HD Radio to the Rescue
By John Hood
© 2006 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.
Traditional radio is facing competition with the emergence of satellite radio newcomers XM and SIRIUS. But conventional radio has new digital technology of its own to help level the playing field. Digital radio, also known as HD Radio, provides a better, higher-fidelity sound quality, especially on the AM band; allows for data display on new receivers and will give stations the ability to multicast their signal. Broadcasters see the new technology as a game-changer while they face competition from satellite radio and other new media.
Current CMA Board Chairman Victor Sansone, who is also President/General Manager of ABC Radio Group Atlanta (WKHX-FM, WYAY-FM), believes HD Radio will be a boost, both to the radio industry and to consumers.
"I think we have to do this period," Sansone said. "Even without satellite radio, if we can enhance our technical delivery we should be thinking forward."
HD Radio works the same as traditional analog radio transmission, except that the audio is digitally formatted and transmitted as a continuous digital data stream together with the analog waveform signal. Radio stations send out both the analog and digital on the same broadcast frequency, along with signals for text data. New HD Radio tuners receive and decode the digital signal. Older analog receivers will continue to pick up the analog signal.
Tim Bealor, Vice President, RF Systems for Broadcast Electronics, which manufactures the equipment that allows stations to broadcast HD Radio, said that FM stations will be able to broadcast multiple channels on their existing bandwidth.
"There's a certain amount of bandwidth assigned to a station," Bealor explained. "For example at 98.1 on the FM dial there is one hundred kilohertz on either side of that that assigned to that station. In that hundred kilohertz range they can put in their analog signal and two digital carriers that ride just outside their analog signal but still within their allotted spectrum."
In addition to multicasting, he said better sound quality is another draw for the new technology.
"On the AM side, it's a huge performance difference. It allows the broadcast of stereo music. It allows a much broader signal. The frequency on AM receivers right now is barely above what a voice will do. Digital technology allows it to go up quite a bit in volume. For AM it's a huge, huge performance boost."
HD Radio began back in the early 1990s when three major U.S. broadcasting companies joined forces to develop a digital radio standard. The HD initiative really began to take off in 2000 when broadcasters and technology development companies consolidated their efforts and formed iBiquity Digital Corporation. In 2002, the FCC adopted HD technology from iBiquity as the sole digital standard for radio in the U.S. and about 585 radio stations in the U.S. have made the transition to HD Radio.
Because there is no new spectrum being made available for HD radio, there is no government mandate, nor is any expected, for stations to begin broadcasting a digital signal. Stations making the switch, however, are required to simulcast their current analog signal on their main digital channel. Even with the simulcast, FM stations have enough room to add two additional channels. HD also gives stations the ability to broadcast text, such as song and artist info, on the HD receiver's display. This text data is known as Program Associated Data or PAD.
"We think a lot of stations will use these extra channels to broadcast things like deep album cuts, new artists, live concerts, and talk shows related to the format they're broadcasting," Bealor said. "They try to augment what's on their main channel. They also have the ability to transmit what is called near-PAD data that's not just limited to title and artist. If a station is sponsoring a concert by the artist that's currently on the air they can stream that across the receiver face."
"We are currently keeping it simple by simulcasting with the analog channel," Sansone said about ABC Radio's HD Radio programming in Atlanta. Without being able to comment specifically on his station's plans, he noted, "much more is planned for the future."
Because of the increased audio boost on the AM side, Bealor predicted that some AM stations that switched to the talk format will transition back to music programming. He also said that HD Radio is coming sooner rather than later.
"We anticipate that by the end of 2007 about 1,500 stations will be broadcasting in HD," he said. "Twenty-five of the major radio groups have signed an agreement to put the majority of their top 10 market stations on the air over the next three years."
When that happens listeners will be able to hear for themselves the advantages of HD Radio. Sansone believes the new technology will help terrestrial radio stay competitive with the many entertainment options consumers now enjoy. "The clarity that comes with digital is much more like the other technologies people enjoy," Sansone said. "Radio will be at par with iPod/CDs/satellite radio and TV music delivery."
In September, WKIS/Miami Country radio station added the HD channel, "Gretchen 99.9," to feature music of the CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, Gretchen Wilson. HD Radio will allow broadcasters to broaden their Country programming to include everything from alt-Country to bluegrass to classic. These multicast sidechannels will be advantageous to these companies adding formats in markets where they operate, especially major radio markets such as New York and San Francisco that currently do not have a Country radio station.
On Dec. 6, 2005, a coalition of eight of the nation's leading radio groups announced the formation of the HD Digital Radio Alliance to accelerate the acceptance of HD digital radio. Media companies including Bonneville International, Clear Channel, Cumulus Media, Emmis Communication, Entercom Communications, Greater Media and Infinity Broadcasting have pledged to collectively spend at least $200 million in 2006 to market and promote the new format. They will work with digital receiver manufacturers to get more HD Radios installed in cars and help market the technology and secure affordable equipment for consumers to purchase.
The alliance plans a unified direction to launch HD2 commercial-free channels of new programming in the top 25 markets in January. The channels will be programmed locally and free to anyone who purchases one of the six available HD Radio models. There are no subscription fees and listeners can continue listening to local AM/FM stations on their existing analog radios as well as on their new HD Radio receivers.
February 21, 2006
