You never know, all digital AM might find it's footing. But I think it would be from organic growth versus being mandated.
The ONLY way I see organic growth of digital AM is if the internet shuts down, and there is no other option.
You never know, all digital AM might find it's footing. But I think it would be from organic growth versus being mandated.
Almost all new cars have HD radio built in and in large metros, a large amount of people have newer cars or have a lease programme. Its a race between streaming and HD though. Right now, HD is not well known even though a lot of people have it (they just don't know to look) and streaming requires extra steps in most cases which people don't want to bother with when they get in the car. We'll see which one wins out first.
I would like to add that the comment that "almost all new cars have HD radio built in" is simply an untrue statement. There are a ton of cars that do not offer HD radio as a standard option.
It's strange that, just as HD Radio is getting some traction in cars, the consortium has gone silent. No advertising of any kind, not even a revival of the ridiculed "stations between the stations" campaign. Does the HD consortium still exist, and if so, why isn't it spreading the word?
Does the HD consortium still exist, and if so, why isn't it spreading the word?
The consortium was part of iBiquity. When that company was sold to DTS in 2015, all of the marketing for HD Radio shut down. From what I can see, DTS views HD Radio as simply one of its patents that it manages and collects royalties, not as something to be marketed or promoted.
I can see some advantages for bigger broadcasters. They can run more programming without hitting their ownership limits.
There are really no "advantages" unless there's enough audience to monetize, and so far, there isn't.
What are you basing that on? A particular radio market, or the nation as a whole?
As I said, the only HD stations attracting a measurable audience are the ones attached to a translator. You can't sell or monetize an audience that you can't measure.
So you're saying there aren't any statistics on HD listeners?
I'm sure there are lots of statistics, but I'm talking about reaching the number of people that you can sell to an advertiser.
Radio measurement services (Nielsen Audio in particular I guess) aren't reporting on HD sub-channel listening?