(DIALOGUE) ROI Through Technology

9-29-2014

Last month, 30-year broadcast and tech executive Phil Argyris was tapped to lead GatesAir, formerly part of Harris Broadcast. I asked him to share some of his vision for his company and the industry.

What are radio?s greatest tech opportunities today?

Multichannel HD Radio remains a strong opportunity for the over-the-air model. The bandwidth efficiency of the HD Radio digital stream brings not only additional channels into play, but also interactivity. Two-way streams can potentially drive audience engagement through interactive experiences and turn into revenue generation, mixing in ads and sponsor-driven messages.

Global opportunities show how well radio as an industry is thriving. The efficient use of the spectrum to deliver audio (and video in some cases) has proven successful in parts of the world where nationwide DAB networks have been deployed. These developments are significant for U.S. broadcasters, demonstrating global momentum and opportunities that exist around the transition to digital radio.

We also remain engaged in next-generation signal boosting and hyperlocal advertising strategies that drive very targeted messaging ? right down to the local neighborhood of the listener.

How does all this impact and grow radio audience and revenue?

In addition to revenue generation through emerging opportunities from ZoneCasting, HD Radio, and other digital technologies, there needs to be an ongoing cost-benefit for the station infrastructure. We?re driving innovation by optimizing existing networks, establishing paths toward digital and IP systems, and minimizing ongoing operational costs for the station.

The main point is that to make a real bottom-line impact, there needs to be cost reduction on the operational side that can drive more investment in new technologies and initiatives.

With broadcast companies today stretching the life of their assets, what creates sustainability for GatesAir?

The short answer is our focus on solving customer problems, and presenting solutions that allow them to make continued investment and drive profitability. This could be new services, the ROI for replacement equipment, or the investment in new networks across areas of the world that are just beginning to deploy digital radio. We provide a value proposition that allows the broadcaster?s top and bottom line to grow.

Our long-term sustainability is cemented through several factors: continued investment in research and development; a strong manufacturing and engineering base, along with our constant drive to innovate; and a customer-first strategy adhered to by all of our employees to build and deliver solutions that reduce long-term operational costs and accelerate return on investment for the customer. We continue to have the strongest, most dedicated sales force with a well-planned strategy and comprehensive global reach that keeps us agile.

The predecessor companies of GatesAir, Gates and Harris Broadcast, offered a vast line of products, from the antenna to the studio. Will this broad product line remain, or will GatesAir narrow its focus in some areas?

The radio business of GatesAir, like Harris Broadcast, comprises three pillars: create, transport, and transmit. Our range of studio solutions, covering networking, consoles and furniture, comprises the ?create? pillar. A wide range of IP and legacy solutions for audio contribution and distribution ? from point-to-point STL and remote contribution to multipoint IP distribution ? comprise the ?transport? side of the business. And of course our latest range of high-efficiency transmitters and software defined exciters constitute the ?transmit? pillar.

I see these solutions remaining at the core of the GatesAir business. We continue to innovate across all three of these sectors, and remain the only industry vendor able to design and deliver complete turnkey solutions for the radio broadcaster. Engineers and managers attending the Radio Show or the IBC show in Amsterdam in September can see our latest innovations in these areas.

Any thoughts on the automotive dash and what radio needs to do to maintain an integral spot?

Radio still draws and retains a significant audience, and there is still plenty happening on the AM and FM dial to persuade listeners on the road to explore what?s happening. We need to aggressively pursue building audience size and generating more advertising revenue. As an industry supplier, we can help by developing technologies and solutions that help broadcasters achieve these goals.

Our MaxxCasting solution was specifically created to help broadcasters strategically boost signal coverage across their spectrum allotments. This has the dual benefit of drawing in more listeners and advertisers from the significant increase in the broadcaster?s signal presence marketwide.

Deborah Parenti is EVP/Radio for Streamline Publishing. E-mail: parenti@aol.com.

