What HD-2s Don't Stream And Should?
Written Jan. 23, 2008 by Sean Ross in Internet Radio with 6 Comments
It was an intriguing announcement yesterday from the Beasley/Fort Myers, Fla., combo. Classic Rock WRXK's HD-2 channel had flipped to a combination of "Southern Rock, Blues, Americana, Roots Music and Real Country" as "Haney's Big House 96.1 HD2," tied in to the station's morning co-host. Country/Rock hybrids aren't uncommon in HD multicast world, but I'm eager to listen to this one when it starts streaming.
Beasley streams some, but not all, of its multicast channels. Same goes for Bonneville and CBS. Many of the Citadel channels don't seem to be streaming. Regardless of owner, the HD-2 multicasts are even hard to find mentioned on their HD-1 station's Websites, even when the two formats are complimentary. (Most of the Clear Channel HD-2 stations are streaming, but you can generally find a similar format at its Format Lab site when they're not.)
At this moment, when there are a lot more people listening on-line than on HD radios, the logic of streaming your multicast station far outweighs the only reason not to do it--the fiscal one: Even a modest investment in a station that few listeners can hear is a wasted one. The bulk of the listening to HD-2 multicast stations will likely be done in the future on a wireless broadband radio, so why not start building the brand today? And the notion of a handheld or in-car device that lets me listen to every multicast channel is a lot more compelling to me than just having to make due with the handful from my market.
Beasley/Fort Myers, in particular, seems to have put a lot of creativity into their HD-2s. Top 40 WXKB has a reggae channel. Modern Rock WJBX (99X) has an "emo channel." None, as best as I can tell, stream. And I'd be interested in hearing all of them.
And then I got curious about who else would be worth hearing if they streamed. I made it halfway down the HD Radio Alliance list of multicast stations and came up with two dozen that I would listen to, if they were streaming which, to the best of my knowledge, these stations aren't. (If they were, the listen live link was elusive.) They include:
* KMVQ San Francisco's Top 40 "Northern California's Hit Music Channel";
* WVEE (V103) Atlanta's "Neo-Soul" channel (although WHUR-2 D.C. serves a similar need);
* WKRQ (Q102) Cincinnati's "interactive" Top 40 channel;
* KPLX (the Wolf) Dallas' top 40 Vibe 99.5;
* KVIL Dallas' female singer-songwriter format;
* WLHK (Hank FM) Indianapolis' Americana sister station, "Bubba FM."
* The forthcoming Black Talk format at WMGL Charleston, S.C., and the Classic Country channel at WIVK Knoxville, Tenn. (Classic Country is, of course, amply available on HD-2 and the Web, but you've gotta wonder what WIVK's would sound like.)
Reader Comments
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If one looks on clearchannelmusic.com/hdradio, most of the HD channels are just clever reworks of the main analog channels - this is partly why there is zero consumer interest in HD Radio:
http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com/
Why do they broadcast over the air in IBOC if the stations are streaming? All it does is clog up the airwaves on adjacent channels and limit the useful range to less than 20 miles with a good outside antenna. The radios are practically non-existant anyway. Why louse up analog radio which has worked well for close to 100 years? So consumers have to scrap 7/8's of a billion receivers and start all over again? The originaters of this still born technology were running on less than one cylinder when they designed and tried to impliment this most destructive technology, didn't work, doesn't work, and most importantly: will never work.
I'm not sure if WKRQ is still airing "Interactive". Weren't they sold to Bonneville?? I believe that was a CBS brand and that may have changed now that Bonneville is in charge. I have found the list of formats on the Alliance list to be erroneous at times.....
Nevertheless, KJKK HD-2 in Dallas also runs the format you're thinking of ("My HD", right?), but they don't stream that I know of, either. (You can, however, put your 'request' into action--apparently--at http://www.myhdrequest.com !!)
Tony, it's still on their Website: http://www.wkrq.com/q102hd2.php
Then there's the only Beasley/Ft. Myers HD2 you overlooked. OK, so maybe it isn't the "most creative" because all it does is fill a gaping hole not addressed by the terrestrial stations. The HD2 station that actually went to JonesTM and got some of those nifty sounding 70's sonovox jingles. The --ONLY HD2-- station running John Tesh Show *anywhere*. The only HD2 in market with its own website (granted a work in progress). I was thinking about carving my own niche with "Chinese Country Ballads & Garden Talk" Radio, but decided on filling a hole in the market. :>)
I agree on the streaming tho, it still seems to me personally that if someone hears it online, and likes it at a sub quality 24k or 32k, they'd opt to get a deccent quality HD radio. (which is the Sangean HDT-XX models in my opinion, btw).
Randy PD
WAWZ in NJ is running HD2 and HD3 on-air and on-line. The station is part of an organization with a global presence, and plans to market the over-the-air HD signals to the local audience while promoting the streams to an international audience. We're already seeing response from Europe and Asia.