Portables/Tagging

"How to get HD on your iPhone"

"Which would YOU do? Well that depends on whether you're in the business of selling audiences or the business of selling HD Radio chips. This is not about what we want, it's about what consumers want. I don't know about you, but I vote that we do NOT treat our audience - and the thoughtful folks in our industry - like fools."

http://tinyurl.com/yhygp8g

"HD Radio iPhone App is Doomed to Fail From the Start"

"The app requires a Gigaware HD Radio accessory, which can be had for the low-low price of $80 and is only available at Radio Shack. Honestly, it seems as if they’re setting up this app to fail from the start. Very few people will invest that much money for a new unproven technology, especially when FM radio falls in that murky category of 'good enough tech' (DVD is another). It’s also fairly inconvenient since using the HD Radio app means you’ll have another device dangling off of your iPhone/iPod, along with its own mess of wires."

http://tinyurl.com/ybsuhp4


"iBiquity Forced to Build Own Portable Player"

"Companies like iBiquity that work with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), who product PC and consumer electronics gear nearly never get into the business of making their own branded devices because this kills the motivation for the firms they sell technology and reference design hardware to. The only reason a company gets into the business of making its own branded stuff is that they can't find a partner."

http://tinyurl.com/mal6qh

"The Letter"

"I've pretty much come to the conclusion that nobody cares... But the worst of it came from my experience playing with one of those Best Buy portable HD radios... If you don't go searching for them, you will never find an HD radio in the store. These were hanging on a forlorn pegboard all the way in the back of the store, next to the cassette and CD portables, which, sadly, is appropriate company. There were no signs."

http://tinyurl.com/ykqksj6


"New Zune To Include HD Radio"

"Bob Struble, President/CEO of iBiquity Digital Corporation, commented, We are very excited about the launch of HD Radio technology on Microsoft’s Zune HD. We are planning with the HD Radio Alliance to promote Zune HD to consumers."

http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=1342290

"iPod Touch Outsells Zune HD"

"If online sales are any indication, then the Zune HD isn't helping Microsoft close the gap with Apple in the lucrative MP3 music player market. Apple's 32GB iPod touch was the second top seller (behind Kindle) in Amazon's electronics category as of Thursday, while the 32GB Zune HD ranked only seventh. The 16GB Zune HD was a lowly 16th on the list."

http://tinyurl.com/n9amb4

"Zune HD Quickly Selling Out at Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy"

"Of course, as commenters have pointed out, it's possible, if not probable, that Microsoft is using the time-tested tactic of short supply to make sure it sells out everywhere. Until we get some hard numbers, there's no way to tell. In the meantime, here's how it shakes down (notice Microsoft's online store seems to have plenty of units)."

http://tinyurl.com/n4ab87

"Microsoft: We Couldn’t Kill the iPod, Maybe We Can Kill the iPod touch"

"FM radio was touted in the original Zunes. Lots of music players added radio since it was considered a major feature the iPod lacked. Nope. Including FM didn’t make the devices more desirable than an iPod. Now it’s HD radio, which is FM (and AM) with better quality because it’s digital (remember, the word 'digital' makes everything better). So Microsoft is clinging to the belief that FM radio is still what every music device needs, it was obviously just the quality of the signal that was the problem."

http://tinyurl.com/n5mzkk

"So Far, A Nano-Response"

"It’s been just over a month since Apple announced that its new iPod Nano would finally feature an FM tuner... For all the excitement, however, in our informal survey of radio people—including some of the industry’s known gadget junkies—almost none of those contacted told us they owned the new Nano, knew anybody who did own one, or had any good stories about the iPod’s intersection with radio so far."

http://radio-info.com/newsletter/html/ror-10132009.html


"Broadcasters, wireless firms at odds over radio in cell phones"

"Broadcasters want all cellphones to include FM tuners for a national alert system. But wireless companies want to use text messages to send notices to consumers... CTIA also said an Advisory Committee set up by the FCC to evaluate different technologies for an alert system had already recommended the text-message method and it had been approved by the agency."

http://tinyurl.com/ye43g95

"FM radio in mobile phones: the universal standard"

"Therefore, mobile phones should all have FM radios in them. An FM chip costs next to nothing for a mobile phone manufacturer. The benefit to the consumer is that FM radio is free at the point of access and its usage is only limited by the battery power of the phone... The US is not trying to argue that some new proprietary broadcast standard (such as HD Radio) be adopted in phones to further the objectives of a particular commercial US business."

http://tinyurl.com/ycf8cxs


"Editorial: 'Tagging, You're It'"

"Among all the new ideas introduced to U.S. radio broadcasting in 2008, we believe among the most exciting is the addition of music tagging to analog FM. When the tagging concept was announced as an additional feature for HD Radio, we found it interesting, but upon learning how cumbersome the process was to actually execute by listeners, and how few devices actually supported it, we tacitly concluded it was much ado about very little, at least in the near term... Because tagging can now truly work as a 'portable impulse buy' — with the user able to complete a transaction in a few seconds, on an undocked, handheld device — we feel this could be the start of something big for radio."

http://www.rwonline.com/article/71716

"Apple announces iPod nano with camera, FM tuner, pedometer"

"RBR/TVBR observation: At first we thought iTunes Tagging of course meant an FM HD tuner. However, it turns out the iTunes Tagging is based on RDS. This is not a good sign for HD Radio, as they could have incorporated the smaller chipset (read: HD Zune, Best Buy Insignia devices) into the Nano."

http://www.rbr.com/media-news/internet/16914.html

"HD's Killer App Goes Poof!"

"You’ve probably heard that Apple’s new iPod Nano will have an FM tuner with iTunes tagging built in. Lost in radio’s coverage of the announcement was its impact on HD Radio... Apple’s deal with iBiquity was just a test. They wanted a system that could sell more downloads and trump Rhapsody, and HD was the perfect guinea pig. They already had tagging on the entire iPod line. With the kinks worked out, now all they had to do was add an FM tuner to the iPod. Which they did with the new Nano... Make no mistake. This move was not designed to help radio. It was designed to give iTunes a revenue boost... And HD? Apple knows how many downloads HD generated for iTunes. Maybe that’s why they didn’t bother adding an HD tuner to any of the new iPods."

http://tinyurl.com/yklsvt6


"HD Radio Initiatives: Today's New Opportunities"

"Struble began the session by citing the latest HD radio sales and broadcaster data. He noted that while sales of HD Radios are sharply increasing, especially with the new portable Best Buy Insignia and Zune HD models, the economy and declining station revenues have slowed adoption a bit on the broadcaster side. We’re selling millions, but we need to be selling in the tens of millions.”

http://tinyurl.com/yjpsuvz

"Struble: Radio Is the Last Analog Medium Standing"

"Insignia HD — I think this will be a nice little interim step for jogging or working out. It proves the viability [of the technology] and hopefully we'll get sales; but no, this is not going to sell in the hundreds of thousands... Radio alone — the sad reality of where it is — as a standalone device, it just doesn't exist anymore as a category. Nobody goes into Best Buy and says 'Where's the radio department?'"

http://www.rwonline.com/article/87370


"Radio: Gossip Churl"

"Pro-HD Radio evangelists proclaimed this well-placed scam to be a sign that Steve Jobs was endorsing HD Radio. In reality, it was fabricated nonsense that reeked from the foul rat odor of the falsehoods and deceit we’ve come to recognize from Bilk-o and his fraudulent HD Radio Alliance."

http://tinyurl.com/5z85jm

Public Airwaves Monopoly

"THE IBOC STORY"

"It's 1990. The hapless National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) – even before 1996 industry consolidation, the toothless and blind lap-puppy of Big Group Radio, awakens with a start: the world is going digital!.. As a result, USA Digital Radio (USADR) was born – a joint effort of CBS and Gannett, later to be joined by Westinghouse. The USADR cartel cooked up Project Acorn in 1991 to develop a concept called IBOC... The NAB and Big Group Radio (BGR) infiltrated the National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC), as radio's right hand made the left one officially adopt IBOC as the digital standard for broadcasting in the US. Competing systems were ignored irrespective of merit. BGR invested heavily in the industry's only digital company, iBiquity... Through muscular lobbying of the FCC, iBiquity was granted a monopoly and thereupon decreed a royalty system unprecedented since Western Electric demanded a dollar-a-watt annually from stations using its first AM transmitters in the 1920s. In this fashion BGR fantasized that it would recoup its investment in iBiquity at the expense of independent broadcasters."

http://stopiboc.com/ibocstory.html

"DAB Systems And Their Impact on the Terrestrial Radio Broadcast Service"

"On December 3rd, 2001, the National Radio Systems Committee, sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), submitted a report from the Evaluation Working Group of the DAB Subcommittee of the NRSC entitled Evaluation of the iBiquity Digital Corporation IBOC System. The NRSC is sponsored by the NAB and CEA; both of whom will directly profit. The NAB is formed of mainly the largest broadcasters and manufactures, and the same developing conglomeration of broadcast companies amounting to a monopoly that owns iBiquity... Furthermore we therefore also conclude that the FCC should consider all commenters that have common membership, ownership and financial stake in outcome, such as the NAB, NRSC and iBiquity to be considered a conflicted special interest group and require strict proof and independent testing and confirmation of their so-called test results."

http://tinyurl.com/px7bme

"FCC Admits Ignorance on Digital Radio, Adopts Standard Anyway"

"The Commissioners seemed completely unconcerned about the documented evidence illustrating potentially disastrous interference problems with IBOC technology. But the whopper came from the mouth of Michael Copps, who admitted with incredible candor he had no idea what the hell he was unleashing: 'A few questions remain to be settled, including how the IBOC system will function in the real world; what is the potential for and extent of interference that IBOC could cause to existing services; and the technical feasibility of nighttime AM IBOC transmissions'... Everybody involved pretty much admitted from the outset that the digital radio initiative is all about giving the broadcast industry more avenues to make money rather than actually improving radio from the perspective of the listener... You can watch and listen to the deed being done at our special report on the IBOC vote."

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/1002.htm#101002

"DAB Systems and Their Impact on the Terrestrial Radio Broadcast Service"

"We will not establish a deadline for radio stations to convert to digital broadcasting. Stations may decide if, and when, they will provide digital service to the public. Several reasons support this decision. First, unlike television licensees, radio stations are under no statutory mandate to convert to a digital format. Second, a hard deadline is unnecessary given that DAB uses an in-band technology that does not require the allocation of additional spectrum. Thus, the spectrum reclamation needs that exist for DTV do not exist here."

http://tinyurl.com/dh6atu


"Campaign Contributors"

Jury $750 06/05/2008 Consumer Electronics Association
Jury $500 01/25/2007 Consumer Electronics Association
Struble $1,000 02/25/2008 National Association Broadcasters
Struble $1,000 03/09/2007 National Association of Broadcasters
Struble $5,000 01/29/2008 Consumer Electronics Association
Struble $2,000 03/07/2007 Consumer Electronics Association
Struble $2,000 06/24/2008 JOHN D. DINGELL FOR CONGRESS
Rehr $2,000 03/25/2008 JOHN D. DINGELL FOR CONGRESS
Ford Motor $10,000 9/5/2008 JOHN D. DINGELL FOR CONGRESS
Clear Channel $7,500 6/7/2007 JOHN D. DINGELL FOR CONGRESS
Consumer Electronics Association $6,000 6/25/2007 JOHN D. DINGELL

http://tinyurl.com/a7un4u

"AM/FM’s Competition Increases, but Radio is Innovating"

"Full disclosure: I sit on the Consumer Electronics Association Board of Industry Leaders, so have a (small) vested interest in successful CESs... Bob Struble"

http://tinyurl.com/c7lu83

"FCC Investigation by House Subcommittee"

"The Federal Communications Commission is being investigated by the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations prompted by criticisms of the FCC's processes and what Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) described as a breakdown in proper procedure."

http://tinyurl.com/9kuump


“HD Radio on the Offense”

"But after an investigation of HD Radio units, the stations playing HD, and the company that owns the technology; and some interviews with the wonks in DC, it looks like HD Radio is a high-level corporate scam, a huge carny shill... Between the high prices, poor listening options, homogenized content, and a decade and a half of FCC dealings that went into this monopoly, critics are calling the move to digital radio a 'catastrophe' and a 'complete giveaway' to behemoths such as CBS... All the major radio players, such as Clear Channel Communications, are iBiquity investors. Which means Clear Channel is paying itself for the right to broadcast, and every mom-and-pop station that wants to go digital also has pay the big boys. Nice setup!"

http://tinyurl.com/dc3aeg

"Community Radio’s Digital Dilemma"

"Regardless of a country’s licensing regime with regard to access to the airwaves, the wholly proprietary nature of iBiquity’s HD Radio system trumps public authority... a conflict with iBiquity could mean the station’s effective silencing. This is especially important for noncommercial and community radio stations... The average estimated cost per station for the hardware necessary to put an HD Radio signal on the air is about $100,000. This does not include a one-time licensing fee to use the HD Radio software, which ranges from $10,000 to $25,000 per station, and only covers the basic use of the HD Radio mode."

http://diymedia.net/stuff/budapest0508.pdf


"Independent Radio To Be Destroyed By Design"

"The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is pressuring the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to force acceptance of new version of Digital Audio Broadcasting, a kind of 'Fax For Audio' on to the existing AM and FM broadcast bands. To accomplish this, the NAB plans to double the amount of space on the dial that a station uses, thus jamming the signals of weaker stations next to them on the dial. Grassroots defenders of independent radio have found proof that a new airwaves regulatory plan will jam and eventually destroy the signals of small community, religious, and college radio stations... In addition to eliminating competition, the true financial motive of the digital conversion is the creation of a new largely subscription system... The real plan is to make their money from selling that remaining space to send wireless data, not for a lively, competitive radio signal containing music and the lively debate and news of a vibrant Democracy."

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2002/03/8188.shtml

"Night of the Bees"

"The signature of AM radio has always been highly reliable and resilient long distance communications. With the advent of HD Radio, AM has been scaled back to a local medium with limited distribution. Shows that enjoyed nearly nationwide coverage, like WSM Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, are being shattered by all the new interference produced by the wideband nature of HD Radio... The effects of HD Radio interference may be the final death blow to struggling small local radio stations trying to compete in very difficult market situations. This noisy hash may extinguish all hope of local stations being heard in the clear ever again."

http://karlzuk.blogspot.com/2007/09/night-of-bees.html


"Court Finds FCC Violated APA in BPL Decision"

"In its decision, the Court agreed with the ARRL that the FCC had failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)... ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, concluded: 'I am very pleased that the Court saw through the FCC's smoke screen and its withholding of valid engineering data that may contradict their position that the interference potential of BPL to Amateur Radio and public safety communications is minimal.'"

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/04/25/10064/?nc=1

National Public Radio

"The Wonderful World of HD Radio"

"Perhaps it is because it is the American Public that has been paying a large portion of the development costs for HD radio? Yup, that is you and I. An FCC filing from North Carolina’s Public Radio Stations cites: Just a few weeks ago, the House Appropriations Committee approved an additional $40 million to assist public radio stations’ transition to HD radio technology.”

http://tinyurl.com/57ksx6

"DEAD AIR: Radio's great leap forward stalling in the Valley"

"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 requests have to be routed to Briseño. A public information request faxed to the station Monday evening has not yet received a response. Organizations that receive government funding are subject to state and federal open records laws, but have seven business days to respond to information requests."

http://tinyurl.com/6gwdj4

"WBAA-FM Granted Construction Permit for Higher Power"

"WBAA-FM will also be able to broadcast using HD Radio Technology in addition to its conventional FM signal. WBAA received grant funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to pay for approximately 50% of the additional HD Radio conversion costs. The increase in power for the FM will increase the costs of the transmitter. Station funds from listeners have been allocated to make the conversion to HD Radio technology and increase power."

http://www.purdue.edu/wbaa/inside_wbaa/index.shtml


"The Switch and Bait!"

"So, how many classical KVOD listeners are going to heed his advice not to run out and buy an HD Radio thinking that will fix things... to encourage them to stop donations to Colorado Public Radio until this situation improves? Makes you wonder why didn't Colorado Public Radio executives just come clean with listeners in the first place? Instead, they hoped to persuade you with wiggly advice like this."

http://tinyurl.com/8b9zoq

"WUFT-FM officially makes switch to talk radio"

"In subsequent weeks, classical fans protested in letters, through an online petition drive and at meetings in a local home. There are a lot of upset and disappointed people, said Gainesville resident Sue Yelton, an organizer of those efforts. Yelton and others said they refuse to buy HD radios to continue to hear classical."

http://tinyurl.com/n2ab9m


"NPR's war on Low Power FM"

"NPR opposes proposals to strengthen rules allowing LPFMs to obtain channel interference waivers when an encroaching full power station arrives on the scene. And the broadcaster decidedly dislikes measures that would require new full power signals to offer technical and even financial help to an LPFM that they've suddenly squatted on (or squatted next to). This is a serious issue, because over the last decade the NPR service has expanded from 635 to 800 affiliated stations. Public radio's stance on this puts it at odds with practically every media reform group in the country."

http://tinyurl.com/ybgpt9p

Domestic Rollout

"Arbitron/Edison study chills the already thin air of HD Radio"

"All you need to know about this research is this: It says relatively few know about HD. It says that number hasn't gone up. And it implies that folks are aware of what they care about, not vice versa. It also strongly suggests this isn't going to change any time soon - as in, forever."

http://www.hear2.com/2008/04/arbitronedison.html


"HD Radio Makes a ‘Flop List’"

"HD Radio made a list that its proponents wish it hadn't. The digital radio technology is 12th on a list of 'tech flops' compiled by David Carnoy, CNET's executive editor. CNET, ironically, is now owned by CBS, a company with a significant history and investment in HD Radio... A flop, he adds, is simply something that was really hyped but didn't live up to its promise or expectations."

http://www.rwonline.com/article/84174

"Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod closer to selling KFUO-FM"

"The HD stuff is a flop, said Steve Robinson, an industry consultant and an executive vice president at WFMT, a Chicago classical station. It's dead on arrival."

http://tinyurl.com/yhuubmd

"HD Digital Radio Alliance crash-burns, but won't admit it"

"The story's really summed up in this sentence, that the Alliance's new radio-ad campaign will combat the mistaken perception by many consumers that they already own an HD Radio... The metaphor that comes to mind is that it's like the rats organizing and having a rally as the ship they're on slowly swirls through the whirlpool and into the briny depths."

http://tinyurl.com/cab759

"Heads Roll at iBiquity, Clear Channel"

"This past week iBiquity, HD Radio's proprietor, laid off 20 people. According to Radio World, these are the first bona-fide layoffs at the company since its founding in 2003 (I would argue they're the first bona-fide layoffs ever at the company in its nine-year history, since the 2003 departures involved executives, who I don't believe were exactly given pink-slips). iBiquity's web site claims the company employs some 130 people; if that number is accurate, that would constitute a corporate workforce cut of an impressive 15%."

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/0109.htm#012509

"2009 To Bring HD Death Rattles?"

"Thus, if there is any force that might bring down HD Radio, it will be the marketplace... There are several signs that the marketplace is now beginning to act: Stock in publicly-traded radio companies are at all-time lows; most are trading under $1 a share... With the economy in deep recession, and radio companies desperately looking for ways to curb costs, does it seem prudent for any station manager to sink money into a technology that has yet to provide any tangible returns? This is much different from the wait-and-see approach of most stations - the fact that early-adopters of HD may be bailing can't be good."

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/0109.htm#011509


"NPR Partners with Livio for Internet Radio Device"

"In addition, local stations, having already developed expensive secondary programming for their HD stations that nobody listens to, are excited to have another outlet for that programming. They see this as a great salvation from the HD experience, because they’ve already invested that money, and everything that they’re putting on their secondary [HD] channels, that their audience isn’t able to hear either because of the antenna problems with HD, their location, or because they don’t want to invest in HD radio, said Sopato. All of those secondary streams are on the web and on this radio. Now, they don’t have to tell their audience, 'go get an HD Radio.'”

http://tinyurl.com/ygg3t7g

"NAB Radio Show Report"

"There was continued top-down advocacy of HD Radio from David Rehr, but little support from attendees, and even small signs of revolt on the subject. It was good to see the clear disconnect on this issue, as it is forcing radio’s leaders to look more diligently toward viable solutions that fit the demands of today’s consumer, rather than depending on a delegated entity to secure radio’s longevity."

http://tinyurl.com/4ynxyk

"They’re turning off HD in Washington, DC"

"Well, this time it’s not an anomaly or a digital exciter glitch — at least not that we can see. For weeks now the Washington, DC market has been turning off its HD Radio signals en masse. There is no longer any station in the market on AM broadcasting in HD. ESPN Deportes Radio/Red Zebra’s 730 WXTR-AM long ago shut off the signal. But now that list includes 630 WMAL (Citadel); 570 WTNT (Clear Channel); Red Zebra’s 980 ESPN Radio; and 1500 WFED-AM (Bonneville). The FM list now includes 106.7 WJFK-FM (CBS Radio); 102.3 WWMJ-FM (Radio One); 104.1 WPRS-FM (Radio One) and 107.7 WWWT-FM (Bonneville)."

http://www.rbr.com/radio/12018.html

"CUMULUS MEDIA INC."

"In December 2004, the Company purchased 240 perpetual licenses from iBiquity Digital Corporation, which will enable it to convert to and utilize digital broadcasting technology on 240 of its stations. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company committed to convert the 240 stations over a seven year period. On March 5, 2009, the Company entered into an amendment to its agreement with iBiquity to reduce the number of planned conversions, extend the build-out schedule, and increase the license fees to be paid for each converted station. In the event the Company does not fulfill the conversion requirements within the period set forth in the agreement or otherwise modify the rollout schedule, once the conversions are completed the Company will be subject to license fees higher than those currently provided for under the agreement."

http://tinyurl.com/mycky7

"Will Small Markets Convert to HD Radio? Survey Suggests Not Soon"

"McIntyre asked them whether the stations intended to convert their facilities in the next 12 months; he also made queries about multicasting, HD-R receiver availability and station promotion of IBOC. Of the 100, he received 50 surveys back. Of those, only one station had converted to HD-R. Eighty-six percent of the remaining respondents indicated it would be highly unlikely or somewhat unlikely they would convert their stations over the next 12 months, according to his report. Six percent indicated it would be neither likely nor unlikely, and only 6% indicated it would be likely, he told me."

http://www.radioworld.com/article/9396


"REGENT COMMUNICATIONS, INC."

"We are currently broadcasting 24 FM stations and two AM stations in digital, or high definition radio (HD Radio)... The economic benefit, if any, to our stations that have converted to HD Radio currently cannot be measured. Any future economic benefit to our stations as a result of digital conversion is not known at this time."

http://tinyurl.com/nw9ts6

"Saga Communications, Inc."

"We also continue the rollout of HD Radio™... It is unclear what impact HD Radio will have on the industry and our revenue as the availability of HD receivers, particularly in automobiles, is not widely available."

http://tinyurl.com/m5cs7l

"EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION"

"We currently utilize HD Radio® digital technology on most of our FM stations. It is unclear what impact HD Radio® will have on the markets in which we operate."

http://tinyurl.com/kkgd7j


"Sing-a-long to Lyin’ Diane’s HD Radio swan song"

"Enter the huckster, iBiquity President and CEO Bob 'Booble' Struble. Let’s read his 2008 in review: 'Despite the economic downturn, HD Radio technology made significant strides in 2008 with broadcasters, automotive OEMs and receiver manufacturers.'"

http://tinyurl.com/85jd4v

"Have 200 HD Radio stations gone missing?"

