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!

Sara Lee Food & Beverage has signed with SIRIUS Satellite Radio to include their The Joy of Eating promotion on the Martha Stewart Living Radio channel. The campaign involves not only on-air promotion, but also a strong interactive presence on the channel's webpage.

During Whatever with Alexis & Jennifer, listeners are encouraged to submit their recipes using Sara Lee along with an interesting story about the dish. The website features recipes, photos and stories submitted by listeners and the lucky winner will receive a trip to New York to watch a live taping of Martha Stewart’s TV show.

The Joy of Eating contest runs through November 10th.

[via MediaWeek] 

XM Satellite Radio's public radio guru, Bob Edwards, has been named this year's Deems Taylor Radio Broadcast Award for Overall Excellence in Music Coverage by the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP).

Bob Edwards will receive the award at the 39th Annual ASCAP awards ceremony on December 7th.

"The Bob Edwards Show" was also awarded the Gabriel Award from the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professional for his documentary on Father Greg Boyle of East Lost Angeles. This happens to be Edwards' third Gabriel Award, but it is the first ever given to a satellite radio program.

And if that's not enough, last week Bob Edwards received the Environmental Program Gold World Medal from The New York Festivals for his documentary "Exploding Heritage," on mountain top removal coal mining in Eastern Kentucky.

"The Bob Edwards Show," the flagship program of XM Public Radio (ch 133), which airs weekday mornings. In 2006, XM debuted "Bob Edwards Weekend," a two-hour 'best-of' show for the week which is syndicated to public radio stations nationwide through Pubic Radio International (PRI).

That's what AllAccess.com is speculating. According to the report, Bubba The Love Sponge was seen walking out of the Cox building in Tampa with several "suits" with him.

Two questions are being raised:

1. Is Bubba leaving Sirius Satellite Radio?
2. Or is Bubba pulling an "Opie & Anthony" and doing a dual-satellite/terrestrial radio show?

Oh the speculation!

[AllAccess.com]

Looking strikingly similar to the back of the Pionner Inno/Samsung Helix, a recent FCC filing by XM Satellite Radio has revealed a possible new receiver - right now code named "X2G-100."

It doesn't take a huge stretch of the imagination to guess that this is a new XM2go device that can store up to 100 hours of content.

What is interesting is that XM is onto us blogger types who are pecking away at the FCC database all day long - and has requested (PDF) that the FCC keep key aspects of the filing private for 45 days. So product photographs, user guides and "technical information regarding coupling device" are off limits until, oh say, December 1st. Curious. That's roughly the same date as the Delphi SkyFi3 will be released.

A close-up look at the FCC label doesn't give us much to work with, other than being bigger. The FCC ID for the X2G-100 is, incredibly enough, RS2X2G100. "RS2" is XM's FCC ID, while the "X2G100" is simply the product code. Zero clues there. For anyone that has an Inno handy, all you need to do is pop off the battery and you'll see this device here looks identical to what you have - with the exception of the logo.

Now an Engadget reader has pointed out that this may just be Audiovox's own XM2go device, which is likely since they're teasing an Audiovox XM/MP3 player for November 2006. Could be.

But a 100 hour XM2go wouldn't surprise me, especially since that back in March there was talk of a storage increase with investment analysts. The expected timeframe for that device was around the Holiday season. So if it quacks like a duck...

[View FCC Filings via Engadget]

Country music singer Vince Gill will debut his new 4-disc set These Days for SIRIUS Satellite Radio listeners this Friday, October 20th. The four-disc box set of bluegrass, acoustic and mainstream country, rock and jazz is being released today by Universal.

Gill will be on the following Sirius channels on Friday:

• SIRIUS New Country (ch 60): Gill will visit with host Jessica Wade to play and talk about selections from his new box set (3pm ET).
• SIRIUS Bluegrass (ch 65): Gill will explore his bluegrass roots and play some of his favorite bluegrass recordings (including his own) with host Joey Black (5pm ET).
• SIRIUS Prime Country (ch 61): Gill will talk all about his expansive new box set with host Kim Ashley (7pm ET).

Vince Gill has more CMA (Country Music Association) awards than any other performer and has been awarded 17 GRAMMYS since 1990, the most for any country artist.

