Why no HD2 stations in Knox. or Chatt. yet?

[BRH]

Just wondering if anyone else is intrested in HD radio? And also wondering if we are ever going to get any HD2 channels in this area. Seems like Knoxville (and Chatt. as well), are behind the curve on introducing HD and HD2 stations. There are plenty of other markets the size of Knoxville or smaller that already have several HD2 stations broadcasting. Part of the slow process is probably due to the fact that we do not have any Clear Channel owned stations here in Knoxville. (As CC seems to be the one putting the most HD stations on the air). Anyway, just wondering if anyone knows when the local stations might finally give us some HD2 channels? I know Citadel has channels listed as "coming soon" on the HD radio site for all of their stations, but its been listed for a long time and so far nothing has come of it. Also, Journal is using HD for it's stations, but I've heard nothing about any HD2 secondary formats from them. And then there's South Central as well.

I actually like some of the programming being rolled out on HD2 around the country, and I would love to buy a HD radio if we had anything available in this area. I know that the signal is an issue, so maybe East TN's hilly terrain makes it a bigger problem for digital radio here and maybe that is one reason no one is putting any money into it. Who knows? Anyway, anyone have any info on when we might actually start seeing some HD2 channels rolled out here in Knoxville, (or Chattanooga for that matter)?

 

[KnoxvilleTVFan]

In Knoxville, WUOT has an HD-2 subchannel but the HD-2 channel on WUOT is the simulcast of its FM analog signal. WWST and WIMZ are in HD.

WIVK was supposed to be carrying a classic country on its HD-2 channel but I checked out the Knoxville station guide on the HD Radio website and it says that WIVK's HD channel is only coming soon so I am not very sure what WIVK will be carrying on its HD-2 subchannel.

Not sure about Chattanooga.

 

[KnoxvilleTVFan]

To update this post, WIVK is broadcasting in HD. As for Chattanooga, WUSY is broadcasting in HD along with WURV.

 

[SuperQ]

I would disagree and say that Knoxville stations are actually ahead of the curve. HD is an answer to a question nobody ever asked. It not only costs money to build, but the licensing fees go on forever. If there were any radios out there (and there likely will never be), radio would be diluting their already diluted audience.

Universal Wi-Fi will be here long before there are more than a handful of HD radios. South Central is pretty much taking a pass on the whole HD thing (they had to replace WIMZ's transmitter anyway)... Journal can't justify it with the Class A's since HD coverage is so marginal. And Citadel is too broke to do anything. So by design or accident, Knoxville stations are ahead of all the CC stations that will be dropping HD en masse in the next couple of years when the bean counters can't justify the annual license fees to reach a few radio board posters.

The only "killer app" for HD-2 has turned out to be feeding analog translators with separate programming. And there aren't any translator signals in Knoxville worth fooling with.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

HD is really sensitive to any weak spots, so I think rimshots like 95.7 and 98.7, 93.1, and especially 94.3 would have trouble holding a solid HD signal in Ktown, due to the Terrain, especially around Sharps Ridge and over into Seveirville.. I like some of the HD-2 channels, and maybe that could be the chance to bring back the old WOKI format and either put it on 100.3 as an HD-2, and make it either all 80s, or a mix of music from 1974 to 1993,,, their entire library, im sure Pirkle has the old playlists collecting dust some where, but I dont think Pirkle would be interested in investing in HD technology,, He is in his 70s and is still running X-94.3 as far as I know.. He probably is trying to hold on to his millions rather than invest so late in life, and I know the new Corps wouldnt do it either,,, One thing they could do is bring back THE RIVER.....HMMMMM No one in K-Town has an HD radio though. What about a Dance station on HD-2 in Knoxville,, we have one in Indianapolis, and even places like Witchita and Pittsburg and even smaller odder markets have Dance as an HD-2... I know Asheville is in NC, but it does serve much of East Tennessee including east Knoxville and Pigeon Forge and Seveirville, and Newport, and WKSF is a cc station, maybe they could bring CHR back to 99.9 HD-2,, but the HD signal would be horrible in those mountains, with HD its either all or blank, and all the stations between Knox and Asheville suffer bad Multipath, even the strong signal ones.