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Infinity suspends Howard!

> This kills me. Infinity suspends Howard Stern for one day
> without pay for promoting Sirius radio... are they kidding?
> What do they think he's been doing for the last year. They
> let him rant and ramble for months about how great satellite
> radio is going to be, and NOW they sanction him?? What's up
> with that?
>
> http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_311120103.html
>

Who is this 'Howard Stern' that you speak of? I have never heard of this person. Really!



(and yes, I am being sarcastic...)
 
He's gotten ridiculous

I was looking forward to him doing some great radio as he went out, but this non-stop whining about how bad he has it has gotten to the point I wish he would just go now.

"Mr. $500 Million" is sounding like a bitter jilted lover. Get over yourself, Howard. Infinity is not doing you wrong at all. You chose to leave. I would suspend you too.
 
Re: He's gotten ridiculous

"Mr. $500 Million" is sounding like a bitter jilted lover.
> Get over yourself, Howard. Infinity is not doing you wrong
> at all. You chose to leave. I would suspend you too.
>


Infinity should have took him off last year when Howard announced he was leaving regular radio if they didn't want him mentioning Sirius. The show is so edited both locally and nationality that it is unsustainable. I can't wait for Jan 9th so I can actually hear the show as it is intended.
 
Re: He's gotten ridiculous

Mark my words, this Howard deal with Sirius will probably bankrupt them in a few years. The amount they're going to pay him will not be made up in subsciptions. I remember how excited I was to hear him everyday when he first came on in Cincinnati. However I quickly became uninterested because I thought his show was nowhere near what it used to be. Don't get me wrong, the guy was a radio genuis in his time but sadly that time has passed. I just don't think people will pay the subscription fees to hear fart noises and constant profanity. It will be a financial disaster for all those involved. (Except for Howard himself, who I'm sure get's paid no matter what)

I imagine I will be reamed by some on this board for these comments but that's just how I feel.
 
Re: He's gotten ridiculous

> Mark my words, this Howard deal with Sirius will probably
> bankrupt them in a few years. The amount they're going to
> pay him will not be made up in subsciptions. I remember how
> excited I was to hear him everyday when he first came on in
> Cincinnati. However I quickly became uninterested because I
> thought his show was nowhere near what it used to be. Don't
> get me wrong, the guy was a radio genuis in his time but
> sadly that time has passed. I just don't think people will
> pay the subscription fees to hear fart noises and constant
> profanity. It will be a financial disaster for all those
> involved. (Except for Howard himself, who I'm sure get's
> paid no matter what)
>
>

Actually Stern has already paid for himself. When he signed with Sirius
about a year ago, they only had 600,000 subscribers, and now they are
projected to have more than 3 million listeners before Stern even
starts on Sirius. Not to mention that their 4thq subscriber numbers beat wall streets expectations. Sirius stock has risen 100 recent since Stern signed last year. I believe that stern will prove to be a bigger success than XM getting MLB which was for 10yrs for 650 million. XM stock has been dropping lately due to the Delphi bankruptcy. The big question is how will terrestrial radio be able to match the content of the services like satellite,Ipods in the next 5yrs and beyond. I don't see HD Radio being the answer right now,not to mention the FCC cracking down on broadcasters.
 
You're forgetting...

HD Radio is free. Satellite is not. That's going to make a big difference to a lot of people. You should also note that Sirius got busted for counting subscribers that weren't really there. They were counting new cars on dealer lots with Sirius radios. Those cars hadn't ben sold yet. XM signed up tons of new subscribers when those listeners bought new cars, but only half of them re-upped after the promotional freebie.

Satellite will continue to grow, but HD Radio will be a factor because of the amount of new channels that will be available, plus you'll also note that broadcasters are more worried about Ipods and wireless internet radio than they are satellite. HD can be local and free. Again, you may not care, but I guarabtee you it will be a factor for some. Neither of the satellite companies will even be profitable before the end of this decade.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Oscar on 11/10/05 04:01 AM.</FONT></P>
 
Re: You're forgetting...

> HD Radio is free. Satellite is not. That's going to make a
> big difference to a lot of people. You should also note
> that Sirius got busted for counting subscribers that weren't
> really there. They were counting new cars on dealer lots
> with Sirius radios. Those cars hadn't ben sold yet. XM
> signed up tons of new subscribers when those listeners
> bought new cars, but only half of them re-upped after the
> promotional freebie.


HD Radio is not free. If you can find a receiver that is under $300 I'd like to know who has it. Satellite is here now, inexpensive HD Radio receivers are not. Why would I want to spend 300 to 500 dollars to hear commercials on music stations. 12.95 a month for satellite is nothing to most people in today's world. Those radios in those cars will become active either through 30 day trial or actual paying activations.



