Best Buy Takes HD Radio Portable

Is $49.99 cheap enough to entice consumers to buy a radio? Yes, a radio. Not an HD Radio (which of course it is)...just a radio. Look around, most people buy things that have radios in them...clock radios, car radios, home theater audio systems (stereos if you like), etc. Outside of radio enthusiasts when did "Sam and Sally Smith" last buy a standalone radio? Exactly. One notable thing missing from this unit is any kind of digital media storage. Seems like a no brainer, but I guess that addition would of killed the $49.99 price point. Here's the Engadget story.

Insignia NS-HD01: first-ever portable HD Radio on sale at Best Buy

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 12th 2009 at 12:01AM

Remember that first-ever portable HD Radio prototype we peeked back in May? Turns out Best Buy just let loose the real-deal, today announcing immediate availability of the Insignia NS-HD01. Needless to say, the big box retailer and supporters of HD Radio alike are hoping that this subscription-free player will finally put some much-needed wind behind the sails of the format, and while it's pretty simple in nature, the sub-$50 price tag could place it squarely in the "impulse buy" category. The relatively brief specs list includes a color LCD, rechargeable Li-ion battery, a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, a bundled armband and ten user-selectable preset memory channels. You can catch the full release after the break, and the player itself in your nearest Best Buy.

The Friday Follies

Today, a few different topics.

• Seems like Twitter has been a hot topic here and it has. Hey, if its good enough for Oprah... Wired has a good article on how to discover and share music on Twitter. If you play new music on your station, I see a couple good reasons to use Twitter as a new music tool. 1-Tweet your new music discoveries (new and potential future adds) to your followers. 2-Search your followers for the music they are hyping. Community baby! Check out the article here.

• 4G/WiMax will be a game-changer and forever change the mobile connectivity playing field. In a few places it's already here. We've written about this before, but here's a video taking you inside Intel and their WiMax work.
  

• Even Clear Channel owned INSIDE RADIO has to admit that HD Radio is in [big, big]
  trouble: HD Radio awareness stagnates.
  
  Even though millions of dollars have been spent promoting HD Radio, less than one-third of Americans are aware of what it is. A new study concludes 29% of consumers say they’re familiar with HD Radio. The rate's grown little over the last three years
  
  

Significant...Or Not?

In a recent post I suggested that HD Radio was DOA. I promised that I would blog about a HD Radio unit sales number if one were to be released--it has. This morning Inside Radio had this:

HD Radio milestone: One million receivers are now in use. Three years after the first HD Radio receivers arrived, iBiquity says it’s crossed the one million mark. “We expect that number to grow tremendously in the coming years,” says iBiquity VP Joe D’Angelo. He tells Inside Radio the recent economic downturn has yet to make an impact on sales. At yesterday’s Kagan Radio Summit, D’Angelo noted, “The take-up rate has really grown as prices for receivers have come down.” He says the number of units in circulation should continue to grow more rapidly as HD Radio chipsets have been shrunk to fit into MP3 players and other portable devices. An iPod accessory is set to be released this summer. Even though a dozen other automobile brands are offering HD Radio options, General Motors has yet to commit. D’Angelo says iBiquity has “ongoing discussions” with every automaker, but notes it gets help from suppliers like Delphi who also push the car companies to adopt the technology. The rollout comes as car sales have plummeted. Detroit’s Big Three yesterday reported weak March sales figures. General Motors sales fell 45% last month, while Ford reported a 41% drop and Chrysler had a 39% decline. By positioning HD Radio as a replacement “upgrade” for the estimated 800 million analog radios in use, D’Angelo says, “There’s still more than enough head room for us to grow.”

OK, one million radios "in use?" Not sold, but in use. Putting that vague reference aside, it strikes me that even at 1 million units after 3 years, the number is quite weak. By comparison, it is believed that when Apple released iPhone 3g in the US there were 1 million sold in the first 3 days.

Promising or not? You decide.