"The HD Radio camp is advertising that there are currently over 1,500 radio stations now broadcasting in HD (from its website, to press releases as well as in various other promotions)... but yet only 1,300 have filed with the FCC."

http://tinyurl.com/3yl8ma

"HD Radio Increasing Format Diversity?"

"According to the Alliance, 'There are 1,923 stations in the US broadcasting 2,993 HD Radio channels, 204 more coming soon.' Working with the aggregate HD station total (2,127) and subtracting that from the number of existing 'HD Radio channels' (2,993) leaves us with a figure of 866 multicast channels - a dubious conclusion, given the claim that more than 1,000 were on the air five months ago."

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/0809.htm#082509

Questionnaires/Blame-Game

"Radio: High Deception"

"But the best comes at the expense of consultant and paid iBiquity HD Radio shill Fred Jacobs... Here’s a tale of two research studies, one of which vanished into thin air – or at least was thought to. You see, it started when a new 41-question survey about HD Radio from Jacobs for iBiquity was mentioned in a Radio-Info.com forum on October 31. Almost immediately, the original survey vanished and was replaced by this sanitized 16-question version... So who pulled the original HD Radio survey – and why?"

http://tinyurl.com/5taxdz

"IBIQUITY TROLLS FOR VOLUNTEER POLICE FORCE"

"A convenient form with which you can rat out any fellow HD users in your market who aren't properly maintaining their HD broadcasts... Big Brother Bob is watching you, HD broadcasters! As if you needed another reason to toss this junk engineering in the dumpster! Presumably the information gleaned from little weasel snitcher-competitors would fuel warning letters from iBiquity to ITS CUSTOMERS (!) warning that continued 'offenses' could constitute grounds for legal claims for breach of licensing contract... The FUN NEVER STOPS at iBiquity: you can also whine publicly about pervasive nonavailability of HD receivers."

http://tinyurl.com/c8tffx


"The HD Radio Alliance's blame game"

"Welcome to the fantasy world of HD Radio where the alleged 1,700 or so stations broadcasting in a second-rate digital system were just told by the HD Digital Radio Alliance that they will now be on their own. Next year it’ll be up to the stations to do their own creative to supplement the national promo spots they’re committed to run by the Alliance. That’s their way of telling radio, 'Don’t blame us for our failure.'"

http://tinyurl.com/6mng2p

"HD Radio: Shame on You"

"For the record, let it be clear that Mr. Ferrara and his team can likewise be part of the problem... The state of HD affairs is obviously not the fault of the HD Alliance alone, of course. This dreary situation has many fathers, to be sure."

http://www.hear2.com/2007/11/hd-radio-shame.html

Strategies/Tactics

"FCC to Consider Raising FM-HD Power Levels"

"Why would radio stations take the risk of degrading the quality of their existing analog service in order to pimp a flawed technology which nobody's listening to? It's almost as if the strategy of the HD Radio Alliance is to degrade analog radio service in order to force digital adoption - kind of a variant on the 'we had to destroy the village to save it' rationale."

http://tinyurl.com/67bgv7

"WHY YOU DON'T NEED, OR WANT, 'HD-AM' RADIO"

"The audio improvement HD-AM offers over correctly-processed AM audio (note emphasis) is largely a mirage. Because HD-AM hogs bandwidth as it rides along the analog AM signal, HD-AM broadcasters actually have reduced the quality of their analog signals – and dramatically so. Industry engineering periodicals note that HD-AM broadcasters have chopped analog bandwidth from the maximum permitted under FCC rules, 10 kHz, to 6 kHz, or in some cases 5 kHz or less – approximately the frequency response of those scratchy, hissy 78 rpm phonograph records your parents listened to in the 1940s. So, when switching from AM analog to HD-AM on your swell new receiver, you immediately notice the difference!"

http://stopiboc.com/whynoneed.html


“HD Radio’s New Campaign”

“In a sort of snarky approach, the campaign features a humanized radio talking to his owner about why HD Radio product is so attractive and not worth the bother. But in the process, traditional radio is repositioned as old-fashioned, repetitive, and lame… You have to hear these commercials a few times before you really get a basic understanding of what they’re trying to accomplish, while they throw AM/FM Radio under the bus.”

http://tinyurl.com/5ev6pu


"HD Radio: Stunts and symbols at your expense"

"How does that make you feel? What does it do to the perception of radio's value when we squander it on bartered stunts like this?"

http://www.hear2.com/2007/09/hd-radio-stunts.html


“You don’t want HD Radio’s Bilk-o in your foxhole”

“How would you like it if one you believed to be a business partner did an about face and supported the very thing your industry is fighting against? Memo to terrestrial radio: iBiquity and the HD Radio Alliance just double-crossed you.”

http://tinyurl.com/6x45ww


"IS IBIQUITY RENEGING ON A REBATE OFFER?"
August 2007

"CGC #791 mentioned a limited-time price for the entry level Radiosophy HD100 digital radio receiver and there was a handsome rebate offered from iBiquity. It now appears that iBiquity's rebate contractor is balking on issuing some rebates, and we'd like to determine the extent of the problem."

http://www.bext.com/_CGC/2007/cgc807.htm


"Radio: Hypocritical Deceiver"

"But then along came a research study on HD Radio from the reputable (as opposed to questionable) Edison Media and Arbitron. It found that HD Radio consumer awareness actually dropped from 26 percent to 24 percent!"

http://tinyurl.com/3tyrjv

"Riding the HD Radio coat tails"

"So the series has nothing to do with HD Radio. Just to be sure, I asked if the series was being offered exclusively on multicast channels, which would be another way to promote HD Radio for what HD Radio has to offer. But alas, the reply proved that wrong: This series will be broadcast on NPR’s primary stations, not multicast stations.”

http://tinyurl.com/5cuuk6

"HD Radio Propaganda??"

"It was almost as if the author was forced by his new bosses at CBS to write a positive article on HD Radio. Our advice: If you are going to put out propaganda (and it is their right to do so), at least do it right."

http://tinyurl.com/5cewlr

Long-Tailed HD2s/HD3s

"Addressing The Long Tail: HD2s and HD3s for Fun and Profit"
September 2008

"Analog AM/FM cannot address The Long Tail. HD Radio™ technology can help. Few business concepts have gained such quick and widespread acceptance as The Long Tail, put forth by Chris Anderson of Wired... You simply cannot program niche formats on analog stations and make the numbers work... RIFF2 with its edgy Detroit flavor... Clear Channel’s Pride Radio... Bonneville’s iChannel... Our friends at Arbitron say that HD2s are beginning to show up in PPM data... Put HD2s and HD3s on air, keep them on... Bob Struble"

http://tinyurl.com/66jb9s

"Harvard Business Review: Should You Invest in the Long Tail?"

"Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine, argues that the sudden availability of niche offerings more closely tailored to their tastes will lure consumers away from homogenized hits. The 'tail' of the sales distribution curve, he says, will become longer, fatter, and more profitable. Elberse, a professor at Harvard Business School, set out to investigate whether Anderson's long-tail theory is actually playing out in today's markets. She focused on the music and home-video industries -- two markets that Anderson and others frequently hold up as examples of the long tail in action -- reviewing sales data from Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen VideoScan, the online music service Rhapsody, and the Australian DVD-by-mail service Quickflix. What she found may surprise you: Blockbusters are capturing even more of the market than they used to, and consumers in the tail don't really like niche products much."

http://www.citeulike.org/user/mmkurth/article/2984768


"Bonneville pulls iChannel Music"

"Bonneville has pulled the plug on its iChannel Music HD Network and streaming. For the most part, it has replaced the HD multicast with WorldBand Media content (brokered ethnic programming). iChannel allowed indie bands to upload their music online for consideration... We commend Bonneville for giving it a shot—it allowed radio to expose a lot of new, unsigned indie bands from around the world. CC Radio's eRockster HD2 format is still around at a good handful of stations and still outstanding. If that gets shuttered, a good bunch of us just might be done with HD Radio listening altoghether."

http://www.rbr.com/radio/12113.html


"CLEAR CHANNEL PULLS THE PLUG ON SOME HD STATIONS"
February 2008

"After conducting a survey of 340 HD2 stations to determine their programming needs, the folks at Clear Channel have dumped a number of their HD Format Lab stations due to a lack of demand. According to the Clear Channel Format Lab website, 46 HD stations are left to carry, including stations with names including 'Standing Room Only Showtunes', 'Pride Radio', 'JokeJoke' and 'Wack Comedy'."

http://tinyurl.com/3w7vox

"CC Radio’s Format Lab gone?"
November 2008

"So bottom line, the Format Lab is no longer available on the web and has cut some of its formats down to the most successful/desirable. The www.iHeartMusic.com website seems to only list the main audio streams of CC stations--not multicast HD formats--but does offer a few off to the side: erockster; Pride; Verizon New Music; Smooth Jazz; Real Oldies; Slow Jams and New Country. There used to be something close to 100 formats listed on the site."

http://www.rbr.com/radio/11252.html


"We Might Want to Keep an Eye on ION"

"If the commission embraces the notion that secondary digital streams really do constitute separate licenses that can be separately assigned, one could easily argue that radio stations that have opted to transmit digital streams (i.e., 'HD Radio') should also be permitted to sell those streams as separately licensed stations... For one, the number of radio stations could theoretically double or triple overnight. This might not have the cataclysmic effect of, say, the injection of nearly 700 new FM allotments through the notorious Docket No. 80-90 a quarter century ago, but you never know. At a minimum, if the law of supply and demand were to hold true, the overnight doubling/tripling of stations would likely depress each station's value. And such a rapid increase in the number of stations would logically lead to a similarly rapid increase in competition for audiences and revenues. Are we all ready for that?"

http://www.rwonline.com/article.aspx?articleId=76922&mnu_id=14

"HD Radio…Watch What You Wish For…And What Is It You Want?"

"Radio continues to chalk up very good cash flow to revenue margins, but revenues are down. Do the business plans of broadcasters include selling smaller audiences on more (HD) signals if HD actually succeeds? Broadcasters have complained about the proliferation of more signals over the past couple decades. Now those same broadcasters are introducing 2 to 3 times the signals with HD."

http://tinyurl.com/yfqquhh


"Not only are HD-2/FM translator combos acting like real stations – they’re promoting concerts"

"Our Sean Ross picked up this trend in several markets and reports it in his latest Ross On Radio. One of Sean’s many interests is station-sponsored musical concerts. Now we’re seeing the latest crop of FM stations – translators with less power and less coverage than a full-power Class A – accumulate enough of a listening base to promote concerts. These stations are typically fed from the HD-2 channel of a big sister station, since a commercial radio translator can’t originate its own programming under the FCC rules... Given the small number of HD Radio receivers out there, it’s likely that what Atlantans are really listening to is the translator at 97.9."

http://radio-info.com/newsletter/html/tri-09112009.html


"CBS buys Last.fm - and what it means"

"It is inevitable that radio - or aspects of radio - will become personalized. Instantly, the value of a huge 'variety' of channels or stations will be obliterated. Because ultimately nobody wants a hundred diverse channels or stations. They want THEIR one or two or three diverse channels or stations. A hundred stations is what you provide when technology limits you from doing better... Bad news for HD Radio. Bad news for Satellite Radio."

http://www.hear2.com/2007/05/cbs_buys_lastfm.html

"Slacker iPhone app now available, users go wild"

"All for free, on your iPhone. The definition of 'radio' is changing right before our eyes. And listeners know this. One review on iTunes calls the Slacker iPhone app the first killer radio app... not only does the Slacker app set the bar, but it changes things completely. Another reviewer says that words cannot express how awesome this app is, while yet another states that SiriusXM is in trouble."

http://tinyurl.com/7nyv46


"Robert J. Struble, President and CEO"

"Bob earned his Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering from MIT where he was elected into the Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Xi engineering honor societies, and an MBA from Harvard, where he graduated with high distinction as a Baker Scholar."

http://tinyurl.com/5jjujj

iBiquity Digital IPO

"Robert Struble Channels Lee DeForest"

"iBiquity's President and CEO, Robert Struble, has taken to tweeting. In early September, he revealed he'd taken the train to Wall Street to float the notion of taking iBiquity public: 'Good NYC trip. Wall St way more upbeat than recently. IPO pipeline better, but most think [stock market] rally was too fast'... Here's where the history lesson comes in. In the early 20th century, Lee DeForest, inventor of the 'audion' tube spent a portion of his early career engaged with unscrupulous businessmen in the practice of 'pumping and dumping' stock in radio companies featuring his invention. Partly because DeForest wasn't exactly sure how his invention worked, and partly because the regulatory paradigm of broadcasting hadn't been firmly established yet, many of his ventures failed, and DeForest spent much of his life engaged in patent lawsuits (although he was acquitted of stock fraud, his business partners weren't). One might say the same about Bob Struble and iBiquity. Although HD Radio is 'workable,' it doesn't work well, and even broadcasters don't fully understand how to implement the technology. Given the wobbly future of the HD Radio protocol, it is not far-fetched to see a historical parallel between Struble and DeForest."

