COLUMBIA, MD. — HD Radio developer
iBiquity Digital wants to
accelerate digital radio adoption
by reducing its one-time licensing
fee for radio stations and offering
them an installment option for the
first time.
“Radio is now the last entertainment
medium to convert from analog
to digital, and we want to do all
we can to help broadcasters upgrade
and deliver the highest quality listening
experience to their listeners and
generate incremental revenue from
new digital offerings,” said iBiquity
president/CEO Robert Struble.
The fee drops to $10,000 from
$25,000 for payment in full with a
signed contract. The cost goes to
$12,500 if payments are made over a
12-month period. The “flexible, cost-effective
licensing options [will] make
upgrading easier,” Struble said.
“More than 2,000 stations broadcast
HD Radio signals, and it’s a good time
for more stations to join in,” he continued,
because in calendar 2010, 80 vehicle
models will incorporate HD Radio
receivers, with 36 of them offering HD
Radio as standard equipment.
In addition, more than 100 different
HD Radio receivers are available
through more than 14,000 brick-andmortar
and online retailers, and earlier
this month, the Federal Communications
Commission allowed HD Radio
FM stations to immediately raise their
digital power from 1 percent of analog
power to 4 percent to increase digitalsignal
range and in-building penetration,
Struble said. Stations also got the
right to apply for a maximum boost to
10 percent of analog power if they can
show it won’t interfere with other stations’
signals.
