Are You Killing HD Radio?

Controversy always surrounds HD Radio, and after this article I'm sure I'll hear from a few dozen readers who will tell me that HD is a farce, it can't do anything for radio, and it should be killed immediately. Even though I released an HD product called Mighty Red last Christmas (and sold out a couple of thousand units), I too am critical of HD. There are issues, including some technical issues. But, frankly, most of the issues are not with the technology, or with the iBiquity people. We, the industry, are the problem with HD Radio.

 
HD Is A Throwaway
Thankfully, most radio groups have embraced HD Radio, but I dare say many of the HD2 and HD3 subchannels are throwaways. If HD is to gain any consumer interest, there must be a good reason to buy the technology, especially if the technology is a lot more expensive than a non-HD receiver.

In the 1970s, FM radio was commercial-free, was hipper and cooler, was playing album cuts instead of the top 40, and had alternative-sounding DJs. That approach, thanks in part to FM pioneers like Lee Abrams, Jim Donohue, Buzz Bennett, Jerry Clifton, and others, was about knowing what the young generation wanted, finding a way to reflect that, and putting it on FM. But what are we putting on HD Radio today? And does it appeal to the generation most likely to embrace something new?
 
Splat, Splat, Splat
What is the advantage of HD Radio? It sounds better, and it can do some cool digital and interactive things. But does it sound that much better than FM? Enough that a consumer can tell a difference? I'm not sure the difference is as noticeable as AM vs. FM was, but the better sound could still be an advantage. 

But many of the stations I'm listening to on HD are playing MP3s instead of higher-quality .WAV files, making the difference in sound less noticeable. Somewhere along the line it was not communicated that if your source is an MP3, with the sound of splattering highs and drums, your HD signal will output garbage as well. (Frankly, no FM should be playing MP3s either. They don't sound good.)

Radio's Biggest Advertiser
Though quality is a starting point, a bigger issue is that the extensive marketing isn't getting noticed. The stations I've heard running HD Radio spots don't seem to be touting what the difference is with HD. Nor are they trying to use their existing HD listeners as a viral tool to sell more interest in the technology to others. Yes, many stations are running spots, and the HD Radio Alliance was one of radio's biggest advertisers last year, but most consumers still don't know or care about the technology  There is a disconnect somewhere.
 
Nothing Worth Listening To?
HD Radio is the unwanted child of FM. Most managers I talk to run it because they are told to run it, but few believe in it. Too many HD channels are sub-content from a more mainstream format (for instance, a specific decade). Or they're formats that can no longer make it in the mainstream, or dog formats that may appeal to a small segment of an FM's audience.

And most HD subchannels are an afterthought. Most are automated (and sound like it), most get no attention from their PDs (who are already low on time), and few are using live talent, because of course it's not cost-effective to put live personalities on a channel with no listeners. That would be the cart before the horse.

Maybe HD isn't taking off because there is simply nothing worth listening to?
 
The Unwanted Radio Child
In the 1940s-1970s, FM was the unwanted child of AM. No one could make a dime on an FM station, and they were considered just a nuisance (sound familiar?). Thankfully, there were some young, brash programmers who talked some owners into letting them try something new. They brought about the real birth of FM, after it had been a wasteland of elevator music for 30 years. Where are those young, brash programmers today, and why aren't we letting them invent something new for HD?

It seems to me that if we came up with something that is not researched to death, that is as radical as FM was in its early days, and that gives HD the feel of being "underground" or offering something you can't get anywhere else (and that a large audience actually cares about), HD could take off. Go steal some college radio programmers and let them dazzle you. Innovation rarely happens in big corporations, which tend to be risk-averse. If today's owners were in charge when those bold young FM pioneers were begging for a chance to try their formats on the FM wasteland, I fear FM would have never taken off and we would be an industry of AM stations today.
 
If You Build It, They Won't Come
Last week iBiquity CEO Bob Struble stated that HD can help radio grow. He's right, but HD won't move the needle unless there is compelling content. At the moment, HD is nothing more than an annoyance to some GMs and owners, just like FM was, and I've even heard rumors that some groups have turned off their HD signals just to save power (if this is true, let me know).

