Text has been updated with an additional quote from President Rod Schween.
Pattison Media in Canada is getting behind HD Radio. Xperi, the technology’s parent company, is calling it a significant development for digital radio in that country.
Pattison owns 45 FM and three AM stations, located in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
It has deployed HD Radio on CKPK on 102.7 in Vancouver. This summer Pattison had announced that it would put a new AC format called “102.7 Now! Radio” on that frequency and move its existing alternative format to a new HD2 channel. But now Pattison is making a broader public commitment to HD Radio on more of its FM stations.
President Rod Schween was quoted in the announcement: “Our switch to HD Radio technology means that Canadian listeners of Pattison stations, starting with 102.7 in Vancouver, can now benefit from superior audio quality and a wealth of content choices with relevant imagery and metadata that elevates their in-vehicle radio experience, making it more immersive and engaging.”
Radio World asked Schween how many of its stations the group will convert. “We are looking at markets where there is sufficient population and receiver penetration to support the technology or where transmitter upgrades were planned in the near future, based on age of the current infrastructure,” he replied by email. He said Pattison has “made an initial commitment and will decide on additional stations in the future.”
As of June there were 39 HD Radio stations in Canada, as we reported earlier. Jeff Jury, Xperi SVP and general manager, connected car, said the number of stations in Canada that have converted to HD Radio technology doubled during the pandemic.
