• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

iHeart Shuts Down KYLD, KISQ, KMEL HD Channels

S

sf1pd

Due to scant 1) listenership and 2) ad revenue iHeart has shut down the HD channels KYLD-HD2(Evolution)/HD3(Alt), KISQ-HD2(Jammin Oldies) and KMEL-HD2(American Top40). They've also turned off the transmission of certain HD channels in other markets too.

The current offerings in the Bay Area are now:

KSJO-HD2: Bollywood
KOIT-HD2: AAA
KLLC-HD2: Channel Q (LGBTQ+ programming)
KUFX-HD2: 70s
KMVQ-HD2: "Pulse" Dance/Electronic
KIOI-HD2: iHeart Pride Radio
KBLX-HD2: R&B Oldies (60s, 70s, 80s)
KOSF-HD2: Bloomberg Radio simulcast (KNEW-AM)
KITS-HD2: Classic LIVE105 (80s-00s alternative)
KFRC-HD2: Oldies
KSAN-HD2: KNBR Simulcast (currently until the 104.5FM switch 9/6)


Does anyone have an HD radio and what entices you to listen? iHeart just launched their podcast initiative to air on their stations every Sunday night, but would a station programmed with similar podcasts be of interest?
 
This isn't limited to San Francisco. Apparently iHeart has also shut down HD stations in NY as well. HD radio gets good results when those stations feed a translator. But if translators aren't available, the only way to hear those stations is with HD radios. Since those aren't standard in all cars yet, and since most home radios don't have HD, they've concluded there's no point in having the stations.
 
I found the HD2 formats fun to listen to for short stints. That said, I never understood the business model. I don't know who listened and I assumed the rights fees still had to be paid.
 
sf1pd said:
Due to scant 1) listenership and 2) ad revenue iHeart has shut down the HD channels KYLD-HD2(Evolution)/HD3(Alt), KISQ-HD2(Jammin Oldies) and KMEL-HD2(American Top40). They've also turned off the transmission of certain HD channels in other markets too.

The current offerings in the Bay Area are now:

KSJO-HD2: Bollywood
Click to expand...


Of course KSJO HD2 is kept, im sure it's leased out by whoever is programming that format
 
adradio said:
I found the HD2 formats fun to listen to for short stints. That said, I never understood the business model. I don't know who listened and I assumed the rights fees still had to be paid.
Click to expand...

The business model in the beginning was to run commercial free for a year or two until HD caught on, and add commercials once listeners adopted some formats.

Of course, that never happened. It's been 13 years since HD radio launched in most large markets, and it still hasn't caught on, so there is no possibility of revenue.

Even if there was audience on the HD subs, I believe the advertisers would be robbing Peter (the main analog formats) to pay Paul (the HD subs).
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
Even if there was audience on the HD subs, I believe the advertisers would be robbing Peter (the main analog formats) to pay Paul (the HD subs).
Click to expand...

That's what they said about FM in the 70s. The fact is you don't care if you're robbing money from the main formats if they're owned by competitors. If you can chop away at one of your competitors with an HD, it's a good strategy. The bad news is you need a translator to make any kind of impact.
 
sf1pd said:
Does anyone have an HD radio and what entices you to listen?
Click to expand...

I am not in the SF market but do have an HD radio and use it to listen to my favorites Oldies sub. That Oldies sub is the only radio station I listen to any longer.
 
Funny that iHeart is still pushing platforms like Pride Radio to air on HD signals yet removing the HD2 and HD3 sub channels formats that aren’t generating revenue or ratings. Now that’s weird.
 
sf1pd said:
Due to scant 1) listenership and 2) ad revenue iHeart has shut down the HD channels KYLD-HD2(Evolution)/HD3(Alt), KISQ-HD2(Jammin Oldies) and KMEL-HD2(American Top40). They've also turned off the transmission of certain HD channels in other markets too.

The current offerings in the Bay Area are now:

KSJO-HD2: Bollywood
KOIT-HD2: AAA
KLLC-HD2: Channel Q (LGBTQ+ programming)
KUFX-HD2: 70s
KMVQ-HD2: "Pulse" Dance/Electronic
KIOI-HD2: iHeart Pride Radio
KBLX-HD2: R&B Oldies (60s, 70s, 80s)
KOSF-HD2: Bloomberg Radio simulcast (KNEW-AM)
KITS-HD2: Classic LIVE105 (80s-00s alternative)
KFRC-HD2: Oldies
KSAN-HD2: KNBR Simulcast (currently until the 104.5FM switch 9/6)


Does anyone have an HD radio and what entices you to listen? iHeart just launched their podcast initiative to air on their stations every Sunday night, but would a station programmed with similar podcasts be of interest?
Click to expand...


I had listened to Iheart Owned stations they have been doing lots of promos for shows only on their app, concert promotions, awards and "music exclusives" that they could only find on their app. I don't think Iheart even talks about HD radio given that their median demo could reach Iheart on Phone, Tablet, Browser, Dashboard and TV Consoles.
 
