Kordia ending trial of DAB/DAB+ Radio 30 June 2018

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geek4me

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#2033526 11-Jun-2018 10:25

alasta:

it would be interesting to know whether Kordia's proposed DAB network would provide the same coverage footprint. I'm guessing there is no hope it would fill existing FM dead spots like Blenheim - Kaikoura or Blenheim - Nelson.

Maybe it would fill existing FM dead spots. According to the NBR article linked to above -

"If the go button is eventually hit, Kordia says it could build a nationwide DAB network for as little as $10m - chump change, in broadcasting terms." Double the price from $10m to $20m and the job could be done with nationwide coverage - still a small price to pay.

If Kordia are given the go-ahead and are prepared to spend the "chump change" let them do so and see what happens. A high price was paid for FM frequencies in the past. Like the first LCD flat screen TVs that cost $20k, now some 4K TVs sell for 10% of that price. Perhaps too much was paid for the FM frequencies but that should not stop cheaper DAB+ technology.

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sbiddle

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#2033560 11-Jun-2018 11:33

geek4me:

A high price was paid for FM frequencies in the past. Like the first LCD flat screen TVs that cost $20k, now some 4K TVs sell for 10% of that price. Perhaps too much was paid for the FM frequencies but that should not stop cheaper DAB+ technology.

A high price is paid because spectrum is a finite resource. It's not commodity product that reduces in price over time. Broadcasters have paid huge amounts in recent years for spectrum - NZME paid over $7 million a few years ago for a single frequency in Christchurch.

If the government does deploy a DAB network should they pay some of this back to the companies? If not, why not? If you purchased a $7 million house and the Government then built houses on the spare land next door and offered these for $10,000 each I could imagine you'd be fairly disgruntled.

Goosey

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#2033619 11-Jun-2018 12:35

NZME paid over $7 million a few years ago for a single frequency in Christchurch.

They had to pay that because the other bidder in the auction was their main rival, whom.... kept bidding thus pushing up the price of something they didn't need but could have simply started broadcasting their rival brand offer on and push out the other.

Frequency in question was for ZB (#1 rating in south island).

http://stoppress.co.nz/news/trade-me-hosts-record-breaking-radio-frequency-auction-nzme-and-mediaworks-splash-out-millions

richms

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#2033861 11-Jun-2018 19:29

The other way to look at is if you spent 7 million setting up your gas station only to have someone come along with an EV chrager beside it should you get a refund on your gas station? There are still customers, they will dwindle over time but so what, you made a business decision which always has risks, and they didnt play out as you wanted. Win some, lose some.

Richard rich.ms

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#2034199 12-Jun-2018 10:23

richms:

The other way to look at is if you spent 7 million setting up your gas station only to have someone come along with an EV chrager beside it should you get a refund on your gas station? There are still customers, they will dwindle over time but so what, you made a business decision which always has risks, and they didnt play out as you wanted. Win some, lose some.

Excatley.

The main radio brands are simply protecting their market shares.

Existing FM band is full, DAB would open up new slots, new brands and spread the advert spend....which is the main (rather only), source of income for any radio brand.

sbiddle

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#2034203 12-Jun-2018 10:29

Goosey:

richms:

The other way to look at is if you spent 7 million setting up your gas station only to have someone come along with an EV chrager beside it should you get a refund on your gas station? There are still customers, they will dwindle over time but so what, you made a business decision which always has risks, and they didnt play out as you wanted. Win some, lose some.

Excatley.

The main radio brands are simply protecting their market shares.

Existing FM band is full, DAB would open up new slots, new brands and spread the advert spend....which is the main (rather only), source of income for any radio brand.

I disagree. NZ already has a huge number of brands, and with Australia being a classic example with 25% uptake after 9 years no serious players will enter the space when you'll have hardly any listeners therefore no revenue from advertising.

geek4me

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#2034318 12-Jun-2018 12:30

sbiddle:

I disagree. NZ already has a huge number of brands, and with Australia being a classic example with 25% uptake after 9 years no serious players will enter the space when you'll have hardly any listeners therefore no revenue from advertising.

It's a business decision for Kordia to make whether to spend $10m "chump change" on the DAB+ network and risk getting no "serious players" for their investment. I believe they're prepared to do that with their message "We hope to be back one day!". Kordia can take that risk - if they get the go-ahead to do so.

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Thunderflash

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#2036155 13-Jun-2018 20:48

I got my DAB+ radio from Kmart for $9 last week. FM works well but we dont have DAB here in Nelson to test that side of the receiver.

richms

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#2036198 13-Jun-2018 21:14

I bought my second kmart radio like that one planning on gutting it and putting a pi zero in it once I figured out the display and button IO from the stock module in there. Will probably still do that since reciving DAB isnt really a useful thing and a MDF box and pretty speaker and buttons is a more useful thing.

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openmedia

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#2036321 14-Jun-2018 08:05

richms:

I bought my second kmart radio like that one planning on gutting it and putting a pi zero in it once I figured out the display and button IO from the stock module in there. Will probably still do that since reciving DAB isnt really a useful thing and a MDF box and pretty speaker and buttons is a more useful thing.

I'd be interested in hearing a write up if you managed to get that done

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

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