Rolls Royce Goes HD!

Saturday, it was announced that Rolls Royce would be joining Volvo in making HD radio a standard component across all its lines for 2010!  This comes quick on the heels of an announcement from Mercedes-Benz that HD will be in all its 2010 models that have “premium feature packages.” Looks like HD has locked on with the luxury car aficionados!

That is one heck of a brand association. Rolls Royce has been known for refinement and luxury since before World War II. It is a name that has stood the test of time and retained its noble bearing throughout. The Phantom, for example,  is to cars as a tuxedo-clad James Bond is to espionage (the Sean Connery Bond). To have HD radio become a standard firmly affixes the growing medium in the luxury market and the luxury mindset.

Here is the statement from iBiquity via Radio Ink:

“We are proud to confirm the availability of HD Radio technology for yet another prestigious brand — Rolls-Royce,” iBiquity COO Jeff Jury said. “The Rolls-Royce brand is revered. This commitment to HD Radio technology as standard illustrates how digital radio’s dynamic function enhances the in-car ambiance. The addition of Rolls-Royce to the HD Radio roster truly solidifies the technology’s stature in the luxury automotive class.”

Rolls Royce  joins an array of other car makers in offering HD either as a standard or an option: BMW, Hyundai, Jaguar, Mercedes, Mini, Scion, Land Rover and Volvo. In addition, Audi, Ford, Kia, Lincoln and Mercury are soon to join their ranks and have committed to offering HD as well. Now that approximately 85% of the US is covered by HD signals, it looks like it could be a great time for a road trip!

It’s really fun watching a medium grow up. There are always growing pains, but the process always seems to yield fascinating results.  As each quarter slips by, we see more maturity in the HD radio platform. Not only are the high-end auto makers adding it in as a standard, but there is now a HD listening option for the iPhone. (See my earlier post.) The times are certainly changing, and as far as HD is concerned, changing for the better!

Image: ynguyen666 / CC BY 2.0

U.K. Unifies 400 Stations in New Online Player

It always pays to look at how other countries are bringing radio into the future. You never know what idea might work well over here once given an American spin. I think we might be seeing one of those ideas reaching fruition right now in the United Kingdom.

Sarah Hartely at The Guardian describes it:

Due for launch early next year, The UK Radioplayer will be a pop-up console able to stream more than 400 national, local, community and student radio stations, offering a unique, constantly updated live and on-demand audio service, according to the BBC.

During a presentation at the Manchester Media Festival today, [Tim] Davie [BBC director of audio and music] displayed images of what the service might look like, with embeddable widgets for websites and a localised search facility to seek out content by postcode.

The slides showed the player being transferrable across social networking sites such as Facebook, as well across blogs and other websites.

The idea here is to advance radio as a whole. Putting a broad mix of the different radio subspecies all under one digital umbrella, then taking that catalog into the viral world of social media should provide momentum for all involved. As someone who enjoys British programming, I will certainly be checking it out. Why? Because the idea of discovery excites my imagination. I know I like BBC programming, so I’m curious about what else they listen to over there.

Now think about what could be done with this concept here in the U.S.  Imagine one portal with accessibility to thousands of stations across the country. I could share college station WTUL New Orleans across my Facebook to friends with a click.  I could listen to WBUR community radio in Boston and embed a player in my blog’s sidebar. I could listen to Clear Channel’s Urban station in San Francisco, KMEL, on my mobile phone. All through a single, central interface. It is impossible not to see the potential.

Andrew Laughlin at DigitalSpy reminds us of the boon this can be to advertisers and also shares a bit about the service itself:

RadioCentre chief executive Andrew Harrison added: “The Radioplayer brings together all of the UK’s radio output in one online console. This is a breakthrough for listeners and an attractive new proposition for advertisers.”

Listeners are able to use search functions to browse every station on the service, as well as track down news programming, sports highlights, music genres and even individual songs. Pre-set buttons are available to lock down favorite stations for ease of access.

I have a feeling that this approach is going to have legs. Ease of access is a huge concern in the modern age, as people are increasingly averse to extra steps when online.  Look at the interface for Twitter, one of the most talked about social media platforms to debut in the last few years. It’s incredibly simple and streamlined. Likewise, so is the touchscreen interface of Apple’s iPhone. Bringing all the broadcast offerings together like this and equipping them with social tools seems an almost guaranteed win for radio across the U.K.

