October 2006 Archives

In what seems like a backing of a NAB initiative, National Public Radio (NPR) has written a request to the FCC to recall FM modulators used to play iPods, Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, through car stereos, because the modulators are interfering with public radio's broadcasts.

An NPR field study found that nearly 40% of the devices sold have signal strengths that exceed FCC limits. A similar study conducted by the NAB put the figure closer to 75% of all FM modulator devices.

These FM modulators "have contributed to ... unacceptable degradation of the audio quality of public radio stations," said NPR's chief executive officer, Ken Stern, in an October 12th letter to the FCC Chairman.

"Left unaddressed," he continued, "these modulators pose a significant threat to the provision of public radio's free, over-the-air public and community service."

A copy of the letter was obtained by The Baltimore Sun.

In the letter, Stern urged the FCC to look beyond satellite radio (genius!) and conduct a "thorough technical review" of the most popular FM modulators on the market, and to pursue a recall of all those found in violation of FCC rules. It's funny that the NAB has not voiced this thought, and only chooses to go after satellite radio.

There's no question that some devices (satellite radio or not) are exceeding emission levels. There's also no question that XM and SIRIUS have done everything they can to fix the situation. The one thing that I do question about NPR's request here is... why now?

[The Baltimore Sun via Radio & Records]
Thanks realwx!

Remember Interoperable Technologies? They're the company that is actually working with both SIRIUS and XM (gasp!) to create a dual-service receiver that supposedly is nearing production. Well, Interoperable Technologies has gone and filed for a patent to operate a dual-service receiver via a cellphone/PDA.

As I understand it (and, mind you, I'm no lawyer), the patent creates a method to activate and control a satellite radio receiver via Bluetooth (or possibily other wireless protocols). It also allows for the methodology to transmit back to the satellite provider your usage statistics. Oh, and probably most importantly, it specifies the ability to create a "portable satellite radio subscription" - meaning that while you're at home, you can listen to your home receiver; then when you get in your car, you can listen to your car's receiver. All controlled via this single cellphone/PDA device, and presumably under a single subscription.

It's important to note that this is not a patent to listen to satellite radio via a cellphone/PDA, instead it's a method to control your satellite radio receivers via a cellphone/PDA.

I really like the concept of a transferrable activation method. As noted in the patent application, an "exemplary embodiment" of this would be the use of public satellite radio subscriptions:

Such public subscription radios may be located, for example, in places such as restaurants, coffee houses, hotels, and like places where a series of individuals are likely to be for relatively short periods of time. The subscription radio service provider may elect to charge a user for activation of each public subscription radio or for the ability to be able to activate any public subscription radio. 

Walk into your hotel room, activate the room's satellite radio receiver, and you won't miss any of your favorite shows.

Read the full patent application here, or check out this PDF version which includes diagrams and flowcharts.

[via Satellite Radio TechWorld]
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Sirius Satellite Radio has some spooky and scary programming that's sure get your blood curdling (if it's so easily curdled). From an entire channel dedicated to the sounds of Halloween, to creative tips from Martha Stewart, to bone-chilling broadcasts of the original classic horror-themed radio programs - Sirius is sure to have something for Halloween revelers that are sick of watching "The Great Pumpkin" for yet another year.

SIRIUS is mutating Kid's Stuff, (ch 116) to SIRIUS Halloween Radio just for Halloween day, on 6am – 3am ET, playing uninterrupted atmospheric and thrilling Halloween sound effects. These kid-friendly spooky noises include creaking doors, wolves baying, footsteps, bubbling potions, fog horn, breaking glass, being chased through the woods, eerie screams, echo of dripping water, heart beating, slow walk and thunder and lightening. 

Then there's the Martha Stewart Happy Halloween Special, starting at 2pm ET. Martha and her entourage will share tips for pumpkin carving, decorating ideas, choosing a costume, safe trick-or-treating and fun party foods. Morning Living (7am – 9am ET) and Afternoon Living (3pm – 5pm ET) will feature interviews with a gosh-darn real witch and a real ghost hunter. Whatever with Alexis and Jennifer (5:00 – 7:00pm ET) will feature Halloween surprises - all this and more on Martha Stewart Living Radio, channel 112.

