POMPANO BEACH, FLA.: Ludwig Enterprises is building a network of affiliates for a new radio network using the Mobile DTV transmission standard.
The South Florida company says it developed and patented a portable handheld radio--The One--that receives signals via A/153 and features 50 channels of “digital” radio programming. Its plan calls for agreements with broadcasters to lease capacity.
“With minor modifications to the existing transmitter site and no changes in FCC licensing, this broadcasting network could allow Ludwig to broadcast non-competing formats over existing broadcast spectrum,” it wrote in a summary for investors last summer.
Ludwig also says advertisers will be able to receive exact demographic/statistical data within 96 hours of airing a commercial. The company is targeting seniors, young people and specific ethnic groups with 40 channels of content in multiple languages, including Filipino, Pakistani, Hebrew, Chinese, Greek and Russian. The remaining 10 channels are English-language offerings that include old-time radio shows, news, audio books, educational and religious programs and classical music.
Jean Cherubin, Ludwig’s chairman, is based in Miami and has ownership in various U.S. radio stations, according to a company financial report, and is president and chief operating officer of broadcast facilities specializing in Haitian and Jamaican broadcasting.
Revenue will be derived mostly from ads and syndication. A one-time subscription fee is charged to the listener on activation; the radio itself is included. The company says that although satellite radio is its closest competitor, there’s little overlap in audiences.
The company says its technology uses a “carousel that interleaves information streams in a repeating pattern for inclusion into a digital video broadcast,” … allowing delivery of multiple dynamic digital audio programs.
The One radio itself has a de-tuned, regional GPS module and data transmitter. It will send Ludwig daily transmissions of each 15-minute sampling, using GPS data combined with U.S. Census statistics to yield demographic information.
Ludwig hopes eventually to build a network of 50 primary markets. Its website now has The One digital radio receiver with links to its affiliate station roster, which now includes Haiti and Jamaica. The radios can receive local, regional and national emergency broadcast warnings. Specific national emergency and weather broadcasts can be customized to those localized areas, according to the company. Ludwig (PINK: LUDG) went public in 2006 and is trading at around 6 cents on the Pink Sheets. -- fromRadio World
