So many radio types are hoping HD will be terrestrial radio's satellite killer. I hear it all the time. What I don't hear is talk of how HD will be more entertaining, or how HD channel staffs will be paid.
Entertainment will be terrestrial radio's satellite killer - if only we were putting the most entertainment on terrestrial radio.
HD and Satellite are completely different animals.
...ownership isn't comparable.
...methodology isn't comparable.
...the business model isn't comparable.
It's like talking about an American Football team playing a British football team (ie, 'soccer'). They're two different games. Subscribers verses ad time. It's apples and artichokes.
The answer for terrestrial radio is what it always was:
...Superstar air talent.
...Fun, inspiring contesting.
...Promotions that pop.
...Unique, compelling and memorable imaging.
...PASSION.
As more AM and FM stations get added to the dial (ie, move-ins, etc), we see less compelling radio, not more. Resources get stretched thinner and thinner. Why would we see anything different with HD channels? No, seriously. I'm asking.
I have yet to hear one person address how HD channels will be able to afford to hire talent. They just shrug and say "ahh man, it's not like that at all! Of course they'll hire people." With what money?
I know what you are, but what am I?
:)
If you thought a cluster of five stations was bad, imagine a cluster of five with ten more HD channels. Most of these things will be run out of laptops. A friend in a major market was talking to me about how his FM was adding an HD channel.
"Ahh, so you're building studios for it, right? And hiring?"
Of course not.
So many of us whom truly love radio want to believe there's an easy answer. "HD! YES, Yes! That's it!!!" We want so badly to believe that we look past reality.
Reality is, the satellite business model is the exact opposite of ours. They can't compete by our rules, but we can't compete by theirs either.
I have no doubt that HD will be good for management. But it'll be bad for talent. Do you really honestly expect to see thousands upon thousands of HD channels hiring full staffs? ...or hiring jocks at all? Do you really expect to see studios being built from coast to coast to house these stations?
Broadcasters haven't even figured out how to implement HD yet, let alone pay for it. (Will we have sub channels, or will we have extra frequencies added above 108fm? How will they be rated?)
We need to ask why people are willing to pay for satellite in the first place when they already get AM, FM, and a plethora of internet radio for free. It's not because they're not getting enough options already. It's because they're not passionate about the options they get.
Changing that should be terrestrial radio's #1 priority. We need to get back to the basics - figuring out each demo and what they're passionate about NOW, and we need to deliver the sort of entertainment that turns those listeners into excited fans.
What we don't need is to glut our own market by adding tens if not hundreds of channels to our already littered dials. That's chaos.
Why do you believe corporate would create anything more compelling on HD than we're creating for the stations that are their bread and butter?
What do the corporations running terrestrial radio today do as they add more stations in a market? Do they seek out ways of capturing hearts and minds with compelling entertainment? Hell no. They look at their money maker stations and create flankers with the rest. Protect your huge CHR with a lackluster Hot/AC. Meanwhile, Sirius owns all of their channels. They need only get listeners to listen to any of them. So what if channel 113 has nobody listening. When was the last time corporate said to you "it's ok that you have a zero share. Your sister station's bankin'!" Doesn't happen. Satellites can offer up niche programming the likes of which we can't and probably won't, even on HD, because their business model is based on listener funding. It's reminiscent of public radio, really. Just replace pledge drives with monthly fees, and add a hundred channels of course.
If a particular satellite channel costs more to run, they can put ads on it. Or charge a 'premium' fee.
That's not terrestrial radio's business model at all.
Apples and artichokes.
...back.
