Changes spurred by the pandemic have prompted two public broadcasters to scale back their use of HD Radio, the heavily promoted technology that never quite caught on despite its promises of better sound quality and new programming streams.
Last fall, Wisconsin Public Radio ended more than half of its HD Radio services after its state licensee urged it to cut costs. Meanwhile, Oregon Public Broadcasting stopped producing an HD music stream in part because the pandemic has stifled volunteer participation.
HD Radio rolled out more than a decade ago, with CPB providing grants to help convert hundreds of stations’ transmitters to the technology. But listeners need digital radios to enjoy the higher-fidelity broadcasts and tune into the digital subchannels that some stations use for additional news and music services. With that hurdle in place, adoption has been slow.
According to last year’s Public Radio Techsurvey, conducted by Jacobs Media in partnership with Public Radio Program Directors Association, 14% of respondents — most of whom were selected from public radio stations’ databases — said they use HD Radio. That’s up from 6% in the 2012 version of the survey but still puts HD Radio near the bottom of all technology used by the respondents. By comparison, the 2020 survey showed that 67% of respondents use streaming audio or connect phones in their cars, neither of which Jacobs measured in 2012.
“We really did have high hopes,” said WPR Director Mike Crane, “but obviously we’re not in an environment where such [CPB] grants are going to be coming out again. And so continuing to maintain a service that wasn’t providing real service just wasn’t sustainable.”
In hindsight, HD Radio “just has not turned out to be a boon that people may have hoped that it would become,” said OPB CEO Steve Bass.
Yet some station leaders still see promise for HD Radio through educating consumers about the technology and as more cars come to market with digital radio built in. Xperi, which now owns the technology, reported in an investor deck last year that 52% of U.S. automobiles have HD radio.
Significant HD cuts in Wisconsin
In 2007, WPR added 13 HD Radio transmitters throughout its state network to broadcast its news and entertainment programming, along with an all-classical channel that had been previously available only as an online stream.
“Just like many public broadcasters, we were excited by the possibilities of multicasting,” said WPR’s Crane.
“We’ve certainly seen some value in that on the television side with HDTV, but … it’s been less so with radio,” he said. One reason is that digital TV “was a complete turnover of technology,” Crane said, whereas HD Radio “has always been a hybrid technology that continues to analog broadcast.”
In October, the station decided to end HD Radio broadcasts on seven stations. The Wisconsin Educational Communications Board, a state agency that holds licenses for some WPR stations, asked the broadcaster to reduce costs. WPR will save about $60,000 annually and reduce long-term capital expenses.
Crane said that engineers have told him for “a long time” that adding HD to a transmitter “has been more costly financially, but also damaging over time to the systems in a way that would require more maintenance, more replacement over time.”
So when deciding which services to cut back, Crane considered those concerns and the low audience for WPR’s HD channels.
“I do not like the idea of taking off anything, because if you go back to the very beginning — not only of public radio 50 years ago but to our station more than 100 years ago — we’ve always been about providing maximum service,” Crane said. “But if the evidence is that no service is actually provided, then it becomes necessary, particularly in a tighter budget, to just say, ‘Let’s not keep doing it. It’s not going anywhere.’”
Crane estimates that the combined weekly cume for the stations that were turned off was fewer than 500. The decision caused minimal outcry, aside from a volunteer at one station whom Crane described as an “audiophile” and who said he was disappointed because he “loved how it sounded.” Otherwise, the response was “pretty muted, and that probably was telling,” Crane said.
WPR stations that will continue to broadcast in HD include those serving Madison and Milwaukee, where weekly cumes for the subchannels are higher but still only “in the thousands, not the tens of thousands,” Crane said.
WPR sees benefits to HD service beyond audience numbers, Crane said. The FCC permits using HD signals to feed analog transmitters, or they can be used essentially as studio-to-transmitter links, he said. “So that’s been a real advantage for us in a couple of places around the state where it’s a really nice, reliable method of delivery,” he said.
WPR’s WHA-AM in Madison also broadcasts in part using HD and produces a “really nice-sounding signal” when functioning, “which has been an issue, too,” Crane said.
Crane said he does see promise for adoption of HD Radio in more cars, “but even there, because it’s getting easier and easier to stream directly to your car using Apple CarPlay and the like, it seems like streaming is going to be the way to go.”
OPB’s search for an FM translator
OPB also pared back HD service in December when it stopped producing a 24/7 Triple A music stream. The stream was part of opbmusic, which also includes music content for radio and OPB’s website.
