Howard Stern, Happy Satellite.
Howard Stern has announced that as of January 1, 2006, he will be exclusively on Sirius Satellite radio. Finally uncensored and away from the confines of the FCC and regular radio broadcasting, this has been announced as the beginning of the end of AM and FM radio as we know it. Uh, I don't think so.
First of all, radio is free. Free, free, free. Everyone has a radio and they're cheap if you don't have one. They're in cars. Home stereos. Walkmans. Table models, under the counter, in the dentist's office, everywhere. Satellite radio is by subscription and you have to pay for every receiver that has it, just like cable or satellite television. So this format has a long way to go before it is really mass market.
Second, there are two satellite providers. Sirius and XM. XM has the advantage of being mostly commercial free and better sound quality. They also, as of this writing, have more subscribers. Sirius has exclusive NFL programming, and now they have Howard Stern. Upon Stern's announcement, Sirius stock went up significantly. Yow! What gwine on heah? There is no denying that this is a major shot in the arm for the number two guy on the block. If I hung out at Best Buy and Circuit City, I would wager that it's a major topic, and how much money can we make here?
Third, is this a bold move on Stern's part, or is it just a response to something else? Opie and Anthony, lewd shock jocks themselves that lost their radio gig over a year ago for being too objectionable on their syndicated afternoon show, have debuted on XM radio, and the news was all over the place about how they are now uncensored and free to do whatever they want on satellite radio. Now Stern is a player. The man is talented and funny, and this is far from his last gasp. He could retire now if he wanted to, so he doesn't need the money.
Lastly, at this point in time, I'm not going to jump on this bandwagon. I don't listen to radio enough to warrant the expense. Beyond AM, beyond FM, beyond my budget. I can, however, sit back and watch the fireworks, and so can you. Have fun. Oh, and we'll see how I feel about this in a year.
First of all, radio is free. Free, free, free. Everyone has a radio and they're cheap if you don't have one. They're in cars. Home stereos. Walkmans. Table models, under the counter, in the dentist's office, everywhere. Satellite radio is by subscription and you have to pay for every receiver that has it, just like cable or satellite television. So this format has a long way to go before it is really mass market.
Second, there are two satellite providers. Sirius and XM. XM has the advantage of being mostly commercial free and better sound quality. They also, as of this writing, have more subscribers. Sirius has exclusive NFL programming, and now they have Howard Stern. Upon Stern's announcement, Sirius stock went up significantly. Yow! What gwine on heah? There is no denying that this is a major shot in the arm for the number two guy on the block. If I hung out at Best Buy and Circuit City, I would wager that it's a major topic, and how much money can we make here?
Third, is this a bold move on Stern's part, or is it just a response to something else? Opie and Anthony, lewd shock jocks themselves that lost their radio gig over a year ago for being too objectionable on their syndicated afternoon show, have debuted on XM radio, and the news was all over the place about how they are now uncensored and free to do whatever they want on satellite radio. Now Stern is a player. The man is talented and funny, and this is far from his last gasp. He could retire now if he wanted to, so he doesn't need the money.
Lastly, at this point in time, I'm not going to jump on this bandwagon. I don't listen to radio enough to warrant the expense. Beyond AM, beyond FM, beyond my budget. I can, however, sit back and watch the fireworks, and so can you. Have fun. Oh, and we'll see how I feel about this in a year.
posted by Bill @ 4:33 PM
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