HD Radio has the potential to be as big or bigger than FM was and to create new interest. But only if there is compelling content.
 
It's The Content, Stupid
Struble is right, but radio isn't buying it because they're focusing on the wrong things. HD Radio success isn't about the distribution method, what it can do digitally, or even its improved audio fidelity. It's about the content, and how much attention we pay to the content. Features don't make money unless there are audiences attached. Programmers have proven that a crummy fringe signal can be number one in a market if the content is better than everything else.
 
Cart Before The Horse?
Too often I hear "We will pay more attention to HD Radio once there are more HD receivers in the marketplace." Many said the same about FM too. I know one man who turned his FM back to the FCC because he thought it was useless to own. But a few brave souls created great radio brands, some of which have lasted 40 years now, because they put content first. Why not go to the local college, find some kids who want to change the world, turn the HD signal over to them and say, "Anything goes, as long as you don't lose the license"?
 
Building The Car Without Going To The Race
What radio company is really behind HD? Signing up, going to the expense of converting to the equipment, increasing your electric bill, and having one more format to be responsible for is a commitment. But it's not enough of a commitment. It's like buying the best race car and forgetting to show up at the race.

Every radio company with HD Radio should be promoting it to death, finding a way to get compelling content on the air, looking for a way to create something listeners can't get anywhere else, and seeking an edge that will make HD channels appeal to youth culture.

They should be in the face of every retailer who can sell HD, making sure units are available and that retailers understand what the benefits are. I'd hold seminars for every salesperson at every electronics store to educate them about HD in each market. When I go to stores and ask about HD Radio, no one even knows what I'm talking about. If you promote it and make it compelling and unique, you will get an audience.
 
I'd love to hear examples of stations with actual HD successes, but frankly, if they're out there, I've heard nothing. As an industry, our priority is still survival, and HD is just another thing to go on the back burner -- until it finally burns out.

While some will applaud when HD dies, I think it would be an opportunity lost. What about you? Have you given up on HD? Are you paying proper attention to your HD channels or just letting them ride on autopilot? Don't let the opportunity pass. We're in a digital world, and HD allows radio to do things with digital that can't be done with a radio signal alone. We should not let it die because of our apathy.

Eric Rhoads
 


 
PS: We have a killer lineup at our Convergence Conference,  June 3-4 at the Microsoft campus in Mountain View, CA:
Guy Kawasaki returns with a new, expanded session on "The Art Of Social Network Marketing"
Best-selling author Jeffrey Eisenberg, on the real strategies for social media success
Promote A Book founder Michael Drew's acclaimed "Pendulum" presentation explains how entrepreneurs can take advantage of cyclical the shifts in societal attitudes
Rob Curley of Greenspun Media Group and the Las Vegas Sun,showcases innovative new ideas for hyperlocalism
Kurt Hanson, founder and Publisher of RAIN and CEO of AccuRadio, with his highly anticipated "State of the Industry" talk
Mark Ramsey lays out his vision for radio in the days ahead
Gordon Borrell, with the facts on who is doing the best at bringing in interactive revenues, and how they're doing it

PLUS: We've added tech guru Eric Greenspan as emcee, and musician Andy Grammer will join us to add some color to the event.

Click here to register for Convergence 2010, or call 561-655-8778.


 
AND....
 
Did you know we have a pre-Convergence conference called the Radio Tech Summit? It's being held right before Radio Ink Convergence and will deal with the issues of HD Radio and other technical issues related to radio. Please join us. We start on June 2. To learn more, go to www.radioink.com/techsummit, or click here to register.  

Comments

[my website]

That's the kind of image that i really thing is super image like. If more images very real like this were out there we'd be super full of graet images in the world.

[plumbing]

Listen to the irritation of alternating digital-analog in HD1 or digital-silence in HD2 and HD3. Tune the dial and hear all the new competition from market drop-ins, city of license moves, FM translators, hispanic music and Jesus pop.