I think we should be looking at this closely. An American counterpart could be a boon to the entire medium, especially when you factor in the vastly larger array of stations we have available here.

I can’t wait until 2010 when it is set to debut!

Image: eisenbahner / CC BY 2.0

HD Radio Extends Its Reach

As the youngest sibling in the radio family, HD radio is still finding its feet in the media market. We are only starting to discover the interesting new ways to implement its unique capabilities, especially multicast. Multicast basically allows HD stations to provide sub-channels with additional content for their listeners. Sometimes it will be a music format such as bluegrass, sometimes just an expanded version of normal programming.  Now it seems that CBS Radio has come up with a new take on how to leverage that quality.

According to an announcement made by CBS last Friday, four of their most popular stations will soon be offered outside of their normal markets via HD multicast channels. Included in this pilot program will be the following:

• WFAN-AM (Sportsradio 66 The Fan)/New York will broadcast sports programming on WOCL-FM HD3 (105.9)/Orlando, WLLD-FM HD3 (94.1)/Tampa and WEAT-FM HD3 (104.3)/West Palm Beach.
• Alternative KROQ-FM/Los Angeles will be carried in the San Diego area via KSCF-FM HD2 (103.7).
• KSCF-FM (Sophie @103.7) is now available to Los Angeles audiences via KAMP-FM HD2 (97.1).
• Next month, WBZ-FM, The Sports Hub, will be available on Hartford based WTIC-FM HD3 (96.5).

Now we shall see how well the original programming scales. Will it be able to be competitive in the new markets? Could be. While localism is an important facet of radio strategy as we move forward, I have a feeling this approach could also yield results. It all comes down to providing engaging content for your audience, and I believe there is room for — and need for — both tactics.

Radio Business Report (RBR-TVBR) is always good for a bit of commentary, and their traditional “observation” on this subject is a fine one:

This should be studied—for ad sales. While some may say this is just another reason HD Radio is underperforming in many markets and that they should be programming and marketing new local format ideas, in reality, this may be very sell-able in these other markets. With HD Radio multicast channels, if you can come up with a way to monetize them, do it. We’re all still in the experimental phase here, and this is a great way to test if “super stations” from other markets can be sold locally in others.

It’s great to see companies beginning to explore the possibilities offered by HD. The capabilities of multicast in particular are very exciting because it allows and encourages experimentation with niche formats and syndication opportunities like this one.

What interesting or “out of the box” uses for HD can you think of?

Image: HD Radio Logo / Fair Use: Reporting

UK: Digital Radio Boasts Touchscreen, App Store, Social Media

Something very interesting is happening in the United Kingdom.  Stores in the UK will be debuting a new digital radio this week that wants to be a whole scale digital portal.  Following in the footsteps of the iPhone, it boasts some of the features that seem to have most captured the imagination of its users: Touchscreen, an app store and social media! Its called the Sensia and its made by Pure.

So right off the bat, we have Twitter with Facebook to be included in a near future update. Facebook integration is of immense importance due to the size of its userbase alone. If Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest, between the United States and Indonesia. Social networking at the core of the device is something I am very pleased to see. What will be interesting is the options available in the app store and how rapidly that inventory is expanded. (I’ll be keeping my eyes on that one and reporting back.)

Here’s a statement from an article in The Times:

Hossain Yassiae, chief executive of Imagination, which owns Pure, said: “Pure’s job is to run in front of the bullet train. Radios can act as a base station for everything else in the home. We need Pure to go beyond audio and into areas like power metering, traffic information and security.”

Granted, when they speak of radio here, they are referring to Britain’s digital radio, but I’m sure that this sort of device could be re-engineered to work with HD, which is also a pure digital signal.

The interface is also a welcome advance. Devices like the iPhone have already trained a lot of us to appreciate the Star Trek: The Next Generation-style touchscreens like the Sensia boasts. Google some of the reviews and you’ll see the theme of “ease of use” pop up frequently. Add in the level of customization you have with a decent app store and we’ve got a device straight out of The Jetsons. It even looks like it.

This is something important, and I’ll be watching its development. I have a distinct feeling this could be brought to our “side of the pond” to great effect. I’ll report any new developments or metrics on this subject as I get them. If anyone in the UK happens to read this, I’d love any firsthand reviews you might be willing to share!

Image: Touch My Radio / Fair use: Reporting

CBS Radio in The Internet Top 20!

