While the work of radio stations using terrestrial transmitters is a typical discussion topic on Radio Survivor, for this episode we find ourselves examining music and talk beamed down from satellites orbiting the earth. Satellite radio as we know it began in the 1990s, with its major players launching satellite radio services in the early 2000s. Brian Fauteux, Associate Professor of Popular Music and Media Studies at University of Alberta joins us on the show to discuss the fascinating history and relevance of satellite radio to both radio culture and the music industry. Brian is the author of the new book, “Music in Orbit: Satellite Radio in the Streaming Space Age,” released in 2025.

Show Notes:

• Music in Orbit: Satellite Radio in the Streaming Space Age (UC Press)
• Brian Fauteux
• SiriusXM
• HBCU channel on SiriusXM
• Aquarium Drunkard
• Sirius XMU
• Behind the Scenes of XMU’s “Student Exchange Program” (SpinningIndie)
• Matthew Lasar on “Radio 2.0” (Radio Survivor)
• Radio 2.0: Uploading the First Broadcast Medium by Matthew Lasar
• Flashback Radio Survivor articles by Brian Fauteux circa 2014-2016! (Radio Survivor)

Show Credits:

• This episode was produced by Jennifer Waits
• Hosted by Jennifer Waits and Eric Klein
• Edited by Eric Klein

The post Podcast #344 – Music in Orbit: Satellite Radio in the Streaming Space Age appeared first on Radio Survivor.

It’s 2015, and that means Howard Stern’s SiriusXM five-year contract is up for renewal again. Last time around, in 2010, Stern milked the protracted “will he or won’t he” drama nearly right up to the end, finally signing on at the beginning of December.

Back then the biggest rumor swirling around was that Apple had offered the King of All Media an unbelievable $600 million to join iTunes for exclusive distribution. There’s no evidence that was ever real, especially since Stern’s SiriusXM deal is reportedly worth $80 million, a fraction of that supposed Apple offer, albeit still an enormous sum of money.

In 2010 Stern also declared that these would be his last five years in radio. His stance seems to have softened a bit since then. Bloomberg Business just published a lengthy profile of Stern and the state of his relationship with his bosses. In it Bloomberg quotes Stern’s on-air musings about retiring, though given how many hours the host is on air every week, reading much into these utterances is a fool’s errand.

This time around there’s still speculation about Stern jumping ship for a new pier, ranging from his own online venture to a subscription service like HBO or Netflix. Again, it’s important to note that he comes at a great price. By most measures SiriusXM made its investment in Stern pay off, but it’s taken nearly 15 years. Stern turned 60 last year, so I doubt many other media companies are ready to take their own decade-plus risk with him.

Bloomberg’s lede is the question if SiriusXM can survive the departure of Stern. More so than ever before it appears the satellite service’s overall business is strong enough. A SiriusXM customer survey found that 12 percent said they listen to Stern, and five percent said they’d cancel if Stern were lost. The company would feel that kind of loss–about $240 million in lost revenue–but it wouldn’t be a mortal wound, given that the company grossed $4.2 billion in 2014.

SiriusXM has reached sustainability in the last five years, primarily due to staking out territory in the car dashboard. That space is hotly contested, with smartphones and in-car internet vying to put podcasts, internet radio and streaming services just a button press away from satellite radio. But, kind of like making Stern’s big money contracts pay off, SiriusXM’s dashboard play has been a long game that competitors are going to have to play in five to ten-year increments. Automakers simply don’t update models as quickly as smartphone manufacturers, and consumers upgrade even less frequently.

Even if internet audio services aren’t yet positioned to eat away a significant portion of SiriusXM’s market share, I do think they have a good shot at stunting satellite radio’s growth. If SiriusXM loses Stern at the end of this year, it may not be able to make back those listeners and that revenue, as young people simply connect their smartphones as if the AM, FM and satellite radio buttons on their dashboard were useless vestiges of an earlier time.

In the Bloomberg article SiriusXM CEO acknowledges that their customers tend to be, “people who buy new cars, who on average are 46 years old and make $100,000 a year.” That’s a good business to be in now, but I wonder if satellite radio will age with that demographic, or continue to appeal to affluent 30- and 40-somethings as millennials enter that demo.

The more immediate question is, is Howard Stern part of SiriusXM’s future or its past? This isn’t just a question of whether or not he renews his contract, but whether this seemingly pivotal moment actually impacts where satellite radio goes from here. While your 46 year-old commuter might be relieved, will the 25 or 30 year-old even care? And will SiriusXM have what it takes to lure her into a subscription, with or without Stern?

The post Is Howard Stern Part of SiriusXM’s Future, or Only Its Past? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

If you received a new Sonos then you’ve got a great portal for listening to radio, music and podcasts with nice sound quality. This is our recommendation guide to the sources available on the system. I’ve tried every one of them and provide a short capsule review for each.

In addition to sound quality and convenient operation, I particularly like how the Sonos system connects seamlessly to most major streaming radio and music services. To me, the killer feature is the ability to create playlists that combine tracks from different services, like Spotify, along with tracks from your own library.

These are my recommendations for getting started with Sonos for listening to music, radio and podcasts.

Broadcast and Satellite Radio

These include both free and subscription services for getting your radio fix.

• DAR.fm – DAR stands for Digital Audio Recorder, and it’s essentially a cloud-based DVR for radio. While podcasts give you on demand access to many popular radio shows, not every show out there is podcasted, especially music shows and many local and national commercial talk shows. DAR lets you record their live streams for later playback, just a like a radio TiVo. Both free and paid subscriptions are available. Learn more in our review of the service.
• SiriusXM – Get access to hundreds of satellite radio stations, including Howard Stern’s channels and commercial-free music channels without using a satellite radio receiver. This service costs $14.99 a month for internet-only, or you can add the internet service to a satellite radio plan for $4.00 a month.
• TuneIn Radio – TuneIn is nearly ubiquitous across all sorts of devices, and its availability on Sonos means you have access to an enormous catalog of broadcast and internet-only streaming radio for free.

Lossless Streaming Music

In September Deezer Elite introduced the first lossless, full CD-quality streaming music service in the US. A little more than a month later Tidal debuted, offering a competing uncompressed service. Both of these services offer on-demand access to an enormous catalog of music, and are now available on Sonos. Here’s an overview.

• Deezer Elite – I reviewed this service in November and found that a real sound quality advantage compared to MP3s and other compressed music services. That said, this is most obvious with critical listening, and less important for background music. Deezer Elite is only available on Sonos, though subscribers can access the compressed premium service on web browser and mobile apps. With an introductory price of $9.99 a month the service is a great value, costing the same as compressed services like Spotify and Rhapsody.
• Tidal – I’ve just started listening to Tidal, and my initial impressions are that its fidelity is comparable to Deezer Elite. Tidal’s primary advantage is that the full uncompressed service is available on multiple platforms, including web browsers and mobile apps. The disadvantage is that it costs $19.99 a month–twice as much as Deezer Elite (at the introductory price), Spotify and other competitors.

Podcasts

You can stream any podcasts stored on your mobile device or computer directly to your Sonos, which is likely the easiest way to listen to podcasts on the system. These apps are also good choices.

• Soundcloud – Soundcloud is becoming a big podcast host, so you’ll be able to find many of the most popular shows here. A nice feature is that if you encounter episodes while browsing the web you can easily tag them for listening later without having to go through the rigmarole of subscribing.
• Stitcher – This popular platform gives you free access to nearly every podcast out there, along with other talk radio programming. If you use Stitcher on your mobile device or computer your listening will be synchronized with your Sonos.
• TuneIn – TuneIn now offers podcasts, although it’\s catalog isn’t as extensive as Stitcher or iTunes.

Streaming Music Radio

All of these services are free or offer free tiers, which make them solid ways to get started listening right away without using your credit card.

• 8tracks – Another free ad-supported service with human curated playlists, many contributed by outside experts and publications. A commercial-free subscription is $25 for six months. For some listening suggestions, Matthew recommends classical playlists and ones inspired by Welcome to Night Vale.
• Pandora – Unlike many other streaming music services, Pandora lets you use its free, ad-supported service with Sonos and other devices. It’s the most popular streaming music service because it’s easy to get started building stations customized to your music tastes. One advantage to Pandora is access to some artists–like the Beatles and King Crimson–who don’t make their music available on Spotify, although you won’t be able to listen to tracks on demand.
• Slacker – Also offers human-curated stations in a wide variety of genres and styles, along with talk programming from ABC News, American Public Media and ESPN. Many stations are artist curated or decade focused. The subscription Plus goes ad-free and gives you unlimited song skips as well as the option to add ABC headline news and Weather Channel updates, while Premium gives you on demand access to tracks, like Spotify.
• Songza – This is a free service that offers human curated playlists tailored for different moods and activities. It’s a nice alternative to Pandora, especially when your stations start to get a little repetitive and you want to shake things up.

Streaming On Demand Music (Compressed)

All of the major on demand streaming music providers are available on your Sonos: Beats Music, Rhapsody, Rdio, Spotify and Google Play Music All Access. They all require a subscription, although Rhapsody offers a free 30-day trial to Sonos users that doesn’t require a credit card. I find all four services to be more-or-less equivalent, and so your choice likely depends on which you’ve used before or if your mobile carrier offers discounts.

Streaming Music You Bought

These services let you stream music that you’ve bought from the cloud, without ads.

• Amazon Music – Amazon has a big MP3 music store, but the company also gives you MP3s of nearly every CD or vinyl LP that you buy from them, too. It’s a convenient way to add tracks from your CDs or LPs to playlists without having to rip them yourself.
• Bandcamp – I’m a big fan of Bandcamp because it lets me buy high quality digital tracks and albums directly from artists and labels, often including music that’s not available on Amazon, Google Play or iTunes. Many albums are available in lossless CD-quality files, in addition to MP3 and AAC. On Sonos you can stream any music you’ve bought on Bandcamp, though it isn’t specified what quality they stream at.
• Google Play Music – If you buy music from Google’s Play store, then you can access it to stream from the cloud on your Sonos. It also includes any music that you’ve uploaded to Google. You can store up to 20,000 tracks for free, and subscribe to store even more.

A Little Bit of Everything

• Soundcloud – This platform is turning into the YouTube of audio, hosting a wide gamut of music, mixes, playlists, radio shows, podcasts, audiobooks and other kinds of audio. It’s free to listen, and a fine choice to dig in to some unique and independent sounds. Check out Matthew’s recommendations for classical music, world music, dance music and space music on SoundCloud.

Are you a Sonos user? Are there other services or platforms you like to us on your Sonos system? Let us know in the comments.

The post Radio, Music and Podcast Recommendations for Your Sonos appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Looking for info on how to listen to this 2021’s Super Bowl LV? Click here.

Sports are nearly as popular on the radio as on television. As USA Today observes, there are 289 more all-sports radio stations on the air since 2006, and this weekend’s Super Bowl is their “summit.” All these stations will be discussing the big game, endlessly, for the next four days, though not all of them will carry the game.

Nevertheless, folks who are working, driving or not near a TV this Sunday, or those who don’t own a TV in the first place, can still listen in to Super Bowl XLVIII on the radio. While there will be fewer listeners than the 100 million-plus viewers who watch the television broadcast, there’s still a sizable radio audience. Edison Research reported that 23.1 million listeners tuned in to a Dial Global affiliate for Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.

Dial Global is now known as Westwood One again, and you can hear the game on a Westwood One Sports affiliate station. ESPN Desportes Radio will broadcast the game in Spanish, while SiriusXM offers the play-by-play in Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and five other languages. The satellite broadcaster also gives English listeners the choice of hearing the Denver Broncos or Seattle Seahawks team broadcast (channel listings below). These programs are available via satellite and through SiriusXM Internet Radio.

Another online option is NFL Audio Pass, which has a playoffs only package for $9.99. Of course the playoffs are over, but since the package includes the Super Bowl, it’s a relatively inexpensive way to ensure you can hear the game online.

Members of the US military overseas, as well as those living near military bases, should be able to listen in on American Forces Radio. In the UK listeners can hear the game on independent broadcaster Absolute Radio. There may be other international radio broadcasters carrying the Super Bowl, but I wasn’t able to confirm any.

It’s not at all clear if the live internet streams of broadcast stations are blacked out, or blacked out by region. This year I’ll make it a point to check out some streams and find out.

If you’re a radio listener outside the US, let us know if and how you plan to listen to the Super Bowl.

Here’s the SiriusXM channel lineup:

• Denver Broncos team broadcast – Sirius 92 / XM 225 / Online 802
• Seattle Seahawks team broadcast – Sirius 86 / XM 86 / Online 827
• National radio broadcast – Sirius 88 / XM 88 / Online 88
• Spanish language broadcast – Sirius 157 / XM 157 / Online 157
• Portuguese broadcast – Sirius 119 / XM 232 / Online 961
• Chinese broadcast – Sirius 113 / XM 229 / Online 965
• German broadcast – Sirius 93 / XM 228 / Online 964
• French broadcast – Sirius 85 / XM 227 / Online 966
• Russian broadcast – Sirius 108 / XM 230 / Online 963
• Japanese broadcast – Sirius 117 / XM 231 / Online 962
• Hungarian broadcast – Sirius 136 / XM 233 / Online 960

The post Catch Super Bowl XLVIII on the radio this Sunday appeared first on Radio Survivor.

As I publish this piece Wednesday evening it is increasingly likely there will be military attacks on Syria by the US, Britain and allies in response to evidence that the Syrian government carried out chemical weapons attacks on its own citizens.

It is certainly a tense situation, and for the people of Syria the situation must be getting only more frightening. Media inside the country is tightly controlled by the government which exclusively airs the Assad regime’s viewpoint, and so it must be difficult to know what the true threat is, and what to expect.

I have been trying assess what outside information resources are available to the people of Syria, particularly radio, since it is inexpensive to receive and more difficult to block.

Inside many war-torn countries outside news and information is available via shortwave radio. Global broadcasters like the BBC and Deutsche Welle can be important sources of information and international political debate. Often there are broadcasts from political opponents, as is the case with Zimbabwe. However, Radio Free Syria, the last known anti-Assad shortwave broadcaster, hasn’t been heard from since about 2004. As well, like in Europe and North America, it appears that shortwave is not particularly popular inside Syria.