RadioClassics (ch 118): The RadioClassics Halloween Spooktacular will feature the original, unedited version of War of the Worlds on the very same day and time it originally aired in 1938 (October 30th at 8pm ET). The horror will continue Halloween Day with programs like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Werewolf and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde featuring famed actors Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Gregory Peck, and Burt Lancaster. Check the RadioClassics page for more showtimes.

Cosmo Radio's (ch 112) morning show Wake Up with Cosmo Radio (7am – 11am ET) will host Taylor will share cool Halloween makeup tips on the Halloween Boo-tiful segment, while the nighttime show Go to Bed with Cosmo Radio (7pm – 11pm ET) host Victoria will offer plenty of ideas for sexy Halloween costumes and advise listeners which tricks work best for getting a “treat” from your man. Grrr.

And that's just a taste, there's oodles more of spooky programming to tune into, check it out here. 

In case you didn't notice yesterday, the launch of the XM-4 satellite was halted yesterday due to "off-nominal data from its automated launch support equipment."

While I'm not necessarily sure what's involved with the automated launch support equipment, I do know that being "off-nominal" is rocket-speak for "buggy" so it's a good idea the launch was scrubbed.

Have no fear though, both the spacecraft and the launch vehicle are in excellent condition. When things get nominal again, there will be an update.

I'll admit it, I don't listen to Martha Stewart Living Radio. I'm a married guy in his 30s (alright, so I just turned 30) with two-kids with a penchants for booze, manual labor and relentless blogging - so anything relating to Martha Stewart just doesn't fit my profile.

It's knowing this that I picked up the phone for a conversation with Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Hutt this morning - hosts of "Whatever with Alexis and Jennifer" - hoping to learn a bit more about the show the people behind it. Sure, I'm not the target audience, but I know they have a devote fan following... so there must be something about them.

The conversation started off discussing about a trip to the pediatrician, and then quickly turned to blow-jobs... wait a sec. Maybe I am the target audience.

What I thought was going to be a giggle-filled chat with two bubbly girls ended up to be an eye-opening and (dare I say) enjoyable conversation. Alexis and Jennifer have no prior radio experience, don't really match the "brand" of Martha Stewart Living Radio, and from an outsider's point of view, have no business being on the air.

But maybe that's why it works. They're real, not a formula.

The opposing dynamic between the two personalities (who, ultimately, both share the same core values), mixed with the type of candor that you only hear after a couple glasses of wine, makes me believe that these two are meant to be on the radio. If a half-hour conversation on the phone with these two can be this entertaining, what's a two-hour show like? I'm curious to find out.

"Whatever with Alexis and Jennifer" is celebrating one-year of broadcasting, a milestone that seems well deserved. Tune in every Monday through Friday, from 5pm-7pm ET (encores at 12am), or check out their new website... you might find something surprising, I know I did.

"Talk to Me with Oprah Winfrey," a new weekly call-in show hosted by Oprah, debuts today at 10am ET, on XM's Oprah & Friends channel (ch 156).

"Talk to Me with Oprah Winfrey" gives listeners a direct way to share their thoughts with Oprah as she takes calls from listeners each week during the half-hour program.

Want to call Oprah to discuss, ask questions and share your own stories? Just call 866-OPRAH-XM (toll-free).

Oprah will open each show with a brief monologue that will serve as the underlying theme, starting with this week's theme "Life Lessons."

"Talk to Me with Oprah Winfrey" will air every Thursday at 10am ET and "Oprah Weekly Highlights" (a 1/2 hour show featuring interviews and moments from the previous week's "The Oprah Winfrey Show") will air Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. ET, both with additional encores airing throughout the week. Interestingly enough, this new programming replaces the weekly "Oprah and Gayle Show."

XM Satellite Radio and Bside (an independent film distributor) are joining forces to launch the independent documentary, Before The Music Dies (B4MD). Remember Before The Music Dies? I posted the preview a couple weeks ago before it looks so electrifying.

