(vanity) broadcast radio anti-satellite ad (shows they're fearing competition)

me | 10/10/04 | raccoonradio

[raccoonradio]

First there were the ads warning of the evils of "Pay TV". Then, much more recently, there have been the ads pointing out the great ripoff cable TV is (so they say; ads for satellite companies) and similar ads for cable TV which slam satellite TV. Costs, unreliability, etc.

Now I've heard an ad (on WRKO, Boston) that really gives it to satellite radio. Think the broadcast owners are starting to really fear audience erosion to Sirius and XM? The ad has different people (a kind of "person on the street" approach, with the respondents saying things like:

"I cancelled my satellite radio--it got to be too expensive..."

"There's so much foul language on it" (Hello, Opie and Anthony and Howard Stern...)... "You could be picking up your kids from soccer practice, forget to change the channel it's on, and expose them to all those swear words..."

"I live in a big city. The reception was too spotty."

"Why are we paying for music when we can just get great music for free?"

"There are so many hidden costs--you have to buy the equipment, there's all these hidden fees..." And so on. All very reminiscent of the anti-"dish" ads for cable TV, and the anti-cable ads for the "dish"...No wonder WTKK (Boston) didn't air a Sean Hannity segment where Opie and Anthony appeared, figuring it was just an ad for the "competition"...

[raccoonradio]

I don't have satellite radio yet, but I just thought it interesting that broadcast radio is really starting to fear competition from satellite radio. Any feedback on satellite radio, if you have it? Will the FCC step in to regulate it--if they can--now that Howard Stern and Opie and Anthony will be there?

[flashbunny]

I'd like to get it, I just can't justify the extra expense now.

Broadcast radio should be scared. Outside of good AM talk radio, most radio is boring, redundant, and irritating.

[Husker24]

"There's so much foul language on it" (Hello, Opie and Anthony and Howard Stern...)... "You could be picking up your kids from soccer practice, forget to change the channel it's on, and expose them to all those swear words..."

And this is just the excuse the government will use to justify ruining it.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Pay for radio? Bull sh*t.

They suckered us with pay TV, (cable). Remember when cable TV first came out? Few if any commercials. Now? It's wall to wall commercials, just like free TV used to be. Cold day in hell when I pay for freaking radio.

[raccoonradio]

agreed--well, I do like conservative talk radio (Air
America? yuck!). Many music stations (especially oldies)
have really gotten boring. Satellite radio has its advantages and disadvantages, including virtually unlimited reception, so it's said.

Maybe if the costs go down...

[Pastnowfuturealpha]

Have it - use it to listen to the talk shows - but not the ones that you mentioned. Rush and the others - but not O'Reilly -

[raccoonradio]

some people already think the government should step in and regulate satellite the way they regulate broadcast.
Sure, it's the "public's airwaves" but not everyone can get it...so by that argument, cable TV can have all the
smut it wants and the FCC can't do much...Not that having the government step in is a good idea! (bring back the Fairness Doctrine and it's goodbye Rush...)

[Founding Father]

Is Rush on satellite radio?

[steplock]

Hey! What about INTERNET RADIO!?

I just started dabling in that field and it's wide open - clear reception and world wide listnership!

http://www.outoftimeradio.org

Shameless plug - but what the heck - it is on topic.

[Ken H]

I don't have satellite radio yet, but I just thought it interesting that broadcast radio is really starting to fear competition from satellite radio. Any feedback on satellite radio, if you have it?

Competition is a good thing. XM rocks!

Will the FCC step in to regulate it--if they can--now that Howard Stern and Opie and Anthony will be there?

My guess is no, but I'm sure there will be those who will urge the FCC to stamp out degeneracy on private pay satellite radio.

For the good of the village and society.

[Boiling point]

Amen to commercials on cable, I discovered talk radio years ago when I was a truck driver. It seems the play list is so short on music stations, Each time I got back in the truck, the same song was playing. Also does this ever happen to anyone else? Each time I am channel surfing, every station I stop on Is on a half hour long commercial segment before I find out what the format is, spin the dial, same thing happens! AARGH!

[Pastnowfuturealpha]

He is on mine - along with Laura and the Savage guy -

[raccoonradio]

Now I'm hearing there's a new cellphone technology (for streaming audio and video) called 3G which may also be a threat to broadcast radio. A post about it on a radio messageboard:

http://www.radio-info.com/mods/board?Post=273452&Board=ctc

[Ken H]

I've got a home unit but if I had to be on the road, I'd definately get an XM for my vehicle as well.

Plenty of talk radio including Drudge, Hannity, M. Reagan, and Laura Ingrahim.

And that 50's music channel is the cat's pajamas!

[Myrddin]

I purchased an XM setup last year. The Skyfi radio, home adapters and auto adapters. The auto adapters remain in the package to this day. I wanted an alternative to picking up Matt Drudge on the internet as my local broadcaster doesn't carry the show. Michael Savage was forced off my local station by a change in his contract.

Although I can get Drudge and Savage as intended, I also lose the top of the hour news to inane filler provided by XM in that time frame. I don't care for most of the rest of the XM offering. Frankly, I'm prepared to let my subscription lapse and sell the rig to someone who cares.

My local AM radio is awful compared to KOGO in San Diego. The board ops play multiple bumpers on top of each other. Bumpers are started late and overlap the news cast. The bottom of the hour news has been replaying the same outdated clip about Hurricane Jeanne for 2 weeks. If I had the time, I would run the damn radio station myself. I have the right FCC license and a nearby neighbor has been servicing the local commercial transmitters for years.

[nevergore]

I've had XM for several months now, since I got it I never listen to the local stations anymore....

I can get local traffic and weather on XM and more stations with crystal clear stations than you can possibly listen to on a car ride....

Should broadcast radio be afraid???

Absolutely!!!

NeverGore

[HHFi]

I've worked in radio for nearly 30 years, and one thing that nobody's talked about concerning Stern moving to satellite is the possibility that it will kill him off once and for all.

Consider this: Stern's whole schtick revolves around pushing the envelope. If you take away the envelope, what has he got? The fact is, his ratings had been eroding because radio became so wide open in the '90s that he didn't have to worry about censors and could do pretty much anything he wanted, and he became boring and repetitive (I can vouch for this personally, because I used to listen to him, but eventually tuned out). It was only when the FCC started coming down on him and he could turn his show into a brave stand against the evil censors that he suddenly became hot again.

If Stern is able to do and say anything he wants without the censors interfering, he's going to get boring again really fast. By the end of the first week, he'll be giving colonoscopies to dead naked hookers while shouting the F-word...then what'll he do on week two? Remember that old truism: the cutting edge is what gets dull fastest.

There is a reason why the greatest wits, from Cole Porter to the Marx Brothers, flourished under the weight of the Hayes Office; and why so many comedians, from Harry Langdon to Jerry Lewis, crashed when they finally achieved the popularity to do anything they wanted to do without having to listen to criticism. It's entirely possible that Stern is going to be sorry he got what he wished for, and so is XM.

[G.Mason]

"If Stern is able to do and say anything he wants without the censors interfering, he's going to get boring again really fast. By the end of the first week, he'll be giving colonoscopies to dead naked hookers while shouting the F-word...then what'll he do on week two? Remember that old truism: the cutting edge is what gets dull fastest."

LOL!

Very funny, but also very true.

As the saying goes, "there is a butt for every seat".

There are, undoubtably, people who will listen to frogs croaking 24/7. Are they willing to pay for that pleasure?

Radio is, after all, just radio.

[Casloy]

Awwww c'mon, it's not that bad. I get Direct TV and I love it. I don't recall cable ever being commercial free except for the movie channels anyway. I'd rather have commercials than pay extra money for each channel I want. I get over a hundred channels for less than 50 a month. Sure beats the the networks and PBS.

[knowtherules]

I have XM and am not aware that Rush's program is broadcast. I do get America Right which carries Bill Bennett, Glenn Beck, Laura Ingram, Michael Medved and Michael Savage.

Which satellite service do you have and what time/station is Rush carried?