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"We Can Improve HD Technology"

3-29-13

Technology company Digital PowerRadio, run by former FCC Chairman Mark Fowler, says its invented a technology that will significantly improve the coverage and deployment of HD Radio. Dr. Brana Vojcic (pictured), who invented the technology, is a George Washington University professor and an expert in advanced radio techniques. Vojcic will make presentations at the NAB Show in Vegas. Beasley Broadcasting CEO George Beasley says, ?This can be a game changer for radio broadcasters and we?re very excited about this new technology." Beasley has invested in the technology.

The company says what they have will significantly improve the performance and coverage of currently deployed HD Radio systems through enhanced receiver processing techniques. "The technology requires no changes in existing transmission formats or infrastructure; the coverage gains are achieved through changes in radio receivers? baseband receiver chip."

Fowler says ?The DPR technology offers a superior HD Radio system that achieves maximum performance, and drives greater consumer adoption and use. It provides a growth vehicle for the broadcast industry into all kinds of radios, including mobile handset platforms, such as smart phones,? Fowler added.

The presentation will be held from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Room S 224 on April 8th and on April 9, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, in Room S 224.

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Outlander To Feature HD Radio Technology

12-3-2012

Mitsubishi Motors has announced it will become the first automaker to integrate audio entertainment and real-time traffic services using HD Radio Technology. The 2014 Outlander will be the first Mitsubishi vehicle to receive both real-time traffic information integrated into its navigation system as well as the upgraded audio and expanded content and features of digital AM and FM broadcasts, all delivered with HD Radio Technology.
HD radio delivers digital-only local FM channels known as HD2/HD3, PSD (Program Service Data), which display song titles and artist names on the radio screen; iTunes Tagging which allows listeners to store song information with the touch of a button for later purchase and download through iTunes; Artist Experience which enables images that match the audio content to be displayed on the radio screen; and now, free lifetime traffic and data information sent directly to a vehicles radio or navigation system. HD Radio Technology is subscription free broadcast radio.

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"The Technology Problem is on Your Side, Not Ours."

8-29-2012

Ad-Insertion technology has been in the news quite a bit lately after Saga Executive Vice President Warren Lada voiced his disappointment with the technology. He points out that not only is the ad revenue not there, the technology radio has to work with degrades their product. Levels are off, and transitions from spots to music are poorly timed. He says, it?s a product that broadcasters would never put out over the air so why should they stream it. Today we hear from Triton?s Mike Agovino who, as you would imagine, has a different take on the issue.

So, you probably disagree with Warren Lada
Agovino: I have always had a healthy respect for SAGA. They have certainly been consistent winners in their markets over the years and have some great brands. But, they have definitely been outspoken in trying to recruit others into their way of thinking on this. To me, the only logic behind trying to recruit anyone else into this kind of thinking is so that you've got some company when people start pointing fingers down the road a bit about antiquated thinking.

I just don't understand. If they had done a legitimate analysis and come up with the findings they say they came up with, why it would matter to them whether or not anyone else joined their cause. It seems to have become a cause, and they are out doing a bit of politicking about it. It's just strange to me that this is a strategy for a broadcaster. I don't know why you would be propagandizing it.

RI: There is something to be said about the transitions. It's not real clean.
Agovino: It depends on a number of things. I can tell you that our solution is very clean. It's very clean when it's being utilized the right way. The very first noise was made on this maybe 8 weeks ago. I had a rather exhaustive internal analysis done where we listen to a bunch of different client streams. I?m not going to tell you we didn't find instances where there were clunky transitions or where there were different audio levels. But what we did find was 100% of those issues were correctable with proper attention to detail on how the audio and data are getting to the stream. In other words, those were issues on the broadcast side, not issues on the technology side.

