Over-the-air HD Radio will never bill anything - there are virtually no listeners:

http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com

HD Radio is a farce:

http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com/

"Ford SYNC, HD Radio and the state of competition"

"Now here's the killer: Ford is making SYNC available as a factory-installed option for just over $300. And for the top-end trim levels, like the Focus SES, it'll be a standard feature. That's right... standard. So if you have an iPod, or Zune (ha!), you can now control it easily while you drive. If you have a cellphone that supports a service like mSpot, or a phone that supports Pandora, you can now listen to them in your car... easily. And this will have a ripple-effect throughout all the other auto manufacturers as the platform is licensed to GM, Honda and Toyota (this is Microsoft we're talking about)..."

http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/ford-sync-hd-radio-and-the-state-of-competition.html

"Radio: Internet Radio or HD Radio. You choose!"

"Here’s the choice - supplementary channels of varied audio quality from the same radio chains that deliver today’s unimaginative terrestrial radio formats or worldwide radio of every imaginable format and style where the passion is in the performance?... And, most of all, who’ll apologize for the time and money spent, the years the radio industry bought into it, and the deceitfulness suffered because of Ibiquity and the HD Radio Alliance's misguidance."

http://gormanmediablog.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-post.html

"Are Ford and HD Radio in Sync?"

"The radio industry will, of course, promote Ford for free in exchange for this development as part of the presumably soon-to-expire pledge of airtime to the HD radio effort."

http://www.hear2.com/2007/09/are-ford-and-hd.html

"iBiquity Digital Investor Information"

"iBiquity’s investors are global leaders in the technology, broadcasting, manufacturing, media and financial industries all supporting the development and rollout of HD Radio broadcasting: Leading Manufacturers include Ford Motor Company, Visteon Corporation...."

http://www.ibiquity.com/about_us/investor_information

"Lincoln Mercury, Visteon and iBiquity to Showcase HD Radio?"

"Both Ford and Visteon have agreements with iBiquity Digital, the sole developer and licenser of digital AM and FM radio in the United States, with Visteon already developing HD Radio capable OEM receivers for the 2004 model year."

http://www.ibiquity.com/press_room/news_releases/2002/100

This isn't exactly a breakthrough for Ibiquity. Ford bought Volvo's car division in 1998 (the truck, bus and construction equipment divisions are still under Swedish ownership). Remember that Ford is already an Ibiquity licensee (as well as a stakeholder), so you could think of this as no different from having "HD" as an option in a Mercury or a Lincoln.

And one web site reports that Ford is considering selling its Volvo auto division to BMW, which is already an Ibiquity licensee, too. Yep, it's "another brand." A financially troubled brand. One that's being shopped to help stop the bleeding at Ford, along with Jaguar, Aston-Martin, et al. One with a negligible world market share.

Now, if GM, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, or Daimler-Chrysler announce HD as a standard feature on factory audio systems, you'll have a real story. What happens when consumers found out that HD Radio just doesn't work:

“Is HD Radio Toast?”

“There are serious issues of coverage. Early adopters who bought HD radios report serious drop-outs, poor coverage, and interference. The engineers of Ibiquity may argue otherwise and defend the system, but the industry has a serious PR problem with the very people we need to get the word out on HD... In other words, everything you can find on the regular FM dial... The word has already gotten out about HD Radio. People who have already bought an HD Radio are telling others of their experience (mostly bad) and no amount of marketing will reverse this.”

http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=487772

"When 'HD' means 'Hardly Differentiated'"

"Names matter, folks. And the minute the powers-that-be decided to call HD radio "HD radio," they signed its death sentence."

http://www.hear2.com/2007/08/when-hd-means-h.html#comments

HD Radio is a farce !

http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com/