Quietly Becoming Ubiquitous

Internet radio already readily available to anyone with a computer and internet connection, more and more on mobile devices, and the battle for the dashboard is just beginning to include internet audio.

In the mix of all this is a growing selection of tabletop internet enabled wifi/ethernet radios. I'm not sure how big the market is for these clock/radios but the number of models seems to be growing. Just released, is a unit from Acoustic Research. Engadget just did a post detailing the radio that you can read here.

It's one of the most "normal" looking internet radios I have seen. You know what I mean...some of the earlier models kinda looked like a science project with fancy knobs. This one blends right in.

No HD Radio here. Why would they. Why are we? I predict it will happen on its own, but now is the time to abandon HD Radio. So much time and MONEY...lots of money has been wasted on what might best be called a transitional product that now after all this time might be politely called stillborn.

I welcome someone to challenge my belief. If someone can provide me with a HD Radio unit sales figure I will happily publish it.

Something Special In The Air

Here's another reminder of what's around the corner.
No, that's not a new player on your laptop computer screen but the command center from the new media center upcoming from Mercedes Benz. Still at least a few more years away but that time will go very quick.

While the announcement of these systems is nothing new--in addition to MB, Chrysler and BMW have already released systems--what is noteworthy is how fast the technology is advancing.

Engadget had this article of the MB system:

Mercedes-Benz has already toyed around a bit with some internet-connected in-car systems, but it looks to really be going all out with its new myCOMMAND system, which it's now showing off at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Among other things, it would constantly pull various traffic information off the internet and take it into account for route selection, as well as give you access to internet radio stations, let you make VoIP phone calls, and even give you a browser that'll let you " surf the internet in the accustomed way." Mercedes is also promising that the entire system will be completely intuitive, with most of the primary functions controlled with a single rotary pushbutton, and two secondary buttons provided for things like menu operation. Of course, it's all still very much a demo at this point, and Mercedes itself says it'll be least a "few more years" before it actually winds up in a production vehicle.

Interesting that there is no mention of AM and FM radio. While I don't think it won't be included, it's a sign of the times that it is not viewed as MOST important. HD Radio...ahhhhh

So back to the title of this post. SOMETHING SPECIAL IN THE AIR. We better do it. And now.

You Think We Got Problems (in radio)?

With people under 30 it would appear TV may be in worse shape.

MediaPost had this story based on a Pew study:

Only 58% of adults younger than 30 say they watch TV almost every day, while 23% of say they watch television only a few times a week. That's according to new research by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Numbers decidedly weaker than we are experiencing in radio. What's not mentioned is what the numbers were in the past and how far they have fallen. It's reasonable to guess that younger demos have always watched less TV than their older counterparts.

Here's how the older demo's shake out.

Among older adults, the numbers are higher. Seventy-two percent of people age 30-49 watch TV almost every day, as do 80% of those 50-64 and 89% of those 65 and older.

A huge difference.

Get this...from the same MediaPost article:

Independent of the Pew study, The Wall Street Journal recently wrote about the growing number of adults who have stopped paying for cable TV because they can watch any programs they want online. Presidential debates can now be streamed live, shows on cable channels like MTV are available for free streaming, and the best moments from "Saturday Night Live" can be viewed on demand at Hulu.com and NBC.com.

And the article goes on to say:

If people had already started canceling their cable subscriptions before the recent economic events, it's easy to imagine that more will do so in a recession. And that means that Internet video, which already commands some of the highest CPMs out there, will grow in popularity. Current predictions are that the market could reach $1 billion by 2010, but that could turn out to be an underestimate if more people than expected stop watching TV.

Additionally, as people spend more time online, search advertising also is likely to continue to grow. Many Web users now view search engines, and not portals, as the gateway to the Web; when those people go online, they start at Google, Yahoo or another company's search engine. Just last week, Google reported that second quarter profit grew 26%, showing that paid search is holding up very well, even as the rest of the economy teeters.

The future is here and it's on-demand. Honestly, I had never heard that cable TV subscriptions were being canceled. But if that tidbit is accurate, that's got to send chills down the spine of TV exec's everywhere.

