Eliot Van Buskirk

Now on HD Radio: Subscriptions, Pay Per Hear, and More

A new "conditional broadcasting" feature for HD Radio called RadioGuard, from NDS, will allow owners of compatible HD radios to pay for premium content via a subscription, a one-time charge, or as part of a sponsored deal. I spoke with representatives from NDS last week under embargo; here are some tidbits from the meeting: – […]

NdsA new "conditional broadcasting" feature for HD Radio called RadioGuard, from NDS, will allow owners of compatible HD radios to pay for premium content via a subscription, a one-time charge, or as part of a sponsored deal. I spoke with representatives from NDS last week under embargo; here are some tidbits from the meeting:

- A radio acquires the ability to descramble the broadcasts by receiving a special key over the air that's embedded into the signal. Each radio can be identified, so content providers will be able to broadcast only to people who paid for something.

- HD radio "offers better quality of audio over digital signals compared to the quality of satellite," using the "advanced HDC codec" from Ibiquity at 96 Kbps or 128 Kbps.

- Adult content is an option, since access is conditional, but they "can't pre-suppose what the FCC is going to say about that."

- There are three ways in which this can operate:

  1. Subscription: possibly sold through cars' GPS features (among other places).
  2. Pay per listen: concerts.
  3. Opt-in: advertisers sponsor an event in return for demographic information while users register to listen for free.

- Users will be able to subscribe via the web or by calling an automated phone line.

- The system will be able to send specific ads to specific radios.

- The RadioGuard chips are slated to go on sale in the third quarterof the year; devices should be available to consumers by the holidays.

- Entry level units will cost $150-$200.

- They're primarily looking at home and car use right now (dealswith BMW and Lexus are in the works), because it's hard to design adevice like this to consume so little power that it can be carried awayfrom a power source.

- HD radio currently packs 3-4 channels into a single frequency; inthe future, that could rise to 8 channels. Overall, [update: they say] this could meanmore choice for consumers when it comes to localized content.

- Users who don't pay won't see the channels they can't get. However,
their devices will display a message that says, "call this number toactivate this channel."