>
> Satellite will continue to grow, but HD Radio will be a
> factor because of the amount of new channels that will be
> available, plus you'll also note that broadcasters are more
> worried about Ipods and wireless internet radio than they
> are satellite. HD can be local and free. Again, you may
> not care, but I guarabtee you it will be a factor for some.
> Neither of the satellite companies will even be profitable
> before the end of this decade.
>
I'll believe it when I see it. With all the interference and signal problems associated with HD Radio, It may become an obsolite technology before it even has a chance of catching on with the average listener. Both XM and Sirius expect to become profitable in 2007 or 08. By then maybe HD-Radios will become mainstream as all of the other technolgies out their right now are becomming. By then it may be to little to late.

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by microbob on 11/10/05 04:48 AM.</FONT></P>
 
Re: You're forgetting...

I still believe that the majority of people really don't care about satellite radio. The enthusiasm for this product is way over-rated. It's not a necessity to most people like having cable/satellite tv is and it will never be. There are plenty of free stations to choose from and there's always cds to pop in as well. Plus, music just doesn't matter that much to most people. You can throw inflated subscription numbers around all day but the fact of the matter is, with Stern, Sirius has hitched their wagon to a horse that should be put out to pasture. They're counting on him to bring in the big numbers and outside of the Northeast markets he's no longer doing that. I stand by my original statement. So we'll just agree to disagree I guess. Time will tell which of us is right.
 
Re: You're forgetting...

First of all, HD radios will go down in price like everything else. And, in a few years they're going to be required by the FCC. That is, manufacturers will have to start incorporating it into every radio within the next 20 years. Even if they didn't have to, it would be stupid not to. Once the public is educated about HD, they'll be excited about it. The interference problems have to do with AM. Several FMs in this market are running HD and I would never know it. I can tell on AM, though.

As for the future of terrestrial radio, if you want to fall in line behind Howard who's trashing it as a way to spout off then go ahead. Howard tends to "change his mind" about things to fit his argumets. Radio will still be alive and healthy years into the future. I believe the die-hard music and sports nuts will gravitate toward satellite, as will the people who spend lots of time in the car travelling. And, sure, there are lots if people who hate traditional radio. But, those people will NEVER be satisfied with any type of limited options. Makes me wonder how long it will be before 300 channels isn't enough for them. But, the average guy will take the free radio before he pays for it.

And think about it. If each radio station in a market like Cincinnati has an additional two HD channels, there won't be just 25 FM stations to listen to, there will be 75. That doesn't even count all of the opprtunities for AM. Now, if we can just get the companies to program them to what the public wants, I think HD Radio will be just fine.

By the way, I realize Howard has done wonders for Sirius. But, XM continues to far outpace their subscriber numbers.
 
Re: Digital radio still hard to hear

> First of all, HD radios will go down in price like
> everything else. And, in a few years they're going to be
> required by the FCC. That is, manufacturers will have to
> start incorporating it into every radio within the next 20
> years. Even if they didn't have to, it would be stupid not
> to. Once the public is educated about HD, they'll be
> excited about it. The interference problems have to do with
> AM. Several FMs in this market are running HD and I would
> never know it. I can tell on AM, though.
>
>

Here is an article from CNET that is very interesting regarding the future of HD Radio.


http://news.com.com/Digital+radio+still+hard+to+hear/2100-1025_3-5940548.html


Digital radio still hard to hear
The problem is, hardly anyone can. More than 570 stations around the county are now broadcasting in the new digital radio format, but only a relative handful of actual digital radio receivers have been sold, or are even available to consumers who want to buy them.
 
We already know this

That's why there's a new industry initiative to get research about what listeners want from it. They're even researching what to call it. Would it be best to call a station WAAA-2 or bump up the frequncy position as in 102.1 being called 102.2?

The radios aren't going to be out for a while, and some high-end car companies (BMW for one) will start making HD radios standard in some 2006 cars. (Sounds like someone needs to put a Buisness Radio format on their HD channel!)

It's gonna happen and it will happen right.

By the way, here's a web link to everything HD Radio: http://www.ibiquity.com/hdradio/index.htm
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Oscar on 11/11/05 01:31 AM.</FONT></P>
 
For what it's worth..

I am considering Sirius for the NFL package alone. Sort of a supplement to my DirecTV Sunday Ticket for the road. But certainly not specifically for Howard; though I used to listen to his show in Panama city FL.
 
Re: For what it's worth..

> I am considering Sirius for the NFL package alone. Sort of
> a supplement to my DirecTV Sunday Ticket for the road. But
> certainly not specifically for Howard; though I used to
> listen to his show in Panama city FL.
>

I had it before the NFL package was announced, but it has turned out to be so nice to have those game feeds. I don't have DirecTV so the Sirius unit is my only way to get timely updates on out-of-market games (and find out how badly my pool picks are going each week). Since they update the score on the radio display (using the title/artist display lines) one can get all the scores by scrolling through the channels that are airing the games.
 
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