Stern goes to Satellite....

[Diesel]

I have had a chance to think about this for a minute and it's interesting. Howard Stern going to Satellite. Could it be like when FM came in and Pimp Slapped AM? Or how digital cable pimp slapped Free TV? Will Satellite Radio have that kinda effect?

Will people start to pay $20.00 a month to listen to radio with no commercials? More importantly, can $20.00 a month of listener supported radio afford to pay Stern 500 million dollars without involving commercials?

And what about Mark Cuban and the Internet? Has the internet failed at making Radio obsolete?

The other thing is that AM Radio has become the republican echo chamber. Every since I saw outfoxed, I am clear that Rove is controlling all of that. So I don't think Stern is a big enough draw to make Satellite the wave of the future.

Still, there's a whole lot of money that will be given unto him!

[Admin]

First, Satt. Radio isnt 20 bucks a month. I pay $7.99 a month for XM and my having that service doesnt have anything to do with sports. I am more than willing to pay for it because I love being able to listen to whatever I want since there are so many stations and they are commercial free, plus they arent censored. Throw in sports to that and I think even more people will want to switch over. Its clear that its the wave of the future since most new cars are coming equipped with XM these days.

Secondly, digital cable didnt do anything to free cable. When is the last time that cable was free? I sure cant remember. Digital cable is also the same thing as regular cable, just with a converter that makes people think that they are getting something better. Whereas XM radio is vastly different from regular radio for many different reasons.

Lastly, Mark Cuban doesnt have anything to do with Broadcast Internet Radio anymore, he sold that product many years ago to Yahoo...so if anyone would be hurt by that it would be Yahoo, but they dont have anything to worry about because most people arent going to have a home XM radio for a while as its a mostly car requested thing. Also, the Internet was never supposed to make radio obsolete. What has been accomplished though is that you would be very hard pressed to find a radio broadcast online that you dont have to pay a subscription fee for, which totally sucks, and keeps people from listening to the online broadcasts.

[chillzatl]

They will make a significant profit. I expect that they will bring in roughly 20%. Factor in the next two years of pre-stern growth time. They will make plenty of money. Stern has an estimated 50mil audience. Not to mention an audience that is modern and intelligent. They will flock to hear uncensored stern.

XM will NEVER replace am/fm, simply because it's free. But it will become a major player. The important question is how long before the Government tries to step in and regulate it? If they keep their paws off, it will become something special. If they jump in and try to control it, it will likely become as jacked up as most other things government involves itself in.

Great conspiracy theory btw, hehe.

[Weez]

well, it could well go the route of cable tv. that is, you have to purchase 'true uncensored' stations outside of the standard package.

and, I agree, I don't see it replacing am/fm...i mean, 'regular tv' still exists and is used solely by a remarkable number of people...but it will become more popular (i want it...but since I don't drive that much right now, it's not that high on my to get list...tivo's much higher).

[Admin]

Ah yes God bless Tivo and God bless Directv. I love Directv for having the pro sports tickets and for now adding Tivo to their lineup makes their service worth every penny. I have to say that now that I have Tivo I probably watch less tv than I ever have before, but I get to see more shows that I really want to watch and dont waste time watching crappy shows. Realy dont even need HBO and those channels anymore.

I love XM because I have a 45 minute each way drive to work, so I listen to the alt rock station on the way home and the comedy station on the way to work in the morning, really gets me in a good mood. You really cant beat 8 bucks a month for this service.

[cyman3]

hey DOLFAN, is XM kinda like that thing w/ that PATROITS (Tom Brady) commercial w/ John Madden.

Madden sayin "TOM BRADY HAS A NEW FAVORITE RECEIVER!"

....

is that like a XM channel taht u gotta pay for?

[Admin]

That commercial was for Sirius Satt. Radio, which is basically the same thing as XM. Its just a different brand. Sorta like the difference between Directv and Dish Network. I personally use XM and dont know anyone who used Sirius but I am sure they are pretty much the same. I pay $7.99 a month for my XM service.

[Diesel]

When I said free TV, I was talking about Regular TV... Those channells you get for free just by having a television.

However, I think you got to have the right programming to get people to spend the monthly charge for sattellite Radio... I think the problem is that people become used to LOCAL personas. I know you have guys who work on the national level, but even they are only complimented by local coverage. Still, the carrot for me would be no commercials. Like someone said though, I wonder how long before somebody tries to regulate and I wonder how long before commercials come in...