Delphi has officially announced the Delphi SkyFi3 XM satellite radio receiver/MP3 player - but Orbitcast readers have known about it for a few weeks already. Here's a rundown of the official details, some we know about and some are new:

• 65% smaller than previous SkyFi units
• 30-minutes of Pause-Replay functionality
• 10-hours of XM content recording on non-removable flash memory
  
• Micro SD card support for MP3/WMA/WAV storage
• Car dock included with the ability for horizontal or vertical orientation
• Car dock also includes a AUX outlet for external audio
• Included earphones
• Internal 8 hour rechargable battery
• Two Live Wearable Kits will be available:
• Standard Live Wearable Kit (SA10252) - 90 Minutes of live XM
• Premium Live Wearable Kit (SA10228) - 7 hours of live XM, 40 hours of stored playback
• The Delphi SkyFi3 will be available December 1st
• SkyFi3 will MSRP is $229
• Some retailers will be offering the Live Wearable Kit ($49 value) for free

Of note: The Delphi SkyFi3 has been submitted to the FCC, but has not yet been authorized. This is probably why you've seen it advertised, and then subsequently pulled from the ads.

Read the full press release after the jump... 

Signs of XM's revamped marketing strategy are starting to shine through. First their new marketing campaign, and now their product packaging is getting a uniform look.

XM's prior packaging (bottom) for their retail products were each individually unique from each other - reinforcing the manufacturer's brand moreso than the XM brand itself. Now, coinciding with the rollout of XM SureConnect, XM has changed all their retail packaging (top) to focus on the XM brand instead.

This uniform look is a welcome change and should help their presence at big box retailers. It's about time.

(On a related note, XM no longer is touting the "most commercial-free music" line anymore. With Sirius' addition of their Canadian channels, both services have 69 commercial-free music channels. XM has instead changed the line to the "most music" due to the additional Clear Channel channels.) Thanks Matt!

Sirius has filed a special temporary authority request with the FCC to turn back on 11 repeaters that were operating or built differently than the original specification.

The locations of 10 of the repeaters were slightly different than the original STA's terms (within 10 miles, and roughly half of them within 2 miles). Also, 10 out of the 11 were operating at or below the authorized power-levels and Sirius is not aware of any interference. Other out-of-spec issues include beamwidth, orientation, sectorization, or height.

Either way, their off now. Sirius is sorry, and they would really really like them turned back on. Pretty please FCC?

[FCC Filing (PDF) via Satellite Radio TechWorld] 

XM Satellite Radio has released information to retailers about their next-generation FM modulator, which has been given the marketing name of XM SureConnect. To the right is a photo of the connector clip showing the actual size next to a penny.

One of the benefits of XM SureConnect is improved sound-quality. Since the XM SureConnect clip is directly attached to the antenna, there's less chance for interference. So while the difficulty of installation is increased, at least it's at the benefit of sound-quality.

There is a downside though, SureConnect isn't compatable with a retractable "whip" antenna (~2% of cars), or with roof-based antennas (~<1% of cars). In those cases, a hardwired install is necessary.

XM Fan has the full retailer info sheet for your viewing pleasure.

A new Sirius commercial spot. I dig it.

Thanks Tim!

The Sea Launch team is preparing for their fifth mission of 2006, the launch of the XM-4 satellite, which is scheduled to occur on October 26th.

There's a 58-minute launch window that begins at 4:49pm Pacific Daylight Time (23:49 GMT), and if all goes well a Zenit-3SL will send the 11,448 lbs XM-4 satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to a final orbital position of 115 degrees West Longitude.

Check out the live webcam of the Odyssey Launch Platform and the Sea Launch Commander as they embark about 3,000 miles to the launch site on the Equator (specifically at 154 degrees West Longitude).
Hopefully everything will be nominal.

SIRIUS Satellite Radio is kicking off their Sirius Internet Radio service with a two-day worldwide event - allowing listeners to hear both Howard Stern channels, as well as 75 other CD-quality channels - absolutley free.

On October 25th and October 26th, SIRIUS will open up their "airwaves" and let people listen to Sirius Internet Radio - and Howard Stern - for free. The regular monthly cost for SIR is $12.95 (the same price as their standard satellite radio service), but instead allows listeners to hear the 75 channels (including 64 music channels) over the internet.

Go to Sirius' website today to register for a free trial, then tune in on October 25th to listen to Stern.