The partnership between Bside and XM will include a grassroots screening week (November 12th - 19th) and the first-ever "radio premiere" of a full-length film. Neat.

The screening week gives any music lover the opportunity to host their own screening of the film (hence the "grassroots" part). Events are already scheduled in markets across the US and Canada, will be held in venues ranging from recording studios to public libraries to large music clubs. Want to see where any of these screenings will be held? Just check here. It's being updated constantly

XM will kick off this national screening week with an audio broadcast of B4MD - the first-ever "radio premiere" of a full-length film - followed by a half-hour interview by XM's Bob Edwards with filmmakers, Andrew Shapter and Joel Rasmussen.

The B4MD broadcast and interview special will air November 12th at 9pm ET on XM Public Radio (ch 133). XM will also provide a 24-hour loop of the documentary audio broadcast and Bob Edwards interview on XM LIVE (ch 200) starting at 8am ET on November 19th.

Awesome. 

The NAB President/CEO David Rehr sent two letters to the FCC on Monday calling for probes into XM and SIRIUS Satellite Radio.

In his first letter (PDF), Rehr asked the FCC to "immediately commence a full investigation into both the actual and reported operations of Sirius and XM's terrestrial repeater networks."

XM and Sirius recently asked for a window of time to continue operating terrestrial repeaters that did not meet FCC regulations, allowing them time to correct the issue. "These latest disclosures reveal a persistent corporate (if not industry) circumvention of the FCC's regulations," Rehr wrote.

In his second letter (PDF), Rehr said that XM and Sirius currently have a "privileged regulatory position" because of "the expanding delivery of complimentary satellite radio services to nonsubscribers."

Rehr brought up the recent XM deal with Acura as well as Sirius' free online trial of Howard Stern. He adds that "drawing a regulatory distinction between satellite and traditional broadcast radio simply because satellite radio content is available on a subscription basis may no longer be justified." 

[via FMQB]

XM Satellite Radio's response to this is, "NAB's sole interest here is in trying to hamper competing services that offer consumers compelling choices that terrestrial radio can’t provide."

You can say that again. I thought satellite radio wasn't a threat? 

Eminem will be live on his SIRIUS Satellite Radio channel, Shade 45 (ch 45), this Wednesday, October 25th at 4pm ET to premiere a new track from Shady Records' upcoming CD, Eminem Presents: The Re-Up.

Em will be live on the air with the Lord Sear and Rude Jude, hosts of The All-Out Show on Shade 45.

He'll also be celebrating the second anniversary of Shade 45, which is sort of interesting since Orbitcast is doing the same. Two-years and counting... amazing.

The 72-hour countdown for the launch of the XM-4 satellite on October 26 has started. Liftoff is planned at the opening of a 58-minute launch window at 4:49pm PT (that's 7:49pm ET).

The Sea Launch Commander is now alongside the Odyssey, which is connected by a "link bridge" during launch preparations. Tomorrow, the team will raise the Zenit-3SL rocket on the launch pad. Final tests on the launch system and the spacecraft will lead up to the terminal count for liftoff.

The rocket will launch the 11,448 lbs XM-4 satellite to an optimized geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO), on its way to a final orbital position of 115 degrees West Longitude.

Sea Launch will carry a live satellite feed and a streaming webcast of the XM-4 mission, starting at 4:35 pm PT (that would be 7:35 pm ET).

[more on Sea Launch's Current Launch Page] 

Tony Hawk will be hosting a special edition of Tony Hawk’s Demolition Radio on Thursday, October 26th at 3pm ET on SIRIUS Faction, (ch 28).

Broadcasting from the set of a Jeep commercial he's filming in Los Angeles, Tony Hawk will talk about his upcoming video game, Project 8, and preview music from its soundtrack.

Tony will reveal special features of Project 8, and will talk about what went into putting the soundtrack together.

Good Charlotte's lead singer Joel Madden and guitarist Benji Madden dropped by the XM studios to perform new songs and audience requests in front of a group of 40 fans this past weekend. Fans in the audience were chosen by the band through Good Charlotte's MySpace page.