Satellite broadcasts, however, are popular in the Middle East where both international television and radio services are available. Due to their wide regional footprint satellite broadcasts easily cross borders, as long as local residents have reception equipment. In 2012 the Assad government was accused by the European Broadcasting Union of jamming the BBC, France 24, Deutsche Welle and the Voice of America. It is unclear if that jamming continues.

There are a couple of internet radio broadcasts for Syrians, originating outside of the country. We previously reported on Radio Rozana, which originates from Paris and plans to launch a satellite channel. Deutsche Welle recently reported on Baladna FM, staffed by exiled reporters in neighboring Jordan. Baladna is internet only at the moment.

Because there are methods for internet users in Syria to evade government filtering, determined listeners inside the country can find ways to tune in these independent broadcasts. But that still makes them less accessible than if they were on satellite or shortwave.

I would appreciate it if any readers with information about media and information availability inside Syria would email us to share.

Speaking for myself, I do not look forward to any military attacks on Syria. I have deep sympathy for the innocent Syrian people caught in their nation’s civil war, subject to brutal attacks from their own government, and now fearing attacks from western powers.

The post What outside radio and information are available to the people of Syria? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Copyright law can be a funny thing. Did you know that recordings made prior to February 1972 don’t enjoy the same copyright protections as those after?

I didn’t. But satellite radio broadcaster SiriusXM knew, and has been using that as an excuse not to pay royalties on those pre–1972 recordings it plays. By law, the company is supposed to pay royalties equalling 8% of gross revenues to SoundExchange, the organization formed to collect performance royalties on behalf of labels and artists.

In a suit filed Monday (PDF) in the U.S. District Court of DC SoundExchange is suing SiriusXM for subtracting plays of pre–1972 recordings from its royalty payment.

Now, beginning with 2013 the rules governing performance royalties set by the Copyright Royalty Board specifically permit the exception of royalties for these recordings from before 1972. But that does not apply for the previous regulatory period ending 2012.

SoundExchange claims that SiriusXM has underpaid by “$50 to $100 million or more.” SiriusXM has not yet responded to a request for comment by either Reuters or the Wall Street Journal.

1960s rock band The Turtles join SoundExchange in not being “Happy Together” with SiriusXM. The band sued the satellite broadcaster in L.A. Superior Court as lead plaintiffs in a class action suit for “at least $100 million” earlier this month, also for unpaid royalties for pre–1972 songs.

While there is limited federal protection for their songs recorded before February 1972, The Turtles are claiming protection under California law that was also recognized by the Supreme Court in Goldstein v. California.

When looking at these cases, it’s important to keep in mind that terrestrial radio is still statutorily exempted from paying these performance royalties. Artists’ groups and labels have been pushing to end that exception. At the same time, digital music services like Pandora are pushing for royalty rates to be lowered–something for which musicians are taking them to task, as I reported in issue #5 of the Radio Survivor Bulletin (subscribe here).

At this point it should be clear that the future of the music industry is very much bound up with the future of broadcasters, whether online or on the airwaves. While on the surface it looks like a fight between big corporations, the welfare of individual artists, small broadcasters and independent labels are all caught up in it, too.

My fellow Radio Survivor Matthew Lasar offered his own compromise called “The Local Radio and Performance Rights Act." As Matthew explains, the LRPRA would,

“would exempt from any performance royalty payment schedule radio stations that the Federal Communications Commission classifies as “Local Radio Stations.” The bill would instruct the FCC to come up with a definition for this phrase via a public rule-making, and to include some of the same criteria the agency is using to pick candidates for Low Power FM licenses: the proximity of the license owner’s headquarters or main studio to the transmitter and how much local programming and music the station broadcasts.”

The purpose is to reward small, locally-oriented stations for serving their communities with a valuable music service by exempting them from royalty payments. At the same time, big stations owned by the likes of Clear Channel and CBS Radio would be subject to payments.

Matthew’s proposal highlights how terrestrial radio’s exemption from performance royalties is intended to recognize radio’s unique ability to introduce listeners to new music and artists. It also puts into relief how that grand bargain has broken down after 17 years of industry consolidation and vital local blood being squeezed out of stations that are run by automation programmed thousands of miles away with little local input.

How SoundExchange’s and The Turtles’ suits turn out will have implications for all manner of broadcasting. These suits and the overall royalty question is something to take seriously, for radio and music lovers alike.

The post SiriusXM sued for royalties on songs from before 1972 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

People are listening to internet radio (which is delivered by a series of tubes).

As RAIN notes, Pandora also released its June numbers, with Wall Street reacting poorly to news that listener hours and market share were down from May, even though both were up significantly from June 2012. Thinking about this makes me wonder: how often does a major terrestrial television or radio broadcaster see its stock price slide based on a single month’s ratings?

Looking to the sky, satellite broadcaster SiriusXM reported 715,000 new subscribers in the 2nd quarter of 2013, nudging its total subscriber base past 25 million. That caused the company to predict it will add a total of 1.5 million new subscriptions in 2013, 100k more than it predicted last quarter. The company did not break down how many new subscribers are internet-only.

Even if summer means a slowdown in internet listening, what I see in these numbers is strong demand for radio, whether its online or satellite. Although Pandora is a music-only service, most of the other top online broadcasters–as well as SiriusXM–offer a significant quantity of news and talk programming.

Internet radio listening will only grow more if it becomes easier to listen using mobile networks, away from home or office wifi connections. This, of course, makes broadcasters dependent on mobile carriers, and threatens to favor big players, like Clear Channel, at the expense of smaller or non-commercial ones. Being able to listen to internet radio more easily in the back yard, at the park or at the beach may help to counteract the summer slump where terrestrial broadcast radio still rules.

In any event, people still want radio, no matter how it’s delivered.

The post Internet and satellite audience numbers indicate that people still love radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Pink Floyd lodging public complaints about Pandora and Tavis Smiley moving into online radio are just two stories in this roundup of streaming radio news.

• Pandora announced that more than 100 car models offer smartphone integration to control its app. The service is offering free commercial-free listening to listeners using an integrated car stereo through the end of the year.

• The impoverished millionaire members of Pink Floyd published an op-ed in USA Today to complain about Pandora’s efforts to bring down the royalty fees it pays for streaming music online. The band says that Pandora is trying to trick artists into signing a letter of support that will only hurt their own pocketbooks. Simultaneously the band’s music became available on Spotify for the first time this week.

• SiriusXM streaming radio now joins the dashboard, too. An agreement with Ford brings access to its smartphone app via the carmaker’s Sync, giving drivers access to on demand content not available via SiriusXM satellite service.

• Public radio and television host Tavis Smiley has signed on to anchor a weekday show on BlogTalkRadio, following his program being cancelled at several prominent stations. Smiley is the first well known media personality to be signed to the service.

The post What’s news in streaming radio: Pink Floyd attacks Pandora, Tavis joins BlogTalkRadio appeared first on Radio Survivor.

For Super Bowl weekend SiriusXM’s Real Jazz channel 67 is featuring Radio New Orleans with music founded on the roots of jazz from the game’s host city. This special programming was put together in conjunction with community radio WWOZ, which focuses on Jazz and New Orleans heritage music.

WWOZ is broadcasting live on Saturday from Super Bowl Boulevard, which has music stages featuring New Orleans musicians like Trombone Shortly and the Rebirth Brass Band. You can listen to WWOZ online and on mobile devices.

If you enjoy listening to the roots of jazz and New Orleans music on SiriusXM or on WWOZ during this Super Bowl weekend, then you can keep listening WWOZ any time. The station has been keeping these sounds alive on the airwaves for more than 30 years, and on the internet for more than a decade. WWOZ is a great example of how community radio can support and enrich local culture, especially where commercial radio fails to reflect such a unique local heritage that continues to thrive.

The post SiriusXM and WWOZ deliver the music of New Orleans for Super Bowl weekend appeared first on Radio Survivor.

It’s been a while since we’ve reported on SiriusXM. The big news for the satellite radio provider is that Liberty Media, owner of Discovery Channel and other media interests, was approved for its majority takeover of Sirius by the FCC at the beginning of the year. Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin is no pal of Liberty boss John Malone, so Karmazin left in December. Four members of the Sirius board have been replaced by Malone picks.

SiriusXM had a pretty good 2012, closing out with a net of 2 million new subscribers, despite raising subscription rates 12% at the beginning of the year. The company’s stock now hovers well above $3 a share, which is a nice turnaround from the dark days of 2012 when the NASDAQ warned of delisting, as its stock hovered around $1.

On the programming end of things, SiriusXM has announced a collaboration with Comedy Central to start a new channel, with a projected launch this spring.

The satellite broadcaster is also bolstering its morning show lineup with a new program hosted by stand-up comedian Pete Dominick, who currently hosts an afternoon call-in and interview program on SiriusXM’s Potus politics channel. Dominick’s new program, called “Stand Up!” will anchor the male-oriented talk radio channel (whatever that means), which will be renamed from “Stars Too” to “Indie.” On his new program Dominick says he will “leave celebrity gossip and voyeurism to others while I explore more important issues with my listeners and the experts that can speak to them best.” It debuts February 11.

Finally, SiriusXM has announced play-by-play of the Super Bowl in nine languages, besides English, including Hungarian, Japanese and French. There will be will four more live broadcasts, including one on the BBC.

For 2013 SiriusXM is projecting the addition of another net of 1.4 million subscribers, which many analysts think is a conservative prediction. The company is on the upswing as the competition from streaming music services like Pandora and Spotify heats up. The real battleground is the mobile listening segment, both in vehicles and smartphones. It will be very interesting to see how SiriusXM fares, especially as Clear Channel continues its effort to to turn iHeartRadio into its primary platform and brand. It will be an entertaining year, if nothing else.

The post Liberty takeover, new programming & Super Bowl coverage start the new year for SiriusXM appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Things are staying eventful for SiriusXM. Liberty Media this week continued its ongoing campaign to take control of the satellite radio provider by buying up 40 million additional shares of the company, bringing its total ownership to 48.8%, up from its 40% stake back in March. Liberty’s intent here is clear. In a a recent filing with the FCC, Liberty requested “de jure” control of SiriusXM based upon its plan to own at least 50% of the company’s shares.

Liberty owns or has stakes in a variety of media companies, including the Starz premium cable channel as well as the Atlanta Braves baseball team. Liberty execs have already stated that they plan to combine SiriusXM with another property in order to spin them off. That other company likely will be Starz, which Liberty has already indicated interest in spinning off.

The big question that is yet unanswered is what this could mean for SiriusXM subscribers. Unlike many media mergers and acquisitions in the last decades, this one doesn’t appear to be leveraged by debt. At first blush one would expect that the impact on operations would be minimal, with no apparent immediate need to shed employees and trim costs. Nevertheless, it’s the rare takeover that doesn’t result in some bleeding.

SiriusXM’s ability to come back from the brink is at least partly due to the continued quality and reliability of its programming, despite cost cutting brought on by its merger. One would hope that Liberty management would learn the lesson from commercial radio’s decline, that starving the funding for your principal product yields only short term gains.

While I would have preferred continued competition in the satellite radio market, I also think that our media landscape is better served by a healthy SiriusXM that continues to deliver decent programming to subscribers rather than the satellite version of Clear Channel.

The post Liberty Media moves towards majority stake in SiriusXM – what does it mean for subscribers? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Every time I’ve listened to satellite radio music in a rental car I’ve found the fidelity to be adequate for the noisy highway environment, but been a little disappointed when I tried to listen more closely. According to a recent blog post by Steve Guttenberg, CNet’s the Audiophiliac, I’m not alone in that assessment. In fact, it’s bad enough that he’s ready to cancel his subscription.

In his post titled “Sirius Satellite Radio still sounds awful after all these years,” Guttenberg observes that, “the treble sounds like it’s underwater; it ”swishes“ and sounds garbled.” He goes on to note that

“That’s not just my opinion; CNET Editor at Large Brian Cooley loved the sound of the high-end Naim Audio system in the $195,000 Bentley GT sports car he tested, but he thought the satellite radio’s sound over that same system was ‘ghastly.’”

He does say that Sirius’ internet streams sound better, and I agree with him on that. But during a 30-day free trial of the internet service last year I discovered that the quality was adequate for background listening, but quickly grew tiresome when listening over headphones. Nevertheless, Guttenberg says that online streams of music formatted public radio stations like WBGO and KCRW still sound better than Sirius’ streams. Again, I concur.

Regrettably, the fidelity trade-off is purely financial in nature, in order to shave a few pennies of bandwidth cost or cram in a few more channels into the satellite frequencies. To me it seems like satellite radio, based on much more complex technology than the more than 80 year-old tech of FM, should result in a step forward in sound quality, not backwards. But subscription numbers would indicate that Guttenberg and I are still in the minority.

The post Sirius sound quality still sucks appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Lured in by the debut appearance of Howard Stern as a judge, I watched both hours of tonight’s season premiere of America’s Got Talent. I’ve never watched the show before, nor any of its stablemates, like American Idol. So let’s not bury the lede: I will not be watching again.

You see, I’m a lapsed Howard fan going back more than twenty years, to when I first heard his afternoon drive-time show on New York’s WNBC. I believe now, as I did then, that Stern was a radio innovator, bringing a brutally honest conversational style to a medium that was overrun with fast-talking put-on DJs. Often his contributions to radio are overshadowed by his sophomoric obsessions with lesbians, porn stars and the sexual habits of his celebrity guests. Even if he only shows it occasionally these days, also he can be genuinely funny and truly irreverent, calling bullshit when he smells it.

Very unfortunately, that is not the Howard Stern I saw during tonight’s AGT. In fact I barely recognized the AGT Stern. In the opening sequence Stern remarked that NBC executives must “be out of their minds,” for putting him on the show. His performance proves them right, but for the opposite reason. Instead of bringing the “Banned by the FCC” King of All Media, he delivered almost none of the caustic wit and critical eye that he’s otherwise known for. Instead, we got schmaltz, and way too much “this is why America is great,” pandering.

Early on in the first hour he got of a couple of Howardesque one-liners, such as when he told a stripper magician that the guy had a “small package,” but that Howard could empathize because he’s “in the same boat.” He told the same guy that a stripper like him shouldn’t have “man boobs,” but again took the edge off by admitting that Stern is similarly endowed, himself.

