Radio's Smarter Future
Arik Hesseldahl, 08.06.02, 10:00 AM ET
NEW YORK - Probably one of the great oversights in the history of consumer electronics design is that it's not possible to program an audio tape deck to record a favorite radio program when you're not there.
Sure, it's the most derided and poorly executed feature on a VCR. But fans of Rush Limbaugh, Garrison Keillor or Howard Stern wouldn't mind an easy way to record their favorite radio show when they can't be there themselves to press the "record" button.
It seems that the next generation of radio will correct that. Today IBiquity Digital, the privately held outfit cooking up the next generation of conventional radio technology that makes AM sound like FM and FM sound like a CD, says it is acquiring all the radio-related intellectual property of a firm called Command Audio.
Robert Struble, IBiquity's president and chief executive, says the technology will be incorporated into digital AM and FM radio systems that should start showing up in six cities around the U.S.--including New York and Los Angeles by January.
By grabbing Command Audio's technology, broadcasters should be able to experiment with new ways to send programming. One scenario often discussed is to put buttons on the radio receivers that call up instant traffic and weather reports--meaning no more waiting for "traffic and weather every ten minutes." Chances are the latest information will be stored in a hard drive contained within the radio itself and will be constantly updated as needed, so it can play instantly. And like the TiVo, listeners should be able to pause live programming and save it for later, maybe meaning an end to "parking songs"-- those great songs that always seem to come on just as you're parking the car.
IBiquity's mission is to defend conventional broadcast radio against the up-and-coming threat of satellite radio services, particularly XM Satellite Radio (nasdaq: XMSR - news - people ) and Sirius Satellite Radio (nasdaq: SIRI - news - people ). Both satellite services are now available nationally in the U.S. The satellite services, which charge monthly subscription fees, are getting plenty of buzz among people wanting something better than the bland mediocrity that conventional radio broadcasters seem intent on serving up these days.
But as it happens, XM had already been working on ways to incorporate Command Audio's technology into its service, and will probably end up paying IBiquity for the rights to use it going forward. Already, XM pays IBiquity royalties for its audio compression technology.
IBiquity's list of investors reads like a who's who of the broadcast radio cabal: The Walt Disney Co.'s (nyse: DIS - news - people ) ABC, Clear Channel (nyse: CCU - news - people ), Beasley Broadcasting ( nasdaq BBGI) , Cox Radio (nyse: CXR - news - people ) and Radio One (nasdaq: ROIA - news - people ). But the list also includes chipmaker Texas Instruments (nyse: TXN - news - people ), Ford Motor (nyse: F - news - people ), automotive electronics maker Visteon (nyse: VC - news - people ) and newspaper giant Gannett (nyse: GCI - news - people ).
Its business plan calls for licensing its technology to radio manufacturers and to collect royalties from stations that convert their existing facilities to broadcast a digital signal. And best of all for listeners, there's no subscription fee as there is with satellite radio--though digital-ready radios will likely sell at a sizable premium.
If IBiquity's plans to roll out digital services by the start of 2003 are still on track, you can expect to start hearing a lot more about digital radio in the months to come. Stay tuned.
