According to Mediaguardian.co.uk Sirius has signed a groundbreaking deal to broadcast BBC Radio 1 untouched (Apart from a time delay).
From Media Guardian:
Radio 1 to be broadcast across America
Julia Day, radio correspondent
Tuesday June 21, 2005
American radio listeners will soon have the pleasure of waking up with Chris Moyles after the BBC brokered a ground-breaking deal for Radio 1 to be broadcast across the US on satellite radio network Sirius.
The deal is a first for the corporation, which has never sold the content of one of its radio stations lock, stock and barrel to another broadcaster.
It will be the first time one of the BBC's stations will be available to listeners in the US, other than via the internet, and will give many Americans their first taste of British radio.
It is also the first time Sirius - soon to be the home of American's most famous shock-jock, Howard Stern - has bought in a station from outside.
The amount of money Sirius has paid the BBC to carry the station, through a deal with the corporation's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, has not been disclosed.
However, Radio 1's deal with Sirius could inflame the opinion of commercial rivals, who believe that the programming and activities of the BBC - and in particular Radio 1 - are increasingly commercial and that it uses public money to behave like a commercial company.
The Office of Fair Trading this week warned the government about the BBC's commercial activities, saying the corporation's activities extend beyond its public service remit and could damage competition in media markets.
The BBC, however, argues that its commercial activities - brokered by BBC Worldwide - generate revenue for the corporation and benefit the licence fee payer.
Radio 1 will become one of the 120-plus commercial-free music, sports, news and talk radio stations offered to Sirius subscribers, who pay $12.95 (£7) a month.
It will be broadcast with a time-shift so that US listeners will hear Moyles' breakfast show while munching their early morning waffles, will head home to Scott Mills' drivetime show and kick off the weekend on Friday nights in the time-honoured UK clubber's way, with Pete Tong's Essential Selection.
"This is an important deal because of Radio 1, and the BBC's role, across the globe. The station's job is to discover and support great new British music and America is a huge music market," said Andy Parfitt, the controller of Radio 1.
"If it benefits UK artists for Radio 1 to be carried on Sirius then it's a good thing. It will further reinforce that Radio 1 is a global player. It's a very exciting development," he said.
He added that the Sirius deal would not change the way the station operated, and because of the time delay, US listeners' feedback would not be able to interact with shows live on air, as in the UK.
The president of entertainment and sports at Sirius, Scott Greenstein, said ]Radio 1 was "a unique entertainment offering unmatched in the US ... and reflects the enormously vibrant British music scene".
Satellite radio is a growing phenomenon in the US, where satellite networks have more than 5.4 million customers, with the majority of users listening in their cars.
And the paid-for medium is tipped by both US and UK broadcasters to become established in Britain within five years.
SES Global, the world's largest satellite broadcaster, is looking into a European subscription radio network, which would require a new satellite, costing $500m.
Sirius made global headlines through the antics of shock-jock Stern, who last year fell foul of his employer, Viacom's Infinity Broadcasting, after a series of on-air pranks resulted in the federal communications commission hitting the company with America's highest-ever indecency fine of $1.75m.
A huge legal spat ensued, with both Stern and radio giant Clear Channel Communications withdrawing their lawsuits and multimillion dollar damages claims earlier this year.
But as a result, Stern signed to Sirius in a deal worth $100m a year for five years from 2006, and declared: "I want to make satellite radio so big it reduces Clear Channel to rubble."
Clear Channel has denounced the lack of government regulation of satellite radio, saying it had become the "wild west for sexually explicit programming" but unabashed Stern has gone on to promote Sirius on-air even though he is still working for Viacom.
Source: http://media.guardian.co.uk/radio/story/0,12636,1510762,00.html<P ID="signature">______________
US Stations Broadcasting on the Net
www.thestreamcentre.com</P>
From Media Guardian:
Radio 1 to be broadcast across America
Julia Day, radio correspondent
Tuesday June 21, 2005
American radio listeners will soon have the pleasure of waking up with Chris Moyles after the BBC brokered a ground-breaking deal for Radio 1 to be broadcast across the US on satellite radio network Sirius.
The deal is a first for the corporation, which has never sold the content of one of its radio stations lock, stock and barrel to another broadcaster.
It will be the first time one of the BBC's stations will be available to listeners in the US, other than via the internet, and will give many Americans their first taste of British radio.
It is also the first time Sirius - soon to be the home of American's most famous shock-jock, Howard Stern - has bought in a station from outside.
The amount of money Sirius has paid the BBC to carry the station, through a deal with the corporation's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, has not been disclosed.
However, Radio 1's deal with Sirius could inflame the opinion of commercial rivals, who believe that the programming and activities of the BBC - and in particular Radio 1 - are increasingly commercial and that it uses public money to behave like a commercial company.
The Office of Fair Trading this week warned the government about the BBC's commercial activities, saying the corporation's activities extend beyond its public service remit and could damage competition in media markets.
The BBC, however, argues that its commercial activities - brokered by BBC Worldwide - generate revenue for the corporation and benefit the licence fee payer.
Radio 1 will become one of the 120-plus commercial-free music, sports, news and talk radio stations offered to Sirius subscribers, who pay $12.95 (£7) a month.
It will be broadcast with a time-shift so that US listeners will hear Moyles' breakfast show while munching their early morning waffles, will head home to Scott Mills' drivetime show and kick off the weekend on Friday nights in the time-honoured UK clubber's way, with Pete Tong's Essential Selection.
"This is an important deal because of Radio 1, and the BBC's role, across the globe. The station's job is to discover and support great new British music and America is a huge music market," said Andy Parfitt, the controller of Radio 1.
"If it benefits UK artists for Radio 1 to be carried on Sirius then it's a good thing. It will further reinforce that Radio 1 is a global player. It's a very exciting development," he said.
He added that the Sirius deal would not change the way the station operated, and because of the time delay, US listeners' feedback would not be able to interact with shows live on air, as in the UK.
The president of entertainment and sports at Sirius, Scott Greenstein, said ]Radio 1 was "a unique entertainment offering unmatched in the US ... and reflects the enormously vibrant British music scene".
Satellite radio is a growing phenomenon in the US, where satellite networks have more than 5.4 million customers, with the majority of users listening in their cars.
And the paid-for medium is tipped by both US and UK broadcasters to become established in Britain within five years.
SES Global, the world's largest satellite broadcaster, is looking into a European subscription radio network, which would require a new satellite, costing $500m.
Sirius made global headlines through the antics of shock-jock Stern, who last year fell foul of his employer, Viacom's Infinity Broadcasting, after a series of on-air pranks resulted in the federal communications commission hitting the company with America's highest-ever indecency fine of $1.75m.
A huge legal spat ensued, with both Stern and radio giant Clear Channel Communications withdrawing their lawsuits and multimillion dollar damages claims earlier this year.
But as a result, Stern signed to Sirius in a deal worth $100m a year for five years from 2006, and declared: "I want to make satellite radio so big it reduces Clear Channel to rubble."
Clear Channel has denounced the lack of government regulation of satellite radio, saying it had become the "wild west for sexually explicit programming" but unabashed Stern has gone on to promote Sirius on-air even though he is still working for Viacom.
Source: http://media.guardian.co.uk/radio/story/0,12636,1510762,00.html<P ID="signature">______________
US Stations Broadcasting on the Net
www.thestreamcentre.com</P>
With Stern, BBC Radio 1, a number of Dance stations, and other great stations, Sirius is now a VERY worth my time and money.