Mass Market Appeal 'The Last Big Hurdle' For HD Radio

COLUMBIA, MD – September 12: During an invitation-only meeting with media at the company's new Columbia, MD headquarters, iBiquity Digital CEO Bob Struble said today that mass market penetration is the final big obstacle standing between his company's HD Radio technology and wide consumer adoption.

"From the technology standpoint, the FCC has adopted the standard, and the broadcast industry has built out the infrastructure," he said during a luncheon meeting with a small cadre of reporters. "The last major hurdle – and it is not insignificant – is to get people to go into places and ask for HD Radio," "The goal is that about five years from now, when you go into a store and buy a radio, it will already have HD. When you consider other technologies that have evolved over the years, that is what has happened. For example, when you go buy a new TV today, you don't ask for a color TV. Color is the standard."
Struble also understands the importance of integrating HD Radio with devices that consumers are already using. "For radio to continue to be as ubiquitous as it is, radio has got to get on these devices," he said.

That comment dovetailed into a discussion of the recent announcement that two upcoming HD Radio receivers will feature integrated iPod docks and iTunes tagging capability, which allows listeners to "tag" songs they hear on the radio. With tagging, listeners press a button on the radio during songs they like, and the radio retains a code for those songs. When the iPod is inserted into the dock, the radio transmits the codes to the iPod, so that when the user visits Apple's iTunes store – where iPod users can download music – the device will prompt users about purchasing the songs that were tagged.

While that technology does provide HD Radio with a link to MP3 players, Struble acknowledged that integrating actual HD Radio receivers into digital music players is still in the developmental phase. "Chip development is key," he said, joking that while HD Radio could be integrated into iPods now, the power requirements to run everything would require users to carry around a car battery. However, he noted that a chip is in development that will reduce by 10 times the power required to add HD Radio capability to digital music players. This higher-efficiency chip is slated for a Q1 2008 release.

Struble also noted that radio must make a business case to equipment manufacturers about integrating HD Radio into their products. "It is important to show value to these manufacturers so they will put HD in their devices," he said. "And it is up to all of the radio business – not just us."

To that end, Struble heaped praise on the work the HD Digital Radio Alliance has done in elevating HD Radio's profile. "We wouldn't have made the advancements we've made without them," he said of the group, led by Peter Ferrara. "They're doing a great job, and this thing is moving forward. But by no means are we waving the flag of victory just yet."

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