NYT: As Satellite Radio Takes Off, It Is Altering the Airwaves

As Satellite Radio Takes Off, It Is Altering the Airwaves
By LORNE MANLY

Published: April 5, 2005


Just a blink after the newly emergent titans of radio - Clear Channel Communications, Infinity Broadcasting and the like - were being accused of scrubbing diversity from radio and drowning listeners in wall-to-wall commercials, the new medium of satellite radio is fast emerging as an alternative. And broadcasters are fighting back.

The announcement on Friday by XM Satellite Radio - the bigger of the two satellite radio companies - that it added more than 540,000 subscribers from January through March pushed the industry's customer total past five million after fewer than three and a half years of operation. Analysts call that remarkable growth for companies charging more than $100 annually for a product that has been free for 80 years.

Total subscribers at XM and its competitor, Sirius Satellite Radio, will probably surpass eight million by the end of year, making satellite radio one of the fastest-growing technologies ever - faster, for example, than cellphones.

To keep that growth soaring, XM and Sirius are furiously signing up carmakers to offer satellite radio as a factory-installed option and are paying tens of millions of dollars for exclusive programming. On Sunday, XM began offering every locally broadcast regular-season and playoff Major League Baseball game to a national audience, having acquired the rights in a deal that could be worth up to $650 million over 11 years. And Howard Stern is getting $500 million over five years to leave Infinity and join Sirius next January. Each company offers 120 or more channels of music, news, sports and talk.

Though satellite radio is still an unprofitable blip in the radio universe, it is pushing commercial radio to change its sound. Broadcasters are cutting commercials, adding hundreds of songs to once-rigid playlists, introducing new formats and beefing up their Internet offerings. A long-awaited move to digital radio could give existing stations as many as five signals each, with which they could introduce their own subscription services - but with a local flavor that satellite is hard pressed to match....


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/05/national/05satellite.html

In addition to Sirius Left, there's Air America, and my music favorite is ... Channel 19 Buzzsaw Rock - Metal/Hard-Rock for the Elderly (of which I am one - actually mid-40's .. but ..).

in which he makes the kids learn the "History of Aerosmith," and the history of rock. He has this big ol' diagram on the board with all of the great bands. It was great. I'm trying to teach my daughter why Eric Clapton is Holy (just kidding - sort of).

But my favorite music channel is Buzzsaw. You should try out 23 as well, Hair Nation. It makes me feel like I'm listening to the radio of my youth.:-)

it was worth the 200 bucks for equipment and first year subscription just for that ONE channel I listen to (also one hour a day of Thom Hartmann on Talk Left. Even tho I'm so busy at work i can really only catch a little bit of it thru the earphone--can't have the sound up at work)

Buzzsaw is good too--my other favorite is The Vault, because of all the obscure oldies I haven't heard in decades--very good selections there, nothing ordinary!

before I gave up my Sirius radio.

I would give up my TV before I'd give up my Sirius.

:-)

broadcast the music stations, but the talk stations as well (Air America, Sirius Left).

Because I only have one Sirius unit, which I take from my car to my home office to my car and back.

Maybe if we all e-mail them, maybe e-mail them both, they will get a deal done for the whole thing!

My husband is enjoying it now.

We switched from Direct to DISH, after several years, because I did not want one more dime going to Murdoch.

And I like Free Speech TV (#9415)(Democracy Now TV program is on it) and Link (broadcast "With God on Our Side" about the Religious Right and George Bush).

Negatives: you don't own your TIVO box or some of your boxes (for some reason, we own one of them).

Also, I don't have PBS Kids anymore for my 8-year-old, but with the TIVO, not a big deal.

Positive: many more public interest stations.

which is the same thing

Last I heard, the Dish DVR was much more expensive and had far less features.

to Directv with Tivo.

Too many bugs and Tivo is just does it right.

It's not quite ready for prime time. Tivo is still the hands down winner. I've also heard that Dish's Picture Quality is worse than Directv, but I don't have any personal experience with that.

and they are a Blue company unlike DirectTV who are big time repubs

hubby is a videophile and his dad has DirectTV so DH has had a chance to check them both

he is happy with the picture and the DVR works fine :shrug: