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Radio Industry Error: Depending On HD
The buzz is on. Radio execs are confident their plan for HD radio will save the day. Now if they can only get the public onboard (which may prove more difficult than anyone wants to admit).
To millions of persons, High Definition Radio is waiting to be defined. Being told it is CD quality isn't a strong point for the masses as they move from CDs to digital music. Also, while being able to read artist and song text on the radio panel is a selling point of HD, programmers and advertisers haven't figured out how to use the technology effectively. An example of a bad use for technology is, if commercial messages start rolling across the screen with frequency the text will be ignored.
So, what's that leave us with when discussing the finer points of HD Radio? Availability? Finding the units is proving difficult according to nearly every report I've seen. Low cost? Hardly. For the 18-34 year old who's deciding where to drop a few hundred dollars for sound in their vehicle, which do you think they'll choose an MP3 player, satellite or HD radio? Early returns say the MP3 player.
The closer we get to the real launch of HD Radio, the more my fears build for the future of terrestrial radio.
I'm most fearful that the radio industry is making a huge mistake by putting all their eggs in the HD basket
when they should be spending more - much more - on development of talent, programs, and how to use the internet.
Here's where the real problem is; by introducing HD Radio at the same time most people are talking about HD television, the term "HD" is watered down to meaning little more than "better reception." Yet, I'm not aware there are reception complaints coming from any radio station audience today.
HD Radio is going to die on the vine unless the chatter about it starts to revolve around the programs HD Radio carries. (To continue this thought, check our last story today.)
Related Article:
ZDNet News
Posted:
10:49 11/10/2005
From:
John Gorman - Gorman Media
I'm convinced it's going to be the new Betamax - except that Betamax was a better quality product with poorly planned promo, marketing,
and awareness.
Sony allowed only one other company, Zenith, to manufacture
beta machines. The VHS patent holders allowed any manufacturer that wanted
to make VHS recorders to go right ahead. Up until digital took hold at
local stations, Betamax has been the system TV stations used for news and
sports.
Radio is sidestepping the fact that HD radio is not like HD TV. In
fact, the new adjacent channels will probably be below-par audio-wise. The
audio processing on FM is so, so, so incredibly bad in this market [Cleveland, OH] (which
was once considered the best) that I don't see how terrestrial radio can
market a "new and improved" product that really isn't.
I see no marketing
plan for early adopters - and, with the exception of Detroit (and there's
good reason for that), I don't know of any market that has their HD
stations up and running - and those that do are automated/voice tracked.
Last time I checked, stereo Internet radio has much better stereo
separation than any FM station and surround-sound will be adapted to
Internet radio before terrestrial radio because it's availability is
already in place for computers.
The HD geniuses made a glaring mistake by
making Detroit the test market. They did so, obviously, because it's home
to what we used to call the Big Three auto makers. Trouble is, consumers -
especially those you'd want to target HD to - are buying foreign-made cars.
HD should've been cutting deals with Toyota, Honda, and Kia - not Ford,
Chevy, and Chrysler.
The offerings for the new HD channels I've heard from Detroit stations sound like bad Internet radio stations. And
all the promotion and marketing that HD was going to provide Detroit
backfired when units weren't ready - meaning they've already blown the
Christmas season.
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