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HD Radio Teetering between Folly and Evolutionary Leap »
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HD Radio Teetering between Folly and Evolutionary Leap
Nearly 1,500 US radio stations have prepared their transmitters for HD, but four years after the first HD Radio broadcast, less than half of internet-savvy radio listeners have heard of HD Radio - and some are likely confusing it with satellite -Â according to research by Paragon.
Just 42% of a nationwide sample of 707 radio listeners age 14-64 who completed an online survey about HD Radio said they are aware of HD Radio, compared with 85% who said they are aware of internet radio and 87% aware of satellite radio.
Among the other findings of the study:
- Of the of the 42% who say they are aware of HD Radio:
- 35% mistakenly believe HD Radio requires a monthly fee, whereas 40% say there is no fee.
- 32% mistakenly believe XM or Sirius Satellite radio are example of HD Radio.
- 62% correctly believe HD expands the number of available stations.
- 73% correctly believe a specially designed radio is needed to receive HD signals.
- 84% correctly believe HD makes stations sound better.
- Those who actually own an HD Radio - just 11% of those who have heard of HD - say they are listening to radio more often as a result.
- 85% of those who have heard of HD Radio say they do not own one, and 4% don’t know whether they do.
- Among the vast majority - some 95% - who do not own an HD Radio:
- If an HD radio were to cost $40, some 81% say they would be likely (very or somewhat) to purchase one.
- However, if an HD radio were to cost $200, just 36% say they would be likely to purchase one.
- Other findings:
- Two-thirds of women have never heard of HD Radio.
- Just 35% of those who have heard of HD Radio are able to name a radio station broadcasting in HD.
- The top 4 unprompted responses to how listeners would describe HD Radio dealt with improved technical quality (rather than, say, greater number of stations).
- After hearing a list of attributes, however, two-thirds said, “Yes, there will be more stations with HD Radio.
