Shooting Down Satellite Radio?

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Lester
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Shooting Down Satellite Radio?

Post by Lester »

Shooting Down Satellite Radio?
The radio wars are escalating. In a one-two punch aimed at enlisting regulators to their cause, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and National Public Radio want the Federal Communications Commission to investigate alleged misdeeds by satellite radio companies XM (XMSR) and Sirius (SIRI).


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Post by Hoosier Daddy »

I'm not against the FCC investigating the "misdeeds" of XM and Sirius, but I honestly think a Congressional-level investigation should be launched on the National Association of Broadcasters.

They are the mafia of OTA radio station owners.

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Hoosier Daddy wrote:...I honestly think a Congressional-level investigation should be launched on the National Association of Broadcasters.

They are the mafia of OTA radio station owners.

8)
You realize, of course, the NEA and AFT would absolutely have to come first, right? I mean, after all, wrongs that they've done have cost society immensely and will just compound over the decades to come, and they committed all their wrongs with money confiscated from every single citizen!
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Post by Hoosier Daddy »

Why so protective of the NAB, Arp?

:?
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Post by Arp2 »

Why so eager to attack the NAB when much more harmful and blatant targets exist?

America can exist just fine with four or six or eight radio stations in a city being owned by one company, but it can't prosper and lead as it has with a populace that can't read, write, speak, do math, utilize the principles of physics, and perform medical functions! We're having to import people to do those things now, and that's much more consequential than anything the NAB would or could ever do.
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Post by sportsvoice »

Rehr and company can bluster all they want, but if they were ever to succeed in getting satellite radio shut down it certainly doesn't mean that I'll go back to listening to the dreck that most of their member stations churn out.
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Post by AmpedNow »

Claiming "a persistent corporate (if not industry) circumvention of the FCC's regulations," the NAB and NPR are demanding an investigation into at least three separate issues, two of which the broadcasters raised with the FCC earlier this year. The NAB's goal seems to be stripping XM and Sirius of their licenses.

The satellite operators have displayed "a lack of candor in dealing with the FCC," says NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton. "In such cases, a licensee can have the license taken away."
Okay. If they do get their way, what makes them think that all of the current satrad subscribers will come back to regular radio?

The next thing they can aim for is wireless internet streaming... Can't have all of that choice out there.
Yet other allegations, if the FCC deems them serious, could result in temporary degradation in quality of service for satellite radio subscribers, major product recalls, and even shifts in the satellite radio industry's marketing and content strategies. These measures could potentially prompt a slowdown in satellite radio subscriber growth.
1. All of the recalled units with modulator problems already created supply problems for both companies last summer.

2. They will need a warrant to confiscate my radio... I use the line-in option anyway.
In its second claim, the NAB contends that XM and Sirius shouldn't be allowed to give away their products for free to new car buyers or online. Last week, Sirius streamed Howard Stern's program for free on its Web site.

The NAB argues that such freebies ought to subject satellite radio to the same FCC regulations as those governing terrestrial radio. That likely would trigger restrictions, for example, on language and other racy content.
Just admit that radio is slowly losing the content wars...
If the FCC listens and tries to regulate the satellite radio industry's content, that could affect programs like The Howard Stern Show, which has single-handedly driven millions of subscribers to Sirius
In a way, I hope they seriously try to challenge this...

I want to know how much weight the 1st Amendment really has these days. We are talking about millions of adults who consent to hearing this content by paying for it.

Ditto with cable TV.
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Post by Hoosier Daddy »

Arp2 wrote:Why so eager to attack the NAB when much more harmful and blatant targets exist?
Because we're talking RADIO here, remember?

And you're in the BROADCASTING DISCUSSION area.

No politics. That's the rule.

8)
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Post by sportsvoice »

K-Rock wrote:Okay. If they do get their way, what makes them think that all of the current satrad subscribers will come back to regular radio?

The next thing they can aim for is wireless internet streaming... Can't have all of that choice out there.
Excellent point. How far off are we from WiMax or other technology that would allow me to hear streaming audio anywhere? I'd love to hear my favorite streamers in the car or anywhere. I'm sure the NAB types will do everything in their power to try to stonewall that technology as well.
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Post by lastone »

How far off are we from WiMax or other technology that would allow me to hear streaming audio anywhere? I'd love to hear my favorite streamers in the car or anywhere. I'm sure the NAB types will do everything in their power to try to stonewall that technology as well.
Well....don't think the "powers" that be wouldn't or couldn't do that. They did stop Radio Shack from marketing the first home VCR and the first home CDR. Politics or not, the power is there.
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Post by Arp2 »

Hoosier Daddy wrote:No politics. That's the rule.

8)
It's fascinating you perceive that comparison to be "politics." It's not. It's a simple ranking of problems tied to organizations that lobby, and the results of the lobbying of the NEA and AFT are much bigger and more critical to the survival of a prosperous America than the results of the lobbying of the NAB.

And, considering that the NAB lobbies governmental figures, "politics" can't be entirely left out.