News bits for this Friday the 13th (Oooo):

• Oprah and Bono promote a new line of products to raise money to fight AIDS in Africa. Includes a special-edition red iPod, and Moto's got a red RAZR/SLVR... no red Inno though. [AP]
• Rumor: Dr. Phil to strap on the headphones and get his own radio show. Supposedly his son is on-board as well. The Dr. Phil show is produced by Harpo Studios. [Radio & Records]
• Affluent women with incomes of $75k+ are growing. They tend to use the Internet a heck of a lot more than average adults, but at the expense of other media. What happens when you combine Radio + the Internet? [Radio Ink]
• CNET CEO Shelby Bonnie resigned after stock options investigation. John Mohn has been named the non-executive chairman along with Neil Ashe as the new CEO. Mohn is on XM Satellite Radio's Board of Directors. [paidContent]
  
• The rumors were true, Air America Radio filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [NY Times]
• HD Radio's get a rebate discount of $25-$50 off. Still won't bring them to the "right price" to spur adoption (psst, the right price is "free"). [FMQB]

With the FCC's crack down on FM modulators exceeding emission levels a new alternative needed to be created that satisfies two major criteria: 1) the FM signal can't "bleed" to other vehicles and 2) it needs to provide the best user experience possible. None of these factors are negociable.

Enter the next-generation of FM Transmitters for satellite radio. Both XM and SIRIUS have very similar approaches: localize the transmission as close as possible to the car's pre-existing antenna.

The next obvious approach is to hard-wire the satellite radio directly to the headunit, but that's asking a bit much from the consumer. That's not to say that running wires all over your car should be considered an easy task for most consumers, but this is a good compromise. The Big Box Retailers with installation services are going to be loving this by the way, because these extra FM wires are going to entice the consumer to go with a professional installation (which provides an upsell opportunity to go with the hard-wire approach).

But enough with this palaver, on with the modulators...

Here you'll see the most common locations of a vehicle's FM antenna. External locations include numbers 1-4 (front fender, rear fender, front roof-top and rear roof-top - these can be either the retractable or fixed "aerial" antennas, or those fancy "shark-fin" ones you see). Internal locations include numbers 5-7 (which are the inside-glass versions that look like a window defroster - #7 specifically shows how some SUVs/Mini-vans will be located in on the side-windows).

The separation between Internal and External are important, because this is where XM's and SIRIUS' approaches with their FM Coupler and FM Extender differ. See a whole lot more on this after the jump...

Mark Ramsey has a great presentation on the future of radio that was shown at the NAB Radio Show a few weeks back. It's an eye-opening presentation, and while it is meant specifically for terrestrial radio executives, it shows a lot about satellite radio's potential.

One very interesting aspect is the listening preferences of the personas that Mercury Research established with this study ("Greg" and "Marsha" - watch the presentation to get a better understanding of them). MP3 player and satellite radio listening actually eats into regular radio listening - surprising because I would have thought that MP3 players would eat into CD listening. But according to this study, its terrestrial radio that suffers.

View the Presentation or you can also download an easy-to-run version of the presentation here.

[via Hear 2.0] 

FMQB's e-QB cover story this week features an in-depth interview with XM Satellite Radio's EVP of Programming, Eric Logan (aka, the famous E-Lo). It has some very intriguing insight on several of XM's programming, including the launch of Oprah & Friends, the NAB's ruthless attacks on satellite radio, XM's programming strategy and his relationship with Lee Abrams, and the dynamic of working with the dual-syndication of The Opie & Anthony Show.

On Oprah & Friends, Logan addresses the promotional clout that Oprah holds, but how her edorsements need to be transparent. This is interesting because Oprah knows she can't be a shill about promoting her radio endeavor - her audience (and the media) will see through instantly. But I digress - this isn't about Oprah - it's about E-Lo.

On the NAB's attacks on satellite radio, Logan said, "...you know, this is a very big business. We’re going to turn cash flow positive in the fourth quarter of this year, and much to [the NAB's] chagrin that’s not what they want to see happen, but unfortunately it is." Nice.

On Opie & Anthony's dual terrestrial radio/satellite radio syndication, Eric Logan said, "...we’ve structured a deal that is beneficial to XM and helps us brand our service to millions of people we couldn’t otherwise access because of certain complications with buying time on local radio.  This provides us a terrific branding platform."

