Again, the broadcasters were a select few. Seriously, nobody is
falling for your spin. Semiconductor firms don't give a rats ass about
the standard.
It's not spin, manufacurers are are not going to make something they dont
think they can make money on.
Nor are broadcasters going to spend money on something that they don't
think that they can make money on. In the case of upgrading to digital,
and operating a hybrid station, the money they are spending is
relatively small so they aren't really worried if the revenue is not
instantaneous. What's most important is that they not lose market share
to stations that have already deployed digital.
Digital radio in the U.S. was a cooperative effort between broadcasters,
equipment manufacturers, semiconductor makers, and the government, with
everyone having buy-in on both the concept and the technical details.
Yes, the larger broadcasting companies were most influential in the
process. They have the most money invested in analog radio, and the most
to gain or lose by the type of the digital system selected (though IBOC
is also the best choice for smaller stations, and most of them have
realized this already).
It's rather amusing to see all the clueless individuals, with no
experience in broadcasting, manufacturing, or sales, spout their
nonsense about the adoption cycle of new technology. If they just looked
back at similar (non-mandated) technology improvements in the broadcast
industry (where the government chooses a new standard), they'd see that
it usually works out pretty well even though someone always complains
about it.
Look at the transition from B&W to color TV. The color TV standard that
was chosen was not the best one, but they had to have a system that was
compatible with existing B&W receivers. Ditto for FM stereo.