Re: [IRCA] The Nighttime IBOC Scorecard

[Scott Fybush <scott@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Gerry Bishop wrote:
> Of the stations running night IBOC, it seems all but two are
> news/talk/sports.  
> 
> Can someone please enlighten me how a digital signal enhances such a format?
> Somehow, the concept of "CD-quality" sports programming just isn't coming
> together for me.

The same argument should apply to news/talk/sports formats on FM - but 
here's what real-world experience has found: there's a significant 
ratings boost, particularly among younger listeners, for news and talk 
in cities where the format has migrated from AM to FM. WTOP in DC, KTAR 
in Phoenix, KSL in Salt Lake and WPGB in Pittsburgh are the most 
prominent examples so far. In Pittsburgh, particularly, KDKA's 
listenership has all but vanished to FM since WPGB signed on a couple of 
years ago.

It's understandable, at least on the programming side, that management 
would see these successes and hope for similar results from "FM-like" 
audio on HD AM. And I've got to say, there's something to be said for 
the absence of ANY background noise, especially on a distant signal. I 
had WABC's digital audio locked for a while Friday night, and it was 
pretty remarkable to hear audio that good, and that free of noise, 
coming from 350 miles away.

That said, there are still more AM stations processing their audio 
poorly than there are stations getting it right. When it's done poorly, 
it sounds like a low-bitrate webstream and is hard to listen to at 
length. And of course there's a very valid argument to be made that at 
one time, AM analog audio sounded great, too - but the combination of 
crappy radios and a sharply increased noise floor has just about done 
THAT in, like it or not.

s

_______________________________________________
IRCA mailing list
IRCA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca

Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers

For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org

To Post a message: irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx