HD Radio News and Information

Did I just imagine this? May 24, 2006 13:57

Pay per listen? May 25, 2006 08:34

 
The big dilemma facing broadcasters is this: You need to offer commercial-free HD2 channels to fend off satellite radio but if it's commercial-free, where's the revenue?

There are several answers to this. One is to charge for text messaging such as traffic or weather updates. For example, you might be able to subscribe to instant traffic updates for, say, $2.99 a month.

But here's another possibility. I saw one article yesterday that mentioned pay per listen as a possible source of revenue. One example of this would be concerts. I have little interest in paying $89.50 to see Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in concert at Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheater, but I would be happy to pay $9.95 to hear the concert live or even on a one-day delay.

I think this is one area where radio could take a lesson from pay-per-view TV. Maybe millions of people around the country won't pay $59.95 to see a championship fight bu thousands will. And thousands times $59.95 adds up to a pretty nice hunk of revenue. Ditto, $9.95 times thousands = a nice source of revenue for HD2 broadcasters.

So what do you think? Would you be willing to pay for special events on HD Radio? I'd love to hear your opinion.

BTW: According to my sources, there are now more than 300 stations broadcasting HD2 channels.

What's up (or down) with satellite radio? May 27, 2006 15:06

 
Has satellite radio lost some of its luster since the day Sirius Radio signed Howard Stern? Sales may still look strong but there are a couple of factors that neither XM nor Sirius wants to talk about. The first is called churn. Churn is the percentage of subscribers that do not renew their subscriptions at the end of their contract period. So when you read that, say, 100,000 people signed up for either of the two services, the next important question is how many subscribers did you lose -- 5%, 7% or even 10%?

The second important number that the satellite providers never discuss in public is the cost of acquiring a subscriber. For a satellite TV service such as Echostar, the acquisition cost might run as high as $350 per household but this is an acceptable number, because the company knows it will get its money back, plus a profit, as satellite TV subscribers remain subscribers for a very long time. But, outside the companies themselves, no one knows how much it costs to acquire a satellite radio subscriber, nor how long that person must remain a subscriber for the company to turn a profit.

Given the churn and the cost of acquiring a subscriber, some experts argue that it's unlikely for both satellite radio services to survive and that they'll either consolidate or one will go under.

Compare this with HD Radio, where there is no churn rate and no cost to acquire a subscriber, and it becomes clear that HD Radio has a very bright future indeed. (Go to URL)