The performance will air on XM’s Top 20 on 20 channel.

XM Satellite Radio has scheduled their third quarter 2006 financial results conference call for on Monday, November 6, 2006, at 10:00 AM ET.

To listen to the conference call, call 877-265-5808 (National) or 706-679-7931 (Local).

XM's Q3 2006 Earning Call will also be available via a webcast which you will be able to access here. 

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer and creator of the personal computer, will be hosting "Guest DJ On A Segway" on XM's The Village (ch 15) this Tuesday, October 24th at Noon ET.

The 4.5 hour show features The Woz himself hanging out with host Christine Lavin. Wozniak talks about his new autobiography "iWoz: From Computer Geek To Cult Icon," his love for the Segway (and Segway polo), his opinions on life, culture, and music. All the while he guest-DJs an excellent playlist that he whittled down after going through over five hundred of his favorite songs.

The story behind how The Woz got to guest-host the show is almost as interesting as the show itself. If you miss it on Tuesday, you can still catch the encores at: Friday at Midnight ET, Saturday 6pm ET and Monday 6am ET.

[via The Lefsetz Letter]
Thanks to everyone who sent this in! 

In a special SIRIUS live broadcast, Grammy-winning artist John Legend will perform songs from his upcoming new album Once Again, this Wednesday, October 25th at 12pm ET on SIRIUS Heart & Soul (ch 51). Once Again is set to be released on October 24th.

The winner of three 2005 Grammy awards, John Legend will perform before a studio audience for this live broadcast. In between songs Legend will respond to interview questions from on-aur hosts Tanya Simpson and James "D-Train" Williams.

Something's wrong at XM and I just don't get it. Kicking off the first game on Saturday night at Detroit’s Comerica Park, every fan got an XM-branded rally towel and an offer for a free XM radio. Anyone else confused? I know, me too, this is actually a good marketing idea.

XM handed out the towels, and the radio offers, to fans as they entered the stadium. The offer was a special card with a World Series pin attached. The cardholder gets a Delphi RoadyXT radio for free, provided they pay the first three months’ subscription in advance. They could either redeem the cards at the ballpark and take the radios home with them right away, or they could order the radio online after the game.

(The line begins as fans come to get their free Roady XTs.)

XM also had signs throughout Comerica stadium. The new XM TV ads ran on the Jumbotron, and fans heard "XM music breaks" between innings. One of the first XM music breaks was "Old Time Rock and Roll," by Detroit native Bob Seger, who reportedly was spotted in the stands behind home plate bobbing his head.

And get this, there's supposed to be plenty of XM signs and branding at St. Louis’ Busch stadium as well. Could this new marketing team really be doing things right?

XM is expanding their XM Public Radio (XMPR) schedule with a bunch of shows from Public Radio International (PRI). Starting on Monday, November 6th, XMPR (ch 133) will be featuring the PRI programs "The World," "To the Point" and "To the Best of Our Knowledge," as well as the BBC's documentary series, "The Changing World."

XMPR already features several PRI shows as part of its repertoire, including "This American Life," "Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen," "The Tavis Smiley Show," and "Michael Feldman’s Whad’Ya Know?"

• PRI's "The World," anchored by Lisa Mullins, is a 2005 Peabody Award-winning daily global news program co-produced by PRI, BBC World Service and WGBH Radio Boston.
• "To the Best of Our Knowledge," produced by Wisconsin Public Radio and winner of a 2004 Peabody Award, is a two-hour weekly news and information program hosted by Jim Fleming.
• "To the Point" is a fast-paced, news-based daily discussion program produced by KCRW/Santa Monica and hosted by multiple-award-winning Warren Olney.
• "The Changing World," produced by BBC World Service, is an acclaimed global documentary series.

This might explain why Sirius and PRI parted ways.

Well, it's been out for a couple weeks now, but Directed Electronics has announced that they have begun shipping the Sirius Stiletto to Sirius Retailers.

Jim Minarik, President and CEO of Directed Electronics, said "We are very proud of our strong partnership with SIRIUS and are pleased to offer the exciting new Stiletto receiver to our customers."