And we wonder why there is little to no appetite for HD Radio--good content or not.

MTV Networks learned long ago that music and music videos were becoming too much of a commodity (not to mention the declining ratings) to center most of it's programming around it. The channels today are largely about music and the people making the music but not music videos.

It's a very difficult lesson for radio to wrap its arms around. I'm guilty, we are all guilty of selling "more music." It was a plausible strategy before more music could be better deployed elsewhere. Now the challenge is to develop radio programming (live, on-line, on demand) that gets beyond the songs exclusively.

What exclusive content do you have worth searching for and consuming on-demand?

HD Radio = Bad Engineering

And that's where this story begins. Add that to the fact that HD Radio does not fulfill a [consumer] need or solve a real problem [for consumers] and now we are witnessing a technology struggling to find a reason to exist.

Can it be saved? Maybe, but I think the odds are long.

Two things that might have made a difference:

1. A different interface. Instead of frequency extension i.e. 102.1-2 the IBOC system should have been marketed as a NEW band with new channel numbers. AM, FM, and the new DM (digital modulation). Even those under 25 might have been intrigued to sample this new DM radio broadcasting. This still doesn't address the signal issues related to low power and topography.
   
2. New, original, and unique programming that is not solely dependent on music programming. Music channels are cheap and easy. Entertainment programming is expensive and certainly not easy.
   

Can these issues be addressed now? Seems to me that it might be too late on the engineering side of things and it's never to late to produce great programming.

Let me share with you a great column I read written by Brad Burnham on the Union Square Ventures website (a venture capital firm in NYC). It is talking about computer technology and its applications, but I think the article applies nicely to HD-R. Read the entire piece here.

In the old days, electrical engineers focused on getting computers to work not on getting people to engage with the systems built on top of those computers. The folks that built enterprise software were vaguely aware that their systems had to be accessible to the humans that used them but they had a huge advantage. The people who used them did so as part of their job, they were trained to use them and fired if they could not figure them out.

Today, no one tells you to use Facebook. There are no employer sponsored training sessions on the use of del.icio.us. The burden is on the designer of the system to meet a need, entertain, or inform their users. They also have to seduce those users, hiding complexity, revealing one layer at time, always enticing, never intimidating, until the user one day finds they are intimately familiar with power and the pleasures of the service.

Designing a system that does that is not an electrical engineering problem. It is a social engineering problem. The best social engineers are working today on consumer facing web services. They understand that there is enormous potential leverage in those services. The creators of these services recognize that services like theirs will ultimately disrupt the economics of many, if not most, parts of the global economy in much the same way that Craigslist collapsed the multi-billion dollar classified industry into a fabulously profitable multi-million dollar web service.

The New FM

Many have talked about HD Radio being in the same spot FM radio was in the late 60's--still early, with the potential for exponential growth coming. Sadly, this is very far from an accurate comparison. In truth, for reasons you've read and heard a thousand times, HD is miles behind in a race that it is not likely to win. From weak programming to signal and interference issues to very few radios sold this venture is a "tough putt."

However, a real growth story is beginning to develop--[streaming] on-line. I can't say I'm surprised to hear that in PPM markets New York, LA, and Chicago a growing cume story is emerging. Inside Radio had that story this morning:

Streaming makes a bigger showing in PPM ratings. Stations meeting minimum reporting standards for online listening more than tripled last month, as 11 stations in the first 13 PPM markets had enough listening to “make the book.” The webcast of New York AC “Lite FM” WLTW had a 0.6 cume rating while sister CHR “Z-100” WHTZ reached a 0.7. Both stations did better in suburban embedded markets, even topping a 1.0. In Los Angeles AC KOST and modern rock KROQ both had a 0.5 cume rating. Chicago’s WLS hit a 0.6 — with a big spike in online listening during Rush Limbaugh’s show. Arbitron SVP Bill Rose says while online listening remains primarily an at-work medium, it is proving to be more of a 25-54 phenomena than first thought. Last month, more than one in ten working Men 25-54 (11.4%) listened to a station online. For working Women 25-54 it was 10.9%. That compares to 7.5% for Persons 6+. Rose says “Streaming has been around a little while and it’s gotten a little older.”

