The author is senior vice president, broadcast radio & digital audio at Xperi. This is an excerpt from the ebook “Global Radio Update.” Despite a decade of streaming, satellite and connected-car competition, radio has held its ground where it matters most: in the car. Sixty-six percent of U.S. adults listen to AM/FM radio every day, and most of that listening happens behind the wheel. Keeping radio competitive in an increasingly digital dashboard is where HD Radio technology comes in, letting AM and FM stations broadcast a digital signal alongside their existing analog one. Developed by iBiquity Digital Corp., now part of Xperi, HD Radio technology was introduced in 2002 and first appeared in vehicles and aftermarket products in 2005. It has become the digital broadcast standard in the last 20 years, proving that digital broadcast can deliver scalable value within the current ecosystem, improving both experience and economics. HD Radio by the numbers: - Now in approximately 125 million North American vehicles, representing over 60% of new vehicles shipped in the U.S. - By the early 2020s, the technology had become standard factory equipment in the majority of new vehicles sold in North America. - Enables digital radio services on more than 2,700 AM and FM stations across the United States, Mexico and Canada. - Reaches nearly 400 million people across multiple countries. - The ecosystem delivers more than 750 million hours of digital listening every week. Capabilities, benefits and opportunities HD Radio’s most immediate benefit is audio quality. FM HD Radio delivers crystal-clear sound, free from distortion, and AM HD Radio reaches fidelity comparable to traditional analog FM, removing static, pops and cracks. Just as important, a single licensed frequency can carry up to three digital sub-channels (HD2, HD3 and HD4), without any new spectrum, letting stations run entirely