Pay me now or pay me later.
High-definition radio, with its clear signal and its promise of more stations, is the sound of the future for our ears. Well, it is if (a) you can afford a receiver and (b) more stations jump on the bandwagon.
Without getting lost in the technology – I can barely change stations – HD Radio was developed in the 1990s by iBiquity Digital, the sole licensee of the system in the United States. HDR’s supporters promise it will make FM sound like a CD and AM sound like FM.
Pops, clicks and “multicast,” signals bouncing off the mountains, will be gone, replaced by almost-perfect reception and second channels at most stations, to do with what they will. Oldies on one channel, for example, comedy on another.
Twelve leading radio companies, including Clear Channel and CBS Radio, recently formed the HD Digital Radio Alliance to encourage stations to convert to HDR and prevent broadcasters jumping each other’s formats.
The industry for a time ignored the new technology, reluctant to be in competition with their own product. Then two trends caught their eye.
“The message is, we’re losing listeners,” said Carlos Lando, program director at public radio station KUVO 89.3-FM, which in August 2004 became the first Colorado station to switch to high definition. “People aren’t listening for quite as long. The kids have been abandoning ship for a while.”
But what really made station owners sit up is the growing threat of satellite radio, a commercial-free product offering more than 100 channels covering everything from Howard Stern to opera. “For the longest time we sat back as an industry and let satellite market itself,” said Don Howe of CBS Radio Denver.
The upside: Satellite costs $12.99 a month while HD Radio will be free for at least the next two years. The downside for would-be HDR consumers is the cost of a receiver. Car models start at about $300 and table-top models can cost $2,000. In addition, only about 700 of the 12,000 commercial U.S. stations have converted to HD. In Colorado, 47 are licensed but only 30 have made the switch.
Around the dial
Talkin’ baseball: The Colorado Rockies meet the Milwaukee Brewers in a preseason game with ex-Rockie Jeff Huson, subbing for George Frazier as analyst (1 p.m. today, FSN Rocky Mountain). Newcomer Huson expected to work 50 games with the Rockies in the regular season. … Community radio station KGNU 88.5-FM/1390-AM tosses its eighth annual silent auction Thursday, starting at 7 p.m. at the Dairy Center for the Arts in Boulder. The fundraiser also features live music and catered food. … Services were held Monday for Julianne Ruetz, a member of the popular 1960s local radio shows “Hello Neighbor” and “Bill Barker.” … Quotable: “In a market the size of Denver there could be 100 stations.” Don Howe
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-820-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
