HD Radio: Sales



HD Radio sales flop
"HD Radio: Which hype should you believe?"

"HD Radio sales numbers have come in for 2007, and iBiquity is patting itself on the back because of a reported 700% jump in sales year-over-year. Bob Struble, president of iBiquity, told the NAB Board of Directors that 2007 was a 'breakthrough year' with over 330,000 HD Radio receivers sold compared to the 40,000 units sold in 2006. And only a few months ago, iBiquity was saying they sold 200,000 units in 2006, and are estimating 1 to 1.5 million units for 2007. Surely in October the company had a good enough picture of how sales would be for the year. So which is it?"

"Struble: Radio Is the Last Analog Medium Standing"

"Insignia HD — I think this will be a nice little interim step for jogging or working out. It proves the viability of the technology and hopefully we'll get sales; but no, this is not going to sell in the hundreds of thousands... Radio alone — the sad reality of where it is — as a standalone device, it just doesn't exist anymore as a category. Nobody goes into Best Buy and says 'Where's the radio department?'"

iBiquity layoffs
"Getting By: Losing the American Dream"

August 2009 - "Knepp earned enough at his job as retail marketing director for HD Radio for his wife to be a stay-at-home mom. The couple lived comfortably. In August 2009, Knepp was laid off in a round of company cutbacks."

HD Radio high return rate
"Many Retailers Forecast ’08 HD-Radio Gain"

"Flanner’s notes, however, that returns on HD Radio for the home is higher than on other products. If you get a signal, the sound quality is spectacular, said Ernst. If you don’t get it, you don’t get it. It has a higher return rate than other products because someone can’t get a signal or maybe they live in a valley or too far away from the station."

Radiosophy bust!
"Business Neophytes Share Perils"

"Three years ago in North Sioux City, South Dakota, a husband and wife launched the company Radiosophy to produce high definition radios. But after suffering setback after setback, they say their story is something of a cautionary tale for entrepreneurs. Bill Billings and Sue Nail struck out on their own with the goal of living the American dream. They thought they'd create their own business, building and selling lots of high-definition radios, and live happily ever after. But it hasn't exactly worked out that way."

HD Radio empty shelves

"The HD Radio Alliance's blame game"

"Radio Shack is slowly – or perhaps not so slowly - phasing out their HD Radio commitment. Show me one retail outlet that’s added space to their HD Radio display. You can’t. Wal-Mart never committed to retailing HD Radio in the manner Bilk-o claimed they would."

QVC HD Radio farce
"Half Dead Radio"

"My guess is that those few viewers you may get during your HD Radio snake oil sales hour will be waiting for your pitch to end and Joan Rivers’ artificial overpriced baubles sale to begin. Peter, the phone didn’t ring. It must be all the American people interested in HD Radio. What’s the pitch? HD Radio is just like HD TV without the picture?"

HD Radio ripoff
"RadioShack's Inadequate Accurian"

"One look underneath the base of an Accurian explains its $200 price tag. There, a sticker reads: 'HD Radio Technology Under License From iBiquity Digital Corporation.' Instead of developing a radio capable of superior sound quality, I'm guessing that RadioShack paid iBiquity a fortune for the license, cheaply put together a subpar product, and passed the licensing cost on to consumers."

"Are you waiting in line for your HD radio?"

"If you lower the price enough, folks will buy the radio. That's the belief about HD radio that is being stoked in our industry. And, of course, it's wrong."