There's much more in the interview to read, and summarizing it here does it no justice. Go check it out for yourself, it's well worth it.

[FMQB e-QB] 

Evanescence dropped by XM Satellite Radio's headquarters ("The Eck") in Washington DC yesterday. Evanescence's new album, "The Open Door," is #1 in the country (not to mention Australia, Germany, Greece, Japan, and Switzerland).

Here's XM's Grant (on the left) and Michelle (on the far right) with Amy Lee and John Le Compt of Evanescence.

Sirius Canada is now the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the Toronto Raptors .

Sirius Canada inked a three-year deal with the Toronto Raptors to gain exclusive rights to use the Raptors logo in marketing and promo activities and will receive advertising placements throughout the Air Canada Centre as well as on-court and special event promotions during Raptors games.

The sponsorship also includes marketing rights for NBA 3on3.

Sirius is kicking off a new feature across multiple music channels with the creation of Sirius Music News. Featuring their own music news gathering team, Sirius Music News will provide exclusive interviews, timely news and insight in the world of music.

Daily reports will be available on SIRIUS Hits-1, The Pulse, Hair Nation, Shade 45, Hip-Hop Nation and New Country.

Recently reported news items include Ne-Yo responding to false gay rumors, and nude photos of himself that were intended for use as blackmail; Lionel Richie unveiling that the Commodores will reunite; and Tanya Tucker announcing the recording of a new song with Willie Nelson, George Jones and Merle Haggard. 

ClickZ, arguably the foremost authority on Internet marketing, put together an ad hoc study of XM's website a few weeks ago - and now it's Sirius' turn.

A few of the comments include the feeling that the design of Sirius.com is too masculine, key features disappear due to banner-blindness, and that once interested there's no clear call-to-action (and no price clearly displayed!).

Overall they weren't too critical of Sirius' design (it is pretty slick), but had some great points for improvements.

[ClickZ]
Thanks Jeffery!

Forgetting about any fancy monikers, here's the news bits for October 11, 2006:

• Howard Stern is the most searched talk personality online, according to Lycos. I don't doubt that Stern is popular online, I just doubt any search data based on Lycos results. [Press Release]
• Sirius Canada asks the CRTC for a license change. They'd rather pay Canadian talent in advance rather than 5% annually. [Digital Home Canada]
• Arbitron sues The Media Audio and Ipsos over patent infringement. Arbitron says they've been developing the PPM for 15 years, and they "will work aggresively" to protect it. [FMQB]
• The Fool thinks XM got it right with its fall marketing push. I tend to agree, all the elements are there, I just would like to see more of the "wow factor." [Motley Fool]

Sting performed before a live audience at XM's Jazz @ Lincoln Center studios in NYC for the latest installment of XM Satellite Radio's Artist Confidential series.

Sting's XM performance included works from his latest album, Songs From the Labyrinth, which is a collection of Elizabethan-era tunes from the works of John Dowland performed on the lute.

The evening's set list also included Sting playing a few songs not normally performed on the lute (which can be pretty much... any song), including his 1993 hit "Fields of Gold," legendary bluesman Robert Johnson's "Hell Hound on My Trail," and The Police's "Message in a Bottle."

The Sting Artist Confidential premieres on XM Pops (ch 113) on Monday, October 16th at Noon ET, with additional encores airing through out the week.

CNET has a quick video demonstrating the Sirius Stiletto at the DemoFall 2006 conference.

The video features Tim Bucher CEO of Zing, showing off the WiFi abilities and the user interface. Pretty neat.

[CNET] 

XM Satellite Radio and Acura have announced a new program that provides a complimentary XM Satellite Radio subscription for Certified Pre-Owned vehicles. Starting this fall, Certified Pre-Owned Acuras with XM factory-installed will be available with a free 3-month subscription, this includes the RL, TL, TSX and MDX models.

Acura sells about 35,000 certified pre-owned vehicles a year. XM Satellite Radio is standard in about 1/3 of those (this share will continue to grow as XM is offered as standard equipment in all Acuras).

If you want to hold your finger to the pulse of what Sirius' customers are truly feeling, there's no better source than Sirius Backstage. It amasses the largest online community of Sirius customers (and potential customers) into a single hyperactive website.