At the start of the second hour, which took place in Saint Louis, we get a glimpse of the neurotic Howard when the judges and Howie Mandel’s mother get stuck in one of the theater’s elevators on their way to the stage. When the elevator shudders Stern looks genuinely worried, observing that elevator accidents are “epidemic” in New York. But, alas, that was the last remotely honest moment in that hour.

On the whole the show struck me as a short attention span version of the Gong Show. Only a few acts were shown in their entirety, interspersed by montages of several acts thrown together with fast editing, and lots of shots of the judges enthusiastically jumping out of the seats and clapping. A few clinkers were also shown being buzzed out of the running before finishing, but not really enough to be satisfying, nor to let any of the judges lay into them. On the whole the winning acts weren’t nearly as impressive as any of the judges made them out to be. Where are Chuck Barris, Artie Johnson, Jamie Farr and Jaye P. Morgan when you need them?

Having never watched America’s Got Talent before, I don’t know first hand if former judge Piers Morgan was more critical than Howard. Watching twitter traffic during the show I got the impression that Morgan was indeed considered a more discerning judge than Stern. Then again, Stuttering John would have been more trenchant.

One of the things I most enjoyed about Stern’s radio and television shows in the late 80s and early 90s is how he attracted a merry band of misfit fans who appeared on air to show off lame-brained tricks and stunts. Howard could be both welcoming while also maintaining a snarky standpoint of near disbelief. Stern limply attempted such a jibe when he first dismissed the player of something called the “Earth Harp” as an unemployed hippy, only to come back with gushing praise after the performance.

The last twenty minutes of the two hours were almost insufferable as just about every act turned on the water works. Oh, the crying! And, the hugging! I have a hard time not imagining that the 1990 Howard Stern would have vomited in his mouth watching the 2012 Stern and the whole AGT production.

It may be true that America’s got talent. That premise remains unproven tonight.

The post America’s Got Schmaltz – Howard Stern’s disappointing America’s Got Talent debut appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Everybody’s blogging and twittering away over Liberty Media Corporation’s failed attempt to take de facto control of Sirius XM satellite radio. The Federal Communications Commission rejected Liberty’s application on Friday. Liberty owns 40 percent of Sirius XM stock. The reasons for the rebuff appear to be technical:

“We find Liberty Media’s applications to be unacceptable for filing because they are defective with respect to ‘execution’ and ‘other matters of a formal character’.” the FCC opined. “Specifically, Liberty Media was unable to obtain the passwords, signatures, and other necessary information from Sirius to properly file an electronic transfer of control application.”

But don’t get too weepy for Liberty. Reuters analyst Jeffrey Goldfarb offers a slew of sneaky-Pete ways that Liberty CEO John Malone could still take control of Sirius XM. Among them:

“Liberty can block any strategic initiatives Sirius boss Mel Karmazin and his board may want to make, so Malone could press them into another of his fiendishly complex deals.”

It’s worth going over to Liberty and taking a look at its assets page. Its subsidiaries include Starz, the Atlanta Braves, and TruePosition. Liberty also has interests in Live Nation, Barnes & Noble, Time Warner, Time Warner Cable, Viacom, McNeil/Lehrer Productions (producer of the PBS News Hour), and Sprint Nextel.

In some instances, the share only comes to one percent. But I wonder how many companies would turn down a one percent share in Viacom.

The post John Malone may not have Sirius XM, but he still has a media empire appeared first on Radio Survivor.

SiriusXM announced positive first quarter results on Tuesday, with the number of subscribers growing to an all time high of 22.3 million. The company also said that its retaining 45% of subscribers who got a trial subscription with the purchase of a new satellite radio equipped car. Its stock (SIRI) price jumped a bit–from $2.26 to $2.31 a share–after the announcement, but then slipped to $2.23 by the close of Tuesday’s trading. On Wednesday it closed at $2.25.

SiriusXM has been fighting off a takeover attempt by 40% owner Liberty Media. In March Liberty petitioned the FCC to take control of the company, and SiriusXM fired back, telling the FCC that a 40% share does not add up to a majority stake.

The satellite radio company has also been fighting off a lawsuit filed by its most expensive talent, Howard Stern. The veteran shock jock claims that SiriusXM refused to pay $300 million in promised stock awards, but the suit was thrown out two weeks ago. Stern is now appealing the ruling.

Finally, CNet recently reported that the newest version of SiriusXM’s iPhone and Android has seen one of the most popular features cut back. The company has touted the app’s ability to rewind up to 5 hours of programming from favorite stations. But with the just-released version 2.0.2 the feature is unavailable for some stations, in particular some talk and news stations. According to the SiriusXM twitter feed, “In some cases, with our News channels, our ability to offer Start Now is restricted by third parties & our contracts with them.”

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Will Sky be NZ's happy place for sat radio?

North Americans can be accused of taking our selection of radio broadcasting for granted. Sure, I’ll be amongst the first to complain about the homogenizing effect consolidation has had on commercial radio. Yet even small cities in the US and Canada have a wide variety of commercial, college, non-commercial and public stations to choose from. On top of that we can opt for satellite radio. It may often be a case of “500 channels and nothing’s on,” but sometimes it’s nice to know you have those 500 channels.

However, this is not necessarily true in other countries. Take New Zealand, for example. This island nation of about 4.4 million has a pretty well developed broadcast system of both commercial and public stations. But, for better or worse, neither terrestrial or satellite digital radio broadcasting has yet to take hold there.

That may change. News Corp-owned satellite television provider Sky TV reportedly is considering offering a satellite-based radio service in New Zealand. A Sky spokesman said that they “have been looking at the same system that is used in the United States.” One would presume he means the same system used by Sirius/XM, rather than the audio channels which are currently available over Sky’s TV service. For instance, Radio New Zealand is available on Sky’s audio channels. Also, there really isn’t a discrete satellite-based radio service outside of the US and Canada.

An advantage of satellite radio for New Zealand comes from the fact that there are sparsely populated and geographically remote areas of the country that are difficult to serve with terrestrial broadcasts. However, there are few additional details about what the service would look like, not even what kind of programming might be aired.

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Last Thursday, on the eve of the company’s tenth anniversary celebration with Bruce Springsteen, SiriusXM CEO Mel Karmazin appeared for a thirteen minute interview on Jim Cramer’s CNBC investment show Mad Money. There are two big questions on the mind of satellite radio watchers: will John Malone’s Liberty Media buy up more of SiriusXM, and why are Karmazin and top execs selling off shares in their own company? The former question has been tugging at investors because Liberty currently owns 40% of SiriusXM from a 2009 loan deal, which as of last week permits Liberty to purchase more shares. However, the interview revealed no substantive answers to these concerns.

To me Karmazin’s most interesting–but not surprising–admission was that SiriusXM’s costs are going down because there is no longer competition in the satellite radio market; since their merger SiriusXM is the only player. In particular this means that if a content provider is interested in being on satellite radio, there’s only one game in town, and no other company to spark a bidding war with. On top of that, there’s no competition for would-be satellite radio consumers, putting aside the fact that there’s plenty of competition for radio listeners across platforms.

Of course, there’s nothing revelatory in that admission. In fact, it borders on stunningly obvious. Nevertheless, I always appreciate it when big industry players come out and admit simple truths like this. In part, that’s because it validates the criticisms of folks, like me, who see through claims that these monopoly-generating mergers are somehow in the public interest. They’re only ever about reducing competition in order to lower costs and increase revenue. Any other objective is peripheral, at best. Why else would SiriusXM wait until now to raise its monthly subscription rate? Again, Karmazin pretty much admits as much in his Mad Money appearance. A rate increase was counter-productive as long as there was another satellite provider that could compete on price.

Indeed, it’s good to be a monopoly.

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SiriusXM announced its 4th quarter 2011 results today, revealing that the company turned a profit and reached 8.7 million subscribers, with 1.7 net subscribers added last year. While those numbers apparently look good both to the company and investors, SiriusXM is only holding on to 44% of subscribers who get a free trial when they buy a vehicle with a satellite radio.

CEO Mel Karmazin also announced that SiriusXM would begin offering on-demand access to some programs over the internet as an add-on service. The company will also offer a personalized radio service that is likely intended to compete with Pandora and iHeartRadio.

It looks like Karmazin and the SiriusXM management are learning the same lesson that terrestrial radio had to contend with: audio media is now a multi-platform ecosystem. The largest commercial radio broadcasters were late to embrace the internet, and suffered for it. That’s why Clear Channel is putting so much into its iHeartRadio platform. By comparison, non-commercial broadcasters, especially public radio, used live streaming, podcasting and on-demand access to grow their audience.

The other big lesson that SiriusXM faces was even harder for commercial radio: good programming is more important than the delivery medium. Companies like Clear Channel quickly diluted their value by treating radio stations like commodity properties while dumbing down their chief product. SiriusXM has fared better in that regard, retaining more original programming that differs from what’s available on broadcast, even if the effects of cost-cutting have been obvious to listeners.

If SiriusXM wants to hold on to subscribers in the face of internet radio services that are invading vehicles and other mobile spaces, then the company must offer competitive options that give listeners an incentive to hold on to their subscriptions. Every minute a SiriusXM subscriber spends with Pandora or a podcast is a moment when she might question if she’s getting enough value out of her $14 – $20 a month.

However, I don’t think just offering a Pandora competitor is enough to hold onto subscribers. Again, the quality and uniqueness of programming is the key. Offering on-demand access certainly helps listeners take better advantage of their subscriptions, but that’s only attractive if the programs keep them tuned in.

I’ve been listening to a trial subscription of SiriusXM for the last few weeks. Soon I will be reporting on my impressions of the service, and whether or not it’s worth the subscription price in a multi-platform audio universe.

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It’s almost hard to believe that satellite radio is a decade old this year. Actually the XM service launched in September, 2001 while Sirius launched service in four states in February 2002. I remember clearly the hoopla around the debut of this new radio service, and devouring a feature article about XM in Sound and Vision magazine. I actually first heard Sirius on satellite television when I subscribed to Dish Network around 2003, and then after that primarily heard the service in rental cars.

As I’ve noted before, it always seemed to me that the service didn’t quite live up to its billing as a richer, more diverse and commercial-free alternative to the declining quality of commercial terrestrial radio. For example, the XM Unsigned channel, which focused on up and coming artists who didn’t have big record contracts and was featured prominently in that 2002 Sound and Vision article, effectively disappeared in 2005 when it was merged with the more conventional indie rock XMU channel. As well, many listeners were disappointed when satellite talk stations first introduced advertising (although music stations remain free of commercials).

That said, I do understand how satellite is an attractive option for people who spend a lot of time on the road, especially outside major radio markets, and for listeners interested in exclusive specialty programming, like Howard Stern. And while it hasn’t always been smooth sailing, and it required a previously verboten merger of Sirius and XM, satellite radio appears to be on relatively solid ground as it hits its tenth birthday.

We’ll know more about just how solid that ground is on Thursday when the company will report its fourth quarter 2011 earnings and year-end results. Analysts expect revenue to be up around 6%, while its stock (SIRI) price sits at $2.12 as of close on Tuesday. While a little more than two bucks doesn’t sound like the best stock performance, it’s a significant gain from two years ago when SiriusXM was under threat of delisting from the NASDAQ as its stock dipped below a dollar.

Perhaps the company will have good reason to celebrate a month later, on March 9, when it throws a birthday concert with Bruce Springsteen at the Apollo Theater in New York City. The concert will air live on Sirius’ E Street Radio channel, three days after Springsteen drops his new album, “Wrecking Ball.”

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This is certainly an indicator of strong growth for internet radio and streaming services. Music royalties agency SoundExchange announced Tuesday that it ended the year collecting $292 million in royalty payments, up 17% from 2010. These royalties are paid by internet, satellite and cable TV music-only services for the right to play sound recordings, and are distributed to the owners of the sound recording rights. The payments are based upon listener hours, which means a service pays more royalties when more listeners are tuned in. Terrestrial radio is excepted from these royalties by statute, though all broadcasters are obligated to pay songwriting royalties via agencies like ASCAP and BMI.

SoundExchange also reports that 15,300 new artists, labels and rights holders were registered last year, and therefore became eligible to receive royalty payments.

I am definitely of two minds with regard to these payments, often known as “mechanical” royalties. On the one hand, I think it is only fair for musicians to be paid when services base their income on playing recorded music. But on the other hand, there are many non-commercial services that do not turn a profit, and for whom these payments can be burden. Furthermore, it is reasonable to question how much money individual artists see from these collections, since the major record companies arguably own the majority of mechanicals rights.

Even the for-profit services like SiriusXM satellite radio and Pandora have been protesting. They say that the SoundExchange fees are too high and that the terrestrial radio exemption is unfair. Last fall SiriusXM made waves by reaching out to the major labels to negotiate individual contracts that would bypass SoundExchange, in the hope of reducing its rates. Such a move is legal because SoundExchange is the default statutory collection agency for those who don’t have other agreements with rights holders. The catch with bypassing SoundExchange is that you end up with a lot of individual contracts to hammer out. The risk for artists with such arrangements is that those who own the rights to their recordings might have difficulty collecting their due royalties.

In any event, this rise in royalty payments are a strong sign that more listeners are turning to online radio and music streaming services, in addition to the more established satellite and cable providers.

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Talk is heating up on Wall Street that satellite radio purveyor SiriusXM might be on the verge of a sale. Most of the talk centers on Liberty Media, headed up by chairman and early player in cable television John Malone, which turns over media properties pretty regularly, and currently owns the QVC shopping network, Starz premium cable network and the Atlanta Braves, amongst other properties. Liberty has a 40% stake in SiriusXM, obtained as part of a $530 million loan deal that helped the satellite radio company stay out of bankruptcy.

The big question is whether Liberty will choose to divest itself of its SiriusXM holding, or instead take on a bigger piece. Liberty has the option to buy in for up to 49% of SiriusXM, and go for more than that after March 2012.

At an investor meeting before Thanksgiving, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei wouldn’t say which way the company was leaning. SiriusXM CEO Mel Karmazin told investors that his company’s prospects for 2012 look good, predicting revenue growth combined with lower interest expenses and capital expenditures.

But at the Reuters Global Media Summit on Tuesday Karmazin expressed doubt about a Liberty takeover of SiriusXM. He also said he doesn’t know what company is willing is willing to pony enough for a full buyout, and that he’s not sure he’d be happy working for someone else. Karmazin’s contract is up in 2012.

