[BC] Our Salvation. The HD Dominion

[Rich Wood]

------ At 09:40 AM 1/12/2006, Davis, Steve - SVP wrote: -------

>Formats are being determined via this mechanism as we speak.  We will
>soon be able to enjoy more variety and commercial-free content on free
>radio!  My hope for all of us is that this new content will ehance the
>relevance of free radio to the listening public, thus helping those of
>us on this list currently employed in the free radio industry to
>continue to work in this business which many of us love.

More press release-ese. Why do I have the feeling I've just stumbled 
onto Comedy Central or the Alito hearings at the political speech 
part? What "new" content? Who can hear it? When will they be able to 
hear it on devices like they currently use? Besides my FlyaHondaBuz 
Flyer I've seen no announcements of portable/mobile devices. You 
know, the devices that are killing radio. There had better be an 
IBUZPod real soon.

I'll believe this tripe when the HD Dominion participants put as much 
money into their secondaries as their main and treat them as real 
radio stations. So far, if WCBS-HD2 is a representative example, the 
prognosis isn't good. Let's put third rate stuff on our secondaries 
and people will flock to buy expensive radios to hear the equivalent 
of an iPod on shuffle. I can buy a real iPod for less than an IBUZ 
receiver. I'm beginning to receive the post CES issues of the several 
dozen professional trade magazines I receive for audio/recording 
gear. Not a single mention of IBUZ in any one of them. HD still means 
big screen TV.

Both XM and SIRIUS had their 100 channels up and running before the 
first radio was sold. Unless the same is done with IBUZ, I see no 
future, considering the downside of artifacts and interference. Will 
the HD Dominion mediate complaints when one member interferes with 
another? You forget, I've had an IBUZ receiver. I don't understand 
how members of the HD Dominion can continue to fire people to please 
Wall Street and expect listeners to ooh and ahh over the mechanized 
content that results.

Has the HD Dominion figured out how they're going to separate the 
listeners who get credited to the main call letters but didn't hear 
the commercials? How will they deal with ad agencies who ask if 
they're paying for phantom listeners?

I did another sweep of custom installers and big box stores, both to 
see what effect Stern was having on sales and how IBUZ receivers were 
selling. SIRIUS receivers are flying off the shelves because of 
Stern. They do mourn the fact that Willie isn't going to buy one, but 
they expect to survive. Every store has told me I'm still the first 
and only person to ask about HD Radio. I was told custom installers 
are usually on the leading edge of technology. Not a single one of 
the five I visited had even heard of HD radio. I'm doing more to 
inform them about it than anyone else, it seems. I give them the 
manufacturer's web address and the page number of the Crutchfield 
catalog. I say absolutely nothing negative about the system. It'll be 
interesting when I do it all over again next month. The manufacturer 
should be paying me for spreading the word.

As anyone who has seen Jabba the HD's movie counterpart, he's one 
mondo dude. He represents more than a single individual. He's a 
symbol of fat n' happy folks who are content with programmus 
interruptus as the product we lead with. I really wish there could be 
a programming list where all the programming lurkers could 
participate without fear of losing their jobs. Since I know most of 
the programmers who lurk (many were my affiliates at ABC and WOR even 
in the days of Jacor, AM/FM and the dozens of other companies that 
are now Clear Channel) I get off list emails from many who are 
astounded at the HD Dominion's expectations and approaches. I'll 
speak for them where they ask me to but never put their jobs at risk.

Of course, most of them will have been fired by downsizing before 
IBUZ ever gets off the ground. Wall Street always needs fresh meat. 
At a time when we should expect a flood of new programming jobs, 
programmers are still expecting to lose theirs. Alice in Wonderland 
is confused.

It's Lee Iacocca, all over again, complaining to Washington that the 
Japanese won't buy American cars that are too big for their roads and 
have the steering wheel on the wrong side. The Japanese call them 
pimpmobiles. Instead of building relevant products we're expecting 
the marketplace to respond to our needs. When I was with Kaiser 
Broadcasting we followed Henry J. Kaiser's motto of "Find a need and 
fill it." The need always came from the customer side.

We should take heed.

Rich