WWPR HD-2 Now One Caribbean Radio

[Barry]

This replaces Mia, Clear Channel's Spanish A/C channel, which is on IHeartRadio.
One Caribbean Radio had been on WSKQ HD2, through the end of last year. Then it went off the air for a while. Now this commercial venture has relaunched. I would consider this a positive for HD Radio in New York, as One Caribbean Radio is local, and will likely have lots of live programming and personalities.
It is interesting that Clear Channel, the country's largest broadcaster has now leased one of their HD channels in New York, rather than using it for a feed of its own programming. Perhaps this could be considered a step forward in the slow growth of HD Radio, as broadcasters start to gain some revenue from it.
WWPR 105.1 has one of the stronger HD signals in New York.

One Caribbean Radio: http://www.onecaribbeanradio.com/

 

[nd2023]

It just shifts the cost of maintaining the HD2 from Clear Channel to the ethnic broadcaster. There's no new revenue being created because nobody's listening.

 

[Barry]

It just shifts the cost of maintaining the HD2 from Clear Channel to the ethnic broadcaster. There's no new revenue being created because nobody's listening.

There evidently is some revenue being created, as One Caribbean Radio is already airing commercials for local businesses. Whether the revenue from the ads aired on HD and online will grow to be enough to at least cover its expenses remains to be seen.

 

[nd2023]

There are more subcarrier radios than HD radios out there. It's very doubtful that the existence of One Caribbean Radio on 105.1-HD2 in its first week on the air could get advertising revenue solely from the existence of the HD2. Most likely, the advertisers are buying ads based on the online listenership.

One Caribbean Radio will be competing with WVIP and over 30 pirate stations. Most local advertisers targeting that audience would choose to advertise on the pirate stations because they'd be cheaper and any FM radio can receive the pirate stations. Some of the pirates in Brooklyn are so strong they can be heard in northern Monmouth County New Jersey. The advertisers wouldn't know the difference between the legal stations and the pirates, they just assume that if a station is on the dial it's legal. They wouldn't pay more to advertise on a station that you need a special radio to receive.

 

[TimeIsTight]

This use of HD-2 to narrowcast to one of the city's ethnic groups actually makes sense, and the business model has worked for a very long time on FM subcarriers in the New York area.

Years ago, I knew a guy who was making money running Mandarin Chinese programming on 100.3 when it was WVNJ-FM. His Chinatown New York audience apparently had no trouble picking up the subcarrier from the West Orange transmitter, nor did his listeners in the other Chinatowns in Queens, or Brooklyn, or anywhere else in the NY metro.

I also knew a guy who ran an Italian language station on a WBGO 88.3 subcarrier, which was then transmitting from Newark. He claimed that low FM frequency from that location offered some benefits for subcarrier stations, I think relating to multipath. He set up a studio in Queens and actually hired an Italian broadcaster to come to the US and do the morning show, and he made a deal with the big Italian network RAI to carry its shows and soccer games that were available on transatlantic satellites. He claimed he was making money on the venture, but he always had several ventures going and it was hard to tell the big winners from the "just survivors."

In this case, One Caribbean Radio, serves a close knit immigrant market of people who live in the same neighborhoods, particularly in Brooklyn, shop in the same stores, attend the same churches, organizations and nightclubs so there are lots of advertising and promotional opportunities. And its fairly easy to find the potential audience and sell them HD radios. They can be promoted in Caribbean newspapers, sold in neighborhood stores, promoted at gatherings etc. Those people also live in areas closer to the transmitters where the HD signal is usable.

Actually, they are most likely leasing the HD channel from Clear Channel, and so Clear Channel is picking up a little bit of extra revenue and is not paying music licensing fees to run its own programming that almost nobody listens to.

I don't know how many other HD channels in NYC are used by ethnic broadcasters, but there is the South Asian, HumDesi channel, and there will probably be more as the years go on, especially if HD radio never catches on with the mainstream. These ethnic listeners and broadcasters have special reasons to want the HD stations to work for their group and culture, regular listeners in general don't have those same incentives.

Let's give One Caribbean Radio credit, its doing this all legal and proper, and is not a Caribbean pirate.

 

[Barry]

...This use of HD-2 to narrowcast to one of the city's ethnic groups actually makes sense...
In this case, One Caribbean Radio, serves a close knit immigrant market of people who live in the same neighborhoods, particularly in Brooklyn, shop in the same stores, attend the same churches, organizations and nightclubs so there are lots of advertising and promotional opportunities. And its fairly easy to find the potential audience and sell them HD radios. They can be promoted in Caribbean newspapers, sold in neighborhood stores, promoted at gatherings etc. Those people also live in areas closer to the transmitters where the HD signal is usable...
Let's give One Caribbean Radio credit...

One Caribbean Radio is promoting Teac HD table radios (with an iPhone dock) that it is selling for a modest $50. Listeners are being encouraged to purchase them as gifts for people that do not have HD radios (that would be virtually everyone).
And OCR deserves some kudos for taking the risk of broadcasting original, live and local programming on HD radio (and online of course). They play a wide range of West Indianmusic, not just reggae. There are also lots of songs that are not Caribbean, to add variety, especially during their evening program of relaxing music. And there is plenty of personality from the live dj's. I think their audio sounds quite good.
Perhaps HD radio would become more interesting if more HD subchannels were leased to outside broadcasters, instead of being operated as jukeboxes, as so many are.

 

[Barry]

During its first month on WWPR HD2, I've been listening to One Caribbean Radio from time to time.
I am impressed by the quality of their audio. They sound terrific. Perhaps the Clear Channel engineers have offered some help with the sound on this channel that has been leased from them.
I believe this station illustrates the potential of HD radio, with a relatively powerful signal that can be received over a wide area, that sounds real good. The stereo separation seems just right.
The programming seems to be live and local during most of the day and evening hours, with plenty of time checks and weather/traffic information.
But they may be ahead of their time. With so few people listening to HD radio, and online broadcasts difficult to monetize, I wonder whether OCR can afford to stay on the air for the long haul. They have more or less the same few advertisers they had at the start a month ago.

 

[Barry]

Starting on Wednesday, barely a month since One Caribbean Radio began broadcasting on WWPR HD2, the channel has been transmitting an open carrier.
A message on the streaming audio page of One Caribbean Radio (also silent) tersely states: "We are off the air because we need money to pay our bills."
Perhaps Clear Channel, which leased the channel to OCR, will need to resume programming it soon.
Legally speaking, I wonder whether CC is required to provide hourly ID's on WWPR HD2, since the station that leased it is off the air, and an open carrier is being transmitted.