SiriusXM stock has bounced back from the first quarter of last year when it hovered just under a dollar a share, risking delisting from the NASDAQ. By comparison the stock closed Tuesday at $1.72, after more than 21 million shares traded, making it one of the ten most-active stocks on the NASDAQ. The interest is likely fueled by speculation of a Liberty Media buy.

If nothing else, the satellite radio service appears relatively stable, having kept star talent Howard Stern on board and riding the coattails of the auto industry’s slow comeback. However, just like terrestrial radio, SiriusXM faces still competition from the rise of internet radio and music services like Pandora and Spotify, as well as competition for customers’ attention from outside the radio world.

I honestly don’t know what Liberty Media would do with SiriusXM, or if there would be any kind of synergy with its other holdings. Liberty does have ownership stakes in Barnes & Noble and Live Nation, so there are interesting possibilities, even if I’m not thrilled with smell of consolidation all around it.

The post Could SiriusXM join the house of QVC, Starz and the Atlanta Braves? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Earlier this year SiriusXM announced the minority oriented broadcasters who would receive full-time audio channels as a result of deal made with the FCC in order to get its 2008 merger approved. One of the broadcasters, Howard University, is ready to go on the air beginning Dec. 1.

Howard owns and operates one of the few university-owned commercial stations in the US, WHUR-FM, which programs for a largely urban African-American audience in Washington, DC and celebrates its 40th anniversary on Dec. 10. The university’s new satellite channel is called H.U.R. Voices and will air a mix of programs produced at WHUR, like the daily public affairs program “Daily Drum,” along with new programs produced for SiriusXM.

WHUR-FM also airs some popular syndicated programming like the Steve Harvey show, which is produced by Premiere Radio Networks. I’m guessing that these syndicated programs won’t make it onto the satellite channel.

Howard University has a second channel which is planned to start broadcasting in May 2012. Its name is HBCU and the focus will be on programming from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Of the five broadcasters who were allocated SiriusXM channels, only one other has started broadcasting on satellite. Brigham Young University’s BYU Radio went live this past July.

The post Howard University’s H.U.R. Voices hits SiriusXM on Dec. 1 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Of course, Kermit the Frog hosts the station which will feature all sorts of Muppet music and bits, in addition to requisite songs and clips from the new movie. Muppets will be making appearances all over other SiriusXM channels, too. My favorite Muppet musician Dr. Teeth will join Animal to talk about their favorite music on country channel The Highway. The guys who taught me about snark at a very young age, balcony-dwellers Statler and Waldorf, will discuss the art of heckling with Raw Dog Comedy’s Mark Says Hi. And this one’s definitely not for the youngins, when well-known chicken-lover Gonzo performs a rap tribute to Eminem on his uncensored Shade45 channel.

I’m not a SiriusXM subscriber, but I am contemplating maybe signing up for a free 30-day trial of the internet service so that I might be able to check out some of Muppet Radio. Not sure I can take in hours and hours of straight Muppet content. I also fear that it may be more of a disappointing infomercial than I’d like.

Here’s a not-too-lame excerpt, with Gonzo on NASCAR Radio:

The post Can you picture that? Week-long Muppets Radio comes to SiriusXM for the Thanksgiving weekend appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Studio 54 opened in 1977 in mid-Manhattan. The show sounds like fun in a weird, hyper-nostalgic way:

Legendary Studio 54 doorman, Marc Benecke, and Myra Scheer, executive assistant to former Studio 54 co-owner Steve Rubell, will host weekly interview shows, The Marc and Myra Show, with Studio 54 insiders from the iconic era. Special guests will include Studio 54’s original head of security, original bartenders, waiters, busboys and well known club regulars and celebrities.

The news comes as I am reading Alice Echols’ wonderful book, Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture, and remembering all the disco haters I knew back in my salad days. I loved disco from the getgo, and puzzled at all the fuss over it, which seemed to come in equal intensity from the New Left and conservative right. Anita Bryant famously warned, for example, that homosexuals were cranking out disco singles "with double meanings . . . then having ‘straight’ children buy them."

But, as Echols notes, nobody hated disco more than album-oriented rock stations. There was Dennis Erectus of KOME in San Jose, California, who would play 33 rpm disco records at 78 rpm, while adding the sounds of flushing toilets and people vomiting. Then there was Detroit station WWWW, two of whose deejays launched the "Disco Ducks Klan" (!!!).

"They were laying plans, which were later aborted, to wear white sheets onstage at a disco that was switching to rock," Echols writes. "At their next job, at AOR station WRIF, they performed on-the-air ‘electrocutions’ of disco lovers whose names and phone numbers had been sent to the station by members of the ‘intelligence’ arm of DREAM (Detroit Rockers Engaged in the Abolition of Disco)."

Anti-disco antinomian

Apparently the most famous discophobe from that era was deejay Steve Dahl of WLUP in Chicago, who organized, in his words, an "antidisco army . . . dedicated to the eradication of the dreaded musical disease known as DISCO." Dahl, who had been dumped from a rock station that switched to disco, always lisped when saying the d-word. That was the least of his schtick, it seems.

"When Van McCoy, of the hit single ‘The Hustle,’ died, Dahl memorialized him by destroying his record on the air," the book continues:

"These incidents were a prelude to Dahl’s main event. Disco Demolition Night was held on July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park, during a double-header between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Dahl planned the event with the son of the White Sox’s owner, Mike Veeck, who was the sports broadcaster at WLUP. For weeks leading up to the game Dahl had promised that fans showing up with disco records in hand would be admitted for a mere 98 cents. That evening over 70,000 people descended upon the ballpark. So many Dahlites showed up with records—reportedly 10,000—that regular ticket holders were denied admission. . . .

During the intermission, Dahl, who was decked out in military fatigues and an army helmet, drove onto the field in a military-style jeep. Next to him sat a blond bombshell, a model named Lorelei who often appeared in WLUP’s ads. Then an enormous crate filled with what said to be 50,000 disco records was placed in center field. After setting off fireworks in front of the crate, Dahl detonated a fireworks bomb inside the crate that sent shards of the exploded records flying."

This provoked a half hour riot, with 7,000 fans running about the field in an orgy of record smashing. Eventually the tactical division of the Chicago Police Department was called in. They arrested thirty nine people. Several were injured in the melee.

What was all this crazy rage against disco about? Echols cautions against easy answers. But she notes that by the late 1970s, the genre had become a target for everybody. Conservatives disliked its sexual overtones. Progressives blamed it for the end of the sixties. Dueling critics accused disco of being disruptive and conventional.

Most amusingly, scruffy straight white guys hated that when they went to a club, they now had to dress better. "You have to look good," Dahl complained to an interviewer, "you know, tuck your shirt in, perfect this, perfect that."

But Echols also points out that Album Oriented Rock’s war on disco was no accident. It was organized by two radio consultants who discovered that these campaigns boosted listenership and station loyalty, even among listeners who were initially neutral about disco. After conducting some audience research, they managed to convince no less than sixty radio stations to "appeal to their base by launching anti-disco campaigns."

Today, this strange moment in American culture is almost completely forgotten. Disco is now bathed in the elixir of nostalgia. One wonders if any of this craziness will be recalled on Sirius XM’s Studio 54 show.

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At long last Sirius XM has allocated four percent of its full-time audio channels to various “qualified entity” minority oriented broadcasters. Howard University is among the winners, something I’d hoped would happen. Howard runs WHUR-FM (see YouTube clip to the right).

The four percent allocation was part of the deal that Sirius XM made with the Federal Communications Commission as a condition of its 2008 merger. Below is the FCC’s full list of the winners. More about the long, torturous process by which these recipients were decided here and here.

• Howard University (licensee of WHUR-FM and WHUT-TV)

One channel each on Sirius and XM – Music and talk programming for the African American community

One channel each on Sirius and XM – Music and talk programming for the African American community, with programs from Historically Black Colleges and Universities

• BYU Radio (licensee of KBYU-FM and KBYU-TV)

One channel each on Sirius and XM – Music and talk programming for the Mormon community

• Eventus/National Latino Broadcasting

One channel each on Sirius and XM – Spanish language talk programming

One channel each on Sirius XM – Spanish language music programming

• WorldBand Media

One channel each on Sirius and XM – Spanish language talk programming

• KTV Radio

One channel on XM – Korean language music and talk programming

The FCC seems happy about this new line up. “This marks a valuable step in increasing the diversity of programming available to satellite radio listeners while promoting access for new entrants and independent satellite radio programming,” declared Commission boss Julius Genachowski.

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Sirius XM owns the Digital Audio Radio Spectrum ("DARS" in red) right smack dab in the middle of the WCS bands.

The great war between Sirius satellite radio (SIRI) and the Wireless Communications System Coalition has taken another interesting turn as the Federal Communications Commission ponders whether to lift the price caps the FCC imposed on Sirius as a condition for its merger with XM in 2008.

The WCS Coalition—backed by Comcast (CMCSA),  Nextwave (WAVE), and other wireless companies has spent years trying to resolve spectrum interference issues with Sirius so it can offer wireless broadband services in two nearby spectrum bands. Now the group says drop the caps if the FCC rejects Sirius requested rules that the wireless coalition thinks will screw up its networks.

“It would be premature for the Commission to lift the price cap that was put in place to protect consumers against unwarranted Sirius XM price increases. Rather, the WCS Coalition respectfully suggests that the Commission retain the existing price cap on an interim basis, and defer any decision to lift or modify the price cap until the Commission can address [Sirius’s] pending petitions for reconsideration. By first assuring that spectrum will be available for the delivery of Internet-based audio services to automobiles and other places where consumers listen to Sirius XM, the Commission will then be able to lift the price cap without fear of anti-consumer impacts.”

Some background on this godforsaken mess, which we have been covering here for some time. For at least half a decade Sirius, XM and companies in the WCS band have been trying to work out a peaceful coexistence non-interference deal. The owners of the WCS spectrum occupy the 2305-2320 and 2345-2360 MHz bands, while Sirius occupies 2320-2345—smack dab in the middle of WCS.

Finally last year the FCC implemented the non-inteference recommendations mentioned in its National Broadband Plan, but Sirius continued to object to them, and filed a petition for reconsideration against the provisions, which the satellite radio company argued were too lax.

But now, as the third anniversary of the Sirius XM merger approaches (July 28), the FCC must consider whether to lift the three year subscriber price caps that it imposed as a condition for the union. Present Sirius subscription prices range from $6.99 for an a la carte package to $19.99 for the Sirius XM “all-in-one” deal. Obviously Sirius wants the option to raise prices, and said so in a recent filing with the Commission, arguing that the Internet has made the radio business robustly competitive, so the caps aren’t needed:

Satellite radio competes for listeners with an expanding array of audio entertainment choices—most of which are available to consumers for free. These choices include terrestrial AM/FM radio, HD radio, iPods and other portable audio devices, and they increasingly include Internet-based services, such as Pandora, Rhapsody, Slacker, Lastfm and iheartradio.

Pandora alone is reportedly available on over 200 devices in addition to the computer. This competition for audio entertainment is especially acute in vehicles, with several automakers introducing features integrating Internet-based services, further reducing any remaining arguable hurdles to the seamless use of smartphones, iPods and other portable audio devices in vehicles.

But WCS pushes back that, yeah, the environment is potentially competitive, but not if the FCC screws up our new wireless broadband services in those bands with the revised non-interference rules that Sirius wants:

“It is ironic that Sirius XM would in this proceeding point to Internet-based services as competitive threats,” the coalition writes, because “Sirius XM continues to advocate a wide range of rules and policies that will severely limit, if not effectively preclude, the offering of broadband services over WCS as envisioned by the National Broadband Plan.” And:

As the Commission considers Sirius XM’s request to be freed from its price cap, it can and should find that Internet-based audio services have the potential to compete with Sirius XM. But the Commission cannot ignore that Internet-based services will only realize that potential if there is sufficient spectrum that is both available and appropriately regulated to meet the exploding demand for mobile broadband.

It never ends. More public comments to the FCC on this issue here.

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A Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) subscription price hike after July? It’s looking more likely, judging from recent correspondence with the Federal Communications Commission.

When the FCC agreed to let Sirius XM  satellite radio merge, one of the voluntary conditions to which the new entity agreed was to hold off on raising their “current or proposed prices” for at least thirty-six months after the consummation of the union. These included regular and premium channels.

“Six months prior to the expiration of the commitment period, the Commission will seek public comment on whether the cap continues to be necessary in the public interest,” the Order noted. “The Commission will then determine whether it should be modified, removed, or extended.”

Sirius and XM consummated the merger on July 28, 2008. That means that the voluntary price cap period ends on July 28 of this year. And that public comment period should be coming soon. Present Sirius subscription prices range from $6.99 for an a la carte package to $19.99 for the Sirius XM “all-in-one” deal.

But Sirius XM already knows what the FCC should decide on the matter. “In light of the increasingly competitive landscape for audio entertainment, there is no need for the Commission to seek to extend or modify the subject rate cap and Sirius XM requests that the FCC take no steps to do so,” the company wrote to the Commission on Thursday.

Why? In its Order, the FCC noted that it wanted to hear public comment because the agency did “not know what the competitive landscape will be like in three years.”

Sirius XM says it’s obvious now:

The audio entertainment market is even more robustly competitive today than it was in 2008 when the FCC granted the merger applications. Satellite radio competes for listeners with an expanding array of audio entertainment choices—most of which are available to consumers for free. These choices include terrestrial AM/FM radio, HD radio, iPods and other portable audio devices, and they increasingly include Internet-based services, such as Pandora, Rhapsody, Slacker, Lastfm and iheartradio.

Pandora alone is reportedly available on over 200 devices in addition to the computer. This competition for audio entertainment is especially acute in vehicles, with several automakers introducing features integrating Internet-based services, further reducing any remaining arguable hurdles to the seamless use of smartphones, iPods and other portable audio devices in vehicles.

In early January 2011, Toyota announced it would introduce ‘Entune’ in its vehicles, an integrated multimedia system designed to compete with Ford’s SYNC system and the products introduced by BMW and Mini. Such marketplace changes confirm precisely what the United States Department of Justice found when it closed its investigation of the Sirius-XM merger nearly three years ago.