As far as the subjects in the article go, I care very much about dishonesty, I care very much about the modulators, I don't care so much about minor problems with repeaters (modulation and power limits on transmitters, everyone? [cough, cough]), I do care about giving away the product (licensing issues, among others, come up, do they not?), and I would be for content regulation if a service simply insists on giving away the product (no opt-in occurred) or it insists on shoving that product out onto the airwaves.
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Post by Airwaves »

Hmmm... sounds like sat radio is having its own version of a scandal as serious as the payola days of old! It is interesting to see the progression of technology today, as we move from over-the-air terrestrial to satellite to downloads & iPods to internet streaming to whatever comes next....I still think we need to realize that technology is always in flux, that the radio industry is a tech field, and that just like talkies did to silent films and FM did to AM and cable did to the over the airs-stuff changes and we need to roll with the times. Of course the "players" have to stay legal and play by the rules, but it is great to be on the consumer side today and see that we now have such a wonderful variety of choice in our listening pursuits. Local radio will survive satellite or whatever comes along, but be different in ways we don't yet know IMHO. It seems that it is the goal of some to "kill" whatever is new- but the reality is that it is a game of survival instincts.
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Post by AmpedNow »

Worst-case scenario: XM and Sirius get their licenses revoked, instantly displacing 13 million listeners and making their equipment investments worthless.

How does that benefit terrestrial radio?

Instead of going back to listening by default, I suggest that those subscribers will grow to hate terrestrial radio, because they will perceive it as denying them a choice. They will simply move on to iPods and internet radio.

The worst-case scenerio won't happen, because there is way too much money tied up in satellite radio... But the NAB will continue to nitpick and attempt to hinder satellite radio's growth even after this issue is resolved.

I wonder, though... In 5 years or so when mobile internet streaming becomes commonplace, how will the NAB react then? Will broadcasters ride that wave by offering their own webstreams? Or will the NAB try to squash its development as well?
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Post by Ace Purple »

K-Rock wrote:Worst-case scenario: XM and Sirius get their licenses revoked, instantly displacing 13 million listeners and making their equipment investments worthless.

How does that benefit terrestrial radio?

Instead of going back to listening by default, I suggest that those subscribers will grow to hate terrestrial radio, because they will perceive it as denying them a choice. They will simply move on to iPods and internet radio.
I thought of this while reading the latest anti-satellite message released today by the NAB.

NAB President/CEO David Rehr, regarding the proposed Sirius/XM merger: "[E]very person who listens to satellite radio is one person not listening to a local radio station, which affects a station’s ratings and, in turn, ad revenues."

http://www.nab.org/xert/corpcomm/pressr ... XMSIRI.pdf
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Post by fearpeddler »

I dont believe in paying for something I already get for free, so xm and sirius will NEVER see a dime from me.... What I've never understood is why its ok for a radio company to own multiple stations in the same market and even be able to go as far as to send the same station over 4 or 5 frequencies but television companies are forbidden to do this.... I'm not standing up for anyone, this is just (in my eyes at least) a legitimate question..
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Post by Arp2 »

NAB President/CEO David Rehr, regarding the proposed Sirius/XM merger: "[E]very person who listens to satellite radio is one person not listening to a local radio station, which affects a station’s ratings and, in turn, ad revenues."
Okay.....so does that mean the NAB is now for identical protections for TV and radio? That all formats, all songs, and all syndicated programs already available in a market would have to be blocked from sat delivery?

Be consistent, folks.....a principle is a principle or it isn't.
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Post by GlenBrannon1 »

Do you think traditional radio would have come out with HD radio technology (and promote the bejeebers out of it) if it were not for satellite radio?

I think that the competition has already worked and will continue to work.
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Post by SPIKE NESMITH! »

FearPeddler wrote:I dont believe in paying for something I already get for free, so xm and sirius will NEVER see a dime from me....
Which is a relevant argument in some cases, but not all. For example, where - for free - can I listen to house music whenever and wherever I want? Or the BBC World Service? Or jazz music? Or Riley Martin?

It's not about *replacing* terrestrial radio, it's about filling in the holes, particularly in a market like Charleston. I listen to terrestrial just as much as I used to before I got Sirius - if anything, it's my CD collection that has suffered a a result.
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Post by fearpeddler »

SPIKE NESMITH! wrote:
FearPeddler wrote:I dont believe in paying for something I already get for free, so xm and sirius will NEVER see a dime from me....
Which is a relevant argument in some cases, but not all. For example, where - for free - can I listen to house music whenever and wherever I want? Or the BBC World Service? Or jazz music? Or Riley Martin?

It's not about *replacing* terrestrial radio, it's about filling in the holes, particularly in a market like Charleston. I listen to terrestrial just as much as I used to before I got Sirius - if anything, it's my CD collection that has suffered a a result.
spike buddy, dont listen to house music, that junk will rot your brain faster than meth.. heheh...
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Post by SPIKE NESMITH! »

Too late! Those mid-90s Es already took care of whatever was in there...
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