"Schneider Moves to Ibiquity from BE" 3.07.2008

Ibiquity is reaching out to develop new business in Latin America and
it has hired a sales executive from BE for the job. John Schneider has
resigned as sales manager for Latin America and the Caribbean for
Broadcast Electronics after 10 years in that position. He informed
colleagues and clients in an e-mail Thursday. Schneider starts his new
duties March 26 and will be promoting HD Radio technology to radio
broadcasters and regulators in that part of the hemisphere. As
Ibiquity seeks more international business, this is its second notable
hire from the manufacturing community recently. As we reported earlier
it hired another broadcast equipment executive, Hal Kneller, from
Harris to become its international business development director.

http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0100/t.11711.html

"Bellwether BE Makes Some Changes?"

A New President Comes on Board at a Time of Market Softening

by Paul McLane, 11.07.2007
Editor in Chief/U.S.

Broadcast Electronics is approaching its 50th anniversary in 2009 and
I was pleased to see BE plan a salute to Larry Cervon, its retired
president, in October, with a ceremony in Quincy and a live Webcast.

Good for BE for honoring its history. We'll have more about Cervon's
tenure in an upcoming issue.

BE is going through some less pleasant changes right now. Within a few
weeks' time the manufacturer of transmitters and digital audio and
data products lost its global sales VP; it laid off some of its
employees; and it announced the retirement of its CEO of eight years,
John Pedlow -- news that came, at least to me, suddenly.

Because these developments emerged in a flurry and because BE is one
of the "bellwether" manufacturers in our industry -- it calls itself
the largest radio-only broadcast manufacturer -- I asked Neil Glassman,
vice president of strategic marketing, to talk about what they might
mean.

"We did have a reduction in staff over the summer," Neil confirmed.
"But the company still has more employees today than a year ago. You
hate to get rid of people; but this was more a correction of an 'over
ramp-up.' Everything was being built up a little too fast. We'd been
building in every department for growth and had to correct for a
little too much enthusiasm."

Glassman declined to say how many people had lost their jobs; he said
the cuts came in several departments. He said BE still has more than
150 employees, that it continues to use the recent 20,000-square-foot
expansion to its main facility in Quincy, Ill., and that delivery and
customer service response times have not been affected by the
cutbacks.

Separately, Michael Burgett recently resigned. BE had welcomed Burgett
with fanfare in late summer of 2006 when it created the position of
vice president of global sales; officials said then the hire was
important because BE was expanding in new overseas markets and also
integrating digital media with RF transmission activities, studio with
over-the-Internet and HD Radio activities.

Glassman said Burgett left for personal reasons unrelated to other
changes and said the sales position is now open. BE's international
sales efforts have strengthened, he said, including good growth in
AudioVault sales outside of the United States.

Growth

The departure of Pedlow is unfortunate because he's an executive I've
always found to be affable and accessible; but it also seemed notable
in part because it came right after the layoffs and because it felt
sudden. Glassman said it had been in the works for a while behind the
scenes.

"We collectively decided (John) could retire when he found his
replacement ... after almost nine years in which the company grew
tremendously." In announcing the change, BE called Pedlow's tenure
successful and noted that during those years, BE had "set a course for
the future of terrestrial radio with ground-breaking HD Radio
products," achieved double-digit revenue growth for four consecutive
years, increased manufacturing capacity and acquired The Radio
Experience product line.

Pedlow will move back to his home state of Washington to pursue
boating, among other interests, and will continue to consult to BE.

Meanwhile new CEO Joseph W. Roark is getting his sea legs. He's former
president of four Weir Group PLC companies and two Danaher companies;
BE describes him as strong in industrial business experience with an
emphasis on converging technologies. Roark -- pronounce it "ROH-ark" --
will relocate from Salt Lake City to Quincy. He and Pedlow issued
mutually supportive statements in announcing the change.

'Bit of a null'

Glassman said BE has been through many such departures over its 48
years.

"It's really cool in a way that BE is both a personality-driven
company, with people who are visible like John Pedlow, Jerry Westberg,
Richard Hinkle, Tim Bealor and others, but that it is enough of a
company that it transcends people's life transitions. It has a
personality and force of its own."

But while not connecting business trends to Pedlow's departure,
Glassman didn't pretend that BE's equipment market has not softened.

"It's probably no secret that the rate of HD Radio adoption has slowed
in the United States. There are new opportunities that exist in other
countries; Mexico and Brazil come to mind; sales there are few but
promising. The whole industry is in a bit of a null in the HD
transition but I don't think anyone's long-term plans have changed."

I asked Neil if he remains optimistic about the longer-term uptake of
digital radio here at home.

"Absolutely. We continue to see increasing dialogue with people in the
middle markets; we're getting more people who are beyond 'Uh, I'm not
interested' to 'Hmm, should I do this?' and starting to go toward, 'OK
if I'm going to do this, when is the right time?' We're seeing more
middle-market stations and/or mid-sized groups inquiring. Even if it's
just 'I'm buying a new analog rig but want to be sure I'm not going to
be painted in a corner.'"

Though BE is not relying only on business in the United States, he
said, "right now, we're still bullish on the U.S. market. I can't
speak for the owners; but the way they're continuing to support us, it
seems the owners are also bullish about the future of radio." Since
early 2006 BE has been owned by the Audax Group in Boston, a private
equity firm that also owns the Boston Herald, among other holdings.

As you know from previous columns, BE is not the only company that has
had to scale back its workforce in light of business trends in
broadcasting. And CEOs do change from time to time. I wish BE and its
new leader well and wish for it more growth ahead. A healthy broadcast
equipment marketplace is good for equipment users and for trade
publications, of course; but it's also reflective of the underlying
radio industry.

We'll continue to watch and root for a vibrant manufacturing sector.
Glassman, for one, is optimistic that smart broadcast owners will do
what's necessary to redefine what "radio" means. Our medium is now a
multiplatform environment, he said; and Glassman is bolstered by
seeing entities much bigger than BE, companies that own stations and
produce programming, continuing to invest in it.

http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0044/t.9546.html

Of course, no interest in HD Radio in Latin America, either:

http://www.google.com/trends?q=hd+ra...ate=all&sort=0

Smells of desperation - adding to the list:

"A Significant Sign in the Death of HD Radio"

"The radio industry is giving off signs that HD Radio is dead, even
though we keep hearing bright comments being uttered by iBiquity
execs... While the public's pulse on HD isn't beating, the latest
glaze over this problem is in a rebuilt HD Radio Alliance web site to
educate retailers and sales personnel on the benefits of HD
Radio...This is death sign #1... HD Radio's death is imminent. It's
only a matter of time, if you read the signs."

http://www.audiographics.com/agd/102607-1.htm

This is GREAT! The fourth heavyweight in months!