In granting its consent to the merger, DOJ identified ‘competitive alternative services available to consumers’ and noted, in particular, that ‘a number of technology platforms are under development that are likely to offer new or improved alternatives to satellite radio [including] . . . the expected introduction within several years of next-generation wireless networks capable of streaming Internet radio to mobile devices.’

DOJ’s findings have been confirmed by independent parties in the FCC’s rulemaking regarding HD Radio technology and through subsequent technological developments.

Furthermore, even if the Commission thinks it has the authority to extend the expiring cap, doing so wouldn’t be practical, Sirius XM argues:

For example, the price cap was suggested by the applicants for a defined period of time. Government-set rates are something quite different. How would the FCC independently justify setting $12.95—or any other particular rate—as the appropriate rate for basic satellite subscriptions? And for what period of time? Moreover, what process would the Commission employ for determining subscription rates or the period of time they would be in effect?

No word yet on when this FCC comment period will begin. But Sirius XM subscribers should probably gird their monetary loins for rate hikes in the fall or beyond. After all, somebody’s gotta pay for Howard.

The post Sirius XM to FCC: let us raise subscription prices after July 28 appeared first on Radio Survivor.

It appears that Sirius/XM satellite radio continues to bet its fortunes on big names, to the extent to which its willing to cut the salaries of its less well-known names. As we covered here, the big drama at the end of 2010 was whether or not the self-proclaimed King of All Media, Howard Stern, would renew his contract with the satellite radio provider. In the end he did, but the full financial terms of the contract still have not been made public. It was widely speculated that Stern was being pushed to take a hit to his salary, given how expensive it was to sign him five years ago.

It seems safe to guess that Stern probably came out of this new contract with even money. The key is probably his agreement to permit his show and dedicated channels to be offered on the Sirius mobile apps for the first time. But keeping Stern, even with being able to distribute his content more widely doesn’t come cheaply. Neither does signing Dr. Laura, Jamie Foxx and Oprah.

The pressure of these star salaries appears to have fallen upon Sirius’ second-tier talent. Most prominently, the Florida-based shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem refused to renew with Sirius at the end of the year after being offered an 80% reduction in his salary. Reportedly making $1 million a year before, Bubba would have been cut down to $200 grand. Still good money for a morning shock-jock DJ, but I’m sure that would have cut into Bubba’s beer, porn and wild boar budget.

Bubba was featured on one of Stern’s channels, and this week Howard told listeners that he would like to see the Love Sponge return to Sirius. The big question is if Howard is willing to pony up his own cash or make other concessions to Sirius to make the deal happen.

What I find ironic about Sirius’ celebrity strategy is that it is so reliant on names that became famous in conventional broadcast radio and television. So far Sirius/XM has failed to find or nurture any radio stars on its own. Even many of the second-tier hosts, like Bubba and fellow shock jocks Opie and Anthony, defected from broadcast.

Yet, it’s arguable that a sizable percentage of Sirius/XM subscribers are not drawn in by names like Stern, Dr. Laura or Oprah, instead getting on board for the commercial-free music and other talk programming. This makes me wonder if the headline-grabbing celebrity signings are worth it for the service.

As a result, 2011 will prove to be a very pivotal year for Sirius, demonstrating if the big signings and renewals add any more subscribers than the previous few years. With 20 millions subscribers at the end of 2010, satellite radio is not a fringe service. But at the same time it’s still not an overall profitable service, either.

I’ve always been of two minds about satellite radio, especially since the merger in 2009. Yet, in addition to exclusive and ad-free content, satellite radio does offer a useful service for a lot of listeners, especially people who spend a lot of time in a car or truck. But I really wonder if the company’s pursuit of celebrity doesn’t thrust it down the same road the music industry got lost on, betting big on top artists, which can also mean losing big on them. I also wonder if the money spent on the Sterns and Schlessingers won’t take a toll on the less flashy channels, draining them of the qualities that separate satellite from the wasteland of commercial broadcast radio.

It should be an interesting year.

The post Is it wise for Sirius/XM to keep betting big on broadcast refugees? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Every day I watched the news reports and press releases from the just-ended 2011 Consumer Electronics Show hoping for some interesting radio news. Instead, what we got was mostly more of the same. You might call it CES 2010 2.0. Aside from the Android-powered car radio that Matthew covered the other day, there was nothing new or innovative offered up in the radio world.

CES 2011 is over, but iBiquity is still pushing CES 2010

Even though the company never updated its website from the 2010 CES, iBuiquity did announce that HD Radio would be standard in 36 car models from 17 brands, which does indicate some stability for the technology. But as far as satellite radio is concerned XM/Sirius only had one announcement on hand, touting a deal with Nissan offering a a three-month intro subscription on dealer-certified pre-owned Nissan and Infiniti cars.

Internet radio primarily built on the smartphone integration model introduced by Pioneer at last year’s CES. Toyota jumped into that fray with its Entune system offering control of not just Pandora, but also Clear Channel’s iheartradio, XM satellite radio and HD Radio. However, this system is just an option on “select vehicles,” which means that in reality only a minority of Toyota buyers will end up with it. Sony and other after-market mobile stereo manufacturers also announced smartphone-connected head units that will control Pandora and other apps.

What we haven’t seen yet is a car stereo with native internet radio capability built-in. While smartphone sales are growing I still doubt that the majority of owners are willing to deal with the hassle of connecting their phones most of the time in order to take advantage of internet radio access. Furthermore, this functionality is mostly offered on optional equipment or after-market items, further limiting the number of car owners likely to use it.

I don’t see mobile internet radio reaching any kind of critical mass–even on par with Sirius/XM–until the experience is completely integrated. That will likely require manufacturers to pair up with mobile broadband carriers similar to how Sirius/XM struck deals with them. But I don’t think such an idea is farfetched, noting how Amazon bundles AT&T 3G service with its Kindle e-readers. Still, it hasn’t happened.

Although the car has always been an important place for radio listening, more than ever it is now the battleground for radio technologies. Major electronics manufacturers seem to be largely ceding the home HD, satellite and internet radio market to niche players.

New radio platforms will succeed or fail in the car based upon their ability to offer a seamless, integrated experience with desirable programming. Sirius/XM has the leg up here with 20 millions subscribers and established relationships with most major auto manufacturers. HD Radio’s principal advantage is that it’s free, but it’s also hampered by far less diverse programming, even taking into account HD2 and HD3 channels. HD also has all sorts of reception problems outside of the strongest signal areas.

Internet radio poses the greatest threat to HD and satellite, but not as long as people have to plug in their smartphones to tune it in.

In the end, I think the dirty little secret is that when it comes to radio in the car, traditional analog broadcast still wins. It’s standard equipment on pretty much every vehicle sold and it’s a feature in pretty much every aftermarket stereo, alongside CD, MP3, satellite, HD or smartphone connectivity. Broadcast is also free, and while we can find many faults with mainstream commercial programming, there is still plenty that attracts millions of listeners every day.

This is not the sort of conclusion that makes news at the Consumer Electronics Show. But that doesn’t make it any less true.

The post Radio at CES: Not much new under the sun appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The annual Consumer Electronics Show kicks off this Thursday in Las Vegas. While all the biggest buzz around the show is in anticipation of new tablet competitors for Apple’s iPad, we can still expect to hear announcements of new radio gadgets across the spectrum, from analog broadcast and HD Radio to satellite and internet radio. Some companies have already started with their press releases, while we’re left guessing what will be up in other segments of the industry.

None other than Clear Channel Communications has announced its intent to “have a vital presence” at CES, touting its iheartradio mobile app. The app, which is available for iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone 7, allows the user to tune in the web streams of 750 Clear Channel-owned terrestrial stations. In addition to a deal for iheartradio to become available in some Toyota vehicles, Clear Channel promises that “numerous vendors” will display “iheartradio-capable” products… whatever that means. I’m not sure I really get the attractiveness of tuning a distant Clear Channel station via the internet in your car when there are likely plenty of stations with nearly the same playlist on the local FM dial. But I guess I’m not the target market.

We should expect plenty of home internet radios to be announced from companies like iHome, which made a name with iPod docking radios, and Grace Digital Audio, which was an early player in standalone radios able to tune in internet audio streams. Also expect more car stereos and add-on kits that make it easier to listen to internet radio on the road via an attached smartphone. Pioneer tried to make a splash at last year’s CES with a car receiver designed to play Pandora streams via an iPhone, integrated so that the driver can control the Pandora channel via the receiver instead of the smartphone. I didn’t hear much more about it once CES was over, though the receiver garnered respectable reviews.

iBiquity is still stuck at CES 2010

On the satellite radio and HD Radio fronts things have been quiet for the pre-show period. I expect we’ll hear about some more factory-installed Sirius and XM capable car radios, especially since a rebounding auto industry this year is something Sirius/XM is depending heavily upon. I’m anticipating something similar from HD Radio, and I won’t be surprised to hear iBiquity–HD Radio’s parent company–trot our their not-so-new deal with Ford again. In fact, it doesn’t seem like iBiquity is even ready for CES this year, since their press release site is still touting a special section to highlight HD Radio at the 2010 CES from twelve months ago. Regardless of HD Radio’s tardiness, it seems as though mobile in-vehicle electronics will be a significant focus of the show, with keynotes from Ford’s CEO and Audi’s chairman of the board.

For us policy geeks there’s a “one-on-one” with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on Friday afternoon. I’m not sure much of that session will be radio-specific, but he is likely to talk quite a bit about wireless spectrum, which certainly affects internet radio, especially mobile. I wonder if anyone in the industry will take him to task over the Commission’s failure to implement any real network neutrality for mobile broadband. I reckon the electronics industry stands to lose quite a bit if consumers’ wallets are penalized for streaming radio and video on the go.

Unfortunately, the Radio Survivor 2011 budget doesn’t come close to allowing us to send a correspondent to Vegas to cover the show first-hand. Nevertheless, the deluge of press releases this week should provide plenty of grist for the mill. We’ll do our best to chew it up and try to digest what it means for the state of radio in the forthcoming year.

The post What’s in store for radio at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Sirius XM satellite radio is celebrating the renewal of its contract with Howard Stern with yet another installment of its “History of Howard Stern” series. This would be the “highly anticipated fourth chapter in the award-winning series that offers an unprecedented celebration and rare behind-the-scenes look at the life, career and achievements of Howard Stern,” according to the press release that we received.

There is a certain cult of personality tone to all this, but what do you expect? Anyway, one has to give credit to Stern for his ability to recycle himself as a kind of ongoing rags-to-riches success story . . . endlessly on the brink of failure, catastrophe, or disgrace, then the comeback. Makes you want to root for the guy, or not.

In any event, The History of Howard Stern: Act IV premieres today, December 20 through December 31 on Howard 100 and Howard 101—beginning at 6:00 am ET on Howard 100 and 6:00 am PT on Howard 101.

Part IV will explore (this is from the release):

• Memorable moments from the late 90’s/early 2000’s era of the Stern Show
• An in-depth look behind the scenes of the acclaimed film Private Parts , from the casting process and the filming to the larger than life premiere at Madison Square Garden in 1997.  Exclusive first-hand accounts and backstage stories from the cast and crew.
• Rare in-studio interviews with JFK, Jr. and David Letterman
• Fred Norris and “The Rainbow Room incident”
• First appearances from show legends Artie Lange , Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf, The Jesus Twins, Beetlejuice, KC Armstrong, Sal & Richard, Benjy Bronk, High Pitch Eric and other members of “The Wack Pack”
• Staff fights and famous feuds with celebrities like Rosie O’Donnell
• Howard’s continuing battles with station management
• The Scott Salem Push Up Contest
• In-studio musical performances from Aerosmith, Green Day, and Goo Goo Dolls, plus Dave Grohl ‘s original acoustic performance of “Everlong”
• Stories behind the Howard-produced F/X series, Son of the Beach
• Highlights and stories from the “drunk show” backstage at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards
• Gary’s legendary “love tape”
• Howard Stern meets future wife Beth Ostrosky
• Archive interviews with Hollywood heavy-hitters Robert Duvall, George Clooney, Warren Beatty and James Caan
• Behind the scenes of staff band The Losers and their memorable performance on Magic Johnson ‘s ill-fated talk show, The Magic Hour
• Truth behind Jackie Martling ‘s departure from the Stern Show and the comedians who auditioned for his chair
• A look back at Howard’s historic broadcast from September 11, 2001

None of the drama over Stern’s place at Sirius seems to have hurt its stock, which now hovers at a little above $1.40 and has even gone higher than 1.50 over the last few months.

The post Howard Stern is History, Part IV appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Howard and Sirius still stuck with each other

So much for the drama. Howard Stern announced this morning that he signed a new five-year contract with Sirius satellite radio, ending a protracted negotiation. He did not indicate how much the contract is for, only saying that it is “very fair.”

The end of this contract will be a different sort of drama since Stern also said that this will be his last five years in radio. Whether that means he’ll pursue other media opportunities or choose to retire altogether is anyone’s guess. No matter what he decides I’m sure that Stern will milk the mystery for all it’s worth.

Of course, this puts to bed the absurd rumor that Stern was contemplating a $600 million contract with Apple to distribute his show exclusively on iTunes. However, we still don’t know the terms of Stern’s new deal with Sirius, although eventually investors are going to want to know the details. There has been some speculation that a new deal would involve a little less cash and more stock, though the stock isn’t exactly performing its best. Nevertheless Sirius (SIRI) stock was up over 6% this morning following the news. I’m guessing that’s all the bump the stock is going to see unless it turns out Sirius got some real cash concessions in this contract.

We don’t know yet whether Sirius decided that a Stern-less future was too risky, or whether Stern realized that there are likely no more lucrative options than staying put at Sirius. Status quo is obviously the safest option for both parties, especially as Sirius closes in on celebrating the milestone of 20 millions subscribers. Losing Stern and triggering a possible exodus of possible hundreds of thousands of subscribers would have certainly marred the occasion.

The post Howard Stern is staying with Sirius for another five years appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Is Howard ready to stick it to Sirius?

Tuesday morning on his radio program Howard Stern reportedly discussed his ongoing contract negotiations with Sirius satellite radio, announcing that, “I am not taking a f—ing paycut.” His tirade was in response to comments made by Sirius CFO David Frear at a UBS investor conference where he hinted that a new contract with Stern might be for less money than his current $100 million a year. Frear also observed that the Stern contract happened in a climate where there were two competing satellite radio companies, whereas now there is only one. He said that as these contracts come up for renewal, “we’ll have the opportunity to get more favorable economic terms there.”