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/1009.htm#101709

"Market Structure is Causing the IPO Crisis"
October 2009

"Over the last several years, the IPO market in the United States has practically disappeared. While conventional wisdom may say the U.S. IPO market is going through a cyclical downturn exacerbated by the recent credit crisis, many experts are beginning to share the view of a new and much darker reality: The market for underwritten IPOs, given its current structure, is closed to 80% of the companies that need it... The first six months of 2009 represents the worst IPO market in 40 years. Given that the size of the U.S. economy, in real GDP terms, is over 3x what it was 40 years ago, this is a remarkable and frightening state of affairs. Only 12 companies went public in the United States in the first half of 2009, and only eight of them were U.S. companies."

http://tinyurl.com/yzvefj6


"New Money for iBiquity"
July 2009

"According to a Securities and Exchange Form D filed earlier this week, iBiquity raised $42,477,641 through securities sales, receiving half in cash and the other half in existing shares of stock in an exchange offer. Radio groups who ponied in more money include CBS, Entercom, Radio One and Clear Channel. Other long-term investors include Grotech Ventures, FirstMark Capital, New Venture Partners and Union Square Ventures. IBiquity last raised $14,844,998 in March of 2008, according to SEC records. The Baltimore Business Journal estimates iBiquity has raised at least $172 million over the past 10 years."

http://www.radioworld.com/article/84660

"iBiquity Digital raises yet another round"
March 2008

"The Columbia, Md., company is in the process of raising a $15 million fourth round of venture capital, VentureBeat has learned... It’s not clear whether this is enough to make HD Radio appealing... The company has raised an estimated $115 million in three earlier rounds... The company declined to comment."

http://tinyurl.com/2muftt

"iBiquity Digital Corp. scores $300K from DBED"
March 2008

"iBiquity of Columbia is to receive a $300,000 conditional loan for expansion, but the funds are contingent on the company retaining its existing 38 jobs through Dec. 2013 and adding 82 positions. The loan, through the state Department of Business and Economic Development, will be used in connection with a $30,000 match from Howard County for the company to relocate and expand in Columbia."

http://tinyurl.com/6z8p2m

"IBiquity sees digital radio signaling changes to come"
October 2007

"The company has yet to turn a profit and does not expect to do so in 2007 or 2008, Struble said... Mass marketing and consumer adoption is the last hurdle, Struble said... Representatives of investment firms that have spots on iBiquity's board of directors could not be reached for comment, but Struble said they are excited about the progress the company is making."

http://tinyurl.com/3don5y

"Intel Capital invests in iBiquity Digital Corp. of Columbia"
November 2005

"iBiquity Digital Corp., of Columbia, the sole developer of digital AM and FM broadcast technology, said Intel Capital, the strategic investment program of California-based Intel Corp., the world's largest semiconductor maker, invested in the company. Financial terms were not disclosed, but an iBiquity official said the companies will work together to accelerate the commercialization of HD Radio, particularly in the area of portable HD Radio devices."

http://tinyurl.com/cmwymv

"IBiquity Digital's Make-or-Break Point Approaches"
February 2005

"Barring a widespread rejection of the technology by consumers, iBiquity by this time next year will finally be drawing in some real revenue after 15 years of spending the money of investors that have pumped in more than $135 million in corporate and independent venture capital... Uhlman said his current investment horizon, from this point on, is three years. That would mean iBiquity would be bought out or go public before 2009."

http://tinyurl.com/djn5hb

"iBiquity Digital Corporation"
March 2001

"If rollout targets are met, three years from product launch should find a roughly 10% digital broadcast penetration in terms of the share of radios able to receive digital broadcasts. By 2012, that share is projected to rise to 70%... Ultimately, iBiquity will likely offer an attractive equity option in itself, with the most likely ultimate liquidity event being an IPO. However, the timing of any potential IPO does not appear to be imminent, or the need for added funds immediate. Any intermediate financing needs are expected to be relatively modest and funded by existing investors. None of the current owners want to dilute their relative ownership positions given the attractiveness and potential upside of the current business model. The market is not likely to be receptive over the near term to an IPO of a technology company with no current revenues."

http://www.brai.com/PDF/iBiquity.pdf

Traffic/Data Services

"Microsoft sticks with analog"

"The company's MSN Direct was developing a new traffic and local information service using HD Radio signals. But after two years of investigating how HD Radio could be tapped, Microsoft decides to stick with its current analog system instead of converting to an HD Radio data service."

http://tinyurl.com/8unwdu

"Microsoft Will Shut Down MSN Direct"

"Citing reduced demand and a proliferation of other data technologies, Microsoft will discontinue its MSN Direct datacasting service at the end of 2011... The delivery of location-based services in the U.S. and Canada has evolved since Microsoft began offering MSN Direct in early 2004... Leveraging unused FM radio spectrum to broadcast data represented a step forward in 2004, however, many choices today including Wi-Fi, cellular, FM RDS and other digital networks are now readily available and are continuing to grow in popularity. Despite good initial MSN Direct adoption, these alternatives have significantly reduced demand for MSN Direct service."

http://rwonline.com/article/89374


"Clear Channel Radio’s Total Traffic Network"

"Clear Channel Radio’s Total Traffic Network (CCTTN) today announced its real-time traffic service now reaches more than 125 million users... We have seen increasing demand for our services over the years due to our commitment to the highest quality and the ability to provide a reliable end to end solution for our partners’ products using open standards. Using RDS and HD Radio we provide local traffic and information in real-time to help consumers navigate the roadways in a safe and expeditious manner."

http://tinyurl.com/yb2mcem


"Traffic on the Nones"

"The future of traffic information on the road. It's social. It's visual. It's not particularly distracting. And it's not radio. It's Aha, it's for the iPhone, and it's coming to a market near you. There will come a point in time when radio is not used for traffic information by commuters at all. Not 'on the 1's,' not any time. Traffic is about to come off that list."

http://tinyurl.com/mc89yp

Arbitron PPM Interference

"Chicago PPM results for November"

"The November PPM book certainly brought some surprises - like the decline of WGN-AM, which went from second in October to seventh in total-day 2+ numbers, and not ranking in the top 20 at all in adults 25-54. With this surprisingly poor performance, I'm sorry WGN - it's off to the loser's circle."

http://tinyurl.com/8zx56b

"Tribune Broadcasting Suspends AM IBOC"

"WGN-AM in Chicago, Illinois is the latest 50kW station to drop continuous AM HD Radio broadcasts. Reportedly, WGN's self-induced contamination to the main channel analog audio interferes with the Arbitron People Meter (PPM) devices. This interference is one of many artifacts heard when using the HD Radio system on the AM medium-wave band."

http://meduci.com

"Is AM Skywave Broadcasting Finished?"

"So I wanted to find out if nighttime IBOC transmission would really be the death knell of long-distance AM skywave listening, as some critics believe... WOR handily took down WLW in Cincinnati on 700 kHz and WGN, Chicago at 720 kHz..."

http://www.rwonline.com/article/8400

iBiquity Digital Disclaimer

"iBiquity Twists Its Tubes"

"Any simple WHOIS domain-name search turns up the obvious: iBiquity owns HDRadio.com. Administrative and technical contacts point straight back to the corporate HQ. My question is, why all the disclaimage? And are you really that clueless, iBiquity? Are you effectively denying the validity/credibility of your consumer-marketing claims?.. Hiding behind a trademark-disclaimer - that HDRadio.com is 'managed' by the HD Radio Alliance - which is, for all intents and purposes, iBiquity (though that particular domain is registered to Clear Channel) - does not cut the mustard."

http://tinyurl.com/dz9893

"Is You Website Legal?"

"Every web site has the potential of subjecting the site owner to liability... Every web site owner needs to have a procedure in place whereby their web site design and maintenance personnel are advised of pertinent legal considerations. Procedures should also be in place to provide that the organization's legal counsel will be consulted in the case of any questions arising about the legal implications of planned or existing web site content."

http://tinyurl.com/ammxtv


"Big radio shoots itself in the foot (again)"

"Then they started promoting 'extra free channels', which it seems they've now decided to charge for. Which require a different special radio, which you can't even buy yet! Every day in every way, it's more and more like another 'AM stereo' fiasco. And wait until Congress notices this. Don't be surprised if they decide to re-open the questions of spectrum taxes or frequency auctions for commercial radio. Not very smart."

http://oldgrouch.mee.nu/radio/archive/2007/5

"NDS Optimistic About Conditional Access Uses for Radio"

"NDS is working with chip manufacturers like Texas Instruments, Samsung, SiPort, NXP and others to work the Radio Guard intellectual property into HD Radio chipsets. The Dice unit is the first to have the NDS conditional access properties; however, We expect eventually all HD Radio chips will have NDS Radio Guard in them, he said."

http://www.rwonline.com/article/73784


"How a closed-source model is killing HD Radio"

"Though most consumers don’t know it, there are software revisions appearing with HD Radio right now, and most radios are not field-upgradable — it’s not safe to invest big bucks in receivers yet."

http://tinyurl.com/3acf25

"Can all HD Radio tuners get these extra channels?"

"Multicasting was developed after the first generation of HD Radio tuners hit the market. While all HD Radio tuners will pick up the station's primary digital channel, only radios that are designated multicast-capable will be able to pick up HD2 and any additional subchannels. Multicasting capability has since become a standard feature on HD Radio tuners. At this point, virtually all HD Radio tuners on the market can receive multicast channels."

http://tinyurl.com/yj9xzk5


"HD Radio is already lost (and really isn't 'HD')"

"Quite honestly, it doesn't stand for anything, said Peter Ferrera, president and CEO of the HD Digital Radio Alliance. The concept was somewhat of a steal from HD television, where viewers know it means better quality."

http://tinyurl.com/2r5bz9


"HD Radio Increasing Format Diversity?"

"From there, we can derive that 15% - or a whopping 130 multicast channels - exist right now that might actually offer up something new to a listener lucky enough to be in that innovative market (and equipped with the proper receiver, which in itself is an interesting story), as opposed to a derivation on the same-old."

