Re: [IRCA] The sky is not falling, and the hobby's far from dead

[Russ Edmunds <wb2bjh@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- Scott Fybush <scott@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>> 
> Bottom line: will HD Radio be a failure? No - but whatever success it
> achieves as a niche medium will be as a result of FM multicasting and
> the new options it opens up to broadcasters in a position to take 
> advantage of them (like public radio, for instance, where an average 
> station has access to much more programming than it has airtime on
> its main signal). AM HD may go the way of AM stereo and fade into
> oblivion, or at worse it may show up on a few hundred stations and  
> cause us, as DXers, some new interference headaches.
> 
> But to predict that somehow everyone on the dial will suddenly turn
> on the buzzsaws just because the FCC says they can is to ignore a   
> market reality in which AM HD has already become an afterthought.
> 
> No, this is not a happy day for AM DX, but neither is it the end of
> the hobby, not by a long shot.



*** I am inclined to for the most part agree.

I don't see a lot of customer demand for HD on AM, and I certainly
don't anticipate any significant numbers of stations suddenly turning
on IBOC just because of the ruling  - those who haven't already been
assimilated into the IBorg have likely been waiting out on the
sidelines to see how this would go before investing that kind of
capital. Sure, those who have it now will probably turn it on, but as
others have said, there will be some number of those who will abandon
the experiment once they see the nighttime results. And that is
something I think that most of those still all analog all the time will
also be waiting and watching for - now that it's permissible, what will
be the actual result on the ground. Ultimately, I still believe AM HD
will die a slow death. 

As for FM, IBOC may be here to stay, but HD stations will also have to
start paying more attention to the content - both primary and secondary
channels. If Station A in the market adds a second channel which is
only another format already on someone else's primary in the market, or
perhaps only a variant of their own, those secondary channels wont have
much audience. 

One can't help but wonder, if we have so many FM's in so many markets
that there is already too much overlap of formats and programs, how
adding another 30-50% will improve anything absent some really creative
programming ideas. Regardless of whether or not the Sirius/XM merger
plays out, FM programmers should pay attention to what those two did in
terms of content, and take some of that approach to their additional
channels, otherwise they'll be losing listeners by attrition to other
media where they can hear what they want.

In the meantime, anyone who is so down about this that they are ready
to bail, I'd be happy to relieve you of a Drake R8 series at a
clearance price....

Russ Edmunds
Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL )
[15 mi NNW of Philadelphia]
40:08:45N; 75:16:04W, Grid FN20id
<wb2bjh@xxxxxxxxx>
FM: Yamaha T-80 & Onkyo T-450RDS w/ APS9B @15'
AM: Hammarlund HQ-150 & 4' FET air core loop


 
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