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WABC-AM NOW BROADCASTING ON WPLJ-FM HD3

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pjc1961

I heard an infomercial playing on WPLJ-FM-95.5 HD3 this morning - then read the display: "WPLJ HD3 - More stimulating talk radio-77 WABC" with Johnny Donovan eventually announcing that along with the other positioner: "With news on the hour, on the half & when it breaks". (Both of those positioners, added by WABC in the past few weeks, have been used on news/talk KFI-AM-640 Los Angeles for years.)

I verified that the broadcast was on WABC-AM-770 as well; there's about a one to two minute delay on the HD3 broadcast versus the AM broadcast (same as on the 3 NYC CBS HD3 FM stations that simulcast/re-broadcast the AM signals of WFAN, WCBS & WINS).
 
pjc1961,

I saw this post on the NYRMB and I think this is long over due. I had posted here that Citadel should make the investment in putting WABC on WPLJ's HD-3. But at the time of my posting, it couldn't have done because WPLJ had other programming on their other HD channels.

Now WABC has joined WFAN, WCBS 880 and WINS broadcasting on their FM sister stations.

At what time does WABC make the announcement that they're also broadcasting on WPLJ's HD-3?

Thanks,
Kevin L. Sealy
 
The only thing I can think of that makes this make sense is that the music format on stream 3 was sucking up too much bandwidth and they wanted to reallocate that to streams 1 and 2. I find it hard to believe that anyone would get a good IBOC signal from PLJ where they couldn't get a good signal from WABC (analog or digital).

Ok, I lied. I thought of something else. If someone in the NYC area was planning to flip a real station to True Oldies, then they'd want to move a competing signal out of the way. I think this is unlikely, but it's possible. And no I don't think WTOC and WPLJ's IBOC compete much if at all.
 
This is something I've been saying about these AM simulcasts on HD for a while now. What advantage do they really provide:

1) While AM may have trouble penetrating the concrete and iron jungle of Manhattan and the interior of office buildings, is HD really better, with its 1% power output compared to analog FM and its all-or-nothing nature of reception?

2) Is putting existing formats on HD radio really a compelling draw for those who might be considering buying a new HD Radio? My guess is that for most people it isn't.

But I guess as long as it makes the "suits" feel good and gives them the false comfort that their AM stations are reaching a new audience by being simulcasting on HD, then it's no problem.
 
You could look at them as placeholders. If you're going for "HD" for your main signal, then you might as well do something with the rest of the stream. If you don't have to spend any money to speak of, then just do it.
 
The automated music formats they were running probably weren't costing much more to operate either. I think that the reasoning really is that putting AM stations on HD3 will help people hear those stations who otherwise cannot, and bring them to a new audience, but my argument is that neither is likely to really happen.
 
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