While Sirius Canada is busy trying to solicit feedback by building an online community of their own, there already exists is a well established (and independent) thriving community today.

So when Sirius Backstage writes a piece on the poor quality of Sirius' Customer Service, you better hope that the suits at Sirius are listening. A company that ignores it's online buzz is a company with it's head in the sand - the influence of online communities has never been stronger - and managing online WoM has never been so important. And if consumer-generated websites are poo-poo'd by management, perhaps similar complaints on more major media sites like SI.com will raise the alarm?

[Sirius Backstage] 

Remember the Polk I-Sonic? It's that all-in-one home audio entertainment system that throws AM/FM/CD/DVD/HD Radio and XM Satellite Radio into a blender and mixes it all together.

Well Orbitcast's review unit just arrived and here's some initial hands-on impressions on the unit.

The legendary NYC rock club, CBGB, is hosting its final performance ever and SIRIUS Satellite Radio is broadcasting it live on SIRIUS Disorder (ch 24). Patti Smith who first played CBGB in February 1975, will be aired live on Disorder at 9pm ET, on Sunday October 15th.

The famed club is closing following unsuccessful rent negotiations with its landlord. News of its demise prompted worldwide press coverage and sparked several campaigns to save the musical landmark. Tickets to the October 15 final show with Smith were sold out in 8 minutes, according to CBGB’s founder and owner, Hilly Kristal. 

For over 33 years many thousands of music lovers have flocked to the Bowery bar that became famous as the birthplace of American punk music. Originally intended to present country, bluegrass and blues music shows (which is what CBGB stands for), the club became known for pioneering performances by New York rock and punk acts including Smith, Television, Blondie and The Ramones, to name a few.

Looks like a great documentary, and one that personifies why the growth of satellite radio is so important to the music industry as a whole. The funny thing is, I don't think the music industry (the industry mind you, not musicians) realizes it yet.

[Before the Music Dies via the Lee Abrams Blog]

Advertisers such as Pfizer, Geico and Procter & Gamble have included Satellite and Internet radio in their radio upfronts. (An 'upfront' is simply an advertising meeting  where ad buyers get to purchase airtime "up front") Walgreens and Home Depot have already made their buys in terrestrial radio, but are also considering Satellite and Internet according to Mediaweek.

Yesterday, XM Satellite Radio is hosted an upfront presentation accompanied by a Sting concert from XM’s Artist Confidential series. XM's advertising sales have exceeded $30 million to date, and that's up from the $20 million in all of 2005. "We’re anticipating a much higher sellout than last year, similar to traditional networks' 30 to 40 percent," said D. Scott Karnedy, senior vp of sales/marketing solutions for XM.

"Every day is an upfront here," said Scott Greenstein, president of entertainment and sports for Sirius, "Some of the money is coming out of network radio, some of it from local and we’re developing new advertisers." Sirius booked $22 million from advertisers (such as P&G, Heineken, Verizon and HBO) compared to $6 million for all of 2005.

Some buyers estimate that up to one-third of national radio advertisers are spending upwards of 10% of their radio budget on Internet and Satellite Radio, and that's up from 5% last year.

Satellite Radio provides a more advanced outlet for advertisers, with potential from push-to-purchase advertising, advertising on unit displays, and easier methods to make ad buys; it only makes sense for the focus to shift towards radio's own "new media."

[More on MediaWeek] 

Howard Stern's VOD channel, Howard TV, is launching a new promotional campaign to celebrate a free (well, almost, it costs $0.01) promotional weekend.

The new ads will hit men's magazines, NYC taxi tops and male-oriented websites starting this week. The campaign includes print ads in Playboy, Maxim and FHM magazines (featuring two women "canoodling"), while the taxi ads are much tamer simply featuring the words "In Howard We Trust" with Stern's face on a penny.

The Howard TV Preview weekend runs from November 3rd through November 5th, with the one-penny charge meant to limit the number of underage viewers from seeing the action. 

In Demand Networks is reportedly "spending north of $1 million" to promote the weekend.

[NY Daily News] 

Remember when Orbitcast featured a "Daily Links" segment? Well, as you can probably tell, that "daily" thing sort of lost momentum. Instead, it's being replaced by something I lovingly call "Signal vs. Noise" - essentially the same thing of interesting news bits and links - just without that "daily" dark cloud looming over me.