The music stream relied on volunteers for the programming, which became a challenge as OPB was looking to limit people in its building, said CEO Steve Bass. “So it was kind of a good time to kind of look at the whole landscape and figure out what’s best going forward,” he said. Additionally, David Christensen, who leads opbmusic, will retire in the spring.
Opbmusic’s HD stream had a “pretty minimal” audience, even smaller than its internet stream, Bass said. If it had drawn a large audience, “we probably wouldn’t have reevaluated this,” he said.
A challenge HD Radio has faced is the lack of a federal mandate to convert, as was in place for digital television, Bass said. Additionally, there was “so much consolidation in FM radio that there wasn’t much interest in having a range of new services within local markets,” he said. “And I think the consumer adoption just never was there in great numbers.”
OPB still uses HD for its KMHD jazz service because “it costs nothing. We’re already doing the programming,” Bass said. “It may be a little bit more reach.” Bass is also looking for an FM translator in Bend, Ore., that could take a feed of the HD broadcast.
“When we first started with opbmusic here, our thought was, ‘Well, we can put it on HD and maybe a translator will become available.’ And one did, but I couldn’t get a deal for it that would work,” he said.
“Unless there’s some other great purpose [for HD] aside from linear delivery of terrestrial radio, I don’t know that it has any significant advantage beyond regular FM,” Bass said.
A home for classical
But for some stations, HD Radio subchannels still provide a way to offer a broadcast service that may not have justified a presence on a primary FM signal. Nashville Public Radio recently moved its classical service to an HD subchannel to make way for a Triple A music format.
The classical service was averaging a weekly cume of 30,000–60,000, which wasn’t “financially feasible,” said Steve Swenson, CEO of Nashville Public Radio.
But Swenson said he wanted to continue to provide the classical service “because no one else is doing it, and no commercial broadcaster will do it because it never would make financial sense.”
The radio industry has done a poor job of educating the public about HD Radio, Swenson said. The name has caused consumers to associate it with HDTV and its “amazing video,” but Swenson said he sees subchannels as its biggest benefit.
“We as an industry really never did a great job of coming together and explaining that and marketing that in a good way,” he said.
Nashville Public Radio has been working to educate its audience about the classical HD service since making the switch, buying HD radios for “older” listeners whom “we knew did not have HD radios,” Swenson said. The station has given away 100 radios.
“It’s one of those things where we need to continue to market,” Swenson said. “We need to continue to talk about it on WPLN … so that people know it’s there. We need to make sure that we are doing interesting things on it.”
The classical HD channel currently broadcasts Classical 24. But Swenson would like to return to broadcasting the Nashville Symphony’s concerts when they resume, as the station did before the pandemic.
The station does not have an audience goal for the classical HD channel. Swenson points out that the classical HD broadcast covers a larger area than the FM signal that it previously aired on.
“There’s an opportunity for people who are driving and want the classical music to be able to hear it at farther distances than they would be able to hear it before,” Swenson said.
‘Just catching up now’
Christina Kuzmych, GM of Wyoming Public Media, told Current in an email that she believes that HD technology had “great hopes, but didn’t quite take off.”
Still, nearly two decades after the FCC endorsed HD Radio, and despite the technology’s slow start, Kuzmych says the consumer side may be “just catching up now” as more new cars become equipped with HD Radio.
People in Wyoming drive a lot — the state leads the country in residents’ vehicle miles traveled per capita — so Kuzmych believes stations could still reach listeners with HD broadcasts.
“The biggest obstacle now is educating them on the fact that they have HD radios,” she said.
Wyoming Public Media broadcasts in HD in 11 markets throughout the state, with news programming on an HD1 channel, classical on HD2 and Wyoming Sounds, a Triple A music service, on HD3. It also feeds translators with HD Radio.
The technology allows the network to broadcast more channels in parts of the state where it otherwise couldn’t, and the cost to maintain them is “very low or nonexistent,” Kuzmych said. “Should costs increase we would need to re-evaluate HD radio,” she said.
The station doesn’t have an “accurate grasp” on how many people are using the stations in their cars, but, anecdotally, “we know that people are listening,” Kuzmych said. “They complain when the service goes down.”
Good luck on this one. HD (Hybrid-Digital) is a great concept but was obviously rolled out before the radio user was consulted. Today it’s AM/FM. They wanted it to be AM/FM/FM1/FM2/FM3 etc. When the HD signal power is so much lower try to explain to the listener when their radio goes silent or reverts to an analog signal. You have to have a reliable product to gain acceptance. Most HD-x signals are anything but. The ability to stream on devices -including smart speakers has overshadowed the HD technology in vast numbers. It’s one man’s opinion -and I was in on the ground floor introduction of HD multi casting. I knew that it was going to be way too complicated for the average radio user. I’m not a genius. Just a radio listener from day one.