From their side, they really wanted this to be a "set it and forget it" kind of technology where you don't put any thought into it. There is just not a lot of technology our there that you are going to optimize it's value by putting no time and attention towards learning how to use it, no effort towards becoming an internal expert on it. If you don't pay attention to it, well then of course, especially over a period of time, it is not going to sound the way that it certainly can sound if it is properly administered. My position to you would be speaking for Triton, but I think I am speaking for a broader cross-section of the vendors in this space that without the broadcaster taking an active role, being a participant, understanding how to administer the technology the right way and to devote some resources, the quality is going to suffer. My position on that would be that in 100% of the instances that we have examined over the last 6 to 8 weeks, the problem has been on the broadcast side, administering, not on the technology not doing what it's supposed to.

RI: Part of what Waren is saying, when you add it all up the cost is too high.
Agovino: The fact of the matter is, the average radio station, and I will give you the high side,  all-in on license and ad serving technology, is looking at a few hundred dollar per month. Even a top ten market station delivering a meaningful audience online is maybe running into a couple thousand dollars a month in cost for that individual station. Your costs are variable based upon advertising. So, they are not incurring variable costs unless selling ads. By definition you are monetizing or you wouldn't have that expense. The whole idea of this having to do with expense associated with the technology is just plain ridiculous.

RI: Are broadcasters making their money back through sales?
Agovino: Of course they are. The thing they are not making back and what this is mainly all about is the royalty payments. The royalty payments are at the very heart of all issues associated with online audio. The fact of the matter is, the artists and the labels are not going to flinch unless they get some movement on the over the air side. The broadcasters aren't going to flinch on the on-air side, until they are so fearful of their futures that they finally have to flinch. I don't know which will come first. That's what is at the core of things. The cost to stream and exert advertising are hard to manage in the equation. The overwhelming majority of the expense of streaming is the royalty aspect. That is the battle that is going on.

I assure you, that none of this is about the cost of our technology or any other vendors in the space. It may have a little bit more to do with costs that they would see themselves incurring to execute with excellence. That's possible. But, that's the same thing as saying, "I could have a great morning show, but I?m going to choose not to. I'm going to take this show out of syndication because it's cheap and I can get 50% of the ratings." It's all short-sighted decision making. In the online model, there is only one economic deterrent. That is the oppressive royalty circumstance. 

RI: So you think Saga is wrong for streaming its on-air signal
Agovio: Saga is short-sighted. If they did any sort of deeper analysis of where the advertising market was going, and what the Fortune 1000 are expecting, the last thing it would've told them is that they should walk away from distribution and platforms where they learn more about their audience and are able to target across a broad section of attributes and able to join aggregation plays that democratize audience size. It would all point to not investing less here but investing more here. It?s disappointing that any broadcaster operating in 2012 could believe this was the right strategy. Despite the propaganda, I have strong faith that very few are going to follow despite all of the economic challenges that exist today. I expect very few people to follow this line of thinking.

RI: So, you are not worried that somebody is going to call you up and cancel plans to ad insert?
Agovino: I?m not going to tell you that I don't think there?s a possibility that some other folks would join Saga, because I?m not going to tell you that Saga is the only company in the industry that doesn't get it. But, I know that there are a lot of companies that do get it and a lot of companies that are forward thinking and a lot of companies that understand the transitions that are going on in consumer behavior and the advertising marketplace. What I am very confident in is that there will not be a lot of companies that go down the road that they are going down and you are not going to see many of the real market leading companies do it.

(8/31/2012 6:28:58 AM)
Re: "That said, unless ad-insertion software vastly improves, I don't see how broadcasters will not be forced to ultimately broadcast their on-air signal to the stream. Why? Because streaming software cannot handle complex orders, or oversell."

I cannot point to a better example of someone speaking without knowledge than Christina's comment above. The problem is that we have computer ignorance running rampant in radio, and the powers-that be-need to get a grip on educating themselves to what ad insertion software can do.

You will not, can not, step into the digital world and be operating by tomorrow - regardless of the view by "Buzz Lightyear: "...rather than blaming your customers because your product doesn't do that, why don't you focus on delivering the solution that actually suits your clients' needs?"

