Publisher's Note: Peter Doyle, FCC Media Bureau Chief, commented at NAB on the slow adaption of HD Radio. After years of weak response, IMO it's time the radio industry initiates digital radio the way consumers want - online.

HD Radio is as comatose today as when this article was written in October 2007. To prove the point, the chart below shows if the listed radio stations mention HD Radio on their web sites; it has been updated, and indicates little change between then and now.




When my father was on his death bed my sister, who is a practicing nurse, told me he didn't have long. She knew because of being able to read the signs his body gave off before the lungs reached their last breath. Dad died sixteen hours later.

The analogy to my father dying and that of HD Radio's demise is not that different. Look for the signs indicating the body is giving out, then start counting the time until you call it a grievous day. Those with the schooling know the signs. Whether they relay them to those who don't know is what's keeping HD Radio alive, so far.

"The far right column shows if HD Radio is represented on these web sites today."

The radio industry is giving off signs that HD Radio is dead, even though we keep hearing bright comments being uttered by iBiquity execs. A recent quote from [then] HD Radio Alliance President/CEO Peter Ferrara "predicts by 2011 (model year 2012) HD Radio will be optional in every car and standard in most." Mr. Ferrara is either being overly optimistic, or does not understand the business side of getting inside a vehicle's dashboard.

Another set of words quoted to Mr. Ferrara: "We've lost sight of the fact that FM took 10 years to become standard." He's not pointing out, though, that FM was building an audience based on programming which related to their lifestyle of the day, and AM was not serving this group. (Kind of sounds like the flight from regular broadcast to new media. But, that's another article.) Use your own ears and sample HD Radio at Clear Channel, Cox, or iBiquity's own site (2007 Claims - or Today). Do you hear anything that "relates" in the same way FM did in its early years?

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. Please, visit this [now closed] site. See what information the HD Radio Alliance is giving the retail industry to sell HD Radio. See if it differs from anything in past publicity releases. See if it contains the "deal closer" concept, or anything that excites the audience (clerks and retail management). This is death sign #1.

Next sign, and this is all the more you need to digest on this topic: HD Radio is not being promoted on radio station web sites. The radio industry has given up with "extra" promotion, over that huge commitment made by the HD Radio Alliance that's forced all member stations to comply.

Despite $230 million committed to promoting HD over the airwaves in 2008, and a few hundred million more spent over the past two years, a recent visit to thirty radio station web sites found only four that had any mention of HD Radio on the home page - and one did not link that mention to anything HD.

Here's a chart of station web sites visited from six major groups, featuring five stations each. Click on the station name to see what I saw. (Note: These are random selections, with no visited site left out because it did not reflect the above comments. These are the only station sites I traveled to for this experiment.)

[The far right column shows if HD Radio is represented on these web sites today.]

				Mention HD	on Web Site
Station Group	Station	Format	Location	Oct. 2007	Today
Clear Channel	KDFO-FM	Classic Rock	Bakersfield, CA	No	No
Clear Channel	WTKG-AM	Talk	Grand Rapids, MI	No	No
Clear Channel	WWSW-FM	Oldies	Pittsburgh, PA	medium sized HD link	No
Clear Channel	KVET-FM	Country	Austin, TX	hard-to-read banner	No
Clear Channel	KISC-FM	AC	Spokane, WA	No	No
Cumulus	99X	Alternative Rock	Atlanta, GA	No	No
Cumulus	WFMS-FM 95.5	Country	Indianapolis, IN	No	No
Cumulus	KMJJ-FM 99.7	Urban	Shreveport, LA	No	No
Cumulus	WZNN-FM 106.7	Alternative	Green Bay, WI	No	No
Cumulus	KMAJ-AM 1440	News/Talk/Sports	Topeka, KS	No	No
Emmis	The Loop 97.9	Rock	Chicago, IL	small banner	medium banner
Emmis	WWVR-FM The River	Classic Rock	Terre Haute, IN	No	small link
Emmis	HOT 97 WQHT	Hip Hop and R&B	New York, NY	small HD banner/no link	No
Emmis	Movin 93.9, KMVN-FM	Rhythmic Pop Contemporary	Los Angeles, CA	No	site not available
Emmis	107.1, KGSR-FM	Adult Album Alternative	Austin, TX	No	small link
Greater Media	MAGIC 106.7 (WMJX)	adult contemporary	Boston, MA	No	small banner
Greater Media	WRIF 101.1 FM	mainstream rock	Detroit, MI	No	No
Greater Media	97.5 FM/WJJZ (Now "The Fanatic")	Jazz (Now Sports)	Philadelphia, PA	No	No
Greater Media	105.5 WDHA	Classic Rock	Cedar knolls, NJ	No	No
Greater Media	WJRZ 100.1 FM	Hits of the 60's and 70'	Manahawkin, NJ	No	No
Entercom	Kiss 98.5 FM	ĄC	Buffalo, NY	No	No
Entercom	KQMT The Mountain	Timeless Classics	Denver, CO	No	No
Entercom	Charlie	Variety Hits	Madison, WI	No	No
Entercom	The Buzz KRSK	Hot AC	Portland, OR	No	No
Entercom	WROQ	Classic Rock	Greenville, SC	No	No
CBS Radio	101.9 WLIF-FM	AC	Baltimore, MD	No	No
CBS Radio	WZMX-FM	Rhythmic CHR	Hartford, CT	No	No
CBS Radio	O-Rock 105.9	Alternative Rock	Orlando, FL	No	2 Links
CBS Radio	KVFG-FM	Country	Riverside, CA	No	No
CBS Radio	94.7 The Globe	Triple A	Washington D.C.	No	Link

As you're breezing through this list also keep your eyes open for indicators that the radio industry still has a lot to learn about web site design. Few of these sites refrain from what I call the auto dealer approach: Scream as loud as you can, flash as many bright colors as you can think of, and fill your 60 second commercial with 75 seconds of copy.

The whole lot of 30 web sites visited reflect similar design (except for a few, as mentioned).
(Note: In 2011 sites are displaying improved navigation, but most still use the "in your face" approach.)

The radio industry may be talking up good stories about its intent to compete online, and how HD Radio is being embraced by the audience. But, so far, there's little evidence that the radio industry is taking anything seriously.

As for the absence of mentioning HD Radio on any of these web sites home pages... that either comes from radio not believing in the power of the internet to sell product (which it can never admit to clients), or its lack of mentioning HD Radio comes from the beginning of the radio industry distancing itself from what's turning out to be a Huge Disaster!

HD Radio's death is imminent. It's only a matter of time, if you read the signs.




Back to Today

Current HD Radio President and CEO Bob Struble continues to double-talk HD Radio's success, with statements like this from his most recent post. "There are more than 2,100 HD Radio stations in over 250 markets reaching 90% of the population. 96% of the top 10 stations in the top 10 markets are now broadcasting digitally and 80% of all radio listening is happening on HD Radio stations."

Just the use of a smoke and mirrors attempt at explaining HD Radio's success only reinforces how deep the hole has become.

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