January 05, 2005

HD Radio Signs up 2000 More Stations

Traditional radio stations are fighting back against satellite radio by expanding HD Radio distribution to 2000 more stations across the country. HD Radio lets radio stations broadcast CD quality digitial signals without any static or hiss along with digital text data like song titles. However the initiative doesn't get at the crux of the problem. The main driver for satellite radio is commercial free music, not sound quality. Unfortunately for these 2000 HD stations, with no subscription revenue they still need to broadcast those annoying ads. The second problem is you need a new radio to receive these HD broadcasts. With only 3 products on the market, they have a long way to go.