[The Music Void]

Mark Ramsey, President of Mark Ramsey Media, a company aimed at merging traditional radio with digital media, talks about the purpose of his business and their goals, as well as the radio-analogue/digital-radio debate, the advantages of radio in consuming content, how to engage audiences effectively in an ever-changing world, and what traditional radio offers that music subscription services don’t.

Watch an exclusive video interview here:
http://www.themusicvoid.com/2010/07/exclusive-video-interview-mark-ramsey-president-of-mrm/

[Bob]

Eric, how can you kill something when it is already dead?
Underground radio was more than just non-commercial music, it was the fountain head of a movement never to be duplicated again, kind of like the phenomenon of The Beatles although it unfolded at a much slower pace.

[hooah!]

You may also want to check out the fiasco that AM HD, and HD in general, has become in the Bay Area...and no, it's not just programming.

http://www.rbr.com/radio/ENGINEERING/94/24634.html

[Greg Jablonski]

Eric, the technical issues with HD Radio make all the other issues -- and there are many -- moot. I think it's time we put a flower on the coffin of HD Radio, lower it into a hole, and recognize it for what it was -- a grand distraction. The mantras "digital is better" and "digital at any cost" have really gotten out of hand. Analog FM radio is by far the most robust, efficient, and reliable radio delivery method ever devised. A better system may come along someday; it just isn't HD Radio.

[Bob Monroe]

When I'm done with my morning show, voice tracking the weekend, updating the website, cutting a spot or two, maybe I can keep my job another week. My GM will not notice if I didn't load a log into the HD-2 automation, because while we all have an HD radio, they aren't worth the fuss. They don't work consistently. I will buy batteries for my mp3 player at least. While 128k MP3 sounds fine to most everyone, the obsolete codec on 32-48k HD2 sounds like a poor webcast no matter the source material. The HD reception failure is frequent and abrupt and only the HD1 will fall back to noisy analog just when it's at it's worst, plagued with multipath and iboc hash. Listen to the irritation of alternating digital-analog in HD1 or digital-silence in HD2 and HD3. Tune the dial and hear all the new competition from market drop-ins, city of license moves, FM translators, hispanic music and Jesus pop. FM is now AM and is polluted with trash. To think we can just throw on some alternative programming for the kids and make it work like FM in the 70s is ridiculous. There was a thing called hi-fi that made FM work with obscure programming and they still had problems selling it. Was it like now where radio does not promote or advertise itself except on sister stations? Back then, when the music listeners all moved to FM, we AMed it. We even made it sound worse than AM with the latest audio processing. We did promote FM on billboards after it became mainstream.

Ibiquity investors i.e. big broadcasters get to keep their infrastructure while jamming competition from adjacent markets and community oriented class A stations. HD2 and HD3 stations (the stations between the stations) have essentially been granted by the FCC, without allowing new competition for paying Ibiquity. What would two new station construction permits cost in New York? Competing applicants are avoided. All paid politics.

For now and the future we'll play the few most recognizable songs on all channels for Arbitron. Not diversity. Not quality. Nobody from the station is even listening all weekend. We need at least some time off from doing six jobs all week. So if we don't listen, why would the listeners? For the six analog stations running here and now the 4 hd channels and less than ten people on the programming staff, this is more like an automated factory than a creative medium. We don't have promotion budget for our primary signal, much less for an HD2. Why make 31 flavors when you can't even get vanilla right? Not when listeners have every type of music they can run their own jukebox without commercials. Not when web casting has much better sound and reliability. Not when the web casting is on your phone and in your dash. FM is now AM and it is time for a whole new thing and big broadcast will be out of the picture because of their greed (and huge debt for some rusty towers).

[Mike]

I hope that you HD Radio boosters are ready for that DOJ probe.

[Rick Peters]

Eric,

Just read your HD article. I have a different take on what is killing HD, and I think you missed it. You see, for the first time an "industry technical standard" is being LICENSED instead of offered as "open architecture" to broadcasters.