According to the inventor Ibiquity, the “HD” in HD Radio doesn’t actually mean “hybrid digital” (and it also doesn’t mean high definition).
Kinda looks like you may be right there, HD. Ibiquity doesn’t describe it other than HD. (Humpty Dumpty?) – “Hybrid Digital” seems to be a good way to describe it though-and a lot of people do. Vermont Public Radio, for example. https://www.vpr.org/hd-hybrid-digital-radio
If anyone had asked radio listeners about FM in the 1960’s before it’s existence became widely known and receivers became available they would have said “what and why, the Standard Broadcast Band (AM) has what I like to listen to”. It became the go to radio medium because the broadcast ownership “turned the kids loose” with album oriented rock (AOR should be a familiar acronym by now). Ownership did not mind too much because they didn’t think many people were listening to FM & it was a harmless place for ‘the kids to play radio”. Little did they realize. The challenge of the confusion to the radio user is real especially in the face of all the streaming options that now exist. The multipath resistance is one very tangible benefit & makes auto listening in the urban canyons actually practical.
I get what you’re saying about FM coming around slowly. (And remember AM stereo!?!)
One difference that I think can’t be overlooked was the promise that “crystal-clear HD radio” was going to blow the sound of FM away, and quite plainly, it doesn’t, unless you’re an audiophile listening on $1500 cans.
FM, no matter for what purpose and for any consumer listening to any imaginable format, was a giant, unmistakable technological leap from AM.
For the trouble it was for consumers to have to go out of their way to spend money to receive the signal, HD has in no way been worth it by and large.
I work at a state network that launched 8 stations in 2007 and still operate them today as essentially a classical music jukebox. I don’t know that the whole effort has generated $100 per station over the 13 years of operation.
I have listened to Wltj in Pittsburgh,pa for a couple of years and upgraded to a commercial HD RADIO TUNER. I noticed this station used HD 1 thru 4 , it’s was the only station in Pittsburgh to use HD4. The station has turned off the HD radio signal all together. I contacted the station by phone, using the technical extension for HD radio, and I have not received any feedback after several attempts. It seemed to be popular, even putting up their HD3 format on simple radio internet, it’s gone too. It’s a shame the local radio station you listen to cannot get back to you to let you know what happened.
Sincerely, Ron
GREENSBURG PENNSYLVANIA
Hey Ron, try this link – ’cause it gives you phone numbers and the address to WLTJ. https://q929fm.com/contact-us/ If you can get a live person, ask for the program director. What’s important to note (and it’s mentioned here), the HD transmission system isn’t free. There are some costs involved and frankly with the number of choices available on the radio and online, HD radio doesn’t help much. The key words “return on investment” come to mind. Listeners to HD radio are few and far between. Some stations use HD2, HD3 and HD4 to feed “translators”, lower powered FM transmitters which usually will have trouble covering a market the size of Pittsburgh. Would be interested to know what you find out.
The problem is that auto manufacturers aren’t putting enough HD radios into cars. And it’s almost impossible to find an HD radio in stores.
I live in Nashville. When WPLN Classical went HD, I bought a Sangean HDR-15 for $60. You’re telling me I could have gotten one for free???
ok, so I have been a Broadcast Engineer for about 40 years, The last twentyt+ of in “Public” Radio. This includes NPR but also many non-com classical and otherwise independent stations Classified as public. Fact is that many of the stations carrying HD remain doing it to feed Translators, Those little stations in small towns that don’t get much radio service otherwise. The FCC says a translator can be fed by an FM HD 2 or 3 signal and put it on a regular FM Frequency. neat little trick to get another radio station in a given market. many times that market is not so little, so you can have a full scale signal say in a market of 500,000 as a translator for a remote HD signal. Hmm, is this what broadcasting should be, well maybe so. after all American ingenuity is built more on loopholes than the mainstream money channels. so This may keep HD Alive. I hope so.
Another note on HD Radio, Though it is appealing to audio files, and to stations ever more looking for an advertising market, it is expensive to the broadcaster. power bills for broad cast are about 50% greater, and the cooling cost for the facilities can be double. so it can be a hard decision in modern times to maintain this when the new generation doesn’t get there content off air.
