News Articles From Days Gone By
That's the word from boss Dan Mason who last week called on his industry to hype it up a little for potential advertisers and investors.
(12 December 2007)
SNL Kagan has predicted that U.S. radio advertising sales will drop below $20 billion this year, down from $20.1 billion last year. Helping the situation out, however, will be rising Internet revenue and the expansion of HD Radio. Despite the current gloom, CBS boss Les Moonves says that he is "for the first time in a while, guardedly optimistic about the potential for growth in '08 for the radio business." David Letterman has not yet released a top ten list on why people aren't listening to radio. Killswitch Engage is getting Sirius. The band's frontman Howard Jones and drummer Justin Foley guest on "Hard Files" tomorrow at 7:00 PM(ET). The duo are prepared to discuss their current tour with Lamb of God as well as other subjects like their video of " Holy Diver ." The are not prepared to discuss their new studio album. There isn't one, at least until 2009. Said bassist Mike D'Antonio, "We are considering starting an album at the end of next year." more>>
XM is in business with PlayNetwork .
(12 December 2007)
The satcaster and the provider of integrated media experiences for business have announced a strategic relationship under which PlayNetwork manages all commercial business sales and service or XM. The new "XM for Business" service enables customers to benefit from PlayNetwork's expertise and direct-sales workforce. more>>
iBiquity is getting a little help from Holland in its pursuit of HD Radio.
(11 December 2007)
NXP Semiconductors , a Philips spin-off, is introducing a multi-standard digital terrestrial radio capable of receiving analog and digital broadcasts anywhere in the world. It uses a software-defined radio approach to manage multiple frequency streams, giving it a very small footprint to save vehicle manufacturers time, effort and cost. iBiquity's Chief Operating Officer Jeff Jury said of the development, "NXP is enabling car manufacturers to incorporate HD Radio reception capability alongside other broadcast standards - to give consumers the ultimate in-car radio experience - in a hassle-free, easy-to-iintegrate solution across global variants of their car models." more>>
NXP Semiconductors , a Philips spin-off, is introducing a multi-standard digital terrestrial radio capable of receiving analog and digital broadcasts anywhere in the world.
(11 December 2007)
It uses a software-defined radio approach to manage multiple frequency streams, giving it a very small footprint to save vehicle manufacturers time, effort and cost. iBiquity's Chief Operating Officer Jeff Jury said of the development, "NXP is enabling car manufacturers to incorporate HD Radio reception capability alongside other broadcast standards - to give consumers the ultimate in-car radio experience - in a hassle-free, easy-to-iintegrate solution across global variants of their car models." Electronics show " Into Tomorrow " is sirius about supporting the troops. Heard on XM channel 166 on Sundays 2-5 PM(ET),the program hosted by Dave Graveline is giving away 1000 "Pocket Album" digital keychain photo viewers to the U.S. Military in Iraq. As part of "Operation: Support Our Troops" Digital Foci , manufacturer of the devices, is giving them to the first 1000 soldiers to email the show. more>>
It uses a software-defined radio approach to manage multiple frequency streams, giving it a very small footprint to save vehicle manufacturers time, effort and cost.
(11 December 2007)
iBiquity's Chief Operating Officer Jeff Jury said of the development, "NXP is enabling car manufacturers to incorporate HD Radio reception capability alongside other broadcast standards - to give consumers the ultimate in-car radio experience - in a hassle-free, easy-to-iintegrate solution across global variants of their car models." Electronics show " Into Tomorrow " is sirius about supporting the troops. Heard on XM channel 166 on Sundays 2-5 PM(ET),the program hosted by Dave Graveline is giving away 1000 "Pocket Album" digital keychain photo viewers to the U.S. Military in Iraq. As part of "Operation: Support Our Troops" Digital Foci , manufacturer of the devices, is giving them to the first 1000 soldiers to email the show. Bubba the Love Sponge is grounded. He's also still Sirius. Todd Clem has signed a contract to return to the terrestrial airwaves on the heels of an announcement that he had signed a one-year deal to continue satcasting with Howard Stern. On the ground he'll be with Cox Communications, owners of WHPT in Tampa and WFYV in Jacksonville. Said Clem, "I want to do both (broadcast and satellite radio), because I have a lot of unfinished business in the market. I never got to say goodbye to the fans. I was thrown off the air by Clear Channel -- which hung me out to dry." Both deals are reportedly worth more than $3 million annually. more>>
Satellite Radio is finally coming to Europe.
