BusinessWeek reports on the big push the radio industry will make next year to promote HD radio. If there’s anything the radio industry can do successfully, it’s to get airtime for itself:
In its largest advertising campaign ever, the broadcast radio industry plans to give up airtime next year valued at more than $250 million to promote a new technology—high-definition or HD radio—that enables listeners to receive hundreds of new stations with niche formats, from Washington Post Radio to Spanish oldies, BusinessWeek.com has learned.
The first directive will be to educate consumers about HD radio and why it is different from regular AM and FM radio. The spots will also promote how these new programming formats can be tailored more deeply in specific genres, says Peter Ferrara, chief executive of the HD Digital Radio Alliance. “We also want people to know there will be no subscription fees, unlike satellite radio,” he says. “People have enough monthly expenses, from cell phones to Starbucks.”
I agree with Ferrara’s point about monthly fees, but I just bought a new car, and it didn’t come with XM, Sirius, or HD comaptibility built-in, and I think that’ll be the key to pushing the new technology–to make it easy to access. I don’t know who’d rush out to buy a new radio that’s HD compatible. Besides, right now my priority is to find a way to plug my iPod in without one of those cheap FM transmitters that sound like crap.
