According to a survey by Research Director Inc. covering the US market through the end of June 2020, over 22% of all cars in the US are equipped with HD Radio receivers, a total of nearly 65 million cars with HD Radio. Exhibiting increased momentum, 53% of new car sales in the first half of 2020 came equipped with HD Radio, which means that a new HD Radio-equipped car is sold every three seconds.
The cumulative effect of HD Radio adoption is even more obvious when we look at various DMAs. While the largest markets like New York and Los Angeles clearly lead the race towards full adoption with upwards of 68% of cars purchased coming with HD Radio, the smaller markets are coming along too – with DMAs 51-100 registering nearly 50%, and DMA’s 101 through 210 closely following at more than 47%.
Part of this is due to the improved chipsets and lower prices for HD Radio receivers, and part of it may be due to the investment and creativity of US broadcasters. To date in North America, there are over 2,700 stations that have converted to digital, creating more than 4,700 separate audio content channels, reaching more than 400 million listeners.
In the US, the cumulative listening rate for persons 12+ is 58.8% and the average in-car time spent listening to US HD Radio stations is now over 2 hours, 38 minutes. This translates into nearly 158 million hours per week of in-car listening to HD Radio stations in the US.
Looking beyond automotive, the total radio market including OEMs, aftermarket and home/CE receivers, counts nearly 75 million total HD Radio receivers of all types produced to date.
Combining the increased market penetration with reduced initial equipment purchase prices, much improved energy efficiency, and a far friendlier and simpler installation process, the case for an upgrade becomes clear. The digital future is here and broadcasters who have not made the upgrade could see themselves left behind.
HD Radio Benefits
- Expand your reach by adding additional channels of programming via HD2, 3, 4.
- Increase listener engagement and advertiser reach with HD Radio’s dynamic data services, such as artist/title, album art, advertiser logos, and traffic conditions.
- Increase service to the communities your serve using advanced emergency warning systems
An added benefit is HD Radio’s continuous advocacy for maintaining radio prominence in the vehicle. The HD Radio team is future-proofing radio broadcasting by closely cooperating with OEMs in shaping the dashboard of the future with over-the-air broadcast featured prominently and seamlessly integrated with advanced digital services.
The Elenos group, including Broadcast Electronics, one of the innovators of digital radio since the beginning, has been investing heavily in new technology to make digital radio of all kinds more affordable, easier to implement, and perform better. If you would like to talk with our experts about how you can upgrade your station to HD Radio, drop us a line at bdcast@bdcast.com, or call us at (217) 224-9600.
