WHAT IS HD RADIO?
For all of your HD radio questions click here and visit HD Radio.com.

HD Radio is a digital upgrade to standard AM and FM service utilizing the existing AM and FM band. By going digital, it allows broadcasters to improve both AM and FM stations. For FM, multiple channels and improved audio to crystal clear CD sound are the primary benefits, along with scrolling text capability. AM stations reap the benefit of improved sound quality equal to that of today’s FM stations also with scrolling text capability and will ultimately reduce interference and improve coverage.

For FM, this means that a single FM station can now split its signal into several independent channels, all being broadcast on the same FM frequency, receivable with a digital radio. This operation is called “Multicasting? and is being embraced by broadcasters.

For an AM station (which might otherwise be relegated strictly to talk programming) it heralds the beginning of a new age; AM now has the capability of programming crystal clear quality music in stereo without the noise and static interference which has plagued AM radio for nine decades.

Overall, Digital HD radio is the way by which radio will reinvent itself in the new millennium, much like the industry reinvented itself in the 1960’s by embracing FM broadcasting.

WHY IS HD RADIO IMPORTANT TO CONSUMERS?
In Chicago, CBS Radio research has been completed that illustrates exactly where the consumer benefits (and why the consumer wants) this technology. Online research was conducted among over five thousand radio listeners.

Top line findings indicate that Digital FM as a concept is highly attractive to consumers, especially in light of their continued grasp of all things digital - from computers, to photography, to mp3 digital music. Radio also benefits from the efforts of HDTV television rollout in recent years, whereby HDTV is synonymous today with increased quality, choice, and capability. HD Radio as a concept is an easier grasp for consumers who already understand the positive applications of HDTV.


CONSUMERS SPEAK OUT
Consumers who were researched indicate that crystal clear CD-Quality sound is most desirable, followed by increased selection of programming choices otherwise not available. One of the primary reasons for consumers currently defecting analog radio to subscribe to Satellite is lack of channel choice or “sameness? in current analog programming. Since content and diverse programming drive consumer interest, a whole new game is afoot on the AM and FM band. Hundreds if not thousands of new programs and formats to keep listeners excited about radio are set to roll out with the additional digital multicast channels.

HD Broadcasts also contain an additional 48kbps of data known as AAS or “Advanced Application Services? available to beam to the receivers on each HD frequency. This can be anything from additional pay or advertiser supported audio channels, advertiser pictures, video, coupons, text, etc. AAS will enable the HD radio stations to generate non traditional revenues from advertisers and other parties in need if a ubiquitous data distribution system.


HD EARLY BEGINNINGS
2006 marked the year when the first HD radio units began hitting store shelves in North America.  Aftermarket auto radios are currently making their way into the marketplace and are available for installation. Tabletop HD radios became available in 2006 and will become more prevelant as the technology rolls out to more consumers and is promoted by joint radio company efforts.

HD - MASS MEDIA’S HOTTEST EMERGING TREND
The October 2005 edition of Business 2.0 Magazine listed HD Radio as one of seven technologies “that will change everything?. The magazine says “Forget satellite. Regular radio is getting an upgrade, with CD quality audio and many more channels?. The magazine goes on to explain that, at the time, there were already 450 radio stations in the United States broadcasting in HD, and by 2007 that number would reach 2,500 stations covering 90 percent of the country.

Multiply these numbers by a factor of three for multicast, and that’s a minimum of 5,000 new and uniquely programmed radio stations across America in just a few short years. Other analysts have predicted 40 million HD radios in the hands of consumers by 2012.


CONCLUSION
CBS Radio is engaged and at the forefront of the digital age of AM and FM broadcasting. The future of radio as a medium has just opened a new chapter. Not since the invention of FM has there been such a revolutionary new boost given to the broadcast medium of radio. This is particularly good news for investors who are looking for future growth across the next several years. As radio expands directly by number of channels, quality audio, and text capability, so do revenues derived from advertising.

The true winner remains the consumer, who once again becomes excited about and derives a clear benefit from the new look of AM and FM.

Local Stations Broadcasting in HD: