Baby Steps.

To be fair, the HD Radio Alliance’s rapid deployment of new subchannel formats is impressive. Eight competitors working together and getting product out there just a few weeks after forming their, uh, alliance. And, they’ve come up with a number of formats that aren’t on the AM-FM air anywhere. You gotta start somewhere, guys. At least you’ve started.

But wait a minute. I don’t work for a radio company. I don’t have to be fair.

Deep Classic Hits?
Neo-Soul/Urban AC?
Fab Channel (All Beatles)?
Chick Rock?

Lame. Come on. Even “Female Talk” is a format remix.

Will this rollout of remixes and extensions of main-channel formats, in 28 markets where AM-FM radio is dominated by the eight or nine companies in the HD Radio Alliance--make anybody want to spend $300 on a table radio instead of $50 and $15 a month on satellite radio, where every imaginable radio remix already exists, and to have satellite radio is already cool? Or throw away their Ipods?

Will it make set manufacturers want to hurry up and produce that $50 HD radio?

To be fair, we’ll see, won’t we.

To be real, are you kidding? You’ve got a long way to go, Radio Guys.