I’m going to break with tradition and be cheerful this Friday the 13th, counter-intuitive as it may be.  I’ve got some positive news to share and hopefully it will help put a positive spin on this date which inspires such dread.

Ando Media’s monthly Internet Audio Top 20 (covering May – Sept.of ‘09) has been released and CBS Radio is, in the words of Casey Casem, “top of the charts!” The study marks the first time that Ando has used the “one minute qualifier,” as opposed to the former “five-minute qualifier.” In plain English, they used to only count listening sessions of five minutes or more, now they count sessions of at least one minute. The five-minute marker was instituted in the days when terrestrial radio was the only means of consumption, something invalidated by the usage habits of Internet and mobile listeners of the modern day.

In addition, there are a number of new metrics being used that are geared for measuring the contemporary audience. Here is a quick rundown from Radio Online:

New metrics of “Session Starts,” “Average Active Sessions” and “Average Time Spent Listening” better capture the new methodology. Each metric is based on a one-minute qualifier. Session Starts is defined as “The number of streams of one minute or more that are started within a time period.” Average Active Sessions is defined as “The average number of streams of one minute or more that are active within a time period.” Average Time Spent Listening is defined as “The average number of hours for each session lasting more than one minute within a time period.”

To me, this looks like a very important shift. The rules are changing, and online aspects of radio are like nothing seen before in our industry. It only makes sense to develop and implement metrics that are geared towards the new tools and delivery channels rather than relying on standards that may no longer apply. Here is a bit more on that subject from the same article:

“The changes were made in response to requests from both the publisher and the agency community for measurement standards in keeping with other digital best practices. Terrestrial radio AQH and Cume measurements are not the best metrics for measuring today’s audience delivered via a digital channel and do not accurately pertain to online audio,” stated Ando CEO Robert J. Maccini.

It’s a brave new world out there, and it’s great to see how well radio is adapting to it. You see, CBS was not alone at the top. From the world of radio,  they were joined by Citadel, Entercom, and Cox Radio who also made it into the top ten. Four terrestrial radio companies in the Internet Audio Top 20 should help chase away some of those Friday the 13th apprehensions!

There were two other notable things about this report. Pandora online radio made its debut on the list, something I’m sure has Tim Wetergren doing a tap dance, and for the first time, domestic demographics were broken out separately. All in all, I’d say that the rest of the day looks cheerier after finding that out!

HD Radio on the iPhone? Yes, Indeed!

HD has been making its long-awaited first forays into the world of portable devices recently. Last July saw the release of the new model Microsoft Zune which was the first portable player with HD. In the meantime, clamoring has been heard across the Internet for HD on the iPhone. Well, my friends, today is your lucky day!

There is an app for that. Granted, it does require an external accessory, but the great thing is that HD has now come to the iPhone. For a quick demo done by iBiquity’s chief executive, Bob Struble, check out this video by The Wall Street Journal. I’ll wait here.

Nicely done. While I am not alone in wanting complete integration into the handset, this is a measure that will get us by until a future iPhone has it as a standard feature. Having HD accessibility like this would be fantastic for road trips, cross-country driving, and anything that might take you outside the range of wi-fi or a 3G data connection. Without those, streaming radio ceases to be an option.

Another wonderful thing here is the timing. With iBiquity and NPR Labs proposing a fourfold increase in HD signal strength to the FCC, there is a very good chance that the majority of reception issues will soon be a thing of the past. Combine that with the virtues of HD multicast content and things are looking rosy for HD!

Speaking of multicast options, tech writer Lauren Goode at the The Wall Street Journal mentions one segment of listeners in particular who will benefit:

Sports fans might also like what the app has to offer, since HD Radio allows users to tap into some team-specific channels through both AM and FM. Mr. Struble cites New Yorkers who have retired to Florida and are still able to listen to their favorite Yankees broadcasts as an example.

I’m not a sports fan myself, but I have just relocated across the country and can really see the value to someone living away from their longtime home.

I’m excited about this, and as an iPhone user, I am looking forward to trying it out!

Image: jamescridland / CC BY 2.0

NPR and iBiquity Join Forces to Boost HD Radio

HD Radio is a terrific medium that has had trouble getting momentum. One of the issues holding back progress has been the FCC-regulated power limitations, and the attendant reports of poor reception.