To my knowledge, this has never happened before in the HISTORY of broadcasting. Imagine what would have happened to FM if Armstrong had wanted 25k per station and a percentage of your HD revenue instead of offering it as an open technical standard. What would have happened if David Sarnoff at RCA had tried to make the networks pay for phase modulation and color TV? Never before has this happened and the result is obvious.

No, Ibiquity is killing HD. 125k and a precentage of my revenue for my stations in Montgomery to license HD. Not over my dead body. I'll use that money to establish a beachhead in the digital space.

I've already hired two web designers and a sales force, and tomorrow I will debut BuzzMontgomery.com - a local, digital town square complete with 4 custom designed, listener interactive, commercial free digital music streams (in addition to my 5 broadcast streams). This is where the future lies.

HD radio is already terminal. Ibiquity tried to put their hand in my pocket instead of licensing the receiver manufacturers. I choose not to participate in my own mugging.

HD is not going to survive unless the standard is made "open" and free. Just one broadcasters opinion.

RIP Ibiquity. RIP HD.

Something to think about.

Rick Peters

[Bill]

I bought a Big Red Radio and found that nobody's broadcasts HD where I live, but it's great for listening to XM 164 on the FM modulator - nobody else likes the old radio programs around here.

I have said that IBOC, now "HD" radio was a science project out looking for a fair since .. 1993? 94? Back when the magic bus ran at the NAB, anyway. I simply never offered any real advantage of analog. HDTV sells itself. People see it, they buy it. CD's sold themselves, people heard them, they bought them. iTunes and iPods sell themselves. Radio became a background medium intentionally in the 70's, with all of the background formats; lite rock, music to work by, etc., barf, etc. Now it's deep background; only talk formats remained foreground and that demographic is aging out of relevance.

Content? What's left? Music Radio doesn't produce any content. A good club DJ trance mix is better than most of what the "music industry" puts together. Pandora sounds as good as HD, and it's interactive.

The old NAB magic IBOC bus wasn't so magic as it was predictive of the technology's future ... under it.

Just sayin' :-)

[Bill]

1. Yes, we are considering turning off HD due to the high cost of power.
2. Yes, where I work, management has no interest in it and thinks it is a waste.
3. Yes, corporate committed our cluster before we were ready and no time is available for it.
4. Yes, it rides without notice.

On the other side, I agree that content is important in getting it running. I am not a fan of the technical limitations & problems (I'm an engineer), but if we have it, we should use it. One thought was to block program or lease the channel to some programmer with a message or dream. Grab 20%-30% of their net or gross income. Shoot there are a number of out of work morning shows that may do this.

Marketing is another side. No one wants to "lose" a piece of that revenue pie. Splitting up their audience is a scary thing. I think radio needs to break away from the ratings way of thinking and move to content based programming and sell that content. Radio needs to revamp and re-market itself.

Good thoughts, and good article.

[Mike]

Why doesn't Eric post the real truth as to the destructive nature of IBOC hash? A ploy to drive the smaller, adjacent-channel broadcasters out of business, and to force listeners to listen to only their local HD Radio stations. How about posting the truth about iBiquity's supposed HD Radio sales figures? Do I really need to go on? HD Radio reminds me of the Nazi's Volksempfänger Radio:

http://tinyurl.com/3686no2

[Lauren]

Hey Eric,

Couldn't agree more - the industry needs to water & nurture this technology in order to watch it grow. Also, wanted to let you know RadioYou Boston (WBOS-HD2) is programmed by young people (myself, & Jason Rossi both 25 yrs old) catering to those in the age group 17-25. It's a fresh alternative approach & we often compare ourselves to those underground fm stations from the 70's as we don't necessarily play the hits but songs we think are great. We're just a group of really passionate radio people trying to help make this medium take off.

Your words are inspiring. Thank you for continually trying to motivate this industry into high gear.

[Greg]

Eric,

Does anyone really need to tell you that HD Radio is a farce? Except for the vast amount of misinformation above, you've pretty much outlined that for yourself. I've decided that your post deserves a new post on my blog, but I'll have to see how it works out before I make any final decisions. Do you realy think that an email-blast of this was a good idea?