Satillite Radio

[johnster]

Re: Satellite Radio

Comparing CB radio to satellite radio is absurd. The former is very local, 2-way
point-to-point communication. The latter is one-way broadcast. One has
absolutely nothing to do with the other. Long-haul trucking is exactly in the
niche for satellite radio's existence.

My guess is all the original poster was doing was comparing satellite radio to another Fad like the CB radio craze in the 70's and pointing out that even if it is relativity popular now that it could be gone in a couple of years. I think that was probably were his comparison ended.

It's obvious that the basic idea could work and serve a lot of people. But up now neither company has ever made a profit and is saddled by massive debt. Unless they can start making some money it is just inevitable that sooner or later they will not be able to get the last minute loans that have so far kept them in business. Even in the sad shape that terrestrial radio is in today they are still making some profit even if not as much as they need.

 

[Numo]

Recently got Sirius Satellite Radio in my new car and now I wonder why anyone would listen to the pure trash of terrestrial radio.

Local Boston radio has become a vast wasteland of mostly radical right wing propaganda on the talk station, repetitive news on WBZ and overly programming music stations that are not worth a dial turn.

Sirius is an inexpensive option with about 100 Plus choices across the radio topic spectrum.

Wonder if it is cutting into local radio and local radio profits. Believe some if not all local radio stations will not accept ads from Sirius or XM Radio nor will they let on-air talent even mention that it exists.

Once we come out of this recession I believe Satellite radio will take off again as did cable about 10 years ago and local - particularly AM'ers will be on the auction block for pennies and the FM will not be far behind.

Are there any rating measurements for Sirius or XM at this point?

I am right there with you. Never listened to any Boston radio but down here in Providence where terrestrial radio is garbage I look forward to listening to Sirius in the car..

 

[KB1OKL]

I've been listening to radio for at least 50 years and it has gone way down hill over the past 20 years, it's mostly repetitive and boring with some exceptions. I still listen to it but when I'm in my car XM is on. I can't understand why people complain about a lousy 13 bucks a month, it's well worth it to me. I would probably pay that just for Underground Garage and Deep Tracks, my two favorite stations on XM. I too think it's going to be around for a while and would really miss it if it were gone.

 

[Don Juan]

I can't understand why people complain about a lousy 13 bucks a month, it's well worth it to me.

Why? Research will show:

1.) Because people don't care that much about radio anymore.

2.) The programming isn't all that compelling.

 

[dsturdy5]

Just my $.02. I have had Sirius for a little over two years. I love it. If I want local talk, I still have the option of flipping on WBZ/WEEI/W-hatever.

However, when I want music or comedy, I throw on Sirius. When I want legit football talk or to hear a game, I flip it on. If I want the Sox or Pats, I can go to WEEI or WBZ-FM respectively. Not a bad problem to have.

I do not spend a ton of time in the car during the week but I do make repeated trips to CT each month. It is a godsend on those trips, especially when I hit the 395 corridor.

 

[AllForADeuce]

I had Sirius for a year, free with purchase of overly priced automobile. The real truth comes when you have to write a check, when that year is done. I loved the choices but not enough to part with $150 for something I used for twenty minutes to work and twenty minutes home. If I need more selections I can stream AOL Radio or Pandora through my iPhone in my car.

To me, the iPhone makes me feel the same way as when I bought that first Sony Walkman. Free to take my music and radio anywhere!

K~

I've always wondered - how long does the battery hold up if you're streaming music non-stop? Does the phone warn against running the phone while it's plugged in to an external power source? I used to have a phone that warned against doing that as it will throw off the battery, but that was in the nickel battery days...

 

[AllForADeuce]

My $.02 on the .02

1.) People don't want to pay for radio.
I don't mind paying for my sat radio since the content is so vast as compared to the radio.

2.) There is no real compelling content on Satellite...unless you have a specific music genre you are crazy about. (Smooth Jazz, 50's, MOR, Stern, etc.)
True to a point, but my argument to that is having XM, I can get multiple different sports stations, MLB-only talk, NHL-only talk, all the MLB and NHL games, and 5 stations playing my area of music covering classic hard rock to heavy metal (each leaning towards their niche style but covering the same genre none-the-less). Where can I find that on regular radio? If I want to listen to the "niche" New England sports teams, I can get that on the radio here all I want.