In a collaboration reminiscent of the “Super Hero Team-Ups” popular in comic books, NPR and iBiquity have joined forces to request that the FCC institute a fourfold increase in transmitting power for FM HD Radio. This is no small thing. More power means better reception, and better reception means more use of the medium. It could also play a crucial role in the realm of portable HD players, making them more reliable and, thus, a more attractive option to consumers.

Both commercial and noncommercial stations were included in the dialogue. The data from those talks and NPR Labs’ “Advanced IBOC Coverage and Compatibility Study,” filed this week with the FCC, formed the basis of the joint recommendation. In addition to the blanket power increase, NPR and iBiquity have made a commitment to add specific enhancements to HD Radio, which include  filling gaps in signal coverage creating broadcast standards that reduce the opportunity for interference with nearby non-digital stations.

RadioInk brings us the following quotes on the subject from NPR, iBiquity, and our colleagues over at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). My own commentary appears between the quotes.

“We are delighted that the radio industry is now poised to push this technology ahead together,” iBiquity President/CEO Bob Struble said. “We’ve found practical and balanced solutions that will greatly improve reception while limiting interference to existing analog operations.” [...]

Many fans of the medium will be thrilled at these improvements as they address issues frequently brought forth by critics of HD. In addition, I think we can all agree that improved reception is always a great thing when speaking of broadcast media.

NPR Labs Exec. Director Mike Starling said, “We are optimistic about the future of HD Radio broadcasting, and eager to continue to work with iBiquity on the developments that will make this power increase work to everyone’s advantage — stations, listeners, and receiver makers.” [...]

Having NPR behind this speaks volumes. They’ve been at the forefront of radio’s efforts to embrace Internet technology and social media for some time now. Having public radio involved in the continued evolution and development of HD, a very young form of radio, help to point up its status as an advancement in broadcast media.

NAB EVP Dennis Wharton said, “NAB is encouraged by this consensus agreement of iBiquity and NPR for optional increased digital power for FM HD Radio stations. We urge the FCC to move quickly and allow stations to operate at increased power according to the criteria in the agreement. This will result in greatly improved indoor reception for digital signals, including multicast signals, and pave the way for greater service reliability using portable HD Radio devices.”

As the first generation of portable HD receivers is currently on the market, reliability and reception are factors that will be of vital importance for market adoption.

This looks like another jump forwards for HD radio. Personally, I’m looking forward to it. I love the options offered by its multicast capabilities in particular. We shall see how the FCC receives this request and then I shall revisit the topic.

Image: iBiquity and NPR logs / Fair Use: reporting

Reps. Conaway and Green: Champions of Radio

There is a discussion of the Performance Rights Act (PRA) scheduled for November 17 on Capitol Hill.  Among the invited participants are National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) President/CEO Gordon Smith and Joint Board Chair/Commonwealth Broadcasting President/CEO Steve Newberry, as well as representatives of label-backed pro-royalties group musicFIRST.

Of course, there are two members of Congress not invited who would like to attend and add their own views to the mix: Reps. Mike Conaway (R-TX) (pictured) and Gene Green (D-TX). The two radio supporters  have penned a missive to  House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) asking to participate in the dialogue.

Here is an excerpt from that letter I found on RadioInk:

Green and Conaway write, “We are the lead sponsors of H. Con. Res. 49, the ‘Local Radio Freedom Act,’ a resolution supported by more than 250 of our House colleagues that opposes any new financial burdens on local radio broadcasters. We have serious concerns that legislation imposing a new royalty on local radio stations, particularly in this economic climate, will be tremendously harmful to radio stations and their employees, local communities that rely on radio, and recipients, such as charities and nonprofits, that receive free airtime for their causes.”

They go on to cite the inclusion of Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA), a proponent of the new royalties, and other House members not currently on the judicial committee as a precedent for their inclusion. I’m sure that the recent Neilsen studies, showing that radio has a greater audience than the Internet, will add some fuel to the fire on both sides. The musicFIRST people will see an even bigger pot of gold to shoot for at the end of their legislative rainbow, while our side has more solid proof of the reach and value of airplay.

Just take a look at Business Insider’s Chart of the Day for a great visual representation of the numbers from the study. For more depth, there is also an interview on Media Life with Lorraine Hadfield, managing director of global radio measurement at The Nielsen Company, about “why radio remains ubiquitous, why listening is higher at work than at home, and why not everyone has an iPod.”

With newly verified data showing radio to reach 77%  of adult listeners (64% for the Internet), we have a clear illustration of how pervasive radio is. Our medium continues to hold the crown as the number one discovery mechanism for music, something the labels are well aware of.

