Time Brokerage on HD?

[amos]

Do you think a station would be interested in brokering (selling time on) one of its unused HD channels? What sort of fees would they charge? I'd sure be interested if I could afford it (which I probably can't).

-amos

 

[Play Freebird]

Do you think a station would be interested in brokering (selling time on) one of its unused HD channels? What sort of fees would they charge? I'd sure be interested if I could afford it (which I probably can't).

-amos

What type of programming would you offer? If you can develop content that people want to hear, maybe they should pay you.

As an experiment, I'd like to see a few major market HD-2 channels turned over to community groups which want to start an LPFM but can't find a (legal) frequency. Let them do their own thing and see what happens. This just might become another unexpected success like FM freeform rock radio in the '60s.

 

[amos]

well, for me... i'd simulcast my internet station. it's not anything avant-garde though, it's mainstream CHR.

So, for me it would only work if the cluster didn't have anything that would compete with that format.

 

[Carmine5]

What type of programming would you offer? If you can develop content that people want to hear, maybe they should pay you.

As an experiment, I'd like to see a few major market HD-2 channels turned over to community groups which want to start an LPFM but can't find a (legal) frequency. Let them do their own thing and see what happens. This just might become another unexpected success like FM freeform rock radio in the '60s.

This is just the kind of thing the FCC refused to regulate in their R&O on HD Radio but should have. Community radio would be a perfect fit for these side channels.

I imagine that a standard LMA or local management agreement would be sufficient for what you want to do. Price would be based on market size. You would be liable for any license and royalty fees and probably Ibiquity's fee as well. I believe an LMA contract extends the length of the station's license renewal period and must be on file with the FCC.

Anyway, see if a station in your area would be interested in leasing an HD side channel and then contact a communications attorney to work out an LMA contract.

C5

 

[Dighton Rockhead]

Chances are pretty good that in any given market, there are already one or more AM stations which broker out thier time to religious, foreign language, or other groups that can't get on the air any other way (legally, that is).

Chances are also pretty good that any of those AM stations...even if 'signal challenged'...would still have a greater signal range than a typical HD-2.

Besides, the infastructure is already in place...the analog AM capable radios are literally EVERYWHERE. Why saddle yourself with the hassles of even trying to broker time on an HD side-channel.

Don't folks who have to purchase airtime have enough hoops to jump through as it is.

 

[Savage]

I thought about making a deal with a local FM HD-2 to carry my AM as a band-aid means of overcoming the adjacent-channel interference from WBZ at night. It's not a practical solution for several reasons.

First of all, nobody has an HD Radio, and they're no longer available in local electronics stores except for the common JVC car-radio tuner.

Second, the only stations likely to play would be Class As. The HD-2 coverage would be very minimal.

Using HD subs as supplemental distribution points for AM signals isn't practical - even if the FM operators would GIVE me the spectrum for free, which I'm sure they wouldn't.

 

[Chuck]

Chances are pretty good that in any given market, there are already one or more AM stations which broker out thier time to religious, foreign language, or other groups that can't get on the air any other way (legally, that is).

Chances are also pretty good that any of those AM stations...even if 'signal challenged'...would still have a greater signal range than a typical HD-2.

Besides, the infastructure is already in place...the analog AM capable radios are literally EVERYWHERE. Why saddle yourself with the hassles of even trying to broker time on an HD side-channel.

Don't folks who have to purchase airtime have enough hoops to jump through as it is.

Those are valid points. Even in a major market, do you think you'd get enough listeners on a HD-2 channel to make it worthwhile? Right now HD-2 makes LPFM look like a viable business model.

At the risk of being politically incorrect, it occurs to me that most of those brokered programs appeal to an audience that isn’t usually known for being the last of the big-time spenders or for being early adopters. Persuading someone to purchase a new radio, regardless of its cost, is going to be a hard sell just to listen to "Colon-Blow" infomercials. The religious broadcasters might have better luck, since many of them are already quite adept at cleaning out little old ladies pocketbooks. Practice makes perfect. Even for those ethnic groups that seem to do quite well economically, they might be pretty slow to run to the store to buy a new radio too. If similar foreign language programming is already available in the market on AM, why would they buy another radio, unless the programming is very compelling? This would be a very tough hurdle for a start-up to overcome. I think it would be very similar to starting a UHF TV station about 1958 in a market that already had all three networks established on VHF channels.

All of this assumes there are some HD radios in the stores to buy. Despite the recent claims of NAB and The Alliance, there are "slim pickin's" around here. Maybe it will eventually get better. Then again, maybe it won’t. I can get all the HD radios I want on the Internet, but I doubt that your average “little old lady” is likely to go that route. From reports on this board, I take it that things are better in the top ten markets. Maybe so...