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The Coolest Station No One is Listening To

I must say that “The Delta,” WRVR’s HD2 stream is very, very cool. I have been listening to it almost exclusively for the past few days, since getting HD Radio in one of my cars. And, I am lovin’ it.

I have heard everything from Son Thomas to Muddy Waters to Jimi Hendrix, and several folks I had never heard of. And, the positioning isn’t bad. Too bad NO ONE knows it’s there. I have to wonder while I am listening, if I am the ONLY one outside the WRVR building. WRVR has done NOTHING to promote it, and are, I suppose, just using it to fill space for the time being.

If you get access to HD, check it out. It beats the heck out of the HD1!

DE
 
See. That's the rub of HD. Radio stations, in essence, own their own tormentors. Say, for argument sake that WRVR has 10,000 listeners. To promote "The Delta" would be to hope that 2,000 or so leave the profit center of WRVR, and defect to the commercial free land of High Def. HD might have a shot if it weren't owned by parties that must pray for it's demise. Terrestrial radio is holding it's own shotgun to it's head.

Imagine if the HD frequencies were operated by hungry broadcasters who truly wished harm to WRVR. An entire technology might be interesting.
 
BogusBoy said:
See. That's the rub of HD. Radio stations, in essence, own their own tormentors. Say, for argument sake that WRVR has 10,000 listeners. To promote "The Delta" would be to hope that 2,000 or so leave the profit center of WRVR, and defect to the commercial free land of High Def. HD might have a shot if it weren't owned by parties that must pray for it's demise. Terrestrial radio is holding it's own shotgun to it's head.

Imagine if the HD frequencies were operated by hungry broadcasters who truly wished harm to WRVR. An entire technology might be interesting.


You make excellent points when you aren't attacking folks...

Question from an old-timer:

Will HD's be rated? I would think they would have to be or BB is dead on and HD is doomed. But if they are and those hypothetical 2000 listeners go to WRVR's HD then WRVR doesn't have any net loss.

If HD listenership does come off the station's share, BB is dead on.
 
radiosaur said:
Will HD's be rated?

Another interesting question might be...Are HD's for sale? Could station owners profit from selling these frequencies to ambitious entrepenours? Watch it take off then.
 
Am I wrong, or is HD just a "knee jerk" reaction to combat the loss of share to satellite? It will almost have to be rated or it will have no other purpose. A lot of the stations while they are broadcasting in HD are still experiencing some engineering problems. I've heard an engineer use the word "compression" a lot in referring to it's disadvantages.
 
While your points do have some validity, they are also a tad short-sighted.

Media has become a soup. When I was a kid, we all listened to AM. I still fondly remember the days of listening to WTIX, a station 100 miles away, since there were no adequate stations where I lived. Choice was lacking, so we had to get decent media where we could find it. But, today, we have satellite, Internet Radio, iPods, and a plethora of other media. All of these are looking for a niche. So, the days of the 30-share all-things-to-all-folks stations have gone.

So, what does this mean? Well, stations are going to fragment no matter what they do. People are seeking out new venues, and those who do not provide them will not receive the rewards. So, what is a broadcaster to do? Yes, join the party.

While I am far from a big HD Radio proponent (it certainly has problems, especially on the AM side), I understand the necessity of traditional broadcasters to have new media outlets. HD is one of those, though not the only one. And, to ignore that possibility, especially once you have a working signal – to paraphrase Ophelia Ford – is DUMB. “Pardon my expression, but it is!”

So, I think broadcasters need to get on the train, or get left at the station. But, what do I know? I am just an undereducated disc jockey.

DE
 
littlebigradio said:
Am I wrong, or is HD just a "knee jerk" reaction to combat the loss of share to satellite?

There's no discernable loss of share to Satellite. Less than 7% Americans even listen to Satellite radio.

Satellite is a failure of colossal proportions. Inflated subscriber #s due to unsold cars with active accounts, violation of terrestrial repeater doctrines, multiple failed satellites, and no difference in playlists.

Satellite's a bigger joke than HD
 
Wow.

So if less than 7% of Americans listen to satellite radio, care to tell me what the percentage is of Americans who listen to HD Radio?

D'oh!
 
BogusBoy said:
See. That's the rub of HD. Radio stations, in essence, own their own tormentors. Say, for argument sake that WRVR has 10,000 listeners. To promote "The Delta" would be to hope that 2,000 or so leave the profit center of WRVR, and defect to the commercial free land of High Def. HD might have a shot if it weren't owned by parties that must pray for it's demise. Terrestrial radio is holding it's own shotgun to it's head.

Imagine if the HD frequencies were operated by hungry broadcasters who truly wished harm to WRVR. An entire technology might be interesting.

Not necessarily so. If you confine your promotion to your own station...yes, you are cannibalizing yourself.

If, however, you do wjhat you are supposed to and market with other vehicles, then you steal listeners from other stations. That would mean expenditures on televison, newspaper,outdoor, and non-traditional new media.

It's something that's really confused me for the last 20 years or so. Radio stations have a group of people calling on businesses all day trying to sell them on the features and benefits of advertising. When it comes to shelling out money to promote their own product, they most all of them get kind of skiddish. There is plenty of data and tresearch available that will show if you promote your station properly, you will increase your listenership.
 
julesism said:
Wow.

So if less than 7% of Americans listen to satellite radio, care to tell me what the percentage is of Americans who listen to HD Radio?

D'oh!

HD2 is confusing to me. But, It's not my place. I handle my responsibilities, and let the powers that be work out programming strategies.
 
There's nothing even online about the HD2 station... some stations are streaming their HD2's.

I thought I would get a free listen that way maybe.
 
I'm just learning about HD. I'm having one installed in my car this week in fact. Are stations allowed to sell ads for these stations or will they just be an added expense?
 
radiofan4life said:
Are stations allowed to sell ads for these stations or will they just be an added expense?

Sure. They may sell ads. Essentially, the same programming rules apply to HD subchannels as the main channel (e.g., no profanity, no obscenity, etc.). In fact, under new rules to go into effect within the next month or two, stations can even time broker digital subchannels, with some restrictions. So -- more religion!

DE
 
DE, I assume that an application would have to be filed with the FCC on behalf of a station for their HD. How many HD channels would a station be able to obtain? I keep hearing the term HD2. Forgive my ignorance but as I stated I'm fairly new to the HD world. Also, what expenses would be incurred in setting up this alternate channel as far as equipment goes?
 
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