So there you go. 

XM Satellite Radio has named Vernon Irvin has named their Chief Marketing Officer to oversee XM's strategic marketing efforts.

Irvin will report to Nate Davis, XM's President and COO, with the responsibility for a number of operating groups, including media and brand marketing; retail, direct and partnership marketing; and, marketing operations, which includes service offerings, pricing, retention and market research.

With more than 20 years of experience, Irvin joins XM from VeriSign, where he has served since 2003 as Executive Vice President and General Manager for the company's communications services group. While at VeriSign, he oversaw a number of areas, including sales, marketing, product management, strategic development, and network operations. He also oversaw initiatives such as the launch of Jamster, VeriSign's consumer ringtone business, which at its peak counted millions of mobile and online music consumers. During his tenure, revenue for the communications services group doubled to $850 million in two years.

"Vernon is a dynamic leader who brings to XM a winning track record of building great brands and growing businesses," said Davis. "His impressive operating experience combined with his strong creative instincts and relationships in the entertainment industry will make Vernon a driving force as we extend XM's industry leadership." 

Read our follow-up to this article: Sirius' Free Online Promotion... was it a hit?

Sirius is really pushing this two-days of free Sirius, scheduled for October 25th and 26th, having issued a press release listing both days' programming lineup and Howard Stern's guests. The Sirius.com homepage features two slides pushing Sirius Internet Radio.

The jury's still out on whether or not consumers will actually respond to this "Howard Stern Worldwide" event, or that subscribers will actually sign up to an Internet-only service that costs the same as as the regular service. The standard consumer mindset is that anything over the Internet should be provided at a discount (or free).

Either way, check out Stern's guest list and the other Sirius programming that people can hear during this 2-day free event, after the jump...

XM's new marketing campaign continues with this new baseball-themed commercial. I'll try to find a higher-quality version, but you'll get the gist:

In a related note, XM appears to have kicked off an aggressive online marketing initiative, with ad spots found on MLB.com, YouTube and MySpace. They all point to this mini-site which matches their new "ON" look-and-feel. Hopefully this will roll out to the rest of the site because it's a vast improvement over the current design.
Thanks cb!

Gary Parsons - Chairman of the board at XM Satellite Radio - has resigned as a director of WorldSpace, it was revealed today in a SEC filing.

In a letter dated October 18, 2006, Mr. Parsons indicated that he was reducing his outside areas of responsibility, in order to focus more of his attention on his primary responsibilities as Chairman of XM Satellite Radio.

Gary Parsons was elected as a director of WorldSpace on July 18, 2005.

Former American Idol contestant, RJ Helton, came out of the closet publicly for the first time on Wednesday, October 18th to host SIRIUS OutQ host Larry Flick on his show OutQ in the Morning.

During the interview, Helton said "just because I am gay does not mean I can’t love God." 

Helton was a top five finalist on the first season of American Idol and SIRIUS OutQ is the gay channel on SIRIUS Satellite Radio - put the two together and you've got a coming out party.

Check out excerpts from the interview after the jump... 

This is encouraging news, the Delphi SkyFi3 has received FCC certification. It's encouraging because this is a key season for XM, and they need to make sure that all FCC certications go through as quickly as possible.

Something interesting to note though - the certification wasn't done by XM. It was certified by Delphi (note the "L2C" as opposed to XM's "RS2" in the first three characters of the FCC ID). I wonder if XM is following in Sirius' footsteps, and allowing the manufacturers handle FCC certifications? This did seem to help Sirius when the FCC was doing investigations around Father's Day.

[FCC Filing via Satellite Radio TechWorld] 

Perhaps this explains yesterday's rumor - today Apple filed for a patent application (PDF) for a method of saving media from various sources for later purchase. It's an ingenious method of grabbing snippets of audio, identifying the song and allowing the user the option to purchase that song.

This patent is to date the most solid information yet that Apple actually might be considering integration with satellite radio. This is not an exclusive relationship with satrad, but rather a method for Apple to get around the "discovery" roadblock that is inherently wrong with the iPod.

