wrote in message
ups.com...
Frank Dresser wrote:
And more expenses for the broadcaster.
They doesn't seem to be stopping them from adding second and third
channels Like WIYY in Baltimore, which has *voluntarily* added
Classic Rock and Indie Rock to their AOR primary station. Now
listeners of that style have three times as much content to enjoy.
But how is the extra programming being paid for?
Plus: If a smaller station can't afford multiple program, then they
don't need to do anything. They can just limit themselves to 1 high-
quality channel (300 kbps).
Gee, maybe if some independant station can't afford multiple programming,
they'll have even have trouble justifing buying the IBOC hardware.
Certainly not. And just because the frequency response of AM radio can
go
from 20 to 15kHz, or better doesn't mean it does. And FM radio is also
capable of excellent fidelity but it doesn't really happen either.
5.1 would be compromised in similar ways.
And then the listeners of that Classic Music station would complain,
and the manager would have to decide between (a) increasing bitrate or
(b) losing customers.
Yeah, there's a few stations in which true high fidelity sound would matter.
Not many.
People in Canada, Japan, and Australia bought AM Stereo radio in
droves. Why? Because there was a single standard, not the 4-way mess
the FCC left behind. (It's similar to today's HD DVD versus Blu-ray
battle; most people are just waiting to see who wins.)
Oh? A great many radios sold in the US are the same as the radios sold in
other countries and AM stereo still pretty rare here.
If the FCC had picked just ONE standard, then u.s. citizens would have
acted like canadians, japanese, and australians, and bought the radio
upgrade.
If they cared. The demand for AM stereo was fragile.
But with a 4-way race.... well u.s. citizens were left confused. And
it was the FCC's fault.
NOTE: This situation doesn't exist today. FCC has selected HDR, and
thus people know what they need to buy to get double or triple the #
of stations on the dial.
Yep. And HD radio is selling about as well as AM stereo did.
I already agreed with you that HQ is not going to motivate people to
upgrade. It will be seeing their favorite FM stations split into 3 or
4 programs, thus tripling their options, that will motive people to
buy.
Are they making money on the secondary channels yet? Are they even carrying
commercial advertising?
And I'm sure a fellow as clever and imaginative as you are can figure how
they might try to make money even if there aren't enough listeners to sell
commercial advertising.
Hint: They won't call it "HD radio"
In my market, Chicago, the top 2 stations account for about 10% of the
listeners. The bottom 15 on the Arbitron list draw 1% or less. And
there
are a number of stations which don't even make the list.
Hmm, interesting. In my markets (Lancaster, York, Harrisburg,
Baltimore), the listeners are fairly evenly divided bwtween the
stations. They all get a piece of the pie. See:
http://www1.arbitron.com/tlr/public/report.do
Baltimore, huh? Got any friends at ibiquity?
Actually, I just looked at the Chicago market. The ratings don't
support your claim. Even in Chicago, the listeners are fairly evenly
divided amongst the top 20 stations. (ranging from approximately 2 to
5% of the listeners, per station).
OK, I would have supported my point better if I had said:
"Many people listen to a few top rated stations, and a few people listen to
many bottom rated stations."
Either way, I'm aiming at the same point.
And my point is that there are alot of stations which don't have many
listeners, already. And HD radio does little to increase the number of
people listening to the radio.
HD radio does little to aid the health of the radio industry in general, but
it may be harmful to those people who are trying to run a small time low
profit station.
That seems to suggest listeners do what I do:
- jump from station to station
- looking for variety across multiple channels
- and that they would LOVE having 3-4 times more options on the FM
dial.
Good for you! Keep up the bandscanning!!
And if you double and redouble your efforts, you just might stumble across a
radio infomertial!!!
Frank Dresser