WAMU will broadcast complete coverage of John Robert's Supreme Court confirmation hearings with HD Radio, making the station one of the first in the country to use the technology.
HD Radio allows a station to broadcast multiple programs on one frequency and enhances audio quality. The hearings will be the first program to air on its new digital channel, 88.5-2.
The main WAMU channel will continue its normal programs uninterrupted while WAMU2 broadcasts the hearings with reporting and commentary from Capitol Hill with NPR's Nina Totenberg, who has covered 18 Supreme Court nomination hearings. Coverage will also be available via live web stream at www.wamu.org .
Listeners need an HD Radio receiver capable of accepting the content on WAMU2, as this second channel cannot be heard on a conventional radio. There are few HD compatible radios in use, but WAMU is launching 88.5-2 to pioneer the technology, according to an AU press release.
"We envision WAMU developing into a family of content services to listeners utilizing conventional analog and HD Radio transmission..." said General Manager Caryn G. Mathes. "This opportunity to use a major national news event to demonstrate how different content can be directed to multiple delivery systems offers our listeners an exciting look into the near future of radio."
After the hearings the station will go silent and will be used as needed. The station is seeking grant money to conduct market research on what a viable, permanent format for WAMU2 might be, and to subsidize the startup of a permanent second channel.
More than 500 radio stations, both public and commercial, are transmitting with HD Radio technology but fewer than 25 are offering second digital channels.
WAMU was one of the first stations to receive an experimental license for this type of broadcasting from the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC is expected to issue a permanent ruling on digital multicasting later this month.
After the ruling more consumer HD Radio receivers are expected to hit the market.