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/0809.htm#082509

AM-HD/Interference

"Another Editorial Rant about HD Radio"

"AM HD Radio critics have hailed how the AM HD carriers do not fit within the NRSC-2 passband and permissible FCC emission mask. If true, this would be illegal. However, iBiquity was careful to design these carriers to fit within the NRSC-2 mask. They took advantage of a 'legal loophole,' in that the NRSC-2 mask was never designed for continuous energy to be contained within the two outer (lower and upper) sidebands of any given AM radio station... This hissing sound steps onto the station's first and second adjacent neighbors."

http://meduci.com/

"Statement of Jeff Littlejohn Senior VP Engineering Services Clear Channel"

"The current AM allocation rules require Co-Channel stations to provide 20:1 protections to each other and first adjacent channel stations to provide 2:1 protection to each other. While this works fine in an all-analog environment, it does not seem to be sufficient in the presence of IBOC. The energy above 10 KHz from the proposed Hybrid IBOC signal significantly exceeds the energy present in the current analog AM signal. For this reason, the amount of energy provided to a first adjacent station is significantly more detrimental than our current allocation rules allow for."

http://www.am-dx.com/clearchannelrprt.pdf


"Rochester Station Says IBOC Interferes"

"Central to this case is whether the alleged interference is within WYSL’s protected contour; the station says it is. CBS-owned WBZ isn’t commenting publicly on the case. The FCC said in its IBOC authorization text this year that interference cases would be handled case-by-case. A commission spokesman told RW then that mitigation in such cases could include the agency telling a station to lower the power level in one or both of digital sidebands, or even turning off the nighttime AM IBOC altogether."

http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0049/t.9916.html

"Re: Rochester Station Says IBOC Interferes"

"WYSL has filed FIVE separate pleadings including two detailed interference studies, over a period of 19 weeks encompassing a variety of local weather conditions, in all three antenna modes and powers, reply pleadings to two CBS responses (notably thin on data and highly implausible) including scores of field readings and audio recordings on CD. All of WYSL's data is supported by engineering statements from TWO unimpeachable professional radio engineering firms representing many decades of experience, all submitted UNDER OATH. One of these engineers is renowned as an experienced researcher in the development of terrestrial digital radio. All in all, including exhibits, over 100 pages of text and measurement data were filed with the Enforcement Bureau with copies to the Mass Media Bureau. The FCC's response to this mountain of persuasive data? They simply ignored it." Bob Savage, CEO, WYSL

http://tinyurl.com/cdybql


"AM Broadcasters Back Away from HD Deployment"

"According to a leaked memorandum from ABC/Citadel's executive chief engineer, all AM stations in the company's stable have ceased broadcasting in digital at night, effective immediately. The memorandum does not give specifics, but follow-on reports cite interference between AM stations on adjacent channels as a major factor for the decision. Interestingly, some suggest Citadel executives knew such a problem might be in the offing, but they went ahead and turned on their digital signals at night anyway."

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/1007.htm#101307


"No End in Sight in IBOC Interference Dispute Between Two AMs"

"Midwest Television, licensee of KFMB(AM), a Class B in San Diego, has submitted a second interference complaint to the commission about Kiertron, licensee of KBRT(AM), a Class D in Avalon, Calif., and has asked the agency to suspend KBRT's authority to transmit in digital... Midwest says it's receiving interference complaints from listeners and asked Kiertron to take part in more joint testing, but says Kiertron won't, believing further testing isn't needed... Kiertron says the earlier FCC ruling is not final and it has a pending request that the earlier decision be reconsidered; it finds Midwest's proposed remedy drastic. Showing that it is cooperating, Kiertron says it has reduced its IBOC power a full 75% of authorized power, or 6 dB."

http://radioworld.com/article/86140


"Could EXB Band Be Your New Home?"

"The group says most AMs should move to the new band, where they would operate as FMs on channels of 100 kHz width, enjoy more parity with current FM stations in terms of audio fidelity and gain the ability to go all-digital. AMs could transition to 100 channels and operate in the all-digital mode. In this way, AMs 'can solve the current digital problems they are experiencing, especially at night', the group states. But while most would move, the existing band could, under their plan, also remain populated with clear-channel stations that would enjoy more elbow room. Under the proposal, filed with the FCC in its diversity proceeding (Docket 07-294), the old AM band would be 're-packed.'"

http://radioworld.com/pages/s.0052/t.15575.html

FM-HD/Power Increase

"iBiquity/NPR HD Power Hike In Play"

"Even more damning, the uptake of HD in portable receivers is abysmal; iBiquity had to find some no-name electronics maker to make its own first portable device, and the only other current route to adoption is through the Zune. Most notably, when Apple rolled out its iPod Nano shortly afterward, it included analog radio functionality. To put it mildly, consumer electronics manufacturers are not exactly rushing to embrace HD Radio. It's almost like this power hike is HD Radio's last technical gasp. Will listeners trade off analog listenability for questionable HD improvement? Either way, the consequences could be dire."

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/1109.htm#110709

"Why an NPR Labs Digital High-Power Study?"

"Based on initial results of the tests, listeners noticed interference in the audio, with nearly half indicating they would likely turn off the radio when power was turned up to –14 dB and –10 dB on closely-spaced stations with lightly processed formats such as news and classical music in some portions of a coverage area, according to Dr. Ellyn Sheffield of NPR Labs and Towson University."

http://www.rwonline.com/article/89178

"CPB/NPR to Fit Square HD Peg Into Round Hole"

"First, National Public Radio (through the CPB) has already extensively studied this issue, more than anyone else in the industry, and the results are pretty unequivocal that increasing the power of a station's FM digital signal will adversely affect not only its own analog host-signal, but also those of neighboring stations. So much so, in fact, that the (first) study's coordinating engineer has admitted in other fora that an increase in HD sideband power levels is much more likely to do harm than good."

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/0409.htm#042909

"Warp Factor 6, Mr. Scott"

"To wit, how many existing installations will have sufficient headroom to implement the increase without significant retooling of transmission hardware?.. Some simply won't make it with their existing transmitters, and plant cooling capacity will also have to be bumped up along with electrical power mains service, and back-up generating plant output... Those using high level combining schemes will face similar issues, as reject loads, digital transmitters, etc., will all have to be upsized... One thing's for certain: approval of a 6dB HD digital boost will mean lots of extra hours, as managers and owners task their engineers with delivering a wee bit more digital drive without melting down already overheated corporate budgets. For many, actually making it happen is likely to be an agonizing process."

http://tinyurl.com/ykaskoh


"Comments of Barry D. McLarnon, P. Eng."

"In short, these results prove little or nothing, and no further results of any consequence have been presented by iBiquity. This is typical of the subterfuge and lack of critical analysis that has been a characteristic of the IBOC system since its early days. It is worth noting that iBiquity and other IBOC proponents had an opportunity to respond to my critique of their test methodology in Reply Comments, but none of them did so."

http://tinyurl.com/ydbe922

"Media Bureau Chief Promises Action on Power Increase"

"In a session at the NAB Radio Show in Philadelphia on Thursday, Lake promised his staff would try to turn to the power increase sooner rather than later. He said it’s a relief the commission doesn’t face a hard enaction date for radio like it did in television, and said of IBOC in general: We want to promote it and encourage its adoption.”

http://tinyurl.com/yf72d4a

"Media Access Project"

"Specifically, PRP stated that the results of the NPR Labs Advanced IBOC Coverage and Compatibility Study do not support a blanket increase in digital power... Further, because of the demonstrated potential for interference to analog signals, PRP suggested that stations requesting a power increase should be required to submit a showing that first adjacent channel interference is unlikely to occur. Finally, PRP noted that testing thus far has failed to take into account the impact on LPFMs".

http://tinyurl.com/ycbaqu2

"Broadcasters lose in court over low-power FM radio"

"Supporters of low-power FM (LPFM) radio won a victory on Friday when a federal appeals court rejected a lawsuit to stop the Federal Communications Commissions from protecting LPFM stations from full power station signal interference... But whatever happens, Friday's court decision is clearly part of a momentum building towards an expanded LPFM service. Ars asked the NAB for a comment on the ruling. We received no reply."

http://tinyurl.com/pvrznw


"Rhode Island Public Radio"

"The influence that iBiquity and Greater Media attempted to exert over the process was reflected in NPR's insistence that WRNI-FM broadcast in stereo during the tests. iBiquity and Greater Media protested testing a stereo signal, despite the fact that it was one of the design criteria for the study, since most FM stations broadcast in stereo, It was apparent to me that the purpose of Greater Media's and iBiquity's presence was not to promote accurate, real-world results, but instead to minimize any evidence of actual interference to the analog signal of a first adjacent station."

http://tinyurl.com/n4ejhw

"Rhode Island Public Radio"

"For Messrs, Smith, Shulins, Shuldiner to impugn the integrity and to question the motive of Rhode Island Public Radio or its Director of Engineering, Steven J. Callahan, comes with ill grace and signals a willingness to employ a scorched-earth means to their ends."

http://tinyurl.com/nslw3z


"Ford Motor Company"

"The tests iBiquity Digital conducted demonstrate a 10 dB power increase will deliver a more complete replication of digital coverage in a variety of terrain environments. The tests also confirm the higher power will increase building penetration. In the case of car listeners, this means, obstructions such as garages and underpasses will provide less of an impediment to continued reception. These tests confirm both the improved coverage and building penetration from the increased transmission power level and also the viability of increasing power without causing undue interference to adjacent channel stations. They also demonstrate that there will be limited impact on adjacent channel stations in the vast majority of cases."

http://tinyurl.com/6a2wlx

"BMW"

"BMW of North America is pleased that the real world field testing iBiquity conducted confirmed both the improved coverage and building penetration from the increased transmission power level and the viability of increasing power without causing interference to adjacent channel stations. The tests demonstrate there will be limited impact on adjacent channel stations in the vast majority of cases".

http://tinyurl.com/5w3tc6

Mobile Internet - Hogwash!

"We Can Walk and Chew Gum at the Same Time"

"Beware of pundits, advisors or bloggers advocating false choices... Preposterous I say... A slight sidebar in this area: all those claims that mobile internet (Wi-Fi, WiMax, others), in cars or elsewhere, means Armageddon for AM/FM radio are hogwash... I got several great emails last month, as well as the collection of usual suspects accusing me of destroying the world as we know it... Bob Struble"

http://tinyurl.com/5d2je6

"Is Struble the Next Rowdy Roddy Piper?"