The product does exactly suit what radio needs. But customers also need to spend time understanding how to best use what the software is capable of doing. It's in this area that radio has collectively fallen down. (Wait, because what's on the software drawing boards will soon make your head spin faster.) Radio execs, for the most part, simply have no idea of what lies ahead.

The troubling part is how this whole conversation revolves around spot placement software. Nobody's mentioning the analytics and metrics part yet, which are ingrained in nearly every digital buy (outside of radio) today.

(8/30/2012 9:50:00 PM)
Mr. Agovino fails to mention Saga still sells pre-rolls, title sponsorships, and display ads in our streams. All of which have had a greater impact for our clients than in-stream injection. We're also still able to segment our audience.

We're making major changes this year to our digital platform that we feel will improve and advance our efforts drastically. We're focusing on the digital big picture.

Matt Nystrom
Interactive Operations Director
Saga Communications
mnystrom@sagacom.com

(8/30/2012 3:16:33 PM)
Ink covered WPRO-FM Providence yesterday (http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2521418) saying they do it right...have to agree, sounds pretty damn good all day. So someone figured it out in Rhode Island, you'd think larger markets could too...
(8/30/2012 1:04:19 PM)
Buzz, gotta step in for Mike on this one. A PC runs streaming at your station. If you leave your desktop on for the next week with 20 windows open, you're going to have performance problems...same with streaming. Just like there's no set & forget for computers, streaming just needs a reboot regularly to keep running. Clint, good point...daily maintenance is really less than 10 min daily and then some regular listening to keep things in check.
(8/30/2012 12:57:22 PM)
Damon, try this on your next presentation. It works (my teams sold $6m+ to local clients in 2011). "Here's the 2 wk schedule we discussed. I know that in-office listening is important for you & you'd like to reach our audience all month, but don't have the budget. I've added 20 spots/wk, M-F 6a-8p for 4 weeks in our "At-work-daypart" for our audience listening online w/ a banner on the player for more info. The cost is equal to 3 on-air spots.". Try it, I think you'll like the results

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Ad Insertion Technology Disappoints Broadcasters

8-24-2012

(by Ed Ryan) A "significant representation" of the radio industry using ad-insertion for their online streams is seriously considering abandoning the technology and replacing it with their over-the-air signals. The announcement that Apple has a patent that may eventually be able to remove ads from a stream may push these groups to decide to make the switch sooner rather than later, but that's not the only reason. Streaming has become a very hot topic among many broadcasters and that is sure to continue at the Radio Show in Dallas next month. Here's what we know about what's being discussed now.

While broadcasters know they need to be everywhere consumers want them to be, losing gobs of money to be there is not something they signed up for. They say when ad-insertion technology is used it degrades the sound of their radio stations, turning off consumers. Streaming has become a very expensive cost of doing business and the reward for doing so has not yet paid off. For most, the fees paid to SoundExchange and the cost of bandwidth alone make streaming a losing proposition. When you tack on the cost of the technology paid out to make ad-insertion a part of a radio station stream, it adds to the financial headache.

All of those expenses add up before local salespeople or a rep firm even pitches a digital package. And, let's face it, in the grand scheme of things, the online listening numbers for an individual station don't even compare to over-the-air broadcasts. Radio's biggest listening numbers still remain in the car, in the home and through a traditional signal. And, as we've written before, until a reliable, easy-to-understand, and easy to pitch ratings system is invented for all of radio, online numbers, for most, are just a guessing game. Radio reps need to be able to easily present a combination of numbers to advertisers and that's what broadcasters are waiting for. "Here's what you get over-the-air. Here's what you get online. Here's the price."

A large number of broadcasters, meeting informally about once every month, has a list of concerns about ad-insertion technology that's pushing them closer and closer to flipping the switch to their over-the-air signal. The transitions are clunky and often the levels do not match when a stopset concludes and the music starts. When stopsets are not filled with paid ads they have to be filled with something. Smokey The Bear has been making a big comeback online. Nothing sounds worse than 7 minutes of Public Service Announcements in a row. And, the revenue is just not there yet. Despite being bullish on digital, and broadcasters touting big revenue percentage increases, that number is still small. At the local level, it's nearly impossible to know for sure if a digital dollar is a real digital dollar or if that dollar would have been spent over-the-air anyway.