It's a very optimistic story, one that is closer to the early FM comparison.

Now, streaming is more about "easy" and less about buffering, dropped connections, and bad audio. Mobile and dashboard access are upon us and will become easier and easier in the months and years ahead.

Five reminders I think are vital for successful streaming initiatives:

• Open access--streams need to be available outside of proprietary players.
• A clean stream in which the music, talent, spots, and promos create a seamless listening experience. No dead air during a spot break or that hideous "we'll be right back" music!
  
• Decent audio quality (btw, Orban has a great sounding plug-in to help in this area).
• Begin thinking about specialty streams--continuous morning show replays, interview and news maker channels, single artist channels, local event channels, etc.
• Creative marketing initiatives designed to help listeners easily access your streams.

HD Radio

How many HD radios were sold in 2007?

300,000

Scary.



(embarrassing, but I don't want to say that)

Do We Have A Winner?

By now you've read the headlines:

Exciting new plan to SAVE radio... HD Radio on the move... Radio 2020... Radio Heard Here...

All "designed" to rejuvenate radio's images, perceptions, and realities. Sorry folks, no winners here.

Here's the scorecard as I see it.

Logo = 0
New Content = 0
HD Radio = 0

What's with me? I'm being so negative. It's not my normal style. I'm a positive "glass half full" person.

It's hard to be to remain positive when one sees his beloved industry make questionable turn after questionable turn. I feel kinda sick aside from the miserable spring cold that's permeated my head.

I wish I could be positive about that retro (read: horrible) logo released last week. Aside from the weak visual what does it communicate? The intended recipients already know that radio exists; they are choosing to use it less or not at all. How does this address their issues?
It's been said in this space before. It's a content issue, not a hearing issue. We need to be developing new content that REALLY entices under 30's to switch off their self directed choices and discover unique and one of a kind entertainment coming out of that old fashioned radio.

It's not likely to come in the form of music. The hits are the hits are the hits. iTunes proves that every day when one simply takes a look at the top downloads. It looks remarkably similar to the top 40 charts.

There's always been a segment of the music audience that has broader and more eclectic tastes than the general public and the on-line world demonstrates little change from that. Remember the days of the original Alternative format? Once a song "crossed over" and became popular the Alt audience shunned that song and had already moved on to the next hip thing. That is not to say there aren't genres and specific styles of music bubbling under the mainstream that could become the next big thing.

The one of a kind entertainment I am talking about is the kind that is conceived, written, and performed by humans. Content that is interactive, fun, funny, challenging, enticing, titillating, controversial, endearing, informative, helpful, caring, tells a story, unique and different. Insert your own descriptors and now you have a "support radio" campaign that might strike a chord with its intended listeners.

Ho Hum....here goes HD Radio again...

Aside from the Alliances own self-serving research every other study says the same thing--stillborn.

After this amount of time the chance of HD Radio catching fire with consumers seems pretty dim. There's no shortage of folks saying the same thing.

I said it when IBOC was being readied for deployment and I want to say it again now. Using the dash-1, 2, and 3 system was a huge mistake. HDTV did it for their over the air digital signals and aside from a few geeks (myself included) NO ONE knows those additional channels are even there (cable and satellite do not carry them and few watch over the air). HD Radio should have been called DM for digital modulation--AM, FM, DM. Everyone would have understood it--instantly. Even though the signals would use the same spectrum space as they currently use, they should have received their own "band" and been assigned their own channel number. Pick a range...it doesn't matter.

Would this have spelled success for HD Radio? I don't know. But I believe it would have reduced some of the confusion and allowed the digital channels to have unique identities and not be tied to the main signal. Even if this system had been adopted there was no guarantee of success.

