Re: [IRCA] How much does IBOC cost?

[Scott Fybush <scott@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Chernos Saul wrote:
> How much are all costs associated with IBOC, including procurement and 
> ongoing use?
>
> In particular, if this can be separated, how much does it cost to keep 
> it running, say every month or year?

Are we talking AM specifically?

The answer is a big "it depends." If an AM station has a fairly recent 
transmitter and a well-maintained transmission system (not just the 
antenna itself, but the phasor, transmission lines, etc.) that's already 
broadband enough to handle the wider bandwidth required by IBOC, the 
costs can be relatively minimal - low-to-mid-five figures for a new 
exciter and the license from Ibiquity.

If more extensive work is required - say, a new phasor - the costs can 
go way up from there, though there's certainly an argument to be made 
that a lot of those costs would need to be incurred eventually, IBOC or no.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no recurring license fee for IBOC. 
FM stations that multicast have to pay Ibiquity a portion of any 
revenues they get from multicast services.

But the only ongoing costs for an AM station to run IBOC would be a 
slight increase in the power bill - which may go a long way towards 
explaining why it may linger on at many stations long after it's clear 
nobody's listening. It's the same deal as AM stereo - the easy thing to 
do is to leave it on the air until it breaks or the transmitter is 
replaced, but not to expend any energy on fixing it if something goes wrong.

s
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