So I was reading a recent chat by the Washington Post’s radio columnist and he’s going on about XM Satellite Radio.
It appears to be a alternative to conventional broadcast radio that features more choices and different focuses using signals broadcast from, obviously, satellites. I’d need a new car stereo system that’s available from a local consumer electronics store which shall remain nameless here.
So can anyone bring me up to speed on this? Anyone else on the bandwagon here?
2 competing systems:
[li]XM Satellite Radio $9.99/month[/li][li]Sirius Satellite Radio $12.95/month[/li]
The premise is, launch a satellite into geosynchronous orbit, broadcast many high-quality commercial-free channels, and charge a monthly fee for access. Then get high-end carmakers (like Cadillac) to offer AM/FM/XM radios as an option in their models.
Both companies have finished the hard part, launching the satellites (XM gets bonus points for calling their two “Rock” and “Roll”). They both plan to start service later this year.
The services would seem to be ideal for travellers in the wide-open spaces of the USA. However, I’ve seen opinions that the satellite services would not include information from individual communities–everything from local weather to school closings and traffic reports. This would seem to be a strike against it.
The broadcast standards used are apparently incompatible with those of the rest of the world, possibly including the USA’s neighbours. I’m not aware that satellite radio has been licensed in Canada though. I wouldn’t be surprised to see US satellite radio receivers popping up in southern Canada; I don’t know how far the broadcast footprint of the satellites extend though.
A similar situation holds with US terrestrial digital radio, where a broadcast standard has not been chosen, in spite of the fact that every other country except Japan has chosen the European “Eureka-147” standard.
BTW, this is not the first incarnation of this idea. Cellular radio, which was first conceptualized in the early 90s, was a total flop because of lack of consumer demand.
Who knows whether XM radio will be commercially successful, though, without consumer trials? So much has changed on the radio landscape in the past 10 years… There’s a trend toward radio stations moving to formats that cater only to huge, mass market audiences. Thus, it’s impossible to find a decent AOR station in New York City, which is quite simply a crime.
If satellite radio can micro-segment, which is to say they put up enough niche formats to please everyone, it may be successful. And the notion of nationwide or worldwide broadcasts without network programming (e.g. - King Biscuit Flower Hour, Rockline, etc.) is intriguing.
Well, here’s a quote from Frank Ahrens of the Post about the formats on XM:
So that looks pretty good by me! I’m especially hyped about the channel with ‘Lou Brutus’. He was the best morning guy WHFS ever had. And they dumped him after 18 months. That really cheesed me off.
I can’t find any info on what the radios cost OR if you can still elect to get traditional broadcast radio as well.
All the radios I’ve seen that support this stuff were AM/FM/SAT or AM/FM/XM. So you can still get normal radio.
And that gets me there. If the gear isn’t prohibitively expensive I’ll get it.
And my truck will look so COOL with that shark fin on top!