Clear Channel Radio, which reaches 110 million listeners in the U.S., will immediately begin an aggressive rollout of digital broadcasting equipment to 1,000 of the company’s stations, working with iBiquity Digital Corporation’s HD Radio technology. Terms of the relationship were not disclosed.
The company plans to install 95% of its top 100 markets within three years.
“Digital radio is a transforming application and Clear Channel Radio is committed to passing on its benefits to our listeners,” said Kevin Lockhart Clear Channel’s senior vice president of technology development. “The ability to deliver radically improved, CD-quality radio programming and reception, along with data and related services, is a powerful advantage for the radio industry and an important advance for listeners.”
Terrestrial digital radio in the United States, also called HD Radio, was developed and owned by a private company, iBiquity, and is the official United States digital radio system.
The InBand, OnChannel, system uses current radio frequencies unlike the European system or satellite radio. It is a free service (so far). At NAB, iBiquity Showcased the First Transmission of Real-Time Traffic Data Using HD Radio Technology while Clear Channel announced Real-Time Traffic Visualizations via the HD Radio standard.
Pdatraffic.com delivers up to the minute SeaTraffic with color traffic maps on your PalmOS device. SeaTraffic is WiFi, GSM/GPRS, CDMA, and Bluetooth compatible. It supports PalmOne, Handspring, Samsung, and Kyocera phones and PDA’s.
How does it work? The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) gathers traffic data from sensors (loops) under selected roadways. This makes it possible to calculate the average speed of traffic and this information is sent to WSDOT computers. The WSDOT makes this data available to the public via the internet in a compressed file. SeaTraffic retrieves this file directly from the WSDOT servers, then interprets and formats this data to create the maps on your handheld.
Pdatraffic.com is reminisent of TrafficGauge
The Herald profiles Seattle-based TrafficGauge. TrafficGauge charges a $5-a-month subscription fee to transmit the data to users of its device. The founding partners, 30-year-old Ryan Peterson and Eric Meyer, 46, hope their little device has a big future in Seattle and elsewhere. Peterson and Meyer won’t comment much on how TrafficGauge transmits the information to the thousands of its devices in the Puget Sound area. The extent of their explanation is that it involves “radio waves.”
FM radio subcarriers can deliver road conditions to millions, all the time, everywhere.
Ibiquity is a private company partially owned by Clear Channel, ABC and Viacom. They have the patent for the FCC-approved HD Radio “standard”.
The digital signal is compressed and multiplexed onto a local FM station’s subcarrier. Digital radios can decode it as well as play regular analog FM radio broadcasts. Microsoft’s new “Spot” watches and devices may use HD Radio for things like weather and traffic reports. HD Radio stations are currently only available in a handful of markets in the United States.
The Clear Channel Radio Group owns over 1,200 radio stations and 37 television stations, controlling 60% of all rock radio programming in the United States. They have Gutted U.S. Radio, voice tracking local radio out of existance.
Clear Channel Outdoor, based in Phoenix Ariz., operates over 150,000 advertising displays in 42 U.S. markets, three South American countries, Mexico and Canada. In addition, it operates approximately 50% of the spectacular signage in Times Square, the signage programs at 15 major U.S. airports and at more than 200 malls.
Meanwhile, Clear Channel Entertainment (formerly known as SFX), can monopolize concert entertainment by virtue of local airplay and by owning and operating over 200 venues nationwide, as well as owning the tours of musicians like Janet Jackson, Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, Madonna and N’Sync. They air Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, Casey Kasem, and the Fox Sports Radio Network.
The Company also owns and operates approximately 29,000 advertising displays on taxis in 15 U.S. cities and has Franchise Agreements to provide external advertising on bus systems like the North County Transit District (NCTD) which operates within North San Diego County.
Since Clear Channel owns radio towers in every major city, they could easily install WiMax (especially 802.16e). Willl Clear Channel network their tens of thousands of billboards in major cities, supply mobile billboards on buses, or deliver ad-packed traffic info and news to everyone? What do you think?
Attach a $1000 Clear Channel box and it’s Times Square. Everywhere.
SmarTraveler, a Westwood One Company, provides real time traffic information in 83 U.S. cities. Westwood One, a radio station group owner, is the leading provider of traffic, news, sports, music, talk and entertainment programming to Web, wireless, in-vehicle and broadcast media.
DailyWireless has more on Radio Datacasting, PDA Traffic, Traffic Gauge, and Clear Channel: WAN Threat?
