Radio's Great Leap Forward stalling in the Valley

Sara Perkins
December 5, 2007 - 5:30PM
Local radio broadcasters have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars
on a new technology to compete with satellite radio and iPods, but
nearly no one in the Rio Grande Valley is listening.

Retailers say no one is buying HD radios in South Texas despite
scattered attempts by broadcasters to promote the digital signal
technology, which provides clearer sound and allows stations to send
out "sub-channels" of music and information.

HD radio advocates, including broadcasting giant Clear Channel Radio,
market the digital signals as radio's Great Leap Forward, the answer
to the increasing popularity of MP3 players and satellite providers XM
and Sirius Satellite Radio.

Harlingen-based National Public Radio station KMBH/KHID, Clear
Channel's four local stations, KGBT 98.5 and several others have
shelled out the money to upgrade to a digital signal.

However, "out of 300 customers, maybe one will ask about HD radio, but
the rest don't know about it," said Pedro Diaz, manager of D-Tronics
in McAllen. "Is it a hot item? No, it's not."

His hot item in the car stereo department? Audio systems that will
play digital music files off a "thumb drive" -- a keychain-sized stick
of memory that connects to a computer's USB port and can hold hours
worth of music.

Jeff Seeds, sales manager at Clark Knapp Honda in Edinburg, said he
hasn't heard a peep about HD radios. When buyers come in, they're just
looking for "a good-sounding radio with a CD player," he said. He said
his salesmen often convince buyers to fall in love with the XM
satellite radios sold with Hondas.

Whereas a federally mandated shift to all-digital television signals
is forcing television manufacturers to install digital receivers in
all new TVs, there is no HD radio deadline, no force encouraging
consumers or retailers to adopt the new technology.

For that matter, HD does not stand for "high definition," as it does
with HD television. It does not stand for anything.

HD advocates cite a nationwide survey that shows increasing awareness
of and interest in HD radio technology. But they also acknowledge that
America has not rushed to adopt the new format yet.

Nearly two years after the Valley's four Clear Channel stations went
HD, several high-end car manufacturers have promised to offer HD
radios as an option on new models.

But while Ford announced in September that it offers the radios as
dealer-installed upgrades -- as have Mini, Volvo, Jaguar and BMW --
local Ford and Lincoln dealers had not heard of HD and said they don't
offer the option.

Clear Channel's Valley radio stations -- K-Tex 100.3, Wild 104.1,
Oldies 105.5 and Hot Kiss 106.3 -- went digital in February 2006,
making the Valley the first middle-sized market in the massive
broadcasting company's stable to get the upgrade.

Switching formats cost the company around $250,000, said operations
manager Billy Santiago. "We had to buy all-new transmitters and
software in the studios," he said. The decision was not made locally,
but as part of the company's nationwide conversion plan.

Clear Channel doesn't have numbers on how many people listen to HD
radio in South Texas, Santiago said, although market surveys are
coming. In the meantime, they broadcast commercial-free classic rock
and Spanish-language music on their sub-channels.

The upgrade did little to extend the reach of the company's two low-
power stations, Hot Kiss and Oldies.

While KTEX and Wild 104 have high-power signals that allow them to be
heard Valley-wide, the low-powered stations based in each city have a
hard time reaching the other with analog or digital signals.

"For Oldies, if you live in Mission you'll be able to pick up the
classic rock (digital sub-channel) signal real good, but you won't in
Harlingen," Santiago said.

KMBH, the National Public Radio affiliate based in Harlingen, switched
to HD this year, but the change did not boost its inconsistent analog
signal in the upper Valley.

Monsignor Pedro Briseño, the manager of the station and its television
affiliate, did not return multiple calls and an e-mail requesting
comment on the station's shift. A fundraising campaign on the station
asked local listeners to contribute to the upgrade earlier this year,
touting the change as a service to listeners that would improve their
experience.

The station's business manager said she could not reveal the cost of
the upgrade, saying all media inquiries have to go through Briseño.

A public information request faxed to the station Monday evening was
not acknowledged as of Wednesday afternoon. Organizations that receive
government funding are subject to state and federal open records laws,
but have seven business days to respond to information requests.
____
Sara Perkins covers Mission, western Hidalgo County, Starr County and
general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956)
683-4472.

Ha! Ha! Oh, yea it's dead!