good number of analog stations out there in the next two years.

 

[I.B. Iquity]

Yes I can see that a court case will occur that will be brought by smaller owners which I believe they could win. Much like the early days of lateral disc recording. Many smaller companies if they were to make disc records had to use vertical pressings, which of course was not compatible with most disc phonographs. A case went to court and lateral pressing technology became license free. Also in the early days of broadcasting you had to have a Western Electric license to operate a transmitter. How long since that has been a law, but it did exist. I can see the day that IBOC technology will be license free to the end use, with maybe a license fee going to the equipment manuacturer, much like the early Armstrong FM radios. All this has happened before and to fret over it as though this is all new territory is a waste of time. The courts will settle these cases, as they have in the past.

 

[IBOCRocks]

Yes I can see that a court case will occur that will be brought by smaller owners which I believe they could win. Much like the early days of lateral disc recording. Many smaller companies if they were to make disc records had to use vertical pressings, which of course was not compatible with most disc phonographs. A case went to court and lateral pressing technology became license free. Also in the early days of broadcasting you had to have a Western Electric license to operate a transmitter. How long since that has been a law, but it did exist. I can see the day that IBOC technology will be license free to the end use, with maybe a license fee going to the equipment manuacturer, much like the early Armstrong FM radios. All this has happened before and to fret over it as though this is all new territory is a waste of time. The courts will settle these cases, as they have in the past.

Excellent point.

 

[audiophile.]

What's going on here, I agree AGAIN!