3.) Local Content....while WBZ may be repetitive, it's one place you can (almost) always count on to bring you local news when something happens. Howie Carr gives you local politics. WEEI/WBZ-FM give you local sports. Matty gives you local flavor, etc. Satellite radio cannot even comment on whether you are baking in heat or suffering in a snowstorm.
But that IS what local radio is all about. My XM does give me local traffic and weather updates without having to rifle through all the fluff in between.

4.) People don't care enough about ANY radio to put money and effort behind getting satellite radio.

5.) They don't want to have to buy multiple subscriptions for listening in multiple places. (Want to listen on your computer? Pay another fee! On your iPhone? In your office?)
Most of the radios come with a car and home stereo adapter. Online used to be free, but now they charge. On the other hand, the online radio has other stations exclusive to only online. They had to put stations on there "exclusive" since they are only allowed so many channels on the sat radio band. I personally bought two XM boomboxes and for over 4-years I've been able to listen at work, in the car, at home and anywhere else I please with one radio and one subscription. Your "extra fee" argument holds no water except for the newly charged online fee piece. But my boombox solves that problem quite easily.

6.) Most of the 100+ channels get very few listening. Surprisingly, the Sirius XM channels that get a lot of listening are the ones that mimic the over-the-air formats. 60/70's oldies, Adult Contemporary, etc.
I am niche in that area. I have the 40s-80s stations in one of my 15 presets, but I can count on one hand how many times I've listened to all of them combined for more than 20 minutes. But if these are being used at the workplace (or in some instances stores such as 7-11 which plays sat radio) you're going to listen to the mimiced formats for mass appeal. But sat radio was also set up for you to listen to your style of tunes. Problem with that is most people are listening to it only in thier cars and the car radio units are obviously not usable in the house. 106.7 gets high ratings, yet the only places I've heard that station is at work or in stores. I've never been around someone in thier car, house or travelling with me that has ever had that station on or asked me to put it on my radio. It's blah middle of the road music that is agreeable to the masses, period.

7.) If you listed all the satellite radio listening in the Boston area (and I mean the total of ALL the channels at once), it wouldn't even amount to a full share point.

I haven't found city-by-city arbitron ratings for sat radio, do you have a link to that? I'd love to see how it breaks down across the country.

Believe some if not all local radio stations will not accept ads from Sirius or XM Radio nor will they let on-air talent even mention that it exists.

They used to but no longer. Very few stations will even mention its existance. Funny how that goes, I know of plenty of radio people that have sat radio but I never hear of sat radio people talk about listening to terrestrial radio

You are getting a kick out of Satellite radio because it is new to you....just like when a new station appears on the diel..it is interesting, and sounds unique..because you haven't heard it before.

I've had it for over 4 years and I still get a kick out of it. I only turn on the terrestrial radio when I want to hear some local sports or news on WBZ. Otherwise, I have 15 presets to play with before I even THINK of terrestrial radio in my car.

You DO know that Sirius/XM is in big trouble don't you?AOL Radio and other services for free.

How's Time Warner's stock done since the AOL merger? It ended 1999 at 227.63. It's "up" to 28.85 now.

 

[KarsonWithaK]

My $.02 on the .02

"I know of plenty of radio people that have sat radio but I never hear of sat radio people talk about listening to terrestrial radio"

The reason you "never hear sat radio people talking about listening to terrestrial radio", is because they don't have any people working there. 99% of the channels are jock free. A handful of programmers are too busy scheduling twelve different formats. Again, I get most of what sat radio has to offer for free, through my iphone which connects to my car stereo. Why buy the cow when I can get the milk for free?

K~

 

[johnster]

7.) If you listed all the satellite radio listening in the Boston area (and I mean the total of ALL the channels at once), it wouldn't even amount to a full share point.

I haven't found city-by-city arbitron ratings for sat radio, do you have a link to that? I'd love to see how it breaks down across the country.

XM and Surrius do not subscribe to Arbitron and have even refused free PPM encoders. They don't want folks knowing actual listenership as they don't feel this information helps them get and keep subscribers.

 

[Don Juan]

1.) People don't want to pay for radio.

I don't mind paying for my sat radio since the content is so vast as compared to the radio.

OK, congratulations, you are in the minority. As was Neanderpaul stated earlier, almost everyone has heard of satellite radio by now...and most could care less.


2.) There is no real compelling content on Satellite...unless you have a specific music genre you are crazy about. (Smooth Jazz, 50's, MOR, Stern, etc.)

