At end of the first decade of the 21st century there are more audio entertainment options available than any time before. Even if traditional broadcast radio has a case of the doldrums, the viability of radio-like media has never been stronger. Satellite radio is one medium that entered the scene, although its long-term prognosis is […]
Archive | Satellite Radio
The decade's most important radio trends #6: HD Radio launches, but who listens? Who cares?
June 12, 2009 is a day that will live on in broadcast history. That’s the day that the nation’s television broadcasters switched off their analog signals and went all-digital forever more. But does anyone remember January 7, 2003? That was the date of the very first digital HD Radio broadcast, originating at Detroit FM station […]
Could the wireless spectrum crisis resolve the Sirius XM/WCS radio band interference crisis?
The endless battle between Sirius XM and the WCS Coalition over band interference may see a little more public attention that that the Chair of the FCC says there’s a “looming spectrum crisis” for wireless.
Rosie O'Donnell gets show on Sirius XM radio
Rosie O’Donnell will get a live two hour call in program on Sirius XM radio starting on November 2nd. “Like Rosie herself, Rosie Radio will be compelling, intriguing, unpredictable, and thought-provoking,” the press release proclaims. “The show will feature Rosie’s trademark wit, wisdom and straightforward take and outlook on life.” O’Donnell’s actually quite formidable on […]
FCC lets radio off the hook in content filtering inquiry
The Federal Communications Commissions report on the state of content filtering and blocking devices is out. It says a whole lot about the V-Chip, satellite/cable blocking systems, video games, youtube, and mobile phone apps, but not much about radio. The survey continues: “Most commenters addressing the issue contend that we should not examine audio-only programming […]
Sirius XM keeps hanging on
I splurged and took a taxi to JFK airport in New York City today, and waddayaknow, my driver was a dedicated Sirius XM fan. We listened to the Love Channel for a while (I would not have taken him for a Lionel Richie type of guy). I asked him how much he likes Sirius XM. […]
Who will get those Sirius XM minority channels?
Sirius XM radio has a tricky task ahead of it. The satellite broadcaster still has to figure out who is going to get those “qualified entity” channels that it promised to lease out to minority broadcasters when the Federal Communications Commission gave its two halves permission to marry last July. The FCC is supposed to […]
Forget XM/Sirius; give satellite radio to the listeners
Merger proposals are dangerous moments for the masters of our telecommunications sector. When two or three media moguls go hat in hand to the Federal Communications Commission, asking for permission to unite, they unleash a public comment cycle on the question. That always releases the dreamers and reformers, who come up with alternative scenarios for […]