More Direct Competition From Satellite Radio?

[Barry]

Unlike local broadcast radio, SiriusXm has always required a paid subscription, except during occasional free trial periods and promotions.
They have announced that they will now be offering an option for motorists to receive a portion of their channels for free, with commercials. This will only be available on the most up to date car receivers, and there are numerous restrictions.
But if this works out for them, the satellite radio broadcaster could possibly make this choice more widely available.
Could this be a significant issue for broadcast radio?

Free SiriusXm Option

 

[Mediafrog+]

Similar thread here: https://radiodiscussions.com/threads/siriusxm-brings-free-ad-supported-radio-to-automobiles.772588/

 

[TheBigA]

Could this be a significant issue for broadcast radio?

Name all the local DJs on Sirius. Name all the local advertisers on Sirius. There is no way to target advertising on satellite radio as you can with the app.

My anticipation is you'll hear a lot of the same advertisers you already hear on ad-supported Sirius channels.

 

[Barry]

From the article:
“The new free tier potentially benefits SiriusXM by allowing the radio brand to sell targeted ads to in-car listeners using data such as geolocation and subscriber profiles, similar to how other connected radio platforms generate revenue.”

That’s probably why they will be only offering this option (at least for now) to motorists that have the most up to date receivers.
And of course, local broadcast radio stations often use DJ's that are in another part of the country.

 

[Radiopaw]

The only real negative is audio quality — for those who care. They’ve improved it but it still sounds “eh” compared to some of my local FM stations.

 

[TheBigA]

And of course, local broadcast radio stations often use DJ's that are in another part of the country.

No, it's more like sometimes. But at Sirius, there are NO local DJs and NO local advertisers. It's all national.

 

[davideduardo]

My anticipation is you'll hear a lot of the same advertisers you already hear on ad-supported Sirius channels.

And MyPillow... (where is the vomit icon when you need it?)

 

[radiofan2023]

And MyPillow... (where is the vomit icon when you need it?)

At least on the radio you don’t have to see Mike Lindell inside of a medicine cabinet…

 

[Don CT]

The only real negative is audio quality — for those who care. They’ve improved it but it still sounds “eh” compared to some of my local FM stations.

I’ve never had an issue with the quality of the music. Some of the DJs sound like crap but that might just be their setups.

 

[Kelly A]

At least on the radio you don’t have to see Mike Lindell inside of a medicine cabinet…

I'd rather see him behind bars. And I'm not talking about the kind that serves alcoholic drinks.

 

[AMRadioGuy]

From the article:
“The new free tier potentially benefits SiriusXM by allowing the radio brand to sell targeted ads to in-car listeners using data such as geolocation and subscriber profiles, similar to how other connected radio platforms generate revenue.”

That’s probably why they will be only offering this option (at least for now) to motorists that have the most up to date receivers.
And of course, local broadcast radio stations often use DJ's that are in another part of the country.

'Zactly to the "local" point. Most major market stations have little local content nowadays anyway, especially outside of morning drive. Even if local, they're often voice tracked hours ahead of time anyway.