Last week a completely unsubstantiated rumor surfaced on Twitter claiming that Stern might get lured away by Apple, of all companies, in order to do an iTunes-exclusive show for even more money–$600 million. Despite the Columbia Journalism Review chiding journalists for reporting the completely anonymous tweet, the rumor took on a life of its own, with commentators left and right speculating about Stern’s next move, even if most doubt Apple would pony up that kind of cash for an exclusive deal with Stern. Nevertheless, even the Sirius CFO mentioned the possibility of Stern starting his own internet streaming channel.

The real question at hand is whether or not Stern and his power to draw listeners to Sirius is worth $100 million a year. I don’t doubt that Frear was testing the waters at the UBS conference to find out what investors might think of a Stern-less Sirius.

If Stern decides to walk away from Sirius I’m highly doubtful that he’ll find another company willing to pay him nearly as much to do his program, whether its online, on television or back on broadcast radio. He certainly could choose to go independent and online, but again, I’m doubtful he could gross anything close to $100 million anytime soon. Sirius’ gross income is only about eleven times Howard’s annual take, and the company’s got a couple of hundred other channels.

If Sirius decides that Stern isn’t worth $100 million annually, and Stern decides he won’t settle for less, it will be interesting to see if his departure costs the company. That $100 mil amounts to the price of 7.7 million monthly just over 641,000 annual subscriptions, about 39% 3.2% of the service’s current subscriber base. Are there really 7.7 million 641,000 Stern fans ready to dump Sirius if he goes? I really don’t know, and I’m sure that’s the question Sirius executives are trying hard to answer right now.

What we didn’t know last week when I last pondered the situation was if Howard was willing to accept less than his current salary. If one is to believe his tirade on Tuesday, the answer is, no, he won’t accept less. But Howard also trades in controversy and a willingness to bite the hand that feeds. So his on air comments might also be his way to stay in the news and stick it to Sirius.

Whatever happens may be a real test of both Stern’s star power and the value of Sirius’ entire slate of programming. It could also be a test of whatever medium Stern chooses after Sirius. The most boring thing that can happen is that he’ll sign that renewal.

The post Is Howard Stern still worth $100 million a year? He thinks so. appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Another step forward for applicants who want to lease out those Sirius XM “qualified entity” channels that the satellite radio service promised to offer after it merged two years ago. Sirius XM has now thrown up a website where applicants can make their case for a show (or an entire channel).

What is Sirius XM looking for? Here are the deets:

In selecting programming for this set-aside, we are looking for the following:  Programming representing diverse viewpoints and/or diverse entertainment content; improved service to historically underserved audiences; original content of a type not otherwise available to Sirius XM subscribers; access to new sources of content and new entrants to mass media.  Applications should demonstrate that proposer has the financial, operational, and technical ability to perform its obligations under the lease.  We will select programmers that, in our judgment, will be able to meet their obligations and deliver their proposed mix or type of programming for the duration of the lease term.

The deadline for applications is January 7, 2011.  Sirius XM has to disclose its “tentative selections” by March 2 and sign leasing agreements by April 17.

But Radio One, the black oriented radio station network, doesn’t like Sirius XM’s definition of a qualified entity, which, in fairness, was created by the FCC.

The FCC has made this set-aside available only to lessees that (1) are not directly or indirectly owned, in whole or in part, by Sirius XM or an affiliate of Sirius XM; (2) do not share any common officers, directors or employees with Sirius XM or any affiliate of Sirius XM; and (3) do not have any existing relationships with Sirius XM for the supply of programming during the two years prior to October 19, 2010.

Radio One in a recent filing to the FCC protests this definition.

As shared by Radio One in prior comments and during ex parte communications over the course of these proceedings, we believe that it also is critical that a Qualified Entity possess sufficient

financial capability to provide the proposed services, as well as the resources to offer programming consistent with broadcast industry standards and any applicable laws. That an entity may have had limited prior interaction with Sirius XM should not, on its face, act as an absolute disqualification from the lease channel set-aside process.

So Radio One supports a proposal already made by the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council to provide that “a party will not be disqualified if it has supplied programming to Sirius XM, but: (l) the party did not supply a majority of the programming heard on the designated Sirius or XM channel; (2) the party did not have its brand associated with the designated Sirius or XM channel; or (3) the party derived nominal or no net revenue (e.g., due to a programming swap) from Sirius or XM from supplying the programming.”

It’s pretty obvious that Radio One doesn’t want to be left out of this opportunity. But the whole point of those channels was to give programmers who don’t have air time elsewhere a break. We’ll just have to wait to see how the FCC and Sirius make this call.

The post Sirius XM launches channel leasing site; Radio One still not happy appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Howard Stern may be the face that launched four satellites (now 9), but as he wraps up his fifth year on Sirius satellite radio both his listeners and stock analysts are wondering if the King of All Media will continue to broadcast from orbit come 2011. Stern’s current $500 million contract is set to run out on December 31, and his last show of the year is December 17. But so far there’s been no word about how negotiations are going.

What little has been said publicly is vague. Last Friday morning Stern’s producer Gary Dell’Abate told a New York morning program that, ” Howard is negotiating, but we’ve never gone this far before … everybody is nervous, including me.” Tuesday on his show Stern also cryptically discussed his plans for the program once he signs a new contract.

Even post-merger, Stern is still arguably the most prominent personality associated with Sirius-XM. But with the financial troubles that have dogged the whole satellite radio industry, one has to think that Sirius is much less willing to pony up another half-billion to hold onto him.

Now, Sirius has signed Dr. Laura, but her transition from broadcast wasn’t nearly as dramatic as Stern’s, who was still at the top of his game when he left FM in 2005. I doubt Dr. Laura can possibly be as big a draw as Howard, and I wouldn’t be surprised if losing Stern would cause thousands of his most loyal listeners to cancel their subscriptions.

Of course, the big question is if Stern is enough of an asset to make or break Sirius-XM at this point in its development. If so, how much is he worth? If not, how much will it cost Sirius?

I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

The post Clock is ticking on Howard Stern’s Sirius channel appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Good news for unmarried women who like being called “whores” because they live with their boyfriends. Dr. Laura Schlessinger has signed a contract to appear exclusively on Sirius XM satellite radio. Her now defunct over-the-air radio show had been syndicated on the service since 2005.

“Coming to SIRIUS XM is an amazingly freeing transition from terrestrial radio for me. Satellite radio is a forum where a diverse group of people get to speak their minds without fear,” declared Schlessinger in a Sirius press release. “I can’t wait to preach, teach and nag about morals, values, ethics and principles. My brain is buzzing with new ideas for my program’s content, direction and expansion, including guest interviews with people who intrigue and inspire me. I couldn’t be more giggly if you tickled me!”

God knows what Dr. Laura sounds like when she giggles. Last time she got a little loose, she ripped off the N-word about a dozen times to a black caller.

The resultant uproar had advertisers for her terrestrial program scrambling to get out. Schlessinger then quit the airwaves and told Larry King that “I don’t have the right to say what I need to say. My first amendment rights have been usurped.”

As Radio Survivor’s Paul Riismandel noted at the time, this formulation was a bit peculiar. “Rather, what happened to Dr. Laura is that she felt the harsh sting of the marketplace at work,” he wrote.

“One has the right to say just about anything she likes, in nearly any forum, and the government has very few Constitutionally valid reasons to either stop the speech or punish the speaker. But that right to free speech does not mean the speaker cannot be held accountable by others for what she says and the venue where it’s said.”

Let’s see how Sirius XM handles Schlessinger now. The fun starts on  January 3. Dr. Laura will air live Monday—Friday from 2:00 – 5:00 pm ET on SIRIUS XM Stars (SIRIUS channel 102 and XM channel 155).

The post Sirius XM gives Dr. Laura her “First Amendment” rights back appeared first on Radio Survivor.

via wikimedia commons

Here’s the recommendation [italics added]:

“Congressionally-mandated radio-activated chips in mobile devices such as cell phones and BlackBerry smartphones, with an acceptable phase-in period and inclusion of HD Radio chips when economically feasible.”

The last time anybody mentioned an HD chip mandate, it was Clear Channel and Ibiquity trying to get it in Sirius XM satellite radio tuners (the FCC launched a Notice of Inquiry on the question and let the issue die).

This is all part of the NAB’s proposal to the musicFIRST coalition for conditions that would make it acceptable for broadcast radio stations to pay royalties to the performers whose music they air. musicFIRST represents the artists and labels. The broadcaster “term sheet” offers much lower royalties that the proposed Performance Rights Act, which has been going nowhere in Congress for about a year.

And that’s probably why musicFIRST has rejected the offer.

“MusicFIRST has completed a preliminary analysis of the new term sheet. In it the radio broadcasters unilaterally cut their digital royalty rates and lowered their terrestrial royalty payment. Those changes by themselves undermine the fundamental economic equation that was core to the July agreement [apparently the two sides had a big negotiating session in July]. The NAB’s term sheet gives the idea of a sweetheart deal a bad name. It might even be worse for the music community than the status quo.”

“Fortunately, Congress writes the laws, not trade associations like the NAB. The musicFIRST Coalition will continue to press forward.”

“The bottom line is that no recording artist should be forced to give up their work without consent or compensation, a fact now acknowledged by the NAB’s vote. The musicFIRST Coalition will continue and expand our campaign until this fundamental unfairness is corrected. Radio is the only platform in the United States that doesn’t pay performers. The music community will find it difficult, if not impossible, to support legislative efforts to expand the reach of terrestrial radio so long as this glaring unfairness continues.”

It’s unclear to me what’s going to happen next in this  drama. Maybe NAB will cough up a higher royalty rate? But trying to get Congress to mandate three different broadcasting technologies in smart phones . . . what’s going on here? Is this an industry in a state of total desperation?

The post Fear the mobile device mandate monster, now with HD Radio too! appeared first on Radio Survivor.

After two years of kicking the can down the road, the Federal Communications Commission has finally established rules for allocating those “qualified entity” Sirius XM channels.

Quick history: back in July of 2008 the FCC approved the merger of Sirius XM satellite radio, but with lots of conditions. One of them was that four percent of the merged company’s channels had to be set aside for minority broadcasting entities, defined as (take a deep breath) “any entity that is majority-owned by persons who are African American, not of Hispanic origin; Asian or Pacific Islanders; American Indians or Alaskan Natives; or Hispanics.”

But “following approval of the merger,” Commissioner Michael Copps dourly noted this week, “it quickly became apparent that this particular condition—perhaps well-intentioned, but hastily and inartfully drawn—was going to cause problems. It did, and it has taken more than two years to get to today’s solution. Those were two lost years for more diverse programming on these satellite channels.”

Indeed, the complexities of Federal affirmative action law made it difficult for both the FCC and Sirius XM to resolve how to allocate the channels under those terms. So the new rules pretty much scotch that list of ethnic groups, and just define a Qualified Entity as one that doesn’t have an established business or programming relationship with Sirius XM (and hasn’t for the last two years).

As for how many channels an entity can take on (12 all told), here are the conditions:

“Sirius XM has discretion to allocate capacity among the lessees, provided that: (1) no more than one-half of the total channels set aside for this condition are allotted to full-power broadcast licensees, including entities and individuals with an attributable interest in any such licensee; and (2) no more than four of the channels set aside for this condition (i.e., two channels simulcast on both Sirius and XM, two channels on Sirius and two channels on XM (not simulcast), or four channels on one platform) are allotted to any single lessee, including any entity with an attributable interest in the lessee.”

So who has put themselves in the running for this opportunity? Here’s a partial list of the candidates who have filed in the Sirius XM Qualified Entity proceeding (you can peruse through the whole list here):

Radio One. The black oriented radio station network has been talking to the FCC on this matter since the getgo. The Commission’s percentage rules are more or less in sync with what the company asked for, although the dropping of specific minority groups from the Qualified Entity list opens the candidate pool to a lot more companies.

Entravision. The Spanish language media company suggested a plan that would make it possible for a single entity to take all the channels.

Howard University. The Washington, D.C. based historically black college has been very interested in these channels for quite a while, and has expressed concerns that the Commission’s rules not exclude an educational institution from the game.

Hispanic Information and Telecommunications, Inc. Describes itself as an organization “whose mission is to promote educational opportunities for Hispanic Americans through multiple media outlets and telecommunications services.” HITn has its own online TV service, not surprisingly dubbed HITn Online TV.

Mosaic Communications. A venture spoken for by Gloria Penn Easton, former owner of WWSI-TV in Philadelphia.

NY Metro Korea Inc. The company describes itself as “wholly owned by Young Kwon, a Korean-American. KRB currently provides programming 24/7 on WWRU(AM), Jersey City, New Jersey – the only Korean-language station in the New York area. Over 90% of KRB programming is original locally-produced programming, including news, music, talk, entertainment, and informative tips for new Korean immigrants to the United States.”

Other (and frankly more mysterious) contenders include the RSS Network Corp, Flute Radio (“the largest holder of FCC licenses in the 72-76 MHz band”), and iClick2Media and Alpha Star International.

“We require Sirius XM to enter into leasing agreements with its selected Qualified Entities on the implementation deadline of April 17, 2011,” the FCC says. Good luck to all candidates!

The post Those Sirius XM “qualified entity” channels – who wants them? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

If you were hoping that the longstanding feud between Sirius XM and holders of wireless spectrum in the 2.3 MHz band was over, well, it appears that it isn’t. Sirius XM (SIRI) has filed a Petition for Partial Reconsideration with the Federal Communications Commission, asking the agency to rethink its new rules for the two services.

The Order “reversed long-standing protections that the Commission found necessary to prevent interference to satellite radio consumers by allowing, for the first time, mobile operations in the 2.3 GHz Wireless Communications Service,” Sirius insists. “The FCC must revise its new rules in order to adequately protect satellite radio’s nearly 35 million existing listeners.”