True to a point, but my argument to that is having XM, I can get multiple different sports stations, MLB-only talk, NHL-only talk, all the MLB and NHL games, and 5 stations playing my area of music covering classic hard rock to heavy metal

Well, you are a niche listener. Most people don't care enough to pay for 15 different sports stations. Most people don't care enough to pay for 5 hard rock stations.

3.) Local Content....while WBZ may be repetitive, it's one place you can (almost) always count on to bring you local news when something happens. Howie Carr gives you local politics. WEEI/WBZ-FM give you local sports. Matty gives you local flavor, etc. Satellite radio cannot even comment on whether you are baking in heat or suffering in a snowstorm.
But that IS what local radio is all about. My XM does give me local traffic and weather updates without having to rifle through all the fluff in between.

Huh? Yes, you get automated traffic and weather (that sounds like phone call quality), but nothing about life in your own backyard. If you don't care about it, fine....you can revel in your "heavy metal and "hard rock" channels.


5.) They don't want to have to buy multiple subscriptions for listening in multiple places. (Want to listen on your computer? Pay another fee! On your iPhone? In your office?)
Most of the radios come with a car and home stereo adapter. Online used to be free, but now they charge. On the other hand, the online radio has other stations exclusive to only online. Your "extra fee" argument holds no water except for the newly charged online fee piece.

Who wants to drag a radio (or an "adapter") around room to room? Who wants to drag a radio/adapter to the car and back to the house? Who wants to bring a radio/adapter from the car into their office everyday? Don't want to do that? There's a fee!

Just heard from 2 different people in Bostopn media who cancelled satellite because of the online fee. Thats a deal breaker for many...as it doesn't make sense tocharge people numerous times depending on how they want to listen to radio. People dont want to listen in that manner.

6.) Most of the 100+ channels get very few listening. Surprisingly, the Sirius XM channels that get a lot of listening are the ones that mimic the over-the-air formats. 60/70's oldies, Adult Contemporary, etc.
106.7 gets high ratings, yet the only places I've heard that station is at work or in stores. I've never been around someone in thier car, house or travelling with me that has ever had that station on or asked me to put it on my radio. It's blah middle of the road music that is agreeable to the masses, period.

I am going to guess that since you are willing to pay for "hard rock" and "metal"...that you dont have too many friends that enjoy soft-rock. And I wouldn't want to guess how many women 25-54 are in your life either.



7.) If you listed all the satellite radio listening in the Boston area (and I mean the total of ALL the channels at once), it wouldn't even amount to a full share point.
I haven't found city-by-city arbitron ratings for sat radio, do you have a link to that? I'd love to see how it breaks down across the country.

I don't believe there is a 'link'.....as the data is probably proprietary and not released. However, ask anyone you know who has access to Arbitron, they can show them to you.



Believe some if not all local radio stations will not accept ads from Sirius or XM Radio nor will they let on-air talent even mention that it exists.[/quote]

They used to but no longer. Very few stations will even mention its existance.

Please name me a station or company that "used to" take ads for satellite radio "but no longer do". I dont know of any that have changed their policy.

Funny how that goes,

Not at all. It's standard business pratice not to advertise your competitors.

Funny how that goes, I know of plenty of radio people that have sat radio but I never hear of sat radio people talk about listening to terrestrial radio

As Karson said, you can fit all of the "sat radio people" in one room. They're not too loud. ;-)

You are getting a kick out of Satellite radio because it is new to you....just like when a new station appears on the diel..it is interesting, and sounds unique..because you haven't heard it before.

I've had it for over 4 years and I still get a kick out of it. I only turn on the terrestrial radio when I want to hear some local sports or news on WBZ. Otherwise, I have 15 presets to play with before I even THINK of terrestrial radio in my car.

We have already discovered you are a niche listener that doesn't care about anything local or in your backyard except for sports and "metal" music.

You DO know that Sirius/XM is in big trouble don't you?AOL Radio and other services for free.
[/quote]

How's Time Warner's stock done since the AOL merger? It ended 1999 at 227.63. It's "up" to 28.85 now.
[/quote]

What does that have to do with the sucess of Sirius/XM?

 

[KarsonWithaK]

This is from 2008, I think. Obviously, with the merger, this has changed.

