It's a familiar impasse both in the
church and on the air: How to play to
the contemporary music tastes of a
younger audience and keep the traditional
music that has been a staple of church life
for generations.

How can a Christian radio station
maintain a church culture rooted in
tradition, yet establish a modern-day
ministry that appeals to a younger
constituency?

The answer for a growing number of
stations is new digital radio technology
called HD Radio"'. One of the significant
capabilities of HD Radio is HD2
Multicasting, a method of transmitting
two or more programs on the same
broadcast frequency. KTIS FM, the
flagship station for Northwestern College
in St. Paul/Minneapolis, for example, will
broadcast its legacy format targeted to a
40-something audience along with a
traditional program channel aimed at 60-
plus benefactors and another channel for
the 18 to 25-year-old set - all broadcast
simultaneously on 98.5 MHz.

"When we started talking about

digital transformation, and what the
possibilities are, it was one of those
epiphany moments ... multiple formats for
every need," said KTIS FM General
Manager John Engen, who plans to add
the digital channels as early as Spring 2006
by integrating Broadcast Electronics
multicast technology into the station's
existing transmission infrastructure.

HD2 Multicasting holds the first real
hope of KTIS FM being able to broadcast
over a wide geographic area, yet
narrowcast programming that specifically
speaks to each generation.

Until now, the Christian broadcaster's
outreach efforts resulted in expanding the
proverbial tent, not necessarily making it
inclusive of everyone. Northwestern
College expanded into new territories over
the years, entering into Duluth, Fargo,
Madison, Waterloo, Des Moines, Sioux
Falls, and even faraway Sarasota, FL. Yet,
with each new market came the familiar
impasse that is played out in thousands of
churches every Sunday.

KTIS FM defines its target demo as a
40-something mother of two named Linda

who prefers Lite AC, a format that isn't
exactly a winner with the 60-plus crowd
and totally misses the mark on the 20-
something crowd. "Linda" is younger in
the college town of Madison, and slightly
older in the Sarasota market, but no
matter where she landed on the
demographic scale, it was always to the
exclusion of young adults and large
segments of an older population.

"We've had to narrow-focus our
format, which, of course, when you're
talking Christian radio, means a more
predominantly female audience. We're
getting a wonderful response, but I've
thought a lot about what we can do ~
minister to those who used to be IC:­
listeners. I really wanted to get back ­
them," explained Engen.

Religious broadcasters have long
recognized that the youth and the a~

are largely underserved by radio, be; :
alternative of doing a broadcast ~
of the "blended service" spelled ce:--=:
disaster. "I pastored churches in af-=';:rr­
to my years in radio, and my theorv

the blended service is that it ju

90 N R B FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006

=0 erybody off," Engen said.

"You seek everyone but you keep no
e," agreed Jeff Dorman, the General

zanager of KWVE FM, the voice of

- vary Chapel of Costa Mesa, which
;'JaIlS to take advantage of multicasting for
. age and ethnically diverse Southern
California listener base. The station

nverted to HD Radio in 2005 using
~roadcast Electronics equipment, and can
__ lit its digital signal into multiple
;rogram channels at any time.

"The number one frustration for
Christian radio is getting listener calls one
;=aer the other-the one that says 'You're
JJO contemporary; and the other that says

ou're too traditional;" summed up John
':ims, Director of Christian Media
larketing for RF Specialties Group of
fissouri, who managed and built
Christian stations for 27 years and is now
.J.elping stations maximize HD Radio
portunities using technology from

3roadcast Electronics.

ED Radio Comes of Age

ot too long ago, broadcasters like

_ NVE FM and KTIS FM simply bought up
existing stations or established a new
station on the broadcast band in order to
gain multi-demographic traction. Those
:;Jipelines were all but sealed off when
station acquisition costs went through the
roof and available frequencies were
Gobbled up by eager investors in the '80s
and '90s. FM subcarrier channels offered
one programming outlet, although the
high cost of specialty receivers that could
pick up these services obviated any
possibility of wholesale access.