"Although with lines like 'Preposterous I say' and 'hogwash', Bob is not going to win over any of Gen X'ers and Y'ers who may still have some affinity for radio."

http://tinyurl.com/6e7vpr

"Nobody cares what we own"

"Beware of pundits, advisors or bloggers advocating false choices, advises iBiquity chief Bob Struble. I know he means well, and I sure admire his zeal and his pluck... While this is technically true, it misses the entire point of our digital age... This is not about HD or Internet or WiMax or WiFi or whatever. This is about the migration of control from us to them."

http://www.hear2.com/2008/08/nobody-cares-wh.html

"Chrysler announces wireless Internet access in 2009 models"

"Fourth, that tiny whimper you just heard was the final gasp of HD Radio. Time to move on to the real challenges, radio. Fifth, why do I want a satellite radio when an Internet-enabled device offers so much more? Based on the importance of the auto listening audience to radio's sales equation, there are few questions more important than these."

http://www.hear2.com/2008/06/chrysler-announ.html


"The Problem Isn't Demand, It's Bandwidth"

"Should we all be concerned that the days of the 1,000-foot tower are gone and that anyone with a computer and an Internet connection is a possible new competitor? Will radio as we know it become just another feature of cell phones? Will in-car Internet give commuters millions of station choices? The answer is no. The problem for such platforms isn't consumer demand. It's bandwidth. In short, the greatest appeal of Internet radio remains its most fundamental problem: the requirement that every user have a separate, custom-per-user data stream. As long as this requirement remains, over-the-air radio need not be concerned about meaningful encroachment from the Internet."

http://tinyurl.com/l9722z

"Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service"

"Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) is a broadcasting service that can be offered via existing GSM and UMTS cellular networks... MBMS uses multicast distribution in the core network instead of point-to-point links for each end device. MBMS will start to be rolled out in cellular networks during 2008... The broadcast capability enables to reach unlimited number of users with constant network load. Further it also enables the possibility to broadcast information simultaneously to many cellular subscribers for example emergency alerts... Cellular TV Broadcasting and MS will give the cellular service providers a very considerable return on their investment in 3G licences and will bring forward the launch of 4G."

http://tinyurl.com/2hyaly

Science-Fair Project

"An Interview With: Robert J. Struble"

"How was iBiquity launched? It started out essentially as a science project formed by some radio groups back in the early 90s... The core staffing of the business came out of Westinghouse’s defense business which was based in Linthicum, Md. We took some world class engineers from the defense business and formed the company... Back then to call it a science project would have been an insult to scientists... We’re making this stuff up as we go along, which is exciting."

http://www.bisnow.com/archives_ew/index_struble.html


"A Smart Choice Of HD-2 Formats"

"One of HD-2's challenges seems just to be staying on the air. At DCRTV.com, Dave Hughes gave Clear Channel's eRockster (now heard on WWDC's multicast channel) a plug only to note the next day (July 12) that it was off the air, as was WTOP's HD-3 traffic/weather channel. That's an experience I've had with many of New York's HD-2 channels as well, by the way. What's even more pathetic about the 'here-one-day-and-gone-the-next' status of local HD Radio channels is that I'm probably the only one who's noticing the absences, Hughes writes."

http://tinyurl.com/9foghf


"DaySequerra Targets HD Radio Time Alignment Drift"

"President David Day in the announcement described the product as a solution to one of the most nagging problems facing HD Radio station engineers today — drift of time alignment between the analog and HD-1 audio... While the original algorithm can correlate audio that is already within 300 ms of alignment, the new TimeLock algorithm is capable of resolving up to 14 seconds of program diversity and is much more robust against processing differences and other artifacts.”

http://www.rwonline.com/article/76318


"IBOC TECHNOLOGY: An Assessment of Technical & Operational Issues in the Canadian FM Radio Environment"

"For a variety of reasons relating to the time requirements for digital signal processing, it takes 8-10 seconds for the digital audio signals to be heard when an HD Radio receiver is first tuned to a transmission. Likewise, it can take equally long to restore digital quality when the signal fails and then returns again. A secondary consequence of this processing delay is that programming fed to the analog FM transmitter must be delayed by 8-10 seconds whenever the blending feature is being utilized. This ensures that content is not lost when the receiver switches back to analog mode during a digital signal failure. Stations using this technology may need to implement certain internal operational changes to accommodate the fact that off-air listeners will experience delays of up to 10 seconds with both the analog and digital versions of their programming. Since no analog program version exists for ancillary HD2 or HD3 programming, listeners experiencing digital failures must simply tolerate audio outages until the signal restores itself."

http://www.cab-acr.ca/english/radio/drb/DRCG_Report_final.pdf


"HD Radio set to botch its first impression"

"It is patently stupid to tack on HD stations to existing analog frequences (as in 98.5-1, 98.5-2, 98.5-3) and then put three different things on those frequencies... Furthermore, the names are so incredibly clunky, moving newfangled digital radio strongly in the direction of even clunkier HAM radio. It's a confusing mass of digits, decimals, and dashes. We would be better off reconceptualizing the entire dial and taking this opportunity to simplify it across the board. For example (and brace yourself), how about numbering our stations 1 to 100? If this sounds like Satellite Radio, just remember HD Radio was your idea, not mine."

http://www.hear2.com/2005/08/hd_radio_set_to.html


"Lightning and HD Radio Don't Mix"

"According to 'them' (Ibiquity), all of the problems that AM has faced for the past 80+ years are gone when an HD signal locks. Immunity to the fade out (false - depending on if you live next to the transmitter, and it's power), the crackles (partially true, depending on how far away from the TX you are), and the lightning (false - this video is an example) are all claims by Ibiquity. As far as HD-AM being near FM Quality; listen to KSL-1160's IBOC signal and you will strongly disagree with that statement as well. HD Radio is a flawed technology, plain and simple."

http://tinyurl.com/oukw8h


"Sangean HDT1/1X AM/FM HD Radio Tuner"

"Let’s say you are tuning in stations during E skip or tropo and log some HD stations broadcasting sub-channels. The openings are gone; the signals fade away but the sub-channels the Sangean locked on to are still in memory. You can eliminate them by tuning to one and sitting there until the tuner decides to erase it (30 seconds). Repeat this over and over until all those old sub-channels you don’t want are gone. It will take a little while."

http://tinyurl.com/kteaq4


"I-Bust or H-Doomed"

"In these trying times, it should be pointed out that in most cases adding IBOC dramatically increases electric bills. I did three build-outs in Indianapolis and it almost doubled the power bills for the transmitter sites. Multiply this across the board and it is untold thousands of dollars a day going up in heat. If IBOC carriers were turned off, a lot of jobs could be saved with that money."

http://www.radiodaily.net/article.asp?id=1402439

Automakers/Dealers

"Radio’s Revenue Falls Even as Audience Grows"

"And automakers, which have other problems, are not embracing the technology; so far, only Volvo is offering HD Radio as a standard feature in its new cars (it is standard in all but one of its 2009 models). HD radio is pretty much going to be nonexistent, because they can’t figure out how to get the auto guys to include that as an option, and the auto guys that do include HD don’t let the consumers know about it, Ms. Ryvicker of Wachovia Capital Markets said. It’s been a horribly marketed product that’s not going to save the radio industry."

http://tinyurl.com/5zx3je

"DEAD AIR: Radio’s Great Leap Forward stalling in the Valley"

"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."

http://tinyurl.com/6gwdj4

"Are Ford and HD Radio in Sync?"

"The radio industry will, of course, promote Ford for free in exchange for this development as part of the presumably soon-to-expire pledge of airtime to the HD radio effort."

http://www.hear2.com/2007/09/are-ford-and-hd.html


"BMW HD-Radio™- Functionality and Diagnosis"

"SI B65 25 05Sound System, Cruise, Alarms, Monitors August 2007 Technical Service. This Service Information bulletin supersedes S.I. 65 25 05 dated March 2007. Frequent causes of HD Radio complaints."

http://tinyurl.com/cd5fae

"Could HD Radio Be Good For Satellite Radio?"

"When the complaints start rolling into the dealership service departments, surely one suggestion from service advisers will be to switch to Satellite Radio. Ironically, the end of terrestrial radio may come at the hand of terrestrial radio itself."

http://tinyurl.com/5o5wln


"U.S. automakers not jumping into HD Radio"

"The radios are estimated to cost about $45 each to install, or each of the three carmakers about $150 million to $200 million annually, automotive industry sources said."

http://tinyurl.com/o8zaau

Retailers/Manufacturers

"Crawford Broadcasting: The Local Oscillator"

"Whatever happened to the big HD-R receiver rollout at Wal-Mart?.. This rollout has not happened in Western New York, and chances are, not in your market either. In fact, recently while Christmas shopping with my wife, I stopped in several national chain electronics retailers inquiring about HD-R receivers. Of the three I checked, Circuit City, Best Buy and Radio Shack, only one had an HD receiver in stock, and it was not even displayed along with all of the other receivers offered for sale. Someone has to pick up the ball and get the public educated and interested in HD-R, or 1,797 stations have made a very poor investment into the future of radio."

http://tinyurl.com/927svj

"Let’s Go Shopping: HD Radio in Cincy"

"A Target is just across the street, so I sauntered over and looked around their home electronics section, located about as far as possible from the front door and against an outside wall. HD Radio? Nada. Zero. Zip... Then it was onto Wal-Mart. I checked the home electronics department from top to bottom and nothing. No one was around except in the photo department next door, but the guys there knew nothing about HD Radio... My final stops were at the local mall. I went because that’s where my local RadioShack is located — on the lower level, below ground. When I got there, all that was displayed was a lonely-looking Boston Acoustics Recepter HD. It wasn’t plugged in and had no price tag. I asked the attendant if they had any others. He looked at me with his mouth half-opened and said he didn’t even know they had that one."

http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0049/t.11929.html

"Exploring HD-R Availability in Philly"

"So how is HD Radio doing in Philly? Badly... How can broadcasters expect the public to get excited about HD Radio when it can't be uniformly heard everywhere? How can retailers sell the product if they don't stock it? Or if the products they do have on hand can't be demonstrated and employees are clueless? How can manufacturers justify building the product if it doesn't sell for these reasons? No wonder some automakers balked at putting HD Radio in cars when it came up tied to the satellite merger."

http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0049/t.16233.html


"RadioShack's Inadequate Accurian"

"One look underneath the base of an Accurian explains its $200 price tag. There, a sticker reads: 'HD Radio Technology Under License From iBiquity Digital Corporation.' Instead of developing a radio capable of superior sound quality, I'm guessing that RadioShack paid iBiquity a fortune for the license, cheaply put together a subpar product, and passed the licensing cost on to consumers."

http://tinyurl.com/qu9zdw

"HD Radio: Still low in priority at stores"

"I visited a Best Buy the other day, and while I was there I stopped in the auto sound department. He took me to the display wall and showed me the one unit that had HD Radio built in. It was a model from JVC. He said that others were HD Radio ready, but they all required an expensive interface to add HD Radio."

http://tinyurl.com/chb3rg


"HD on QVC -- Lipstick on a (Roast) Pig"

"Hope QVC has better luck than Radio Shack, Best Buy and Wal-Mart selling these empty radios. Hey, whatever happened to that hype?.. Maybe QVC viewers can buy George Foreman's grill along with their HD radios so that they can cook this pig because there are going to be a lot of unhappy customers out there once they plug it in... This roast pig is getting me sick to my stomach."

http://tinyurl.com/6ctnve

"Half Dead Radio"

"My guess is that those few viewers you may get during your HD Radio snake oil sales hour will be waiting for your pitch to end and Joan Rivers’ artificial overpriced baubles sale to begin. Peter, the phone didn’t ring. It must be all the American people interested in HD Radio. What’s the pitch? HD Radio is just like HD TV without the picture?"

http://tinyurl.com/mjm8wa


"HD Radio spinners claim a breakthrough year"

"According to a press release from the Alliance 330,000 HD receivers were sold last year. This is a 725 per cent increase from the 40,000 sets purchased a year earlier and therefore 2007 was a breakthrough year for the technology. In 2008 they will sell a million of the things."

http://tinyurl.com/n2qgbj

"Tech Q? Whither HD Radio"

"New York Times technology columnist David Pogue published a great article on HD Radio last week. He's got 100,000 Twitter followers and asked them who was using HD Radio. Sixteen people replied. Three of them worked in the radio industry. Of the latter, all were concerned for the future of the platform."

http://tinyurl.com/kuaprn

"Many Retailers Forecast ’08 HD-Radio Gain"

"Flanner’s notes, however, that returns on HD Radio for the home is higher than on other products. If you get a signal, the sound quality is spectacular, said Ernst. If you don’t get it, you don’t get it. It has a higher return rate than other products because someone can’t get a signal or maybe they live in a valley or too far away from the station."

http://www.abt.com/about/news/twice_051908.php3


"Reality check: People don't buy radios"

"Five years from now, you won't walk into a Best Buy and say, I want an HD Radio. You'll just say, I want a radio — because that will be the standard... So here's the newsflash to Bob Struble and all the other suits getting ready to yuck-it-up at the NAB Radio Show this week... in five years? No one is going to be saying I want a radio when they walk into Best Buy."

http://tinyurl.com/d6hcsq

"Are you waiting in line for your HD radio?"

