“Satellite radio has opened the checkbook for talent, promotion and management,” Ibiquity Digital President/CEO Robert Struble told program consultants at Arbitron’s annual Fly-In. Struble and other Ibiquity executives used the rise of satellite radio, iPods, and other technologies to illustrate why terrestrial radio has to go digital and they pushed programming consultants to tell their station clients to promote HD Radio.
Combined, XM and Sirius have spent $750 million on promotion and analysts project satellite radio will capture 50 million listeners by the end of the decade, he said. Traffic service-wise, XM and Sirius will have the look of local service in the next two to three years.
While Struble cautioned that HD Radio “is not a silver bullet” cure-all, if promoted effectively, he said, radio can increase the awareness of HD Radio among consumers and position radio for growth.
“We’re playing catch up,” he noted, because kids today aren’t listening to radio using a traditional device, but rather listening to music through their PCs and using those speakers rather than traditional radios.
Struble: Satcasters Spent $750 Million on Promotion
Struble: Satcasters Spent $750 Million on Promotion
