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Study: HD Radio Awareness Dips
NEW YORK -- April 9, 2008: Arbitron and Edison Media Research's new "Infinite Dial: Radio's Digital Platforms" study found that consumer awareness of HD Radio is at 24 percent -- significantly lower than the 77 percent found in a Critical Mass Media study cited by the HD Digital Radio Alliance. Additionally, the Arbitron-Edison study showed that HD awareness has fallen slightly, from 26 percent in the January 2007 survey.
Edison VP Tom Webster said of the HD results, "Clearly, when we see an awareness curve that looks like this, change is necessary to bring about change. If broadcasters want to move the needle on awareness of HD, more and different measures are therefore called for."
A number of listeners to Wednesday's conference call on the study had questions about why the awareness numbers "seem low compared to some of the other studies that folks have seen," said Arbitron President/Sales & Marketing Pierre Bouvard.
Bouvard said, "It's important to remember that we asked the question very specifically."
Arbitron and Edison have used the same definition to describe HD Radio for respondents in the last three studies. That definition reads, "HD Digital Radio is a new technology that enables AM and FM radio stations to broadcast their signals digitally, providing listeners with vastly improved audio quality. In addition, HD Radio features new radio formats that may not be currently available on regular AM/FM radio in your area. HD Radio also allows for a digital display with song information, weather reports, and traffic alerts."
Bouvard said, "We went into great detail about the three aspects of HD and then asked the awareness question. There might be some other studies out there that simply say 'Are you aware of HD Radio?' And certainly, you might be getting a bigger number with that."
The study found that 29 percent of respondents were "very" or "somewhat" interested in HD Radio based on the description, with 41 percent "not at all interested." Webster said that 29 percent figure is "somewhat encouraging, and not necessarily far away from where satellite radio's numbers were at a comparable time in that technology's maturity cycle." But, he said, "Thirty percent interest does not equate to 30 percent market penetration, and the HD Radio Alliance and others have some more ground to cover."
Bouvard and Webster did not refer specifically to the HD Alliance or Critical Mass Media during the call.
Satellite Awareness Flat
With most recent news coverage concerned with their proposed merger, awareness of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio has stayed relatively flat, the study showed, at 59 percent for XM and 60 percent for Sirius in 2008's study, compared to 64 percent for XM and 60 percent for Sirius a year ago and 61 percent for both in 2006.
Among the respondents who aren't already satellite subscribers, 84 percent said they're "not at all likely" to sign up in the next 12 months, with 14 percent saying they are "somewhat likely" and 2 percent saying they're "very likely" to subscribe.
But based on Arbitron's fall 2007 survey (excluding the PPM markets), XM has a 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6 a.m.-midnight cume of 10.5 million, while Sirius has just over 7 million. That gives them a combined national rating of a .5 or .6, which, Bouvard noted, is "pretty darn respectable." He said, "We'll keep an eye on satellite as we move forward."
Arbitron and Edison interviewed 1,857 people between January 18 and February 15. Most respondents were chosen at random from a national sample of Arbitron fall 2007 diarykeepers, with a supplemental sample from random-digit dialing.
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