After operating its AM station WYDE in Birmingham, Ala., in all-digital HD Radio mode for 19 months, Crawford Broadcasting has turned the station’s hybrid (analog-plus-digital) mode back on.
As far as I know, this leaves Hubbard’s WWFD in Maryland as the only all-digital AM station in the United States.
I asked Director of Engineering Cris Alexander, who is also a Radio World contributor, about the decision.
Radio World: What is the reason for this change now?
Cris Alexander: It has to do with a programming change and the need to make the programming available to a broader audience with only analog radios. There was not a technical reason for the change, and I wouldn’t rule out going back to all-digital at some point, depending on receiver proliferation.
RW: What reactions or feedback, if any, did you have from listeners to the all-digital operation?
Alexander: We didn’t really hear much from listeners. In my experience, most listeners probably don’t know that they are listening to an all-digital — or even an HD hybrid — station. Most rental cars I have driven in recent years have HD capability, and that’s probably representative of new(er) vehicles in general.
The clues are all there: crisp, clear audio, station info and metadata displayed on the screen, the same indications that they are used to seeing with FM reception. But I don’t think most listeners pick up on that and say, “Wow, they’re doing that on AM!”
RW: Do you have a way of knowing how many people listened to that signal?
Alexander: No.
RW: You told us in 2023 that you’d be watching to see how digital coverage compared to the analog, and how the station would do through storms and convective activity, how robust it would be. What conclusions have you drawn?
Alexander: Digital coverage was great, no complaints there. Quantifying it in a comparative way depends on how much noise a person is willing to put up with on the analog signal. Within the two or even 1 mV/m contour, all-digital coverage was quite robust and solid. During convective activity that area shrank some, but it was still quite robust. I think the technology is solid, as we and Hubbard have proven. It can and does work.
RW: As far as I know, only WWFD remains on the air in all-digital AM. Is it too little too late for all-digital AM in this country?
Alexander: Probably. In my view, that has a lot more to do with the competitive landscape and the overall state of broadcast radio and its place in the dashboard than any technical deficiency.