Image: Mike Conaway / Public Domain: Govt.

Radio: Double Digit Growth and the Youth Demographic

Here is more verification of the fact that young listeners still use radio as their medium of choice, and by a large margin too! The Council for Research Excellence (CRE), funded by The Nielsen Company, recently released the results of their Video Consumer Mapping Study. Despite the fact that the study’s focus was TV, there is still a goldmine of info pertinent to the world of radio.

Radio Business Report (RBR) brings us a summation:

“What you find is a much more complex view of what’s going on with audio than we have been led to believe. It really seems like the young group – they tend to be more audiophiles. They’re really into their audio. So, it’s not that they abandoned radio, per se, but they essentially augment with some of these portable media/digital media devices,”[Michael] Link [Chief Methodologist at The Nielsen Company] told RBR-TVBR.

Up until now, there was no differentiation made between media usage of the Internet and the time spent using other software or email. As any modern computer user knows, there is a gulf of difference between the two.

To break it into simplest terms, here are the four tiers of audio media usage as determined by Mr. Link’s analysis of the study’s data:

1. broadcast & satellite radio (79.1% daily reach);
2. CDs and tapes (37.1% daily reach);
3. portable audio [iPods/MP3 players] ( 11.6% daily reach), digital audio stored on a computer such as music files downloaded or transferred to and played on a computer (10.4% daily reach), and digital audio streamed on a computer (9.3% daily reach);
4. audio on mobile phones (<2% daily reach).

Wow. Radio has a 67.5 % lead over iPods and MP3 players? I can see that. About 75% of the time I listen to music on my iPhone, I’m streaming a station rather than listening to a music file. This gets really interesting when you look at the projections made in another RBR/RBTV piece:

According to updated projections from SNL Kagan released Monday (Nov. 2), radio online revenue will grow by double digits this year to $441 million, a 12 percent increase over 2008.

In 2010, online radio will hit $530 million, a 20 percent gain. The segment will continue its double-digit growth pace hitting $827 million by 2013.

So kids these days are still listening to radio, albeit on a variety of platforms that only came into being in years. Those platforms — Internet in particular — are experiencing explosive growth in ad revenues. The positive advertising figures in particular are heartening, coming as they do at a point when the U.S. is still firmly in the grip of a serious recession.

Double digit growth is not a phrase we’ve heard much of in recent months…

Image: flattop341 / CC BY 2.0

Radio Surge In September

This past year has been one filled with apprehension and economic worry. Like most other businesses out there, radio has seen a marked slide in profitability while the economy reels. Now, according to Gilford Securities analyst Jim Boyle, there is good news for broadcasters.

Radio Business Report takes a look at his findings:

Radio revenues, it seems, were only down -14% in September, after spending most of the year in the minus twenties.

Boyle suggests that in a climate in which advertisers remain highly skittish, radio’s cost advantages, along with its offer of short schedule durations, is working in its favor and improving its results quicker than expected. And he suspects Entercom is particularly well-positioned to take advantage.

Yes, that’s right, a negative number is good news. It’s a small improvement, but it still represents a rough average of a 6% jump in the revenue stream. As the bad financial news continues to roll across the economic landscape, that small percentage swims against the prevailing currents like a salmon in the spawning season.

Friday Morning Quarterback brings us more of the micro picture:

Boyle also found more signs of improvement in September, noting that in the previous three months, “there was only a single market out of nearly 50 that had revenue off [by] single-digits.” In September, nine markets’ revenue was “merely off single-digits.”

I’d be willing to bet that to the other eight stations mentioned above, this news is anything but small.

These days, everyone is hurting:  individuals, corporate conglomerates, small businesses, etc. The financial travails that broadcast has suffered are not limited to our industry, but rather affect every business and person in the nation. In the face of such mammoth financial worries, that small 6%, which represents millions of dollars, is important both to the bottom line and to morale.

Mr. Boyle is correct in his assessment of radio strengths in the face of the downturn. I’ve commented on these strengths myself in prior postings. The relatively low-cost compared to other advertising platforms radio becomes and easier line item in the budget to justify.  As advertisers watch every penny, the cost factor combined with the massive reach of the medium present a lovely combination.

With each tentative step on the road out of recession more companies will be looking at the most cost-effective means of promoting their products and services. Radio will be ready to help.

Image:joeltelling / CC BY-SA 2.0