Years ago, the issue of running a full stream of programming including commercials had to do with concerns over AFTRA talent fees (Read Broadcast Attorney John Garziglia's Blog on Streaming HERE). That concern seems nearly non-existent today and broadcasters believe they can work that out so their stations sound cleaner online.

(8/24/2012 6:37:41 AM)
Amen! I listen to WABC, New York frequently, and their ad insertion ruins the flow of the format. For a lifelong programmer and engineer, it makes me want to 'tear my ears off'. Its just clunky, and not the quality of one of the biggest stations in the country. And, when they fill with "WABC will be right" with fill-music, thats just awful. Let me hear the local ads. At least it would sound better.

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(AUDIO) Emmis, iBiquity to Unveil New HD Technology

4-10-2012

The NAB LABS commissioned Emmis Interactive, Intel Corporation and iBiquity Corporation to develop a standardized HD Radio Smartphone eco-system. The effort includes an "end-to-end" platform that provides an Advanced HD Radio Smartphone App and the next generation of TagStation, the broadcast insertion system that powers it all. We spoke to Emmis SVP/Chief Technology Officer Paul Brenner yesterday about the press conference and why what they have to say is important to broadcasters and the Cell phone industry.

Next Monday at Noon at the iBiquity booth at the NAB in Vegas, Kevin Gage, EVP and Chief Technology Officer at the NAB will be joined by iBiquity President and CEO Bob Struble, Intel's Dr. David Rolston Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan and Emmis Interactive Founder and Co-President Rey Mena to unveil the results from their work. We spoke to Emmis SVP/Chief Technology Officer Paul Brenner yesterday about the press conference and why what they have to say is important to broadcasters and the Cell phone industry.

Here's our interview with BRENNER

(4/10/2012 8:56:44 PM)
It's very sad when the day comes that our large station owners who own this HD technology tries to force all the rest and majority of the radio station owners to adopt HD that will never because of reception problems due to the law of physics be better than the worldwide installed FM technology that work excellent in mobile and sensitive reception areas like NY, etc !! Wow now they want it in a cell phone ?
Would it not ne easier for a standard FM chip !!!!!
(4/10/2012 12:01:22 PM)
Why aren't we seeing stand-alone HD radios in vehicles? These automakers are only including HD Radio in expensive Sync, Entune, and IntelliLink systems. Is iBiquity trying to hide the true costs on installing HD Radio from the law firms of Keefe Bartels and Wolf? Is it because BMW and Volvo have tried HD Radio standard, but ened up with serious, on-going TSBs/recalls, and have to replace these expensive, "defective" HD radios with other "defective" HD radios? Only a few FM-HD stations have expressed interest in upping power, and still no word on the asymmetrical side-bands. Could it be only a few FM-HD stations are really interested? Why do stations continue to abandon their HD Radio signals? What's truely driving the automakers? Did iBiquity dupe them in tests, or perhaps as Rich Wood suspects, the automakers never really tested HD radio. Volvo is offering the Premium VIII HD Radio with Artist Experience, but iBiquity admitted to serious flaws in their implementation. Think this has something to do with iBiquity's hopes of going IPO?
(4/10/2012 11:33:35 AM)
The problem with radios in phones has been FM reception because of the lack of an antenna. Some phones use the headphone wire as an antenna.

Until HD stations take full advantage of the maximum power levels allowed, HD Radio will not solve the reception problem in phones.

OTOH, HD Radio in new vehicles is going gangbusters. Chrysler and Nissan are are lagging, but they'll announce soon.

Time for all FM stations to go HD. Time for the FCC to set analog sunset dates.

