HD Radio Promotions
Some critics believe there are three primary methods by which HD radio can become successful.
1. Give the radios away for free, such as the alpine hd radio or the boston acoustic hd radio, polk hd radio, or the pioneer hd radio tuner.. That is, pay manufacturers to make HD radios standard in place of the conventional AM/FM radios they make now. This would be costly.
2. Legislate success. That is, lobby Congress to "outlaw" conventional radio in favor of HD, similar to what has been done for DTV. This is hardly a likely scenario.
3. "Content-ize" its way in. That is, put content on the HD stations which is unique and familiar and magnetic and remarkable. This is an expensive and risky route.
The well-publicized benefits of HD radio may be insufficiently attractive to motivate consumers to switch from the radios they use now - if consumers are expected to buy a new radio.
These benefits include: Variety of content and audio fidelity. Yet there is no evidence that either of these benefits are compelling enough to force change. Nor is there evidence to suggest that radio listeners are dissatisfied enough with their radio options to buy a radio to hear new ones. In fact, these same limitations hamper satellite radio, which is an important reason why satellite radio penetration is struggling to meet expectations.