Hint: It pays to think like a merchant
By Deb Huttenburg
Broadcasters would do well to think like merchants when it comes to utilizing the extended hybrid capacity of HD Radio, which enables them to add almost half as much digital capacity as of late last year.
Going from a 96kb/s HD Radio hybrid stream up to 146kb/s extended HD Radio hybrid operation is the equivalent of a merchant raising the roof on a warehouse or adding rows of retail shelving for more products.
And the best part is that extended hybrid operation essentially fits the same operational footprint as before, yet offers way more capacity in which to add more programs, more text data, and more opportunities of all kinds.
So, what should you do with all that extra output?
Some BE customers will tell you to sell more of the goods and services you currently offer, that is, add program channels. Other BE customers will tell you to use it to break into new datacasting opportunities, such as leasing part of the data stream to third parties in addition to iTunes tagging and selling text ads. And, still others will advise you to do all the above.
Whatever you decide, there’s likely to be some revenue involved. We know of at least one broadcaster who plans to time broker HD2 and HD3 channels, and another selling ads and sponsorships to new digital programs. Quite a few BE customers are also collecting a surcharge on HD Radio text readouts giving advertiser phone numbers and website addresses on the face of radios at the same time the advertiser spot is aired (thanks to BE’s The Radio Experience message manager software).
It obviously pays to think like a merchant.
Music channels, how many and how much?
If it’s more programming you’re after, you can divvy up the digital stream for broadcasting new channels by simply adding a multicast unit such as BE’s IDi 20 Data Importer to your RF chain. You can set the IDi 20 for as many channels as desired, however, from a technical perspective three music channels seems to be the magic number given the size of the HD Radio bit stream. Too many channels will compromise the quality of programming. The larger the channel in terms of bits per second, the more quality is able to come across to the listener. Talk formats generally require fewer bits, whereas full fidelity music will require more. Keep in mind, too, that you’ll want to allocate at least 24kb/s to a music channel if you’re going after a stereo sound.
Creating the right balance between bits available and any number of channels depends on the formats involved, the type of audience delivered to, and even the time of day. Some BE customers use the dynamic allocation feature available on their BE IDi 20 multicast units to reallocate bitrates on the fly. This lets them instantaneously assign more bits to one channel over another during certain dayparts, for example. This may be especially useful if you decide to lease out a chunk of bit stream to, say, content providers for in-car traffic or navigational systems, as at least one BE customer is doing.
Regardless of how you allocate the digital bit stream, it’s important to use an audio processor designed for HD Radio broadcast to get the most out of each channel. A made-for-HD Radio audio processor plays to the strengths and limitations of digital broadcast. For example, HD Radio multicasting does not have the bandwidth of analog FM in which to fit in more music dynamics, but it doesn’t have the noise floor that analog does, either.
Many BE customers use the AEROMAX-HD2SC audio processor, which is designed specifically for iBiquity’s low bit-rate HDC codec and is an affordable option available as part of BE’s IDi 20 Data Importer. The AEROMAX-HD2SC is made by lead codec pre-processing company Linear Acoustic and combines multiband gain control, compression and limiting with advanced psychoacoustic control to create a competitive, yet clean signal best suited for HDC encoding. Plus, with processing control on the IDi 20 Dashboard user interface, BE customers find it convenient to control all multicasting and processing functions from a single seat.
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Don’t forget to add text
And, just because you’ve decided to spend some of that extended HD Radio capacity on an additional program channel or two, it doesn’t mean you have to shelve your plans for introducing text readout services.
Each discrete program channel is able to send along with it program relevant text for readout on HD Radio receivers. The bitrates needed for text are minimal, so plenty of BE customers add text using our The Radio Experience message manager suite of applications. A few common messages for readout on radios are advertiser phone numbers and website addresses, weather reports, traffic updates and sports scores. Some of this data can be generated by the station, or can come from third parties. TRE offers ‘hooks’ into third-party databases for traffic, weather and other information that you can play as text on the radio.
Many BE customers will schedule their TRE systems to interleave these messages with ‘now playing’ song and title information so text readouts are constantly being refreshed to hold the interest of the listener. Personalized radio services such as iTunes tagging of songs that play on the station are also becoming popular options for stations operating in the extended hybrid mode, as is instant-messaging music alerts to mobile phones, two plug-in applications now available for TRE and being used by BE customers today.
Digital broadcasting opens up all sorts of opportunities, and ways to add a profit. The above are just a few. I’m sure you can come up with opportunities of your own!
Deb Huttenburg is Vice President Business Development and Marketing, Broadcast Electronics Quincy, Il