As we reported back in May, the Commission set up permanent non-interference regulations for Sirius’s terrestrial repeaters and power level limits for Wireless Communications Services band mobile and portable stations. This unleashed 25 MHz in the WCS zone for wireless broadband. The Order also put the WCS license holders on a service schedule:

“For mobile and point-to-multipoint services, WCS licensees must serve 40 percent of a license area’s population within 42 months, and 75 percent within 72 months. For fixed point-to-point services, WCS licensees must construct and operate 15 point-to-point links per million persons in a license area within 42 months, and 30 links within 72 months, together with a minimum payload capacity to ensure that the spectrum is used intensively. Licensees will not be required to satisfy submarket construction requirements.”

But Sirius XM, which has long opposed these new guidelines, insists that they’re based on faulty data.

“In setting OOBE [out of band emissions] limits for WCS transmitters,” the company warns, “the FCC ignored, discounted, or misconstrued technical data submitted by Sirius XM demonstrating a high potential for interference even when the victim receiver and the interfering transmitter are separated by significant distances. At minimum, the Commission should have adopted more stringent OOBE limits for mobile and portable WCS devices to minimize the potential and extent of interference.”

The Sirius XM filing asks for new maximum transmitter power limits and bigger guard bands between WCS transmitters and Sirius XM receivers. “The Commission has adopted technical and operational service rules that elevate the WCS licensees’ commercial convenience above the rights of satellite radio consumers to enjoy interference-free service,” Sirius charges.

The post Sirius XM asks FCC to reconsider its new wireless rules appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The  coverage will be hosted by Sirius XM Raw Dog Comedy’s Mark Says Hi and Cinemagic’s Dave Ziemer. The festivities will begin on August 12 and go through August 15 on Sirius channel 108 and XM channel 139.

The post Sirius XM launches four day Star Wars channel appeared first on Radio Survivor.

I wonder if anyone remembers  the last condition that Sirius XM agreed to meet in order to get the government’s permission to merge. If you recall, click here and we’ll send you a free, lifetime subscription to Radio Survivor. If not . . .

Back in July of 2008, Sirius XM agreed to lease out four percent of its combined full time audio channels—a minimum of twelve channels all told—to “qualified entities,” which everyone presumes means minority broadcasters. A whole lot of candidates have offered to take these channels, but there’s a problem. The FCC has to come up with a process that doesn’t get it sued for establishing an unconstitutional ethnic quota system, or something like that.

So the Commission has been kicking this little monster down the road for almost two years. But a new filing in the Sirius docket suggests the agency may finally be getting its act together (hope springs eternal).

During a phone conversation, one channel candidate reports in his ex parte statement, an agency staffer “stated [that] the FCC had been working through several issues regarding whom, what and or how the Qualified Entity or Entities would be granted the proposed channels. She also hinted that the FCC had been working through several of the issues including Adarand and an application process that is being devised to be implemented.”

You’re probably wondering what that italicized word means. In the Supreme Court case Adarand vs. Pena (1995) the court ruled that Federal affirmative action minority contractor programs must be based on “strict scrutiny.” That is, if they employ racial and ethnic criteria, they have to demonstrate that the racial/ethnic group receiving favor has historically and/or presently faced a disadvantaged situation. The program can’t just be based on race alone.

So, generally speaking, government agencies now do what are called “Adarand Studies” to justify their affirmative action programs. Perhaps that or something like it is being planned here. It should be noted that that summary of this conversation did not come from the FCC but from a channel applicant. But it does seem like the Commission is still trying to get this program going, and may even succeed prior to Howard Stern’s 95th birthday.

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Last week AT&T announced that new smartphone customers will no longer be eligible for the unlimited data plans that current customers enjoy. Instead, two somewhat less expensive plans will be available. For $15 new customers may download 200 MB of data per month, with a charge of $15 for every additional 200 GB over the limit. 2 GB per month will cost $25, plus another $10 for each 1 GB after that. Current data plan customers pay $30 for unlimited data. For its part AT&T says that either of these new plans provides enough data to satisfy 98% of their customers.

While it may be true that the vast majority of AT&T customers use less than 2 GB of data in a month, I would argue that’s because data-hungry mobile streaming media is just starting to take off. But the these new caps threaten to stunt that growth just as mobile internet radio is gaining steam.

The 200 MB of data offered by the least expensive plan covers only about 200 minutes of streaming stereo music at the common bitrate of 128kbps. And that’s without any other data usage for email, web browsing or anything else. Even listening to a lower-quality mono talk station at 32 kbps will only stretch listening to 800 minutes, or 13 hours.

The 2 GB plan will cover about 34 hours of stereo music and as much as 136 hours of low-bitrate mono talk. At first blush that seems like a fair amount of listening time, but how does it measure up against real-world radio listening? Someone whose commute lasts about an hour each way will easily listen to over 40 hours of radio in a month. If that commuter wants to use her iPhone or Blackberry to listen to Pandora, last.fm or another streaming music station she’ll be over her limit by the last week of the month.

Without access to hard statistics on how many hours the average mobile Pandora or last.fm user listens it’s hard to say for sure how many new AT&T customers are likely to be affected. However, I do think it’s fair to say that these limits will make many smartphone users cautious about how much time they’ll spend listening to internet radio on the go, especially in order to avoid overage fees.

Of course, AT&T is not the only wireless data carrier in the US. As long as you don’t have your heart set on an iPhone there are lots of other carriers to choose from who still offer unlimited data plans. But for how much longer? Computerworld quotes several analysts who predict that Verizon, the nation’s second largest carrier, will set caps in as soon as six months. While there may be some pricing competition on these plans, I’m guessing they’ll offer pretty similar amounts of data for prices that only vary by a few dollars a month.

With a cost between 75 cents and $4.50 and hour, listening to mobile internet radio on an AT&T smartphone starts to look pretty uncompetitive compared to traditional broadcast, which is free, or satellite radio which offers unlimited listening for $10 – $20 a month. While it may be inevitable that the days of unlimited data plans will come to an end, I hope that the metered pricing quickly becomes more reasonable, permitting a reasonable amount of streaming radio listening. If not, this vibrant new way of listening to radio might be stunted before it has a chance to blossom.

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source: wikimedia commons

The Federal Communications Commission’s long awaited Order to fix interference problems between Sirius XM [SIRI] and the neighboring Wireless Communications Services (WCS) band is published. Here’s hoping it will at long last resolve this feud, and allow for peaceful coexistence on the 2.3 MHz band. At least that’s the idea, says FCC Chair Julius Genachowski.

“I am pleased that by taking a fresh look at the WCS rules, we are able to create an environment for innovative, cutting-edge mobile products and services in a spectrum band that has essentially remained fallow for years,” Genachowski said on Thursday, “while still protecting adjacent band services from harmful interference and providing important clarity about the long-term operation of satellite radio terrestrial repeaters.”

We’ve been covering this issue for months here at Radio Survivor (see links to related stories at bottom of this piece), and we’ll spare you the hairy technical details. The Order sets up permanent rules for Sirius’s terrestrial repeaters and power level limits for WCS mobile and portable stations.

So now 25 MHz of WCS band is unleashed for wireless broadband, which is kind of exciting!  The FCC’s Order says that WCS license holders have to get moving:

“For mobile and point-to-multipoint services, WCS licensees must serve 40 percent of a license area’s population within 42 months, and 75 percent within 72 months. For fixed point-to-point services, WCS licensees must construct and operate 15 point-to-point links per million persons in a license area within 42 months, and 30 links within 72 months, together with a minimum payload capacity to ensure that the spectrum is used intensively. Licensees will not be required to satisfy submarket construction requirements.”

Here’s hoping that everybody will accept this as a workable compromise.

The post FCC orders fix to unleash wireless broadband near Sirius XM band appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it will issue a Report and Order with coexistence rules for Sirius XM (SIRI) and the Wireless Communications Services band at its next Open Commission meeting, scheduled for May 20:

• “WCS-SDARS Report and Order: A Report and Order that enables robust mobile broadband use of 25 MHz of spectrum in the 2.3 GHz Wireless Communications Service (WCS) band while protecting neighboring incumbent operations.”

One can only hope that this will settle the years old conflict between these services, allow Sirius XM to move forward, and free the WCS license holders to finally roll out WiMAX services in their respective license areas.

Meanwhile, auto industry reps continue to write in on behalf of Sirius XM, the latest coming from the American Trucking Associations:

“Trucking companies and their drivers were among the first to embrace satellite radio and arguably have adopted it more quickly and generally than the public at large,” ATA writes. “In addition to a channel dedicated to trucking talk (Road Dog Trucking Radio) satellite radio’s wide array of programming choices offer a welcome nationwide entertainment option for drivers that spend a considerable portion of their time in the cab. The ‘return on investment’ made by trucking companies and drivers outfitting trucks with SDARS is dependent on continuous high quality, uninterrupted transmission.”

During the May 20 meeting, the FCC will also release the latest edition of its Mobile Wireless Competition Report, analyzing the state of competition in the mobile industry.

The post Decision time coming for Sirius XM vs. WCS bands appeared first on Radio Survivor.

source: wikimedia commons

The great accusation fest which is the struggle between Sirius XM (SIRI) satellite radio and a host of wireless companies went to its next round on Friday, with Sirius accusing the companies of “warehousing” their licenses nearby the service’s bandwidth:

“There can be little question that WCS [Wireless Communications Service] licensees have warehoused spectrum in hopes of receiving regulatory relief to allow them to deploy mobile broadband services – even though such services are precluded under the WCS technical rules the Commission adopted in 1997. The WCS licenses sold for only $13.6 million in the Commission’s 1997 spectrum auction, in large part because of the restrictions the Commission established to protect satellite radio and other adjacent radio services. WCS licensees that have ignored their obligations to build out their spectrum now stand to collect a windfall profit as the Commission considers rule changes to now allow mobile use of the spectrum at the expense of increased interference into the Satellite Radio service. That profit is magnified by the minimal investment in equipment testing and development that WCS licensees have made over the past 13 years.”

Warehousing in spectrum-talk means just sitting on your licenses until you can sell them at a profit or engage in some similarly unproductive activity.

To recap this story for the umpteenth time: the problem here is that licenses in the WCS band and Sirius XM’s SDARS band are scrunched pretty close together, and the FCC fears that SDARS terrestrial repeaters could cause interference to WCS operations. WCS represents Comcast (CMCSA), AT&T, NextWave (WAVE) and other companies that want to launch WiMAX mobile services in their portion of the 2.3 GHz zone.

I’ve tried to stay relatively neutral about this issue, but accusing these companies of warehousing seems a little unfair. The WCS Coalition, which represents them, has been trying for years to get new rules that would allow them to roll out WiMAX on that 20 MHz of band. It certainly seems like that would be the best use for those licenses. So it’s still up to the FCC to get both parties to agree to sensible non-interference rules, and meanwhile try to duck while the accusations fly.

The post Sirius XM accuses wireless companies of "warehousing" spectrum next door to satellite radio appeared first on Radio Survivor.

On Wednesday Sirius XM radio (SIRI) announced that it added 171,441 net subscribers in the first quarter of 2010. While this is certainly better news for the company than a net loss, the gain still doesn’t quite put its subscriber base at the same level it was at the end of 2008. Then the company had 19 million subscribers, but tumbled during the first quarter of 2009, losing 404,422. Subscribers now stand at 18,944,199.

Sirius CEO Mel Karmarzin attributes the rebound to “the broad appeal of our unrivaled programming, the benefits of a recovering auto industry and an improving economic environment for consumers.” I’d reckon that increased car sales is probably the biggest factor, given that satellite radio is heavily dependent on its appeal to drivers, most of whom still can’t listen to internet radio while on the road. The downside of this reliance is that the first year or so of satellite radio service for a new car is free. The real sign of recovery will be whether or not these new non-paying subscribers re-up when they have to shell out for it. For the quarter that just ended 45.2% of customers decided to stick around and pay, which is a little better than the 44.6% who did in the first quarter of 2009.

The news caused Sirius stock to bump back up over a dollar today for the first time since February. Nevertheless, the company remains delisted from out of compliance with NASDAQ. It will be interesting to see if Sirius’ subscriber base grows over its 2008 level again, or if 19 million ends up being a plateau. Satellite radio faces very still competition from mobile broadband this year as higher-speed 4G rolls in many major cities and those first Pandora-capable car radios hit the streets.

The post Sirius Subscriptions Bounce Back a Bit appeared first on Radio Survivor.

The Federal Communications Commission has called for comment on proposed rules intended to prevent interference between Sirius XM radio (SIRI)  and wireless broadband in the 2.3 GHz band area. But when Sirius XM asked for a one week extension on the comment deadline, the organization representing the various wireless companies blasted the request.

“At virtually every critical turn in these proceedings, the strategy of Sirius XM Radio Inc. has been the same – delay, delay, delay,” charged a representative of the WCS (Wireless Communications Services) Coalition on Wednesday:

“That is hardly surprising, as Sirius XM has little to gain by adoption of final rules. While those rules will provide Sirius XM with its first permanent authority to operate terrestrial repeaters, those rules are likely to require Sirius XM to modify the terrestrial repeater network that it has been operating pursuant to STAs [Special Temporary Authority permits] for almost a decade, something it consistently has resisted doing. And, adoption of the new rules will subject Sirius XM to new competition from WCS-enabled mobile broadband that provides the public with mobile access to free services like Pandora, Slacker and a range of Internet radio services that largely duplicate, if not improve upon, Sirius XM’s offerings.”

We’ve been following this controversy for a while here at RS. The problem is that licenses in the WCS band and Sirius XM’s SDARS band are scrunched pretty close together, and the FCC worries that SDARS terrestrial repeaters could cause interference to WCS operations. WCS represents Comcast (CMCSA), AT&T, NextWave (WAVE) and other companies that want to launch WiMAX mobile services in their portion of the 2.3 GHz zone.

According to the FCC, its proposed rules “would codify technical and licensing provisions for SDARS terrestrial repeaters. The draft rules also address concerns raised by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) about the use of terrestrial repeaters to originate local programming other than that provided by the satellite network directly to SDARS subscribers.”

WCS summarizes the proposals as follows:

First, the staff proposes to restrict the power level at which base stations and mobile devices can transmit, suggesting benchmarks that have been the topic of extensive discussion by all parties, including Sirius XM, for years. Second, it would require that WCS mobile devices employ transmit power control, a proposal that has been commented upon by Sirius XM numerous times since it was first advanced by the WCS Coalition. Third, the staff proposes to ban WCS mobile devices from the 5 MHz of WCS spectrum closest to the Sirius XM allocation, creating the very sort of guardband that Sirius XM has previously advocated. Fourth, it proposes to adopt the very same out-of-band emission limits for WCS mobile devices that Sirius XM has been addressing since before a draft order in these proceedings was scheduled for adoption at the December 2008 open meeting. Fifth, and finally, the staff proposes duty cycle restrictions on WCS mobile devices. While the recommended duty cycle limit is not one advocated by Sirius XM, Sirius XM was the first to advance the concept of duty cycle as a vehicle for regulating interference and has submitted numerous filings on the implications of duty cycle restrictions.