When the Internet came along and
created new, albeit limited, programming
opportunities, religious broadcasters got
on that bandwagon, too. KTIS FM

elivered a youth program on Web radio
ior a time, but the station shut down this
channel six months ago due to lack of
funding. "The problem is, you have an 18-

ear-old with not much more than 20
bucks in his pocket, and it isn't going to
Christian radio," commented Engen.

Youth ministries aren't buying radio

air time, either. "Where are the 20-year-old
Greg Lauries and Franklin Grahams and
Chuck Smiths? They can't afford radio.
Typically, they're younger pastors in a

newer ministry. They don't have the
mega-churches, but yet they're anointed.
They should be heard. Timothy wasn't
denied!" stated Dorman, whose station
also appeals to the predominantly female,
35-plus market.

"Why can't we as broadcasters carry
the young guys as well as the established,
national ministries?" he asked.

Enter HD Radio. As a digital form of
broadcasting, HD Radio can carry far
more over the existing spectrum, whether
it's more programs, more text or more

lfWhen we started
talking about digital
transformation, and
what the possibilities
are, it was one of
those epiphany
moments ... multiple
formats for every
need, I' said KT/S FM
General Manager
John Engen.

data that can be digitized and packaged
for transport over the airwaves. HD Radio
harnesses the existing radio spectrum,
offering broadcasters program
opportunities heretofore unattainable.

When the Federal Communications
Commission adopted HD Radio
technology as the sole digital standard for
U.S. AM and FM stations in 2002, stations
sought out the digital technology, then
known as in-band on-channel (IBOC), to
improve the sound quality of radio
broadcasts and eradicate static, hiss, pops
and fades from the AM and FM band.

With HD Radio technology, developed

by iBiquity Digital Corporation and
provided to the radio industry by
Broadcast Electronics, came a framework
for running text messages such as song
and title out to receivers, plus an entirely
new platform for additional program
opportunities.

Within two years, major-market
broadcasters had converted to HD Radio

in the top 11 markets, most of them
broadcasting a single channel.
Multicasting, however, soon caught on as
a viable HD Radio opportunity for FM
broadcasters. The first real-world multicast
took place on WFAE FM in Charlotte,
North Carolina, in early 2005 using
Broadcast Electronics HD Radio
equipment. Since then, other FM stations
have followed.

For many Christian radio broadcasters,
this more recent development in HD Radio
is an answer to prayer. "Multicasting is
perfect for (ministering to youth) because
the overall expenses are being played out
over the more established markets," said
Engen.

And, they're not the only broadcasters
to recognize the potential. Multicasting
has the support of many radio
conglomerates, chipmakers and receiver
manufacturers.

More than 2,500 U.S. stations have
committed to HD Radio conversion so far,
and the numbers continue to grow. Of
these, many will utilize the multicasting
capability of HD Radio. In December,
seven top U.S. radio companies formed an
alliance for coordinating and promoting
HD Radio in general, and HD Radio
multicasting in particular. Puerto Rico
stations also are converting to HD Radio,
and other markets in Latin America, Asia
and elsewhere are currently installing
experimental HD Radio transmission
facilities and considering HD Radio as a
national standard.

On the receiver front, BMW, among
other car manufacturers, will begin offering
HD Radio receivers as a factory option in its
2006 automobiles. Panasonic, Kenwood and
JVC are making aftermarket HD Radio
receivers for automobiles, and others are
launching similar receivers soon. Both
Boston Acoustics and Polk Audio announced
the availability of HD Radio tabletop models.
These receivers are capable of receiving

, :

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006 N R B 91

several program channels on each licensed
broadcast frequency.

Two for One

All of this comes at very little cost to
the broadcaster, and at no cost to existing
listenership. The beauty of HD Radio is
that it broadcasts on the FM frequency
along with the existing analog channel.
Broadcasters don't have to trade one for
the other; they don't have to give up
analog for digital.

A station can broadcast its analog FM
signal along with a digital version of the
same program, plus additional HD2
Multicasting programming, all
accompanied by text services. The analog
broadcast is picked up by the traditional
receiver and the HD Radio main; HD2
Multicasting channels and data services
are picked up by newer HD Radio tuners.