All of the same programming issues would remain. Especially that pesky one that music machines are not the future. Real content created by humans (radio pros and listeners alike) is the future.

Radio Does Not Need More Formats Or More Inventory

From Tom Taylor's Tuesday newsletter:

Wachovia analyst Marci Ryvicker says “HD Radio is not a catalyst” for radio, at least not now.

Marci’s précis of last Wednesday’s SNL Kagan Summit concludes with this paragraph: “HD Radio has been in the works for years, yet it is amazing to us that #1, it is still not in cars (please tell us who would actually buy a radio in the store when there are sexier technological gadgets out there). #2, Radio groups still plan to use the spectrum for programming rather than datacasting or on-demand alternatives. #3, No one can figure out what the revenue model will be.” Ryvicker says “our thoughts: radio does not need more formats or more inventory. Use the spectrum for something else [like datacasting] and get it in the car, as a non-pay option, ASAP.”

Well said.

The HD Radio debate/situation/deployment is so distracting from the real business at hand--becoming/staying relevant with Gen Y. They are the future and they DO NOT need us. Figure out what they need and want and watch radio's tide begin to turn.

It's not going to be a music play alone. We are going to have to entertain the next generation by talking their language, enabling flexible content platforms (phones and browsers), and then figure out new ways to monetize it because the traditional spot model will not be sufficient.

I am not anti-HD Radio. Maybe I am all wrong about it. I'm not afraid of being wrong. Maybe people will flock to the Apple Store to buy the Polk Audio HD radio/iPod dock for $499.95.

The sales figures at the end of the year will tell the tale. How many HD radio's will be sold? What's your guess?

What Song Was That?

Tom Taylor on Radio-Info this morning had this:

Your BlackBerry can tell you what song just played on the radio, thanks to a new free downloadable program named “Radio Companion”, developed by Nobex Technologies. The airplay data comes from suburban Philly-based Mediaguide, which tracks more than 2,700 U.S. stations.

Being a long time Blackberry user and proud owner of the a BB Curve I had to download the small piece of software to see what it could do. Easy to download and install and easy to use once on the Blackberry Desktop.

Mediaguide monitors a boatload of markets from the majors down to below the top 200. I chose Fresh in New York.



The program is running live and when the next song begins the screen automatically updates. You can also scroll back and see what has already been played. Hit select on the device and moments later a detailed email arrived.



In the email, all of the information about the station, the artist and song--plus a link to purchase the song from iTunes. Of course, that's linked with the Apple affiliates program; Mediaguide will earn a 5% commission on every song sold. [Local radio stations can do the same thing on their own websites]

Buried deep at the end of the press release for this product is the following:

Radio Companion does not yet stream audio from radio stations directly to BlackBerry smartphones. Nobex and Mediaguide anticipate adding this feature in late summer of 2008.

So by summer's end I could be streaming any of 2700 stations right on my blackberry from coast-to-coast? Seems ambitious. Seems somewhat unlikely. Seems exciting. A free platform for radio stations to get on mobile devices? Hmmmm We will have to watch this one and see how things develop.

What seems clear to me (and many others) is the mobile device is the radio of the future (almost today). Wouldn't it have been prudent for the radio groups to invest in this type of technology vs. the IBOC (HD Radio) technology which as every day passes seems less and less likely to gain any traction--despite valiant and hard fought efforts. So much controversy, many technical issues, and a buying public that has thus far rejected the idea that they need to buy a new radio. All they really want to do is get a phone that does everything and will fit in their shirt pocket.

No HD Radio Spin

I hate writing about HD Radio. Why? Because there's really not much more that can be said. Thus far, the free market has spoken. Virtually nobody cares. It's like beating a dead horse. Could it turn around? Ahh sure, anything is possible.

OK, so why bring it up? Good question.

My friend and former colleague Mark Ramsey, President of Hear2.0 and Mercury Radio Research, was at the Radio Ink convergence conference in San Jose and wrote an excellent post on this very subject and I thought I would share it with you. The conference was more about what can and should be rather than what never was.