With this technology, the user can tune "into a wireless signal (e.g., AM FM radio, digital radio, or WiFi)" using either a wireless card or "the capability to accept accessories to add the necessary functionality." This makes sense - in my opinion the only way Apple will have satellite radio integration would be through an accessories, and not built-in to the iPod. SDARS capability would add too much bulk for Apple to ever consider it to be acceptable.

Still, the relationship with satellite radio is vague... at this point. As we read the patent application further though, it begins to clear up as Apple specifically states that the wireless signal could be "AM/FM radio, satellite radio, WiFi."

And further on, Apple discusses vehicle integration, and actually names XM as a possible source - this is the interesting part folks:

"The in-vehicle receiver-player 708 also couples to the in-vehicle network 710. In addition, the portable media device 702 can couple to the in-vehicle network 710. As a result, the portable media device 702 can communicate with the in-vehicle receiver-player 708 via the in-vehicle network 710. In one embodiment, the in-vehicle network 710 has a connection port that is able to receive the portable media device 702 either directly or indirectly via a cable. As an example, the portable media player can be a digital media player.

[0077] When the portable media device 702 is connected to the in-vehicle network 710, the portable media device 702 has access to media information that is descriptive the media being played by the vehicle media system 704. For example, if the in-vehicle receiver-player 708 is playing audio content that is received from a radio frequency broadcast (e.g., AM, FM or XM), the portable media device 702 is able to determine descriptive media information associated with the audio content being played. The descriptive media information can vary with implementation or situation. In one implementation or situation, the descriptive media information includes a title, artist and/or album name for the audio content."

It's the in-vehicle integration where satellite radio has a strong point. Apple needs better vehicle integration, and they need a seamless method for the iPod to "discover" music while in the car. Satellite radio provides a method of not only supplying the actual audio for the iPod to "consume" - but also the associated metadata is already encoded in - making it easier to identify the song and give a purchase option.

Now that's interesting.

[Patent Application #20060235864 via Satellite Radio TechWorld]

NPD Group's September sales data have showed a consecutive decline in the satellite radio retail channel, when compaired to the same period last year. In August unit sales were down 3% year-over-year, but in September they dropped 12% industry-wide YoY.

The Quick Glance:

• Sirius September 2006 Retail Sales:
  Down 9% YoY
• XM September 2006 Retail Sales:
  Down 15% YoY

Marketshare (via SSG):

• Sirius Sept '06 Retail Marketshare: 57%
• XM Sept '06 Retail Marketshare: 43%
  

In a recent report, Bank of America Analyst Jonathan Jacoby stated that demand from retailers appears "softer" year over year in the start of the fourth quarter, with "more demand for ipods."

This seems to support the theory that the satellite radio retail channel has reached it's peak, but in my opinion it seems unfair to compare YoY growth considering the anomoly the Stern Effect created.

It's a slow news day which means that another "rumor" needs to hit the streets to justify everyone's salaries. This time around its... a Sirius and Apple partnership. Wow. How original.

Too bad it's just a rumor, and as usual, will continue to be just a rumor.

Yet the good folks over at Briefing.com have managed to create enough buzz on this that it's driven SIRI up a good $0.10 at today's current high. Oh joy.

Let's stop for a second and question... why? Why would Apple, who is enjoying a significant market leadership position, partner with "the competition" and muck with the iPod and iTunes? It ain't happening ...yet.

[Ant & Sons] 

Mike Bullard has signed with XM Canada to host a new morning show on XM's Canadian comedy channel, Laugh Attack (ch 153).

The new show, "Mike Bullard Uncensored," will also feature Canadian comedienne Judy Croon and comedian Lawrence Morgenstern, and is set to debut on Monday, October 23rd. The show will be broadcast on both XM Canada and XM Satellite Radio, five days a week, from 7am - 9am ET.

Terms of the deal were not announced.

Mike Bullard is the former host of the late-night talk shows Open Mike with Mike Bullard and The Mike Bullard Show. Apparently he was quite popular and it's good for Canada to get their own on-air personalities.

[Press Release]
Thanks Kyenta!