(4/10/2012 10:56:35 AM)
Car makers ARE putting HD Radios in their vehicles. VW, Jaguar, Ford, GM, Cadillac, BMW, Hyundai, Land Rover, Mini, Audi, Scion, Kia, Rolls Royce, Toyota, Lincoln, Volvo, and Tesla all offer HDRadio. With the exception of Chrysler (which is coming) this is a very complete list. I'll admit that HDRadio is not catching on as fast as we would all like, but lets not forget how long it took for FM to become the dominant band and it offered Stereo and vastly superior sound quality!
(4/10/2012 9:30:36 AM)
This is actually a brilliant move. Folks, me included, already use our phones to listen to web radio. A chip like this puts HD radio on an even footing. It's what this technology needed since no one is rushing out to buy HD capable radios and car makers aren't putting them in vehicles. This may actually salvage some of the money wasted on HD so far.

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Struble: "HD Radio Technology is Now Mainstream."

iBiquity CEO Robert Struble tells Radio Ink, "This has been HD Radio Technoloigy's best CES ever by any measure - new product announcements, new advanced feature introductions, booth size, business meetings and attendance." Struble says HD had its biggest booth which included products and five new cars with HD Radio receivers from Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, Kia and Scion. HD also had 60 new radio product announcements including new low cost HD Radio table top units and a host of new aftermarket car radios. We spoke with Struble following the show in Vegas

You made a lot of announcements. What's the most significant?
Really hard to say, but based on the importance of in-car listening to AM/FM, probably the progress of HD Radio Technology in cars. 22 automakers are now building HD Radio receivers in their vehicles, many as standard equipment. These manufacturers are adding advanced HD Radio services such as iTunes Tagging and Artist Experience, the ability to broadcast images such as album covers, helping radio stay competitive with other digital offerings. Millions of HD Radio equipped vehicles are on the road, and we will add millions more this year, including the first cars from General Motors.

The battle for the dashboard is out of control. What are your thoughts about that?
It is more intense then you can imagine, and radio broadcasters need to step up their game. The days of radio's near monopoly position in the dashboard are a fading memory. It is clear that now or in the very near future, all cars will have internet connectivity and the standard offering will include streaming services like Pandora and iHeart Radio, social app integration like twitter, satellite radio, iPod USB integration and data storage for music libraries. Unless broadcasters upgrade their offering to digital to meet consumer expectations and work together to deliver a compelling and consistent consumer experience, they risk AM/FM becoming a forgotten app in the digital dashboard.

What message will you bring back from Vegas for broadcasters, that they need to hear?
The time for HD Radio Technology is now. I looked hard, and across almost 2 million square feet of exhibit space and thousand of exhibitors, I did not find one single analog technology besides AM/FM. That is not healthy. CES showed that there are entire digital industries gunning for radio's audience and ad dollars. The industry must upgrade to over-the-air digital HD Radio broadcasting to address these competitive threats.

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Cue The HD Technology Please

First Pandora, now HD. The new 2012 Cadillac CUE system will include HD Radio  in the Cadillac XTS luxury sedan. HD Radio will become a feature in new Cadillac models in the 2012 calendar year."HD Radio is an excellent addition to CUE, the groundbreaking user experience for connectivity and control that will debut next year in the new XTS luxury sedan", says Hampden Tener, Product Director, Cadillac.

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Beasley Teams With Quu To Demo New Technology

Quu is unveiling new technology that enables advertisers to extend their reach - visually - to millions of listeners on RDS and HD equipped Radios. Developed in collaboration with Jump2Go, the technology allow listeners to view cover art on compatible HD equipped radios while listening to a song, and for the first time they will be able to ?see? advertiser images & messages.

Messages will appear on RDS equipped radios as well. For this purpose, Quu has created a state of the art content management system that gives radio stations the flexibility of rotating promo?s during music, jock talk or
ad time, as they see fit.

