I don't have an HD radio as neither does most folks, but you can listen to those stations online via tunein.com. This will give you the Wilmington area radio dial including the HD stations. This is a great web site for finding radio anywhere. So to answer your question, prior to finding tunein.com I'd have agreed with you, but now, as I can access those new stations and their different programs via the computer, I'm OK with it.
I'm not sure how the stations make any money with the HD stations, but maybe they don't want to be short sighted as many of them were here in Wilmington in the 1950's when FM was not popular and they gave away their FM frequencies only to be later kicking themselves when FM took over for AM.
What will make HD come alive in the market place is when they make a table top model that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, where you get AM/FM/HD. Also when car radios start having AM/FM/HD. Eventually that will happen. My guess is that is why the broadcasters are having a presence on the HD dial. To be there as folks finally get HD.