This was very interesting. I had no idea it ran up the monthly electric bill and equipment got hot. I love HD radio. The clarity in my experience is often fantastic. I noticed that when I put an HD deck in my car it shaved off about 20 miles of reception range (in analog). Is it true that you have to pay a pretty hefty cost/fee each year for HD? I hope HD sticks around and becomes more affordable to smaller markets
Pete: The HD radio signal is somewhere between 1 and 10% of the power of the analog signal. This is why HD signals will drop out at a much closer distance to the antenna.
As for the licensing fees (from Wikipedia):
HD equipped stations pay a one-time licensing fee for converting their primary audio channel to iBiquity’s HD Radio technology, and 3% of incremental net revenues for any additional digital subchannels.[10] The cost of converting a radio station can run between $100,000 and $200,000.[11] Receiver manufacturers who include HD Radio pay a royalty, which is the main reason it failed to be fully-adopted as a standard feature.[12]
If the primary digital signal (HD‑1) is lost the HD receiver will revert to the analog signal, thereby providing seamless operation between the newer and older transmission methods. The extra HD‑2 and HD‑3 streams do not have an analog simulcast; consequently, their sound will drop-out or “skip” when digital reception degrades (similar to digital television drop-outs). Alternatively the HD signal can revert to a more robust 20 kbit/s stream, although the sound quality is then reduced to conventional AM-level. Datacasting is also possible, with metadata providing song titles or artist information.
iBiquity Digital claims that the system approaches CD quality audio and offers reduction of both interference and static;[13]. However, the data rates in HD Radio are substantially lower than from a CD, and the digital signals sometimes interfere with adjacent analog AM band stations. (see § AM, below).
AM
FM analog can approach CD quality sound on its own without the addition of HD technology. HD provides a quieter signal -but when FM is processed properly you can be amazed at the quality. However many FM stations today are highly processed to remain competitive.
Here on the West Coast of Florida we have a multitude of HD radio stations.
It’s true people are very ignorant about the HD radio stations and if they won’t be educated about them, HD will die a slow death.
I listen to talk radio sometimes and the program is on HD and also simulcast on regular AM.
There is a great difference on the HD quality and clarity vs. AM sound. This is especially evident as you get older and AM sounds muffled. Of course sometimes I must switch to AM just because the reception stops on the HD version but that’s life.
I listened to shortwave when I was younger and I’m just fascinated with the HD concept and how many more stations can be squeezed out of one primary.
Heck, I even liked AM Stereo.
Thanks for all the info and comments re HD Radio. We have a pretty good number of FM-HD broadcasters in the metro Sacramento area (and one AM-HD out of Modesto). The frustration is when three great HD-2 stations disappear with no notice. (The same station’s HD-1’s are still active).
Inquiries go unanswered. (Sangean HDR-14 connected to home audio system).
A lot of people paid a premium price for an HD tuner, and now the number of FM-HD stations has diminished significantly. It sounds to me like there might be some basis for a class-action lawsuit on behalf of those customers who are not getting the FM-HD signals that they had paid extra for.
Just bought a new Corolla and was pleasantly surprised that it came with an HD radio. I have a Sangean home radio so I was familiar with HD. luckily I live just 14 miles from class C1 station so reception is wonderful. Having said that I see little chance of HD radio actually surviving amid competition from streaming, satellite radio, regular FM with 10 times the power . My wife enjoys listening on our car radio, but if it weren’t for my knowledge of HD she wouldn’t even be aware that it exists. An FM scan to find the local stations stops on each station, but if you don’t click the button to advance to HD, the listener has no clue of the availability of HD , even though they have a radio for it. HD is wonderful but a forever secret.
As a listener, I was an earlier adopter and had an HD Radio where I lived in NY state. The hope was that more broadcasters would jump on board and the variety would improve. Instead, they didn’t and the content you got was mostly ‘canned’ — iHeart Radio syndication, the same pre-programmed formats from every other major market, or 3 channels of NPR (no offense intended) from every NPR station or translator in the region when those all broadcast on other frequencies more reliably without HD-2 (or 3 or 4). Plus competing with satellite radio and internet streams that were far more reliable (albeit with other costs) presents a frustration when you’re listening in the car on a long trip and your HD signal drops out every few minutes. Makes for a compelling argument against HD’s limited range and lack of variety. It’s easier now to listen or stream everything else OTHER THAN HD given prevalence of cheap devices and smartphones. If you were a broadcaster in 2023 and had a choice where to spend your budget, where would you put it: power and multiple frequencies/IBOC or digital streaming? It seems the market has spoken.