Sirius - Channel: Cume
1. Howard Stern’s “Howard 100”: 1,200,000
2. “Hits 1” (CHR): 584,800
3. “Howard 101” (description here): 501,100
4. “New Country”: 468,300
5. “Big 80s”: 417,900
6. “Octane” (hard rock): 383,700
7. “Classic Vinyl” (early classic rock): 347,100
8. “Classic Rewind” (later classic rock): 335,500
9. “The Pulse” (90s and contemporary hits): 330,000
10. “Totally 70s”: 309,400

XM - Channel: Cume
1. “Top 20 on 20” (CHR): 1,049,200
2. “Flight 26” (modern AC): 741,600
3. “80s on 8”: 698,300
4. “70s on 7”: 687,400
5. “60s on 6”: 581,300
6. “Highway 16” (new country): 579,500
7. “Top Tracks” (classic rock): 534,900
8. “The Blend” (Lite pop hits): 532,400
9. “The Heart” (love songs): 493,400
10. “Fox News” (news/talk): 464,800

 

[KarsonWithaK]

I had Sirius for a year, free with purchase of overly priced automobile. The real truth comes when you have to write a check, when that year is done. I loved the choices but not enough to part with $150 for something I used for twenty minutes to work and twenty minutes home. If I need more selections I can stream AOL Radio or Pandora through my iPhone in my car.

To me, the iPhone makes me feel the same way as when I bought that first Sony Walkman. Free to take my music and radio anywhere!

K~

I've always wondered - how long does the battery hold up if you're streaming music non-stop? Does the phone warn against running the phone while it's plugged in to an external power source? I used to have a phone that warned against doing that as it will throw off the battery, but that was in the nickel battery days...

The battery for the iPhone 3GS is average at best but Belkin makes a docking/charing station for your car. You can stream your iPhone through a transmitter to an FM frequency or one with a hardwire to your ipod jack on your car stereo, like I use

 

[Don Juan]

Hi Karson,

Just a note, these are national numbers not local Boston numbers.

So...Kiss 108 in Boston has more listeners that than Satellites CHR channel "Hits 1" nationwide.

Magic has more listeners in BOston than the AC "The Blend" or "The Heart" has nationwide.

This is from 2008, I think. Obviously, with the merger, this has changed.

Sirius - Channel: Cume
1. Howard Stern’s “Howard 100”: 1,200,000
2. “Hits 1” (CHR): 584,800
3. “Howard 101” (description here): 501,100
4. “New Country”: 468,300
5. “Big 80s”: 417,900
6. “Octane” (hard rock): 383,700
7. “Classic Vinyl” (early classic rock): 347,100
8. “Classic Rewind” (later classic rock): 335,500
9. “The Pulse” (90s and contemporary hits): 330,000
10. “Totally 70s”: 309,400

XM - Channel: Cume
1. “Top 20 on 20” (CHR): 1,049,200
2. “Flight 26” (modern AC): 741,600
3. “80s on 8”: 698,300
4. “70s on 7”: 687,400
5. “60s on 6”: 581,300
6. “Highway 16” (new country): 579,500
7. “Top Tracks” (classic rock): 534,900
8. “The Blend” (Lite pop hits): 532,400
9. “The Heart” (love songs): 493,400
10. “Fox News” (news/talk): 464,800

 

[CTListener]

This is from 2008, I think. Obviously, with the merger, this has changed.

Sirius - Channel: Cume
1. Howard Stern’s “Howard 100”: 1,200,000
2. “Hits 1” (CHR): 584,800
3. “Howard 101” (description here): 501,100
4. “New Country”: 468,300
5. “Big 80s”: 417,900
6. “Octane” (hard rock): 383,700
7. “Classic Vinyl” (early classic rock): 347,100
8. “Classic Rewind” (later classic rock): 335,500
9. “The Pulse” (90s and contemporary hits): 330,000
10. “Totally 70s”: 309,400

XM - Channel: Cume
1. “Top 20 on 20” (CHR): 1,049,200
2. “Flight 26” (modern AC): 741,600
3. “80s on 8”: 698,300
4. “70s on 7”: 687,400
5. “60s on 6”: 581,300
6. “Highway 16” (new country): 579,500
7. “Top Tracks” (classic rock): 534,900
8. “The Blend” (Lite pop hits): 532,400
9. “The Heart” (love songs): 493,400
10. “Fox News” (news/talk): 464,800

Every one of those music formats duplicates FM. The only difference is that the '60, '70s and '80 are divided into three channels instead of being a catch-all "classic hits" station. So much for niche listeners driving satellite radio. It looks like what the satellite radio listener really wants is his favorite mainstream music minus the commercials.