Christian radio stations can continue to
broadcast to listeners tuning in on existing
FM radios, while sending out multicast
signals that can be received by new HD
Radio tuners now coming on the market.
"The transition to digital is seamless to
both radio stations and their listeners
because HD Radio piggybacks onto the
existing analog infrastructure and spectrum
without compromising the transmission
quality of existing broadcasts," said Tim
Bealor, Vice President of RF Systems for
Broadcast Electronics, which manufactures
a line of HD Radio transmitters and all
other HD Radio products required to
seamlessly introduce digital radio to the
broadcast facility.

Anyone with an HD Radio tuner will be
able to pick up all HD Radio signals
multicast by one station with just a turn of
the dial or press of a button. This is in
addition to the main program channel
broadcasting in analog FM as well as any
associated text services, such as "now
playing" text displayed on the face of the
radio. In KTIS FM's case, the station will add
digital to its existing analog FM and
broadcast a main channel and two program
channels: KTIS-FM CHI playing inspirational
praise-and-worship programming for 60-plus
listeners, and another KTIS-FM CH2
broadcasting a LifeNet format based on a
CHR playlist for its youth.

Broadcasters pay a one-time
equipment conversion cost to begin

broadcasting in HD Radio. "In many cases,
conversion will require a new transmitter
system to pass the HD Radio signals and in
other cases, a separate antenna structure as
well as transmission equipment is needed,"
said RF Specialties' Sims.

Implementation methods vary
according to station power, age of existing
transmitter and type and load capacity of
the station's existing antenna. Estimates
run between US$30,OOO and US$200,OOO.

Fees for the intellectual property rights

The beauty of HD
Radio is that it
broadcasts on the

FM frequency along
with the existing
analog channel.
Broadcasters don't
have to trade one

for the other; they
don't have to give up
analog for digital.

to broadcast HD Radio are offered by
iBiquity Digital on a graduated scale
depending on year of adoption; early
adopters are given a reduced fee structure.
"The fees were just one incentive for us to
move on this now," said Harv
Hendrickson, Vice President of Broadcast
Operations for Northwestern College,
which has plans to roll out HD Radio, and
eventually multicasting, to its FM stations
in the remaining seven markets within the
next two years. The broadcaster also will
be able to send text data to the HD Radio
receiver. The HD Radio standard includes
a set of categories that describes text
messages, such as song title, talk show

name, and sponsorship information.

The good news is that once stations
convert to digital, splitting programming
into separate channels is a simple matter
of adding a unit to divide and allocate the
bandwidth.

"Broadcasters converting their stations
to HD Radio for other reasons are now
viewing HD2 as a way to get a far greater
return on that investment," commented
Bealor, whose company offers an end-to­
end HD Radio solution, including
transmission, bandwidth allocation and
generation, management and scheduling,

"If you look at the cost of maintaining
a station month by month, much less
building one, we're talking about pennies
on the dollar," remarked Dorman, who
converted KWVE FM to HD Radio in 20:::=
to bump up the quality of broadcasts ~
will be able to add multicasting capabili
at any time.

Dorman plans to multicast a prograz;
channel aimed at the youth market
segment and another channel aimed at
the growing ethnic population in the
greater Los Angeles area within the nerr
two years. At that time, the station will
add a unit to its transmission chain that
will divvy up the digital bitstream for
each program channel. "The commissio:
is to go out to all the world, and if the
Lord is delivering to us a lot of
Vietnamese and a lot of Spanish, whar ~
neat thing to share the teaching in that
language," he said.

The transformation to digital
multicasting won't happen overnight.
Everyone agrees that it will take some
and effort, but that's not stopping the

HD Radio enthusiasts from multicasting =­
the first opportunity. After all, said ~
"When KTIS FM went on the air in l~ ~
order to air the Billy Graham crusades. :
doubt there were even 10 FM receivers !:...
the Twin Cities at that time."

Dee McVicker is located in the Phoenix
area and has written articles for B'
Technology Review, Internet Week. c:::

Radio World. She can be reached at
deemcv@qwest.net or 480.545.7363_

T"HD Radio is a trademark of iBi.qlKj
Digital Corporation.

92 N R B FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006

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