"If you lower the price enough, folks will buy the radio. That's the belief about HD radio that is being stoked in our industry. And, of course, it's wrong."

http://www.hear2.com/2006/11/are_you_waiting.html

Satrad Forced Inclusion

"FCC Inquiry on Mandate for HD Radio on Sirius Receivers"

"That last issue, the FCC statutory authority to adopt rules in this area, is a general question considered in several other recent FCC proceedings... Rules requiring that equipment manufacturers take certain actions have run into problems in the Court of Appeals in the recent past as the FCC has only limited jurisdiction over such manufacturers..."

http://tinyurl.com/lvmtat

"STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER DEBORAH TAYLOR TATE"

"However, many commenters, particularly those in the automobile industry oppose a government mandate requiring inclusion of HD chips in all radios, and the resulting increase in cost... Without exception, the auto manufacturers I spoke with urged the Commission to forbear from imposing an HD chip requirement. Their estimate of the cost per car was, on average, two, three, or four times the cost suggested by iBiquity... Thus, I believe the proper path for the Commission to take is to review the issue, along with the price cap, in three years. In addition, we will launch a Notice of Inquiry to examine what the resulting costs would be and whether HD should be mandated. In the interim, I encourage the HD radio industry to find new and innovative incentives to offer car manufacturers to include their technology in automobiles, just as other technologies have done, to increase their uptake and adoption, perhaps including an innovative revenue-sharing model."

http://tinyurl.com/d9ex49

"DOJ Approves Sirius/XM Merger"

"The statement also dismisses claims by HD Radio that a merged Sirius and XM would exclude competing technology from car stereos and other equipment."

http://tinyurl.com/32og6s


"Ford Slams HD Radio Inclusion Proposal"

"In an interesting move, Ford Motor Company has come out against a proposed rule that would require all satellite receivers to include HD radio capabilities. The position Ford is taking is interesting because Ford was one of the first major auto makers to announce a deal with HD Radio for installations of HD technology their cars."

http://siriusbuzz.com/ford-slams-hd-radio-inclusion-proposal.php

"Association of International Automobile Manufacturers"

"AIAM opposes a mandate that HD radio features be integrated into satellite radio receivers or vice versa. Such a requirement would, among other things, impose significant new engineering burdens on vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as significant unnecessary costs on consumers and the industry... A minimum of three to four years lead-time would be required to complete all of the necessary design, testing, and approval processes, assuming that no unexpected complications were to arise that could further lengthen the estimated period."

http://tinyurl.com/55xyw4

"MB Docket No. 07-57; Ex Parte Notice of General Motors and Toyota"

"We are writing jointly on behalf of our two companies, General Motors Corporation and Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc. to express the opposition of our companies to suggestions that the Federal Communications Commission should require the incorporation of HD radio technology in any satellite radio receiver as a condition of approval of the proposed merger of XM and Sirius Satellite Radio."

http://tinyurl.com/5hboxp

"Pioneer says HD Radio succcess should be decided by open market, not forced inclusion"

"IBiquity, the company behind HD Radio, is making enemies all over the place, the latest of which is Pioneer. The Japan-based corp, which makes the popular Inno, recently told the FCC [PDF] that iBiquity's scheme to force satellite radio manufacturers to include HD Radio playback is absurd. The iBiquity conditions would limit the breadth of radio product offerings to consumers, limit which radio component suppliers’ products be designed into radios, have the effect of decreasing AM/FM tuning performance, unnecessarily increase costs to consumers uninterested in HD Radio and interfere with the useful and healthy free market mechanisms extant in radio electronics purchases."

http://tinyurl.com/5f9q2b

SoundExchange Royalties

"Want to Kill HD Radio?"

"Let’s say that radio companies have to start paying royalties on the music that they play. Even if it is a flat percentage of all revenue like other outlets are going to be charged, HD Radio streams would do nothing more than serve to drive up royalty payments for NAB members. The overwhelming majority of terrestrial listeners ARE NOT listening to HD Radio. Ads on HD Radio will be dirt cheap for a very long time. The HD streams may not be able to cover royalty on music from ad revenues. Do you think that Clear Channel will continue to pump money in to HD Radio equipment, expanding services and coverage if the payoff in the end is an INCREASE in copyright royalties and nothing more?"

http://dualsub.wordpress.com/2007/11/11/want-to-kill-hd-radio/

"Copyright Royalty Board Releases Music Royalties for Internet Radio"

"Does the decision cover broadcasters who stream on the Internet? Yes, the decision does cover the Internet transmissions of the over-the-air content of broadcast stations. Do the fees apply to broadcasters for their over-the-air signals? No. The royalties are paid only by digital services. Do HD radio stations pay the fee? No, the law that adopted these fees specifically exempted over-the-air digital transmissions by radio stations."

http://www.dwt.com/LearningCenter/Advisories?find=24816

"Public Performance Right for Sound Recordings"

"In May 2009, the House Judiciary Committee passed the Performance Rights Act in a 21-9 vote. On October 15, 2009, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed its version of the bill. FMC urges Congress to update the Copyright Act to extend the public performance right for sound recordings to terrestrial and HD radio. Unless Congress acts, incumbent broadcasters will continue to exploit their exempt status that sets them apart from other media providers."

http://tinyurl.com/yhm9hoe

"ASCAP and BMI - Another Royalty Battle for Broadcasters?"

"While we have written much about the battle over the broadcast performance royalty (or the 'performance tax' as broadcasters call is) - whether broadcasters will have to pay artists and record labels for the right to play their music on the air - we have not written much about another looming issue with the royalties that broadcasters must pay to play music on their stations. While broadcasters are very familiar with the ASCAP and BMI royalties, they may not be fully aware that there is a looming dispute over the amount that broadcasters will pay to these organizations in the near future."

http://tinyurl.com/yd46yz5

International Rollout

"iBiquity's International Marketing Diminished"

"This little blurb in a trade publication notes the fact that HD Radio's point-man for global sales is stepping down. He is not being replaced; the company is construing this as (yet another) cost-cutting move. Regardless of the veracity of this statement, it can't bode well for a digital radio protocol that has no real traction outside of the United States - and very little domestically to boot. One might look at this as another throe in the agonizing death that HD Radio is undergoing."

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/0709.htm#072009

"HD Going Global?"

"There's a lot of white on the map. I didn't color in those countries which have already chosen or are actively testing non-HD Radio broadcast standards (much of Asia and Western Europe, including countries like the UK and Germany). Much of the industrialized world is simply out of play. In addition, many countries (especially in Africa, eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East) have simply not thought much about making a digital radio transition as of yet - analog works just fine for them for now, thanks."

http://www.diymedia.net/archive/0509.htm

"Digital Radio Wobbles Around the World"

"My personal mission was to warn as many other countries away from casting their fates with iBiquity's HD Radio platform, as it not only carries a plethora of technical risks, but it may decimate community radio stations as we know them. Fortunately, this was an easy job: the Europeans can see through the snake-oil that is HD Radio, and the general consensus of the workshop was that HD should be opposed at every step... However, this is not stopping iBiquity from trying to break into international markets... iBiquity sees these as ripe markets, where the 'no-pain, some-gain' mantra of HD's biggest selling-point may sway the less-informed."

http://diymedia.net/archive/0608.htm#062308


"Mexico Authorizes Transition to HD Radio(TM) Broadcasting"

"Mexico's Federal Telecommunications Commission (CoFeTel) announced last week that it is authorizing radio stations within 320 kilometers (200 miles) from its border with the United States to begin transmitting with digital HD Radio technology.

http://tinyurl.com/ck48ar

"Mexico Says Hang on a Minute!"

"Mexico wants U.S. radio regulators to re-think their decision to allow AMs to go IBOC at night and FMs to operate on the extended hybrid digital carriers. Our neighbors to the south say they are not happy the FCC authorized its recent 'final' IBOC rules governing broadcast transmissions without first coordinating those through international treaties."

http://www.radioworld.com/pages/s.0121/t.7715.html


"IBOC TECHNOLOGY: An Assessment of Technical & Operational Issues in the Canadian FM Radio Environment"

“Based on the evidence currently in hand, the DRCG considers that it would be risky for Canadian broadcasters to proceed at this time with an unrestricted roll-out of HD Radio services in the FM band, in the manner implemented in the US. There is no ground-swell of radio listener interest in this technology so far and the lack of inexpensive receivers, as well as unique new programming services, continues to make it difficult to market HD Radio to the public in the US. Moreover, there is no evidence that Canadian digital radio listeners are being lost to the 10% of US FM stations that have implemented HD Radio to date.”

http://tinyurl.com/ltxtkr

"Digital radio in Canada"

"The only comprehensive technical comments came from the CBC. They stated that AM-IBOC would create a serious degradation in sound quality for existing AM stations (*all* AM stations, not just the ones adopting IBOC). They also state that due to interference concerns, IBOC transmission at night is not practical."

http://tinyurl.com/cstact


"Eureka: Reaching out to the World DMB Community"

"After several tests and trials on digital broadcasting technologies including DAB and IBOC in 2006, media broadcasters and the industry have seen that DAB and DVB would be the best-suited systems to be applied in Indonesia. Up to now, the largest public-radio network – RRI (RadioRepublik Indonesia), is running a successful trial broadcast on DAB in Jakarta as well as testing the DRM technology – and experiencing minimum troubles."

http://tinyurl.com/m8vcna


"Digital Car Radio Secrets Revealed"

"Commercial Radio Australia says that HD Radio will not be available in Australia as it has already been rejected by the Australian commercial radio industry and public broadcasters... Our AM spacing in Australia is 9Khz. The US HD radio technology operates on 10kHz channel spacing, so the technology would need major upgrade if it ever to be suitable for digital radio services in Australia and indeed much of Asia, she said. Currently the USA HD model switches off at 4.00 pm to allow broadcasters in the AM Band to avoid co-channel interference in markets several 100 kilometres away. HD radio was rejected by the industry as it would have disadvantaged some of the most successful radio operators in Australia, added Warner."

http://tinyurl.com/b7butk


"World's first DRM+ broadcasts go on-air in Germany"

"It is also reported that there will be trials of the US-based HD Radio system in the FM band in Germany as well, although I've seen another German report which said that the HD Radio system failed to meet the interference criteria for transmitting in the FM band -- i.e. HD Radio stations would interfere too much with existing FM stations -- so whether HD Radio stands a chance of being used I don't know, but I would doubt it. The European receiver manufacturers certainly wouldn't be keen on supporting yet another standard if they can help it due to the additional licensing costs that would be incurred, and the fact that HD Radio is a proprietary system wouldn't help matters. Also, HD Radio only has a very limited amount of support -- just the odd radio station in a few countries -- so I can't personally see how it stands a chance of building up the momentum required to compete against DAB+, as that has a lot of support from around the world."

http://tinyurl.com/2nojbu

Commercials/Street Teams

"HD Radio Ads Combat Perceptions"

"Research tells us that consumers think they are listening to HD Radio because the promos on the station say `broadcasting in HD Radio', a spokesperson said. The new ads will continue educating consumers that they need a new receiver to enjoy the HD experience. All ads therefore will incorporate the tag, 'If you don’t have an HD, you’re not hearing HD. It’s time to upgrade.'”

http://tinyurl.com/lqpspy


"GSD&M Preps $200 Mil.+ HD Radio Push"

"GSD&M has already begun producing work. The ads feature the voice of cartoon character SpongeBob (actor Tom Kenny) as a conventional car radio calling its owner and leaving messages as if it's a jilted lover. 'You know, I could totally pick up those new extra HD stations if I hit the gym,' the radio says in desperation. 'Is that what you're into now? Huh? Call me!'"

http://tinyurl.com/n292wf


"Jean/iTunesTagging/Pirates”

"It appears the HD radio is infinite, like the stars or head lice. Can one man discover it all? Christopher Columbus, I pray to you for guidance. I will hold vigil in the backseat, listen to the show tune and await your sign. Come first light, onward.

http://tinyurl.com/mm54cg


"The radio ads for HD Radio (or 'What the ??')"

"I’m sure you’ve heard the latest round of radio spots for HD Radio. The school teacher-sounding woman who compares HD Radio to the mating cycle of an insect, or the feeding habits of a bat, or some other bizarre idea... But these ads are just strange. I mean really strange... When I am in the car with someone not in broadcasting and one of these spots is played, I ask the person with me what he or she thinks. Most of the time the reply is, 'I don’t get it', or 'What was that all about?'"

http://tinyurl.com/crjfvl


"Is HD The Answer To Radio's Youth Listening Exodus?"

"At R&R's Keeping Radio Relevant for Tomorrow's Listeners round-table discussion held Aug. 17 in Los Angeles, participant Larry Rosin, co-founder/president of Edison Media Research, admitted, 'I did a study on HD radio, and the women were laughing. They were literally mocking the commercials.'"

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/radioandrecords.html


"Nothing's Sexier Than Smooth Jazz on HD Radio This Valentine Season!"

"Chocolates and roses again? Been there, gotten that! Tell her you really love her with the clear and dulcet tones of Smooth Jazz on HD Radio. It's so Romantic! WHAT: This Valentine's Day, be with the one you love: HD Radio. Listen and relax with the likes of peaceful Kenny G, silky Sade and Benson and the soulful Marvin Gaye. These multicast stations, among many others, are providing some of the best romantic smooth jazz ballads to make your special day a little sweeter: WHY: Because meeting Smooth Jazz on HD Radio was fate, becoming HD Radio's friend was a simple and easy choice, but falling in love with Smooth Jazz on HD Radio, now that's a perfect Love Story. WHEN: Right now!"

http://tinyurl.com/m6aogr


"Radio Finally Starts to Go Def"

"To the rhythm of slapping skin, a male hillbilly voice performs a new kind of music called 'rural rump slap', including the lyric 'I'm white trash and I slap you in the ass, I just slapped your momma in my GED class. Rural rump slap rap: You can't hear that on regular radio. But you can on HD.'"

http://72.52.213.140/article/1910


"WINTER DREAMS”

"…the annoying caroling family from two streets over: Have an HD Radio gift-wrapped and ready to go. You hardly know this family, but they show up out of nowhere on Christmas Eve with homemade pumpkin bread. Which makes you feel like garbage. Till you whip out their HD Radio with more free stations and crystal-clear sound. Eat that, carolers!"

http://tinyurl.com/m5wywd


"HD Radio commercial"

“Hey, its your radio talking, you know the old guy! Heard you got a new HD radio? Now you don’t even look at me! You want to hear everything crystal clear. You don’t want to hear between the stations? May be I could hit the gym and try some of those new stations you are into?... Remember those lonely nights, long drive, you and me? I would sing you non-stop, and you don’t talk, just listen… Hey, I see you got a new HD radio by my side. Here I am laying all my buttons for you, but you don’t touch my buttons anymore. Don’t you like my buttons??”

http://loudshout.wordpress.com/2008/02/04/hd-radio-commercial


"Commercial Pick"

"So, I was driving along and this song came on the radio that I like. I push a button and my radio records my preference on my ipod, which then tells my computer and my itunes that I want to buy it. I mean, this is great, I have a ton of new songs and all, but isn’t it a little creepy, all my appliances talking about me? I mean, my shower has seen me naked. What is it telling my toaster?”

http://grassrootsmovement.wordpress.com/2008/05/04/commercials


"HD Radio launches Motown effort"

"When HD Radio wanted to impress the automotive industry designers and engineers at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, our team went into overdrive. Our brand ambassadors jumped on the People Mover in Detroit during the two-day Industry Insider 'Spy Day' at the auto show. Decked in HD Radio orange, our 15 member team handed out over 21,000 VIP lanyards to those attending the show. Those with VIP passes were instructed to a 'Detroit' themed landing page on the HD Radio Web site to win HD Radio converters. Our mobile assault continued with a caravan of 5 two-sided mobile billboards traveling the COBO Center area on the weekends to build brand awareness."

http://www.texascreative.com/the_work.php?project=152


"Zune HD demos in select Best Buy stores"

"Best Buy is offering a sneak peek at the Zune HD on August 23 and 24 at select stores. Pictured here is Microsoft’s Zune HD van and 'street team,' which are travelling the US this summer, building awareness for the new Zune HD digital media player that features HD Radio reception and song tagging."

http://www.rbr.com/radio/16521.html

Alternative Systems

"Road-Testing the FMeXtra"

"In summary, FMeXtra is an economical and quick way for an FM station to add additional programming channels and to begin digital broadcasting. The system, which caught the attention of many attendees, requires the purchase of an $8,900 encoder that can be installed in less than an hour’s time, on average. There are no licensing fees to use the FMeXtra system."

http://www.rwonline.com/article/276

"FMeXtra: Another On-Channel Solution"

"Eventually DRE asked the NRSC to reactivate the DAB subcommittee. Early on, we saw that IBOC was going nowhere as long as there were multiple proponents, and even in the best estimates, it would be many years before there would be any return on investment. So we decided to license our patent portfolio for use in IBOC to USA Digital Radio, which eventually merged with Lucent’s IBOC group to form Ibiquity. We are an Ibiquity shareholder... There is no significant difference in spectrum occupancy between the 'extended hybrid' mode of IBOC today and these earlier systems, which were deemed by the NRSC and others to be incompatible with the host analog FM signal."

http://www.bext.com/RW/RWFMeXtraDec05.pdf


"Crystal-clear Catholic Radio listening in Central Indiana"

"A special $20 radio, tuned to Catholic Radio Indy! The Metrosonix MS Y2K S is an FM radio that also has a setting tuned to the FM Subcarrier (often abbreviated as SCA) signal from a local classical radio station that now carries our programming, too! This same technology has been used for many years by the 'background music industry'—think Muzak —to deliver music to stores and businesses in large areas."

http://tinyurl.com/cwldlk


"AM Stereo: AM Radio's answer to high-quality audio"

"AM Stereo is still in use today all over the world. It's been discovered that many HD-Radios available now also decode C-quam AM Stereo!"

http://www.amstereoradio.com/

DAB International Rollout

"Digital radio: a European update"

"In Austria, it is understood that the private and public stakeholders in DAB held an emergency meeting on 17 July to discuss the fall-out from the German decision... Meanwhile, back in Germany, the Financial Times ran a story today headlined 'Digital radio fails in Germany'. Asked about the prospects there for DAB radio, Hans-Dieter Hillmoth, deputy head of the German private broadcasters association (VPRT) said bluntly: 'Currently there is no viable business model'. The article noted that, after ten years of DAB in Germany, only 600,000 DAB radios have been sold. In neighbouring Switzerland, it is anticipated that 300,000 DAB radios will have been sold by year-end. DAB radio receiver manufacturers, including the UK’s Pure, had expected to sell 300 million units in Germany. Asked what importance it attached to the German DAB market, global audio manufacturer Pioneer commented 'absolutely none', and it added that the death of traditional analogue radio receivers is absolutely not in sight."

http://tinyurl.com/kkycfh

"Death of Digital Radio Mondiale in 2008 as well?"

"From both formal and informal discussions among participants at the HFCC, it is now clear that the proposed DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) system, that would have converted analogue Shortwave to digital, FM like quality reception would hardly be implemented if ever on a large scale, beyond the current experimental stage."

http://tinyurl.com/b6z5lr


"SWITZERLAND: five of eight DAB+ licences expire unused"

"Yesterday, five out of eight broadcast licences issued in Switzerland for DAB+ radio expired without their owners having launched the promised digital stations. According to the Klein Report, only three DAB+ stations – Open Broadcast, Radio Eviva and Swiss Mountain Holiday Radio – are now on-air, the latter having launched on yesterday’s deadline."

http://tinyurl.com/yjdm7ug


"FRANCE: digital radio already dead?"

"After ten years of DAB radio development in the UK, precisely the same question needs to be answered here as is being asked in France this week: Why has nobody published a realistic economic model for digital terrestrial radio which demonstrates convincingly that it is financially worthwhile? Perhaps because one does not exist?"

http://tinyurl.com/yks45ke


"AUSTRIA: media regulator puts DAB radio on hold"

"ORF, Austrian state radio, technical director Peter Moosmann commented that the time was not yet 'ripe' for the introduction of digital radio and he rejected the notion of planned FM switch-off. In every Austrian household, there are four or five radio sets that would need to be replaced with one blow, he said. We do not want to force the listener to switch, but want to entice them to digital radio with the appeal of new radio formats."

http://tinyurl.com/yzoo764


"Delays have killed the future of digital radio"

"Macquarie Radio Network says years of delays had killed the future of digital radio, which was being overtaken by broadband services, third-generation mobiles and digital devices such as iPods, reports Australian IT."

http://tinyurl.com/34p4lz


"Finalist Fiascos: DAB, the digital radio"

"The estimated investment on digital radio has been of 50 million euros in Spain, an amount that got to 350 million thanks to the help of the other six European countries that believed in this technology. In Catalonia the fiasco was accomplished in November 2008, when after ten years without an audience, the Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals -the Public Catalan Media Corporation- brought digital radio broadcasting to a halt."

http://tinyurl.com/d7gpa5


"Digital Radio in Canada"

"The Commission is very concerned about the stalled DRB transition. Roughly 15 of the 76 authorized stations (including the digital-only operation in Toronto) are not on the air. Some stations that once operated have since ceased operations. Few recievers have been sold, and there is no interest in expanding DRB service beyond the six cities where it exists."

http://tinyurl.com/cstact


"The Register: In the ditch with DAB radio"

"Paradoxically, the greatest obstacle is that the UK’s existing FM analogue radio transmission system already provides amazingly robust radio reception to 99 per cent of the population... For commercial radio, the Working Group’s recommendation that it invest in launching further digital-only services to attract listeners to the DAB platform would only exacerbate the sector’s precarious financial situation. In fact, 2008 witnessed the closure of many digital radio brands – TheJazz, OneWord, Core, Virgin Radio Groove, Capital Life, Mojo Radio – that had already failed to generate sufficient audiences or revenues... In terms of UK market penetration, nearly a decade after the DAB platform launched, only a minority of consumers are demonstrating an interest in purchasing DAB radio receivers."

http://tinyurl.com/bkldbc

"DAB radio: now you hear it, now you don't"

"This would not be the first time that the marketing of DAB radio in the UK has come under legal scrutiny for potentially misleading consumers. In 2004, Ofcom banned an advertisement broadcast on London station Jazz FM which had claimed falsely that DAB radio offers consumers CD-quality sound. In 2005, the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against DAB multiplex owner Switchdigital for a misleading radio advert which had claimed that DAB radio was distortion free and crystal clear. In its verdict, the ASA said it had received no evidence to show that DAB digital radio was superior to analogue radio in terms of audio quality... So, it would appear that, from 2004 onwards the UK radio industry has continued to market and sell millions of DAB radios to UK consumers, in the full knowledge that its DAB transmission infrastructure requires a significant upgrade to provide consumers with sufficiently robust DAB radio reception in built-up areas and in homes."

http://tinyurl.com/c2f9e4

"The Digital One DAB radio multiplex"

"Its monopoly over the DAB infrastructure is valuable in itself, even if the capacity is mostly unused. Its gatekeeper role enables it to push its own digital services to listeners, at the expense of competitors and potential competitors. High carriage fees for external users will quickly put them out of business. Listeners will lap up its own controlling shareholder’s content on the DAB platform, however little is invested in its production (one computer + 100 CDs = digital radio station). Control of a broadcast platform is alone sufficient to create a profitable monopolistic business."

http://tinyurl.com/cspq4p