The Infinite Dial

One aggrivation with HD Radio has been the paucity of HD-2/HD-3 multicast choices here in at Edison HQ in Somerville, N.J. Somerville is close enough to hear FM stations from New York, Philadelphia, Allentown, Pa., Trenton, N.J., Monmouth/Ocean, N.J., New Brunswick, N.J., and Morristown, N.J. But we can receive only one HD-2 station, the Christian talk/teaching side channel of the New York-targeted but locally based Christian AC WAWZ (Star 99.1).

So it was good to hear from Star OM Scott Taylor this afternoon that WAWZ has launched its HD-3 channel: a Christian CHR called 99.1-3: The Energy. Core artists are listed as Switchfoot, Skillet, Relient K., and Ayiesha Woods. Christian CHR is one of those formats that usually has to wait its turn in most markets behind Christian AC, rarely appearing on commercial and/or full-market signals. And that makes WAWZ-3 one of the few multicast choices available to a New Yorker that genuinely wouldn't be available on the dial otherwise. Until the new Website is up next week, you can hear the new station by clicking here.