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Radio Stations Get a Sweeter Signal: HD System Upgrades Local Broadcasts Without Satellite Transmission

Posted on: Saturday, 18 February 2006, 00:00 CST

By Crayton Harrison, The Dallas Morning News

Feb. 18--Video didn't kill the radio star. And neither will the iPod or satellite radio networks, if traditional radio broadcasters are right.

Major radio station owners such as Clear Channel Communications Inc. and CBS Broadcasting Inc. are adopting a new type of broadcasting technology called HD radio.

They believe the technology, which offers several new features and improvements in audio quality, will help them maintain a place in listeners' busy lives despite all the new gadgets that have become available.

Several Dallas-area stations are now broadcasting in HD radio.

If HD radio takes off, it could mean big business for Dallas-based Texas Instruments Inc., one of the main suppliers of chips for HD radio receivers.

Radio listeners will have to buy new sets to hear HD radio's digital signals and use the new features it offers.

Unlike satellite radio, HD radio is free for listeners who have the proper receivers in their cars or homes.

Radio industry executives deny they're doing battle directly with satellite radio, since the radio industry is always facing new competition for listeners' attention.

But satellite radio, which offers a wide variety of commercial-free stations, is clearly pushing terrestrial broadcasters to try new things. HD radio allows stations to carry second and third channels on their frequency, giving them an opportunity to broadcast experimental new formats that don't necessarily appeal to mainstream tastes.

For instance, Dallas' KDGE-FM (102.1) "The Edge" has a secondary station called "Cutting Edge" that plays only new songs. And KHKS-FM (106.1) "Kiss FM" has a secondary station targeting Latinos: "Kisspanic."

Other options

Broadcasters have agreed to broadcast those secondary stations, called HD2 stations, commercial-free at first.

"Anytime there's a new technology, the current technology evolves," said J.D. Freeman, Clear Channel's Dallas market manager. When FM radio became popular, the AM band became a haven for talk radio. Now radio will simply undergo its next transformation, he said.

The "HD" in HD radio stands for high definition. It's a marketing term designed so that consumers will associate it with HDTV, a completely different broadcasting standard.

"'HD' has a connotation of good, something new," said Jeff Jury, chief operating officer of iBiquity Digital Corp., the maker and licenser of HD radio.

HD radio upgrades the audio quality of FM stations to that of CDs, proponents say. And it makes AM stations sound like FM.

Data options

In addition to the secondary channels, HD radio can broadcast data. Radio stations will eventually send out short text messages that can be read on a radio receiver display. This way, broadcasters could deliver news, weather, music information or advertising.

Someday, HD radio could be broadcast in surround sound. The technology might even be sophisticated enough to embed copyright protection data in the broadcast. Listeners could then record and play back programs, said John Gardner, TI's digital radio marketing manager.

It costs about $100,000 to upgrade a radio station to HD radio. At the end of last year, 622 stations were broadcasting in HD. In Dallas, 24 stations are licensed for HD broadcasts, and all but six are already on the air, according to iBiquity.

Gradual transition

HD radio broadcasters are still airing their analog signals, so radio listeners don't need to worry about their older radios going obsolete. The radio industry expects the transition to the new format to take several years as prices for new receivers come down.

Receivers cost about $500, though prices are dropping. BMW, one of the first automakers to offer an HD radio option in its vehicles, sells the receiver as a $500 add-on in its 6 and 7 series models.

"Hopefully, we'll be able to lower that price, but we also have to see how the market evolves," said Hernando Carvajal, U.S. product manager for BMW's 5 series. "We have to be competitive in the market."

But will HD radio be able to compete -- or even coexist -- with satellite?

"Satellite radio has a great product. They've gotten 9 million subscribers through the fact that they produce fantastic content that really appeals to listeners," Mr. Gardner said. "HD radio is that means by which analog radio can go to provide a very valuable service themselves."

E-mail charrison@dallasnews.com

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Source: The Dallas Morning News

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