The HD Digital Radio Alliance of big broadcast group owners has revealed the first 28 markets in which they are readying launches of multicast programming, and the top 12 U.S. radio markets are among them. The group has also released more details on the kinds of formats we can expect on HD2 channels.
Alliance President/CEO Peter Ferrara says the first of the new formats are expected to go on the air in a few days.
The rollouts mark the first wide-scale launch of HD2 multicast channels, with each market airing what the groups call new and unique content. Through the selection process, each market gets its own mix of new programming.
Some of the new formats to be introduced in the first wave include a specialized opera format, Classical Alternative, Traditional Jazz & Blues, Coffee House, Female Talk, Future Country, Extreme Hip Hop, in-depth news and various new rock formats.
Including the 28 markets where multicast channels will be introduced, a total of some 264 new HD2 channels will be multicast.
(This version includes the corrected list of markets. Some versions of this story omitted McAllen, Texas.)
The first 28 markets are:
Rank Location
1 New York
2 Los Angeles
3 Chicago
4 San Francisco
5 Dallas-Fort Worth
6 Philadelphia,
7 Houston
8 Washington
9 Boston
10 Detroit
11 Atlanta
12 Miami
14 Seattle
20 Baltimore
24 Portland, Ore.
27 Cincinnati
33 San Jose, Calif.
41 Indianapolis
48 Memphis, Tenn.
50 Hartford, Conn.
57 Birmingham, Ala.
58 Dayton, Ohio
60 McAllen, Texas
64 Tulsa, Okla.
70 Albuquerque, N.M.
76 El Paso, Texas
80 Springfield, Mass.
94 Wichita, Kan.