From Mark Ramsey and hear2.0:

Black Friday for HD Radio

This week's Convergence conference in San Jose was a terrific gathering of broadcasters and their partners who feel radio's best days might very well lay ahead. No sticks in the mud, these. Rather, folks with brains and vision and a plan, or at least the hopes of developing one.

This was no place for spin doctors and conventional wisdom. So I was not surprised when Kurt Hanson spoke on radio's future with an emphasis on radio's inevitable future on the Internet.

Nor was I surprised when Kurt veered left to discuss - and dismiss - HD Radio.

What fascinated me was the reaction.

Any room full of broadcasters is full of HD radio doubters, nowadays. But the vibe in this room was remarkable for the eye-rolling and audible snickering that greeted virtually any mention of HD.

Kurt disassembled HD's premise by dividing the total number of radios now in circulation by the markets in which those radios live and other relevant assumptions (I did something like this a while back myself). He arrived at the conclusion that the average HD radio advertiser in any given market could reach more prospects by standing at the bottom of their driveway and handing out fliers.

In a panel session immediately following Kurt's, the lone iBiquity spokesman filibustered on his talking points, spitting one after the next, but the effort seemed surprisingly desperate. You could almost hear the sweat forming on his brow as he reiterated his case, oblivious to the thrashing that had just occurred.

Although he described himself as Kurt Hanson's "evil twin," the feeling in the room was that he was at least half right.

It left me feeling that a corner had been turned. That broadcasters understood new media presented scores of new opportunities, few of which had anything to do with selling newfangled radios to consumers who don't want or need them.

This should create great hope for those of us in radio: Hope that good ideas really will rise to the top. Hope that we're too smart to be taken in by pyramid schemes. Hope that those with a vested interest will be revealed for what they are. Hope that those with the interests of broadcasters and listeners and clients at heart will create the kind of future those constituencies demand and deserve.

All along, HD radio was designed as the industry's counterpunch to XM and Sirius. As the satellite titans near a merger (which I do believe will happen and could come any day now) in order to save themselves, as satellite's control over one pocket in the dashboard accelerates, as another pocket opens up for all-things-Internet, HD radio will rapidly dim into obsolescence like the technological also-rans which preceded it.

All technology is transitional, but some never make it to the transition.

In this new media world, opportunities are actually less about "convergence" than about emergence. Chaotic storms of passion bring audiences together. Their whims and tools and discussions allow them to take the driver's seat. We are and always will be in service to them.

HD radio was always about what the industry wants, not about what consumers want. That's why it was doomed to fail from the start.

And, unless there's some remarkable consolation prize embedded into the satellite radio merger decision, that day shall be Black Friday for HD radio.

The Betamax of Radio (in the UK)

A recent article in the Guardian Newspaper in the UK reports on the Brits version of HD Radio. DAB radios have been in the hands of consumers for a bunch of years now and these quotes tell the tale:

"The exodus of stations from the DAB platform is starting to look like a stampede"

"DAB is the Betamax of radio."

"By the end of 2007, it was evident that the 'masterplan' for DAB which the radio industry had clung to since the mid-1990s was simply not going to work."

Read the full story

What happens across the pond isn't necessary indicative of what will happen here. But one has to think, based on how things have gone thus far, the future of HD Radio remains a big question mark. As the belt-tightening increases across our industry, let's be honest, the last place limited resources will be deployed is in an area in which at this point there will be little to no return.

***UPDATE***

From this afternoons Inside Radio Update:

HD Radio sales jump 725% in '07. In what iBiquity terms a "breakthrough year," listeners bought 330,000 HD Radio receivers last year, a jump from 40,000 in 2006. iBiquity released the sales data to the NAB Radio Board during its Winter meeting this week in Washington.

This Is Really NOT a Post About HD Radio. I Promise

I promised myself when I started writing this blog I was not going to write about HD Radio. So much has already been written. Then, I wrote about HD Radio. It was like a child attracted to a flame. I couldn't help myself.

