HD Radio Special Report #5

HD-2 formats: Where to take them?

One of the hottest topics in radio right now is the HD-2 formats. Should they be treated as brand new radio stations? How should they be promoted and cross-promoted? So far they are commercial-free and will be for almost two more years. Should that continue? A special note to commend CC Radio’s Format Lab, which is offering a big list of satellite-like formats for HD-2 channels. http://www.clearchannelmusic.com/formatlab/

One format in particular, “Undies Rock” (Underground + Indie Rock), with a few sub-par songs pulled from the playlist, would bring in quite a few 18-49 listeners. Undie is a place to hear all the new music from Indie bands. If we tune in now to many Alternative stations (including DC101 in Washington, DC), 95% of all the songs played have been burned out long ago. Their HD-2 format is not much better—“New Rock” should be replaced with their Undies channel, as it repeats many of the songs from the main signal. Let’s return radio to its rightful place in breaking new music. Not long ago, we asked some of the brightest minds in the biz to comment on a few HD-2 format issues:

Click the pdf download link below to read the full report.