 

[Jacko]

The nice thing about satellite radio that it is a bit more niche. For instance, as you may have guessed, I'm a fan of alternative rock. So, if I'm at home and I want to hear a mix of alternative rock from different eras, I could always put it on FNX or Radio 92.9. But sometimes I want to listen to just newer alternative, so I have Alt Nation, or Sirius XMU if I'm feeling adventurous. If I want 90s, and relive the glory days of being a teen in RI listening to 99.7 the Edge, I'll put on Lithium. Or I could put on First Wave for the old stuff. Now, if I really look into playlists, go onto dogstarradio.com and you can basically punch up all of the Sirius, and many XM stations, and find all the playlists, search by artists, etc. Many satellite stations do have more variety than terrestrial stations, but they are confined to a more narrow niche. And you can see clear rotations. For instance, I typed in "rolling stones" on dogstarradio.com and searched only on Classic Vinyl, and the same 15 Rolling Stones songs, in the same order, pop up and seem to play in about a 36-hour rotation. Still, I like satellite more than terrestrial these days for the musical variety, as long as you don't look too closely into rotations.

Jacko

 

[KarsonWithaK]

Great tip about DogStarRadio.com. I'll have to check it out sometime.

K~

 

[Skynet74]

RE: Terrestrial: Radio isn't dead. GOOD Radio is dead.

 

[comrex]

Satellite Radio isn't a failure, it's just that it's such a front-end loaded business model that the company can't get out of debt. I've had XM for several years now, and each year when my subscription comes up I call and negotiate a reduced price for the service. People will pay for radio, it's just that they are each willing to pay a different price. For me, it's worth about half of what the current rates are (that's what I get). For my wealthy neighbor, it's worth subscribing 3 or 4 radios at the full price. For my retired mom, it's not a good value at any price.

 

[MickeyD]

Re: Satellite Radio

Commercial radio is dying a slow quiet death on both AM and FM, with Boston being one of the worst large markets as far as radio that I've ever heard..

I've given up on terrestrial radio entirely..XM/Sirus has some excellent options including Stern, O&A, Bubba and commercial free music..I listen on my computer on a daily basis..

As far as bankruptcy, Clear Channel, Entercom, Citadal and Cumulus will be in Chapter 11 long before XM/Sirus..

There is one thing that Satellite radio users don't realize and that is that it is SATELLITE radio. So what the hell does that mean? It means that XM/Sirius aren't doing that well financially already and the cost of launching and maintaining ONE GEO spacecraft is around 600 Million dollars. They have a usable life of about ten to 15 years depending upon how much fuel they use to keep it in orbit. Where will they get this kind of cash when it is time to replace all of those GEOSATS?

On top of that, satellite radio isn't really satellite radio in the metro areas. How do you see a satellite in NYC when the buildings block the view of the spacecraft? You don't. Sirius is across the street from NBC and when it was being built I asked one of the engineers that was freelancing at Sirius how they would do this and the answer was buffering. So, when I change a channel it will take 20 to 30 seconds to buffer enough programming to resume? Oh yeah,that will work out real well.

Who was the largest pirate radio station ever? Sirius\ XM were. They solved the problem by setting up repeaters in all of the largest city without asking the FCC first. So that is how many of you get your "satellite radio" for the most part; it is just another form of terrestrial radio.

A much more economical way to keep satellite radio moving without those nasty satellites would be to build repeaters all over the country. It sounds expensive but so is a couple of billion dollars to replace a fleet of spacecraft. Then it isn't satellite radio is it? It is just an other form of terrestrial radio.

I would have to bet on XM/Sirius failing somewhere down the line.

 

[joshzz]

I agree with many of the posters. Satellite radio is a fad that will pass like "Phone Call - Greeting Cards".

What is the big hype with Satellite?.... "No commercials is their claim to fame"... I lived through the advent of Cable television and heard that same pitch as a young lad in his twenties... Turn on cable now and you can't get away from commercials. I dropped our satellite tv and now watch tv using a simple that antenna picks up digital tv with better quality than cable offers .. I've got a weather channel, sports, QUBO for the kids, and more.. best of all .. it's free.

When HD Radio takes over, the party will be over Siriusly speaking. There are a ton of radio station to choose from already and that number will nearly triple.. What will make satellite unique? .. I didn't even bring up the idea of internet radio in cars but that will be a reality soon to be found in your local neighborhood vehicles.
jb