(10 December 2007)
In addition to some early plans by WorldSpace (see RUsirius.com archive news story dated 10 August 2007), Ondas appears ready to enter the market in a big way. The company is issuing an Authorization to Proceed to Space Systems Loral for a state-of-the-art satellite infrastructure aimed at bringing satellite radio to Europe by 2011. Ondas says the system will use S-band, as does Sirius and XM, to take advantage of the smaller antenna sizes that can more easily be integrated into vehicles. Says Ondas' Chief Operating Officer Dave Krueger, "By further listening to our customers' preferences, we were able to concentrate on the right strategy to bring satellite radio to Europe. Ondas will broadcast its multi-lingual radio, music, video and data services directly to consumers in their automobiles, trucks, homes, offices and to their mobile and portable devices." more>>
Sirius is getting more sirius about Frank Sinatra.
(10 December 2007)
To celebrate what would have been the chairman's 92nd birthday, the satcaster is featuring a day-long tribute on Siriusly Sinatra (channel 75) hosted by Frank Sinatra, Jr. The spacecast on 12 December includes Sinatra's 1957 concert recorded in Seattle with Nelson Riddle. more>>
Sirius is wrapping up its first year of NASCAR coverage as the community gears up for 2008.
(10 December 2007)
In what has generally been perceived as a successful season for the satcaster, the coverage has moved from simply "Sirius Speedway" to a wide variety of programming aimed specifically at NASCAR enthusiasts. Says Steve Cohen, Sirius' Vice President and General Manager of Sports Programming, "When I started, in the spring of 2004, I think we had about 400-thousand subscribers and (Sirius Speedway host Dave) Moody was the afternoon drive show on Sirius Speedway -- on channel 123 at the time and it was an all motorsports talk show, they covered everything, and covered it very well. Now we have millions and millions of subscribers and it's very different. It is very interesting because we signed on January 1st, 2007 and the phone lines were jammed, and they have been jammed ever since." more>>
Presidential candidate John Edwards gets Sirius today with former Senator Bill Bradley on Stars (channel 102).
(10 December 2007)
Says Edwards of the interview, "We are by nature optimistic, strong and courageous. What we need is a president and a leader who actually believes in the American people, and believes in the extraordinary human capital and potential of the American people." The program spaces at noon, 2:00 PM and 11:00 PM(ET). more>>
The Securities and Exchange Commission is apparently no longer investigating XM.
(8 December 2007)
According to the satcaster, the SEC has ended its investigation relating to XM's handling of its estimates of subscriber counts and of recruiting subscribers. The investigation had been initiated in August 2006. more>>
According to the satcaster, the SEC has ended its investigation relating to XM's handling of its estimates of subscriber counts and of recruiting subscribers.
(7 December 2007)
The investigation had been initiated in August 2006. Howard Stern fans can celebrate the career of the "King of All Media" in a special satcast of "The History of Howard Stern" on Sirius. Get ready for replays of "Lesbian Dial a Date," "Fartman," "The Head Injury Club for Men," "The Homeless Howiewood Squares" and more starting on 17 December. "It's a complete retrospective of stuff you've never heard -- every piece of history of this show," says Howard. "'The History of Howard Stern' is an incredible listening experience. It's the kind of radio that competes with television and that you'd never hear on terrestrial radio." The show is being spaced multiple times at 6:00 AM(ET) and 6:00 PM(PT) with Act I debuting in five separate original parts. more>>
Mitsubishi is Sirius.
(6 December 2007)
The automaker has announced that most of its 2008 vehicles sold in Canada will have Sirius satrads as standard equipment. Models carrying the equipment include the Outlander XLS, Eclipse Spyder and Endeavor. Says Koji Soga, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada, "Mitsubishi is thrilled to offer Sirius Satellite Radio for customers on some of our best selling models. Sirius' programming lineup is a perfect compliment to the innovative design and performance of Mitsubishi vehicles." more>>
HD Radio has often been called "Radio's Great Leap Forward," designed to compete head-to-head with Internet radio, MP3 players and satellite radio.
(6 December 2007)
But, at least in South Texas, no one seems to know about it. Despite the investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars it's just not making a very big splash in the Rio Grande. Says Pedro Diaz, manager of a D-Tronics in McAllen, TX, "Out of 300 customers, maybe one will ask about HD Radio, but the rest don't know about it. Is it a hot item? No, it's not." What is? Audio systems that play digital music files from a thumb drive. more>>
XM Canada is sirius.
(6 December 2007)
Its subscriber base grew by 86 percent, raising the number of happy Canadian XMers to 350000. Said XM Canada boss John Bitove, "We are experiencing double-digit growth in our subscriber base due to a significant increase in the number of vehicles that are rolling off the automobile manufacturing line with XM satellite radios and due to the continued improvement in our retail market share with our NHL exclusivity." more>>
Unlike the royalties paid by webcasters (see RUsirius.com archive story dated 3 May 2007), the fees paid by XM and Sirius for protected material have been fixed by the Copyright Royalty Board.
(5 December 2007)
The fees are 6% this year and next, 6.5% in 2009 and 7.5% in 2010. XM boss Gary Parsons appears satisfied, saying "Today's ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board brings to an end a year-long proceeding with the record labels and provides our company certainty regarding music performance royalties to be paid through 2012." more>>
Dani Filth is getting Sirius.
(5 December 2007)
The Cradle of Filth frontman is a guest on "Hard Files" on the satcaster's Hard Attack (channel 27) tomorrow at 7:00 PM(ET). According to a press release, "Join Hard Attack's Mario in the depths of hell, Paul Booth's tattoo gallery in New York City, for a seance with Dani Filth from Cradle of Filth. Hear Dani spill the blood before he goes beneath Paul's tattoo needle and hear a killer soundtrack featuring music from Cradle of Filth and friends." The band is due to release "Thornography Deluxe - Harder, Darker, Faster" on 29 January. more>>
Satheads traveling to India can finally relax.
(5 December 2007)
Air India is joining JetBlue (see RUsirius.com archive story dated 9 March 2006) in offering satellite radio to its passengers as they wing their way to Mumbai. Satrads are being offered as part of the new entertainment system in the airline's new fleet of Boeing 777s next year. There is no indication as to the identity of the affiliated satcaster although it is reasonable to assume that it is WorldSpace. more>>
Apple users who like HD Radio will be pleased to know that RadioSherpa (see RUsirius.com archive story dated 14 November 2006) has announced the release of a new widget for the Apple Dashboard to tag radio broadcasts.
(5 December 2007)
Says RadioSherpa co-founder Sasha David, "Bring RadioSherpa to the Apple Dashboard has always been a top priority for us. Apple users have come to expect applications that are both intuitive and entertaining. The RadioSherpa widget with its real-time tagging capability allows users to quickly review a list of music playing on their favorite stations and then stream it." more>>
Says RadioSherpa co-founder Sasha David, "Bring RadioSherpa to the Apple Dashboard has always been a top priority for us.
(5 December 2007)
Apple users have come to expect applications that are both intuitive and entertaining. The RadioSherpa widget with its real-time tagging capability allows users to quickly review a list of music playing on their favorite stations and then stream it." XM boss Gary Parsons is scheduled to BS at the UBS 35th Annual Global Media & Communications Conference in New York today at 2:30 PM(ET). A live webcast of his presentation is being made available on the satcaster's website. A recorded version will also be available for those wishing to hear it again. more>>
Sirius' Catholic Channel (channel 159) kicks off its first anniversary with an Advent trip to Rome to broadcast from the Vatican.