Hardware support for HD Radio is largely to blame. The general public seems apathetic about technology in general and won't go out of its way to find it- when AM radio went stereo in 1983, you had to really LOOK for equipment that could receive it, and there wasn't a whole lot. Most equipment still had mono AM, and I don't think any AM stations broadcast stereo anymore. It's been a long time since I've seen it included in new equipment- I special ordered a car stereo with AM stereo support in my previous car; my current one had a factory installed system with mono AM but very good FM (but no HD), so I simply don't ever switch it to AM.

If EVERY new radio receiver supported HD, things would be different. (I lucked out and got an AV receiver with HD radio, but both FM and AM reception where I live is unusually bad and hardly anything comes in, even with a good antenna, though I do get decent digital TV reception. Instead the most radio I listen to at home is through the internet, which the receiver also supports.)
 
Alan Smithee said:
The general public seems apathetic about technology in general and won't go out of its way to find it-
Click to expand...

Depends on the technology. I know I went out of my way to buy HD TV.

The big mistake iBiquity made was making HD Radio a proprietary technology. Had they released it as free shareware, it would be in every radio today. But they didn't, and that decision limited the interest of electronics to include it in their radios. We saw the same thing with FM. RCA refused to include FM in their radios as long as it was proprietary technology. When the patent ran out in 1966, they immediately added FM to their portable radios. I expect we'll see the same thing with HD.
 
TheBigA said:
Depends on the technology. I know I went out of my way to buy HD TV.

The big mistake iBiquity made was making HD Radio a proprietary technology. Had they released it as free shareware, it would be in every radio today. But they didn't, and that decision limited the interest of electronics to include it in their radios. We saw the same thing with FM. RCA refused to include FM in their radios as long as it was proprietary technology. When the patent ran out in 1966, they immediately added FM to their portable radios. I expect we'll see the same thing with HD.
Click to expand...

The question now becomes how many people will really by HD radio at this point though given that HD radio has to compete against radio apps on the phone and in some cases on the dashboard for listeners though.
 
RadioPatrol said:
The question now becomes how many people will really by HD radio at this point though given that HD radio has to compete against radio apps on the phone and in some cases on the dashboard for listeners though.
Click to expand...

I don't think a large number of people will buy free standing radios of any kind at this point. However they get radios when they buy other things, such as cars. My car included an HD radio. It also has a USB port.
 
TheBigA said:
Depends on the technology. I know I went out of my way to buy HD TV.
Click to expand...

I stayed with the conversion boxes as long as my old TV's lived but when it came time to replace them I figured digital TV was here to stay. I still have a rear projection big screen (analog) I bought in 1987 and it still works (and has the best sound I have ever heard from one of those huge sets). The picture obviously isn't as crisp as a digital set but I won't get rid of it until it croaks.

HD radio was a bit different. Listeners were not forced into it. The original commercials for digital radio were not well understood and, if you tried it out, the sound quality wasn't discernible as much different either. What was different were the drop-outs, lack of desirable content, flip-flopping between analog and digital and the added cost. The public wasn't stupid and it made little sense to buy into HD. So they didn't.

I like my HD here in Phoenix because the signals are great, no dropouts and perfect content for me. I still can't tell an HD signal from a good FM signal though.

When does the iBiquity patent expire?
 
TheBigA said:
This isn't limited to San Francisco. Apparently iHeart has also shut down HD stations in NY as well. HD radio gets good results when those stations feed a translator. But if translators aren't available, the only way to hear those stations is with HD radios. Since those aren't standard in all cars yet, and since most home radios don't have HD, they've concluded there's no point in having the stations.
Click to expand...

Yes and many (and I know this won't be a popular comment) that have HD radios don't know how to "find" the HD subchannels because they use their presets.
 
sf1pd said:
Due to scant 1) listenership and 2) ad revenue iHeart has shut down the HD channels KYLD-HD2(Evolution)/HD3(Alt), KISQ-HD2(Jammin Oldies) and KMEL-HD2(American Top40). They've also turned off the transmission of certain HD channels in other markets too.

The current offerings in the Bay Area are now:

KSJO-HD2: Bollywood
KOIT-HD2: AAA
KLLC-HD2: Channel Q (LGBTQ+ programming)
KUFX-HD2: 70s
KMVQ-HD2: "Pulse" Dance/Electronic
KIOI-HD2: iHeart Pride Radio
KBLX-HD2: R&B Oldies (60s, 70s, 80s)
KOSF-HD2: Bloomberg Radio simulcast (KNEW-AM)
KITS-HD2: Classic LIVE105 (80s-00s alternative)
KFRC-HD2: Oldies
KSAN-HD2: KNBR Simulcast (currently until the 104.5FM switch 9/6)


Does anyone have an HD radio and what entices you to listen? iHeart just launched their podcast initiative to air on their stations every Sunday night, but would a station programmed with similar podcasts be of interest?
Click to expand...

To me, this is the beginning of the end of HD.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom