Technology

  Technically, cable radio is relatively easy to offer. At a cable system head-end, one or more FM antennae are aimed toward stations that can be received by the cable operator. In the past, most such systems used an all-band approach. That is, local stations across the entire FM radio spectrum (88 to 108 MHz) are received, amplified, and carried on the cable system.

     To receive cable radio, a signal splitter at the subscriber's location provides a second connection for the FM tuner. Although many systems charge an extra fee for the service (most are low-$1 or $2 per month), seldom are security measures taken that would require payment before the cable radio feed could be used.

     With the introduction of multiple channels on such premium services as Home Box Office (HBO), cable operators often use cable channel space to carry the stereo audio signal of such services to subscribers' homes. Audio from the satellite is fed to an FM modulator located on a locally unused FM channel. Before the availability of television sets that supported stereo audio, such schemes were popular among television fans.

Economics

  Just as television superstations developed with a national cable television audience in mind, so have a few radio superstations. Classical station WFMT in Chicago is a notable pioneer in this area. Some cable systems even allow local FM signal origination. This is usually done in conjunction with a nearby college or university. For example, WDBS, a long-time "closed carrier current" station on the campus of the University of Illinois, (Champaign-Urbana) has a spot on the local cable system. Additionally, such local origination is often carried on the audio carrier of locally originated television channels.

     The relative ease of hooking home receivers into cable radio service has discouraged its active promotion by cable systems. Subscribers soon learn that they can hook up their cable through an easily purchased splitter and not have to pay a monthly subscriber fee. A few cable systems attempt to eliminate this theft of services either by trapping the range of frequencies through a filter or by using a cable audio converter to shift the service first to an unused frequency range and then to convert it back once the subscriber pays to rent the necessary equipment.

Policy

  As cable delivery grew-from only 70 U.S. communities in 1950 to more than 32,000 communities in 1995-over-the-air broadcasters came to believe that they were being denied potential revenue from cable operators. Provisions of the Communications Act of 1934 require that a station that desires to rebroadcast the signal of another outlet must first obtain permission from the originating station. As amended, the Communications Act now prohibits cable operators (and other multichannel video program distributors) from retransmitting commercial television, low-power television, or radio broadcast signals without first obtaining consent.

     In mid-1993, faced with the daunting task under new rules of obtaining permission from every FM station within a 57- mile radius of their receiving antennae, many cable systems curtailed their cable radio offerings. Only the locally originated channels, generally stereo audio for a few premium services, remain on the systems.

     In 1982 National Public Radio (NPR) commissioned a study on the future of cable audio as a possible revenue stream to support other NPR operations. The report concluded that the future of cable audio, although bright, would only be profitable if such services generated revenue for both the cable operator and, of course, NPR. Three models were proposed. The first relied on advertiser support, very much like traditional over-the-air radio stations. Another model suggested that cable operators might be willing to pay for audio services as long as they could sell them as premium services with an appropriate profit margin built in. The model used for public television, where services are supported by corporate sponsorships and individual donations, was also suggested. In the NPR report, an important element for the success of cable audio was the restriction of access to services through secure channels. The report also noted the superior quality of the processed FM signals it proposed to deliver, as compared to the signals of the all-band FM approach. At the time of the NPR report, digital audio, although technically feasible, was not in wide use because it was cost-prohibitive. And, of course, audio streaming on the internet was years into the future.

The Future

     Although NPR provided the vision, it took commercial interests and a breakthrough in technology to actually capitalize on the concept of cable audio services. Especially with the introduction of digital, multichannel, CD-quality audio streams such as those in the Digital Music Express (OMX) and Music Choice (formerly Digital Cable Radio) services­ services not available over the air-a small but eager audience signed up for service. The set-top digital converter box is similar to that used for pay-per-view video events, and it is addressable. In recent years, American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) cable services, among others, have included a variety of such audio services as part of their tier of digitally transmitted services.

     Although it appears that some form of cable radio will con­tinue into the future, according to Dwight Brooks, a contributing author to textbooks on broadcast programming, cable operators are skeptical about growth for this medium, citing a figure of only 15 percent penetration among basic cable subscribers for audio services. With proper copyright clearance, such services are being effectively marketed to business locations to provide background music services.

     The internet has the ability to translate the essence of cable radio into a viable service. However, broadband connections are required to achieve similar fidelity, and the introduction of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has had a chilling effect on internet radio by imposing significant fees for internet transmission of copyrighted material.

     A variation on the pay cable radio approach proposed by NPR is now available to consumers via direct satellite connection. The XM Satellite Radio Service and Sirius Satellite Radio Network deliver dozens of channels of audio programming directly to consumers who subscribe to their services and who have purchased a proprietary receiver. Some XM services include commercials; Sirius programming is entirely commercial free and carries a slightly higher subscription fee.