LONDON�One of the legends in U.S. broadcasting circles is that the underground, free-form nature of FM radio in the late 1960s is what eventually made the band popular, supplanting the AM band, especially for music formats. Examples are many, but some of the better known ones are ofKMPX, followed byKSAN(the �Jive-95�) both in San Francisco.�
�
Is history repeating itself, this time in the U.K.?� An article in theIndependentseems to say so. More than half the UK adult population now listens to digital radio, with 28.6 million people tuning in via DAB, television or online each week, according to audience bureau RAJAR.� The article goes on to say:
��Digital listening is being fuelled by the decision to fit new cars with DAB sets, alongside the advance of 4G coverage and ever-available Wi-Fi.
�Community stations � which often launch online, build up their expertise and audience, then apply for an Ofcom community-radio license � are adding to the diversity.
��Ofcom has begun trialling digital software known as �small-scale DAB� which removes the need for expensive hardware and will allow dozens of new, community and local-radio stations to broadcast to small geographic areas.
�For the time being, listeners are the beneficiaries of the digital-radio boom. It has given free-reign to a multiplicity of voices and is helping nudge digital�s share of the total radio-listening market towards the Government�s target of 50 percent � which, when eventually hit, will trigger the ultimate demise of analog signals.�
�
This article isn�t saying radio is going away in the U.K.; it�s saying that radio is changing, arguably for the better.� New content is being generated for the new media, and people are listening.�
�
Why aren�t we doing this in the U.S.?� How many HD radio channels are in dire-need of something new and compelling? �
�
�
