Digital radio emerged in the radio market backed by large
corporations such as Viacom, ClearChannel, Entercom, and Cox
Radio in response to the successful emersion of satellite radio
corporations XM and Sirius. When satellite radio emerged on the
scene, terrestrial radio corporations were already planning a
swing back to limit users from leaving conventional radio but
never planned for the explosion of popularity that satellite
radio would receive. Mostly, they hedged their bets on the fact
that many radio listeners would balk at shelling out money for
new equipment as well as paying for a monthly subscription
service but as it turns out, the marketing campaigns of both XM
and Sirius have done their job well. To help integrate satellite
radio into terrestrial radio's listener base, satellite radio
companies enlisted the help of major automobile manufacturers
such as GM to include the equipment into their new vehicles and
offered the first several months' service for free, effectively
allowing users to try before they buy.
But digital radio has seen a growing amount of popularity as
well. Often touted as "HD-Radio" which capitalizes on the
immense popularity of high definition capable televisions,
digital radio utilizes offset frequencies on the traditional
dial to broadcast their digital signals much like terrestrial
radio. Additionally, digital radio will remain "free" to radio
listeners but they still will have to shell out the money for
special integration equipment for the home and automobile.
However, like satellite radio has done in the past, many digital
radio proponents are sealing deals where they know the majority
of their marketplace listens to the radio - in their cars.
Upcoming models of many new automobiles will offer digital
radio-receiving stereos already in them. So while this worked
well for satellite radio, it should work doubly well for digital
radio, as the user won't have to sign a contract to continue
service. They will only have to deal with commercials, an
inconvenience that many radio listeners have come to deal with
almost without thinking.
Digital radio is actually a hybrid system in which analog
carriers offer a digital signal to FM radio "side bands." This
means that conventional radio stations can broadcast their
analog signals on one band like they always have before and an
exact replica signal over a digital side band. The technology
will even allow a single radio station to broadcast multiple
programs over a single radio band, effectively multiplying their
appeal across a larger demographic. The claim made by the
iBiquity Digital Corporation, the company that developed the
technology behind digital radio, is that digital radio is nearly
as good as compact disc-quality sound and is available with
greatly reduced static and interference.
Both AM and FM will have the capability of carrying the digital
signals and so AM proponents are excited about being able to
broadcast a huge level of increased programming at digital sound
quality, which should turn many listeners back to AM. FM
carriers are equally eager to broadcast digital sounds because
of the slump in listenership that terrestrial radio has suffered
in recent years due to the success of satellite radio and the
large success of mp3 personal music players such as the iPod.
While the technology is still being implemented, there is a lot
of backing for digital radio to succeed. However, consumers are
a fickle bunch and so the satellite radio crowd may stay with
that format for quite some time yet as that market has started
to mature. In order to successfully gain foothold, digital radio
manufacturers will have to ensure that the technology is made
available to listeners so they don't have to hunt it down. This
means ensuring that it is installed in new cars and in new home
stereo systems as well. While the battle is heating up between
satellite and digital terrestrial radio companies, the consumer
is sure to come out the winner.
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