Dreaming of HD Radio

Be watching next week's Airplay Monitor for an article that sounds like a lot of fun being written now by Phyllis Stark. She's asking folks, "With HD Radio looming, I thought it would be fun to touch base with some prominent industry executives for a light-hearted look at you'd do with a second (or third, fourth or fifth) channel if you had one to program now."

Here's my response to her questions:

PS: If you had an additional channel or two complementing your current stations, what would you do with it? Any niche music or type of programming that doesn't work in today's competitive terrestrial radio environment that could work as a bonus channel?

JA: Every single terrestual country radio station will have more digital side channels than either of the satellite radio companies .. and we'll be LOCAL as well. If we're smart, our formats will be much more interactive and personal than anything we can offer now. Hopefully, once we have six or seven times the current available space for commercial inventory, we'll recognize it as an opportunity to cut down the amount of commercial clutter compared to today's levels on all of them.

PS: Also, what kind of programming do you secretly hope someone else may sign on in your market that you'd listen to as guilty pleasure? Mariachi music? Celtic lullabies? Polkas? All bagpipes all the time? Some niche talk format?

JA: The John Phillip Sousa, Kent State University, Ohio State University, University of Washington marching bands channel. The Broadway show tunes channel The "songs Jaye Albright thought were going to be hits but aren't" channel.