This morning I started my day reading about HD radio--the trades, the blogs, the opponents, the supporters, and the appeasers. You name it, seems like everyone is writing about it. Ugh!

I wish as much time and energy was put forth writing about how this general manager in city X just hired this new programmer who is playing this and that and is making some noise. But no, that might be productive. Maybe that story would have to be made up because there's really nothing like that happening at this moment in time. Too bad.

I'm not going to call anyone out on this blog for the fandango that HD Radio has become.

Instead, I'm going to try to forget about HD Radio for a while and finish this post with a recommendation to check out a relatively new social networking/music site called iLike.com. As you can see on this chart from Alexa.com a few people have latched on to it over the last year.


It's a very simple concept:
1. Connect your music from iTunes or Windows Media Player
2. Add friends, get music
3. Compare tastes
4. Free MP3s by new artists

So far, according to a story I saw on CNBC, this site has amassed 15 million users in about a year and a half. Not bad. When you go to the site you can easily check out whats hot and get this radio friends--"most added."

Add this site to all the others doing similar things and at the very least one has to realize that any radio station that is in the business of playing CHR, Active Rock, Alternative, Hip Hop, or any other genre of music that appeals to under 35's these sites are:

1. Great resources to better understand what's hot and what's not.

2. They are our competitors when it comes to music discovery--an area that radio has traditionally been the leader (and still was based on research conducted 2 years ago).

iLike is also doing a couple of other things that radio has always done well: concert listings for the US and Canada and the iLike challenge--a game where you have to name the artist and song.

Here you can check out their own description of what they do and the people (you will see some familiar names) behind the company http://ilike.com/about.

Now, I am off to discover a new song or two.

The HD Radio Blues

In the beginning many of us were excited about the possibilities of IBOC errrrr HD Radio. As BB King sung so many times--the thrill is gone. I turned on my HD Radio this morning for the first time since nighttime AM HD broadcasting was approved a few months ago. Why? I was reminded I had it when I opened my email to read in Inside Radio, as I have also read elsewhere, that Consultant Fred Jacobs and HD Alliance leader Peter Ferrara are sparring over the latest radio ad campaign:

HD Alliance defends new ad campaign. The HD Radio Alliance's new ad campaign is drawing fire. Critics worry about how the campaign portrays existing analog radio - while doing little to sort out consumer confusion about HD Radio. Consultant Fred Jacobs says the new campaign "stunned" him because he thinks it positions analog radio as "repetitive, and lame." But Alliance chief Peter Ferrara says the industry needs to adjust its message to what today's consumers are thinking.

For the most part HD Radio has not broken any new ground. FM's have programmed mostly line extension formats or narrow niche formats and AM's have banked on the improved audio quality to draw listeners. While the audio quality improvement is impressive (yes, there are those who disagree with that), that alone will not bring new listeners to the band. And don't get me started on the channel numbering!

I'm not going to get in the middle of Fred and Peter's debate. Both men are capable of defending their own positions. In my opinion HD Radio has been a terrible distraction at a time when traditional radio is facing challenges as great as its ever faced. Not to mention the fact that thus far it has been a massive failure on multiple fronts--consumer confusion or disinterest leading to only a reported half million radios sold. It is safe to say finding an HD Radio in the hands of a listener would be as difficult as finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. How many of those radios are in the hands of radio people?

We know that "improved" audio quality will not move the needle. If better sounding audio was important, mp3's would not be as big an audio format as it is. We know that deep cuts, or dance, or bluegrass are not likely to get consumers in droves heading to the local Best Buy to pick up an HD Radio.

So, what's it gonna take? Something different, something that is also web based since there are so few HD radios, and something that has a financial commitment that extends for more than a quarter or two for it to work. It's gonna take embracing competitive technologies that can actually help the platform grow. It's gonna take a staff dedicated to making it happen. And finally, it doesn't have to be local to a single market.

It wouldn't take a great debater to argue this is no need for more places to get audio entertainment. However, IF we can create a genuine need people might latch on to the technology. Maybe in '08.