(4 December 2007)
The Catholic Guy, hosted by Lino Rulli, plays radio tour guide for visits to St. Peters, the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum and other sites in the Eternal City in a series of daily spacecasts from 4:00 - 7:00 PM(ET). He also talks with Monsignor Roger Roensch, Director of the Bishops' Office for U.S. Visitors to the Vatican. more>>
The Catholic Guy, hosted by Lino Rulli, plays radio tour guide for visits to St.
(4 December 2007)
Peters, the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum and other sites in the Eternal City in a series of daily spacecasts from 4:00 - 7:00 PM(ET). He also talks with Monsignor Roger Roensch, Director of the Bishops' Office for U.S. Visitors to the Vatican. XM's Opie & Anthony (Greg Hughes and Anthony Cumia) are in trouble again. The dangerous duo is being sued by a television news reporter from WABC in New York for an apparent assault on his eardrums by an air horn. The stunt, carried out by overzealous Opie & Anthony fans during an "Assault on the Media" campaign, is said to have caused Anthony Johnson "severe and permanent" damage. Said Johnson's attorney Rosemarie Arnold, "The campaign against the media crossed the line from humor to irresponsible." Said Johnson, "One would think that because they are media personalities themselves, they should know better." An XM spokesman would not comment on the lawsuit. more>>
XM is getting Sirius about Hanukkah.
(4 December 2007)
For the second year the satcaster is celebrating the Festival of Lights and all that is Jewish with round-the-clock programming on Radio Hanukkah (channel 108). The festivities wrap up on 12 December. more>>
Minnesota Public Radio is going HD.
(4 December 2007)
The popular medium, broadcasting live and on the Internet, is adding new HD subchannels to its menu. The new HD Radio channels are expected to provide additional classical music, news and information broadcasts. more>>
The popular medium, broadcasting live and on the Internet, is adding new HD subchannels to its menu.
(4 December 2007)
The new HD Radio channels are expected to provide additional classical music, news and information broadcasts. Toledo rules! XM is bringing back three Toledo radio stations from the 1960s on Friday at 4 PM(ET) as part of this week's Sonic Sound Salutes. Listeners will be able to hear vintage radio jingles, DJs and announcements from WTTO, WOHO and WTOD, three prominent Toledo stations during the era. "For five hours, we are going to turn our channel into WTTO, WOHO, and WTOD from the 1960s," XM host Terry "Motormouth" Young said. "You'll hear the songs and the jingles and DJs you remember. This is one of our most popular shows." more>>
The future of satellite radio may not be decided there but it will certainly be discussed there.
(3 December 2007)
Tomorrow morning at 8:15 broadcasting moguls of various background will be gathering at the Harvard Club in New York for a look at what's expected in the biz. Guest speakers at Radio Ink's Forecast '08 include FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, Cumulus Prez Lew Dickey and Citadel's Farid Suleman. Walk-up registration is still available for the event. more>>
He may not be Sirius but he is back on the radio.
(3 December 2007)
Don Imus returned to the terrestrial airwaves today on WABC in New York (AM 770) (see RUsirius.com story dated 4 October) with a cast that pretty much reflects the entourage prior to his abrupt dismissal in April. Saying, "I will never say anything in my lifetime that will make any of these young women at Rutgers regret or feel foolish that they accepted my apology and forgave me," Imus recalled the putative racist and sexist remarks that got him in trouble in the first place. He then proceeded to host a show that included as guests historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Senators John McCain and Chris Dodd and political analysts James Carville and Mary Matalin. Said Imus, "Dick Cheney is still a war criminal. Hillary Clinton is still Satan. And I'm back on the radio." more>>
Canadian shoppers should get ready for XM marketing kiosks.
(1 December 2007)
The satcaster is teaming with the Toronto based Pop Up Retail Group in a marketing blitzkrieg in various shopping malls across the country. Said Gary MacAskill, DIrector of Alternate Channels for XM, "The Pop Up Retail Group team was fantastic. They put us in the mall locations we wanted to be and had us selling in less than 90 days." more>>