Quu will be at Booth # 625 at this week's Radio show. The Beasley Broadcast Group will be the first radio company to integrate the ?Advertiser xperience.? This past June, Beasley began the process of placing Quu?s suite of interactive content and technology solutions on Beasley?s portfolio of radio stations. Additionally, the Company became a minority investor in Quu, Inc. For more information please visit http://www.quuinteractive.com/.

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2012 Kia Soul Includes HD Technology

HD Radio is on a roll. Kia is the latest vehicle rolling out new vehicles with HD in the dash. Kia says they would be offering HD Radio Technology in their 2012 Kia Soul model to be launched soon.  The Soul will be the 4th vehicle in the Kia family to offer HD Radio Technology.  The Optima, Sorento, and Sportage models have already hit dealers offering HD Radio Technology.

19 automotive brands have announced that HD Radio Technology is or will be available as a factory installed feature including Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, MINI USA, Rolls-Royce, Scion, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo. 

The iTunes tagging feature is also continuing its rapid adoption with Ford, Subaru, and Scion being the first to offer it and Toyota and Lexus announcing that all of its radios with HD Radio Technology will also include the feature. Today, there are over 2,000 AM & FM stations broadcasting with HD Radio Technology with more than 1,300 additional digital only FM HD2/HD3/HD4 multicast channels sending new exciting programming.

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Now Lexus To Offer HD Radio Technology

Lexus has announced they will be offering HD Radio Technology with the iTunes? Tagging in its 2013 GS 350 model.  The vehicle along with HD Radio Technology made its debut during the Pebble Beach Concours d?Elegance event.  This is the 1st vehicle from Lexus to announce that it will launch HD Radio Technology. With Lexus, HD Radio Technology is or will be available as a factory installed feature from 19 automotive brands including Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, MINI USA, Rolls-Royce, Scion, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

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Mexico Approves HD Radio Technology

June 17, 2011

The decision authorizing the In Band On Channel (IBOC) system became official yesterday when the COFETEL regulation was published in the Diario Oficial de la Nacion ? the Federal Register of Mexico.  The official regulation was publicized during a Presidential press conference held at Los Pinos, and included the following statement by President Felipe Calderon: ?I want to invite you to invest in your radio stations, and to take advantage of these new conditions that have just been created, to bring to our country the very latest technology that will allow you to offer much better radio to all Mexicans. We have the opportunity to position ourselves as a world leader.?  

The decision by COFETEL to accept HD Radio Technology as a digital standard for Mexico allows for broadcaster?s voluntary use of the iBiquity technology in hybrid mode (analog & digital) by both AM and FM station licensees, as well as the use of iBiquity multicasting technology.  The regulation authorizes nationwide implementation of HD Radio Broadcasting.

Robert Struble, President & CEO of the Company stated, ?we are delighted that our IBOC System has been recognized by COFETEL as the right technology to upgrade the Mexican radio industry to a digital platform.  HD Radio broadcasting provides tremendous new services to listeners, and presents unique opportunities to broadcasters, their advertisers and the consumer electronics industry.  The global importance of the Mexico economy and this development represents major progress toward a common digital radio standard in North America.?

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NAB Hires New Chief Technology Officer

The National Association of Broadcasters has hired Kevin Gage to the newly created position of CTO. The NAB hired an outside firm to conduct the search. It took 4 months to find Gage. He has 20 years of experience developing digital platforms in television and music. NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith says Gage's experience bringing game-changing technologies to market will serve broadcasters well.

Gage will lead NAB's technology efforts, including oversight of the current staff that represents NAB on a variety of standard-setting organizations, and which serves as the liaison to the engineering and technology community.

Gage's career includes stints at Warner Bros. Studios, where he helped develop the DVD Specification and production facilities at the film studio. While at Warner Bros., Gage helped launch The WB Network, and was a founding member of the Advanced Television Enhancement Forum, a cross-industry initiative that developed standards for interactive TV. Gage later became head technologist at Warner Music Group, where he oversaw creation of new digital platforms and standards for products that included iTunes. While at NBC Universal, Gage was responsible for developing online TV strategies.

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