WBCN’s HD-2 channel is a joke

Just after singing the praises of local radio, it’s unfortunately time to give a major Thumbs Down to WBCN’s HD-2 channel.

HD Radio is a relatively new technology being introduced to combat the many challenges to Time Spent Listening and Audience levels of terrestrial radio (for example, ipod listening, Internet listening, Satellite listening).

XM and Sirius Satellite Radio did such an excellent job with their marketing and PR machines that they created cults of personality around their brands, convincing many that terrestrial radio (i.e. AM and FM) was dead. Well, this month both companies are attempting to skirt FCC regulations and antitrust laws in their attempt to created a merged XM-Sirius monopoly. Part of the responsibility of TV and radio stations’ maintaining their licenses is to serve the public. Years ago, the FCC granted two satellite broadcasting licenses in an attempt to further technology without creating a monopoly.

What XM and Sirius fail to mention are their million and millions of dollars in annual losses, while terrestrial radio continues to post solid annual profits in the billions. This merger stands to make lots of money for attorneys and investment bankers, and leave their paying subscribers in the dust with fewer choices with the merged company, and vulnerability to out-of-control price increases. Shame on them.

HD Radio is a digital broadcast by existing AM and FM stations. AM stations in HD sound crystal-clear (like FM), and FM sounds like CD-quality audio with no static or pops. The broadcasting ranges of HD Radio broadcasts, however, are not as geographically expansive as the FM and AM streams. You either receive it or you don’t – no static. WBZ 1030 AM, for example, sounds incredible in HD (when they’re not broadcasting opinionated out-of-touch buffoons).

Many stations in Boston are up and running on HD. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people do not own HD Radio receivers, despite the broadcasting industry’s promotion of the technology. The price point of the receivers is too high for consumers to justify. Once the receivers are given away for free, then HD will better permeate the population.

FM stations can run “side channels” (i..e WBCN HD-2) of separate, unique programming that could complement their main channel, or be entirely different. Jam’n 94.5, for example, runs Old-Skool Hip-Hop on their HD-2. Magic 106.7 runs Smooth Jazz. WBCN calls their HD-2 channel “Indie 104-1”

Stations are facing the chicken and the egg syndrome right now – which comes first…good programming to very few listeners, or more listeners to lead to better programming. WBCN must pay very little time to their HD-2 channel, because it’s always running on haywire.

There are 3 songs that I’m pretty much guaranteed to hear at least one of them if I listen for any given hour – Franz Ferdinand’s “The Fallen,” Yellowcard’s “Ocean Avenue,” or The White Stripes’ “The Denial Twist.” I bought my HD Radio about a year ago (after all, it is my industry and the receiver a tax write off!), and it’s been this way ever since.

This morning, I was doing tax stuff, and popped on WBCN’s HD-2. At first, I thought things had changed with their HD-2 programming, but then things turned ugly, very quickly. I started writing down the songs they played in order of broadcast:

Fall Out Boy – Sugar, We’re Going Down
Muse – Knights of Cydonia
Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue
The White Stripes – Black Math
OK Go – Here We Go Again
Unwritten Law – Seeing Red
Foo Fighters – No Way Back
The Used – The Taste of Ink
+44 – When Your Heart Stops Beating
The Raconteurs – Level
Foo Fighters – Times Like These (acoustic)
AFI – Days of the Phoenix
Foo Fighters – Best of You
AFI – Love Like Winter
Muse – Time Is Running Out
New Found Glory – It’s Not Your Fault
Foo Fighters – All My Life
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – Face Down
The Used – Take It Away
Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue
Jet – Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Brand New – Sic Transit Gloria
Franz Ferdinand – The Fallen
Beck – Nausea
Muse – Hysteria
The Killers – When You Were Young
Story of the Year – Until The Day I Die
Dashboard Confessional – Rooftops & Invitations
Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out
Franz Ferdinand – Do You Want To
My Chemical Romance – Welcome to the Black Parade
Franz Ferdinand – The Fallen
People on Planes – Barracuda
Keane – Somewhere Only We Know
Taking Back Sunday – Liar
Muse – Time Is Running Out
The White Stripes – The Denial Twist

I stopped writing down songs once I heard one all my guaranteed 3 – only 37 songs in. That’s about 2 ¼ hours at 3 minutes 30 seconds per song. Only 24 unique artists (23 is you put The White Stripes and The Raconteurs together), and 3 songs repeated. I get why some stations repeat songs every 2 hours or so (audience tunes in for short amounts of time, and since the audience is constantly changing, it’s important to play the hottest songs as often as possible without being excessive). But with barely anybody listening, this is the time to be adventurous. Go deeper with core artists. Broaden the artists on the play list. And, for God’s sake, pay attention to the music flow – the artist separation is nonexistent because nobody at WBCN is paying attention to this. It’s embarrassing for them.

After having written this, and keeping the WBCN HD-2 on, I heard 2 more “guaranteed to hear” songs – My Chemical Romance’s “I’m Not Okay “ and Queens of the Stone Age’s “No One Knows.” All their guaranteed songs are decent, but I shouldn’t expect to hear all of them in any 3 hour period…for an entire year.

Major thumbs down, WBCN. You should be better than this. Pay attention to your HD-2….some of your audience is already.