“In short, none of the techniques advanced in the staff proposal for addressing WCS/DARS interference are new to this proceeding, and there is nothing the staff suggests that justifies further delay,” concludes WCS.

The FCC released a schedule for implementing its National Broadband Plan on Thursday. In indicates that the agency plans to issue an Order on this problem sometime between  April and June of this year. In other words, very soon.

The post Wireless companies blast Sirius XM in spectrum controversy appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Sirius XM has just put out a press release acknowledging that it has received a letter from NASDAQ “stating that the Company has not regained compliance with the $1.00 minimum closing bid price requirement for continued listing on The NASDAQ Global Select Market.”

The satellite radio company says it will ask for a hearing with the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel, at which it will ask to stay on the index “pending its return to compliance.”

“As a result, the NASDAQ staff’s letter has no effect on the listing of SIRIUS XM’s common stock at this time,” Sirius assured its investors.

“SIRIUS XM is one of the most liquid securities on The NASDAQ Global Select Market;” Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin added. “We have a large investor base consisting of both individual and prominent institutional stockholders; and our equity capitalization is greater than approximately 92% of the companies listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market. We are committed to remaining listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market.”

As we’ve reported, Sirius stock was back on the dollar menu for a while, but  it has definitely fallen into the below 90 cent dumps over the last few days. That earlier rise in fortunes probably helped the company avoid a reverse stock split, in which the number of shares are reduced and the price increased. Here’s what Sirius XM says about a reverse stock split now:

“The Company intends to take all necessary steps to maintain the listing of its common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market. The Company’s stockholders have granted the Company’s board of directors the discretion to effect a reverse stock split, which would bring the Company into compliance with the NASDAQ bid price requirement. However, the board of directors intends to effect the reverse stock split only if it determines the action to be in the best interests of stockholders.”

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The Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan is up, and, as expected, it recommends that a wireless band close by the Sirius XM band get 20MHz of spectrum for use to deploy wireless broadband services, probably WiMAX style.

“Recommendation 5.8.1: The FCC should make 20 megahertz available for mobile broadband use in the 2.3 GHz Wireless Communications Service (WCS ) band, while protecting neighboring federal, non-federal Aeronautical Mobile Telemetry (AMT ) and satellite radio operations.”

The FCC established the  WCS band in 1997. Back then it set up rules to protect broadcasts in the nearby Satellite Digital Audio Radio  (SDARS) zone. But now:

“Certain WCS technical rules, particularly the out-of-band emission (OOBE) limits, largely preclude the provision of mobile broadband services in the spectrum. Based on an extensive record, the FCC should revise certain technical rules, including the WCS OOBE limits, to enable robust mobile broadband use of the 2.3 GHz WCS spectrum, while protecting federal, non-federal AMT and satellite radio operations in the neighboring SDARS band.”

The document doesn’t explain how the FCC will propose to do this. As we’ve reported, earlier this month, the agency suggested a non-interference plan to a meeting of Sirius and WCS engineers. Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin told the agency he was “extremely disturbed” about the proposal upon learning of its details. And since Sirius XM fans got wind of this news, they’ve been deluging the FCC’s database with protests.

But the Commission is clearly determined to get WCS the spectrum it needs, somehow. It’s part of the agency’s plan to get 500 megahertz of license space available for broadband within the next decade, “of which 300 megahertz between 225 MHz and 3.7 GHz should be made newly available for mobile use within five years.”

The post FCC National Broadband Plan: give wireless band next to Sirius 20 MHz appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Next Tuesday the Federal Communications Commission will reveal the entirety of its National Broadband Plan, over a year in the making. Required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which authorized $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus spending, The Plan will weigh in on about a thousand broadband related subjects—how to help more people get it, how to help industries provide it, ways to encourage innovations that the FCC hopes will stimulate more broadband adoption, like IP video.

The chances are, though, that it won’t have much to say about radio

Oh yes, it will talk about “radio” spectrum a whole lot—in the sense of licenses from 500 KHz to 2.5 GHz that licensees use to transmit video, voice, text, audio, and whatever. But unlike every other broadband related medium, from social networking through web video, almost no one has anything to say on a policy level about radio delivered over high speed Internet, either through desktops, laptops, netbooks, or smartphones.

Indirectly, however, the National Broadband Plan will no doubt have an impact on both Internet and broadcast radio. Here are my speculations as to why and how. But nota bene, this is strictly thinking out loud stuff; as the saying goes, ‘I’m just talking.’

The plan will get more low income people online, where they will listen to Internet radio more often

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s latest statistics indicate that about 35 percent of all households have no broadband access at home, and over 30 percent of Americans don’t use the Internet at all. Other surveys suggest that it’s a little more complicated than this, in that lots of low income folks cobble together broadband use via the computers of neighbors and libraries. And a Pew Internet and American Life report notes that lots of minorities get their Internet from their mobile phones.

While the National Broadband Plan isn’t going to suggest a South Korea or Australian massive subsidy solution to the digital divide, it will urge Congress to require all Universal Service Fund phone service providers to offer broadband within a given time frame, it will recommend that the USF’s Lifeline program subsidize low income broadband use, it will recommend that Congress support some kind of free or low cost wireless service, and it will offer a myriad of other ways to boost Internet adoption from the bottom up.

This is going to bring more people into cyberspace on a regular basis, especially low income people who currently make up a huge constituency for broadcast radio (and much of its advertising base). They’ll change the nature of the Internet radio, which currently plays to a more middle class audience.

The plan will boost mobile radio

A big focus of the National Broadband Plan will be about getting more spectrum to the wireless industry, which is facing a huge crunch as smartphone adoption and use goes through the roof. FCC Chair Julius Genachowski has already pledged to get about 500 MHz of license spectrum moved over in various ways to wireless broadband providers. The plan is to create a “Mobile Future Auction,” in Genachowski’s words “an auction permitting existing spectrum licensees, such as television broadcasters in spectrum-starved markets, to voluntarily relinquish spectrum in exchange for a share of auction proceeds, and allow spectrum sharing and other spectrum efficiency measures.”

This is not going to be a smooth transition. The TV broadcasters have already made it very clear that they’re quite leery about this proposal. And even the FCC’s efforts to transition much smaller bands like the Wireless Communications Service region to WiMAX have met with fierce opposition from WCS’s spectrum neighbor, Sirius XM satellite radio.

But as powerful as the National Association of Broadcasters is, if it puts up a full court defense against this trajectory, it’s going to find itself in combat with the wireless industry—without question the most sophisticated communications lobby in Washington, D.C.—and allied with the device manufacturers and to some extent the cable industry, which already regularly does battle with the broadcasters over retransmission consent issues.

Slowly but surely, if only one TV station after another, the spectrum is going to move from the broadcasters to the wireless companies.

What does this mean? It hopefully means faster mobile broadband speeds and lower prices. The wireless industry has a much better record at providing progressively cheaper and better services than cable. That, again, has got to be a boon to Internet radio, which will find itself broadcasting to a progressively larger and more diverse base.

The migration to digital will deconsolidate broadcast radio

It seems likely that traditional over-the-air television broadcasting will fade over the next decade. More and more Americans will watch TV via cable or telco provided optical fiber or IP video. The value of TV licenses will decline and the power of the entities that own them will decline as well. Many of those entities also own conventional broadcast radio stations. Gradually cut loose and allowed to operate on their own or in small networks, these entities could find their rebirth by providing the kind of brick-and-mortal localism that has eluded the Internet so far. It could be that, in the long run, the Internet will be the best thing that could happen to plain old analog broadcast radio.

But again, we’re just talking here. The future is hard to see. One thing I really regret, though, is how little radio fits into policy discussions about broadband. I hope you’ll take a moment to comment on my speculations and ideas.

The post Rough notes: What does the FCC's National Broadband Plan mean for radio? appeared first on Radio Survivor.

Sirius XM satellite radio CEO Mel Karmazin warned the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday that the FCC’s proposed non-interference rules with a nearby wireless band won’t do.

“We are extremely disturbed by the proposal,” Karmazin confided in a letter sent to the agency’s Chair, Julius Genachowski. “The proposed rules seem to bear little resemblance to the technical record in this proceeding. More importantly, the proposal raises the real and direct threat of crippling interference to our 35 million current listeners and the 90 million satellite radio-equipped vehicles that will share the road with mobile WCS by 2015.”

As we’ve reported, Sirius XM and the owners of spectrum in the Wireless Communications Services band have been wrangling for years about how to avoid interference, given the nearness of their licenses to each other in the 2.3 GHz zone. The owners of WCS, which include AT&T, Comcast, and NextWave, want to step up use of the region for broadband, but these interference concerns have gotten in the way.

Last year, WCS reps proposed compromise limits on transmission power for WCS base stations and Sirius XM repeaters. But Sirius questions whether the interference tests conducted in Ashburn, Virginia upon which the recommendation was based would be as accurate as looking at Clearwire’s WiMAX network in the Philadelphia area, especially when it comes to mobile video use. “As this data was based on the real-world functioning of an operational WiMAX system, it provides a more transparent look into mobile handset performance than any other WiMAX-related information or description previously filed in these proceedings,” the company wrote last month.

WCS and Sirius XM engineers had a meeting about the FCC’s latest proposals on Tuesday. We don’t have a copy of the plan, but here’s the rest of Karmazin’s reaction to it:

“• We were told bluntly that the staff proposal would enable the deployment of WCS ‘usage models’ that would cause interference to satellite radio consumers.

• The staff proposal for WCS mobile transmitters in the C and D blocks — the blocks immediately adjacent to our satellites — would double the power levels the WCS licensees themselves asked for, and would exceed the levels the WCS licensees themselves demonstrated in Ashburn, Virginia.

We were told not to worry that the relaxed WCS technical standards might cause interference to satellite radio because WCS licensees would bear the ultimate responsibility to avoid interference. The staff offered no details about any sort of coordination or complaint process that would identify and eliminate sources of interference created by WCS networks—and particularly mobile transmitters. This entire process presumes that consumers would complain instead of just discontinuing their subscriptions. Any such cumbersome, after-the-fact system would not work to protect consumers and would place the Commission in the impossible role of policing interference to all of our subscribers.”

All this comes in the context of the FCC’s efforts to get more  licenses to the wireless sector, which is experiencing a huge shortfall of the spectrum it needs to meet mobile broadband demand. The Commission is expected to publicly unveil the plan for WCS (or at least an outline) when its National Broadband Plan is unveiled on the 16th.

But the sneak preview is getting a pretty major pan from Sirius XM. “This cannot be the result the Commission intends,” Karmazin’s letter concludes. “I urge you to establish a process that allows the Commission and all parties to better understand the real impact of the proposed rules.”

The post Sirius XM "extremely disturbed" by FCC wireless non-interference proposals appeared first on Radio Survivor.

As Federal Communications Commission watchers everywhere know, a huge part of the agency’s strategy to build out the nation’s broadband infrastructure will be to get more spectrum licenses to the wireless industry. In fact, FCC Chair Julius Genachowski says the Commission’s National Broadband Plan will propose freeing up 500 MHz over the next decade. And then there’s this comment from Genachowski, which has me scratching my head a bit:

“The Plan proposes resolving longstanding debates about how to maximize the value of spectrum in bands such as the Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) or Wireless Communications Service (WCS) by giving  licensees the option of new flexibility to put the spectrum toward mobile broadband use—or the option of voluntarily transferring the license to someone else who will.”

We’ve been watching the WCS fight for a while here at Radio Survivor, and (more significantly) so have Volvo, Ford, Chrysler, Comcast, AT&T, NextWave, and quite a few members of the House of Representatives, all of whom have communicated with the FCC on this matter (Mercedes-Benz just filed a week ago).

Here again is the “longstanding debate,” in a nutshell. As the table below indicates, Sirius XM transmits its content over spectrum very close in proximity to the Wireless Communications Services band.

The owners of that WCS spectrum, which include AT&T, Comcast, and NextWave, want to step up use of the band for wireless communications services, but the sticky question is how to avoid interference with Sirius XM repeater towers (and vice versa). Last year, WCS reps proposed compromise limits on transmission power for WCS base stations and Sirius XM repeaters of 2,000 watts average EIRP and 400 watts average EIRP per 1MHz. But Sirius XM still insisted that:

“tests and demonstrations that Sirius XM and WCS licensees jointly performed this summer in Ashburn, Virginia, to demonstrate the interference potential of WCS mobile devices to satellite radio service. Sirius XM stated that the results of the tests confirmed that some implementations of mobile broadband devices in the WCS spectrum would have little potential to cause interference to satellite reception while other implementations would cause significant harm to Sirius XM’s 18 million customers. Sirius XM stated that the primary focus of the pending proceedings should be to define WCS operating parameters to ensure that WCS broadband services and devices are compatible with adjacent band satellite radio operations.”

And just last month Sirius told the FCC that Clearwire’s WiMAX mobile service in Philadelphia would provide a more realistic assessment of interference potential than the Ashburn tests.

Meanwhile more auto companies are siding with Sirius on this question. Here’s Mercedes-Benz’s concern:

“We urge the FCC to be cautious and ensure that satellite radio is not degraded by changing the established rules for WCS operations. Sirius XM Radio has spent billions of dollars developing networks that are based on the understanding that mobile WCS devices would not interfere. MBUSA had this same understanding since we have already deployed over 800,000 vehicles with this technology. Unlike cell phones, automobiles are not discarded every year or two – these satellite radios will remain operational and in circulation for years to come.”

Ditto say Hyundai and Land Rover North America.

So it will be interesting to see how the National Broadband Plan proposes to resolve this question. Is the FCC going to propose that Sirius XM allow some of its spectrum licenses to be leased or auctioned to WCS? Just a speculation, of course, but that’s what Genachowski’s comment seems to suggest. March 16th is the day that the FCC unveils the plan, so perhaps we’ll know then.

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