So let's begin:

• Google CEO Eric Schmidt says that over 1,000 people will ultimately work on their contextual radio advertising efforts. The idea: Let a marketer allocate an ad budget across multiple platforms, either in an automated manner or by targeting times and regions. [Forbes]
• Bank of America Analyst Jonathan Jacoby is reporting that HD Radio is suffering from first-generation equipment/software failures. I say we demand a recall.
  
• Motorola iRadio debuts Public Radio content. NPR, American Public Media and Public Radio International (PRI) are all providing content on Motorola's iRadio service now. [I4U]
• Gizmodo gives us an update on the Crosley Explorer 1 first seen in January. Updates include the use of the XM Mini-tuner and a price drop from the initial $399 pricetag to a mere $249. Bargin. [Gizmodo] (Thanks WirelessDJ!)
  

Remember the Sinus Buster commercial from last week that used such dirty, filthy and obscene language that it got the NAB in a tizzy? Well, it looks like the NAB got its way.

Sirius started bleeping the commercials shortly after the NAB whined about the commercial, stating that it's a supporting reason to get both Sirius and XM to do a complete recall of all their receivers. As a result of the mounting pressure, SiCap Industries (the makers of Sinus Buster) have decided to pull the commercial.

According to the press release, Sirius sales staff stated that "the situation is far more complicated than it seems."

XM Satellite Radio has launched a new marketing and branding campaign under the direction of their new creative agency Lowe New York. The new campaign will be integrated across multiple platforms including television, print, interactive, direct marketing, retail and automotive channels.

Two TV commercial spots will debut this evening (UPDATE: the commercials are set to show on CSI Miami, Studio 60 and The Bachelor tonight. Expect to see more high-profile showings in the upcoming weeks.) - "Switch" and "Hair" - both of which are viewable here.

• "Switch," is set to music from Regina Spektor's single "Better." I like this approach because it's a song that many people wouldn't have heard, but will appeal to a good amount of them. This drives home the thought of "discovery" at a deeper level.
  
• "Hair" uses the "waves" from XM's logo and features music from Johnny Cash, The Circle Jerks, Beethoven, Flock of Seagulls, Snoop Dogg and Ruggiero Leoncavallo. It mixes humor with the concept of "variety" which is important in furthering the overall "discovery" goal.
  

Just as important, in my opinion, is the return of the "Beyond AM. Beyond FM. XM" slogan that is shown at the end (though there's no voiceover). It's a killer tagline that XM needs to stick with. I think the spots are a step in the right direction because they highlight the underlying feature of the product: music. That's key. I'm not so sure the "On" concept will catch on (it's a bit metaphysical) but overall it's a refreshing change and it looks like Lowe has potential.

[xmradio.com/on] 

An internet porn model, Hope Miller (her porn star name is Brooke Skye) is suing Bubba the Love Sponge for $150,000 over a sex segment performed on his SIRIUS Satellite Radio show back in June.

The suit alleges that Miller was forced to perform a sex act with another porn star using a sex toy - one that she claims was too big. The suit also claims that Miller wasn't informed about the stunt ahead of time, and despite her objections, Bubba berated her into continuing.

Clem's lawyer had no immediate comment on the matter according to UPI.

[UPI & Radio Ink] 

The Delphi RoadyXT XM Satellite Radio is on Woot! today.

If you're not familiar with Woot, it's a one-day/one-deal website with very cheap discounts. The only catch is that you have one-day (or until they run out of stock) to make your purchase, and then the deal is gone forever. You can learn more about Woot here.

XM's participation includes a RoadyXT with car kit, plus free activation ($10 value) and 3-months of service ($39 value) for only $59.99. Not bad.

[Woot!]
Thanks Mike K! 

Monster is breaking into the home automation market with a suite of products called Einstein, set to soft-launch at CES 2007 (full launch expected in March).

Einstein is not a whole system, but rather a series of components - allowing for a scalable home automation setup. But this isn't about Einstein (you can read about that here and here).

Nope, this is about one of the Einstein components, the Astro (pictured).

The Astro is a three-zone Sirius Satellite Radio tuner. Three-zone as in three different separate channels in three different rooms. Three-zone tuners don't come cheap apparently - the Astro will run you $1,500 (preliminary pricing).

The Monster Einstein is a Linux-based system that supports 1gb over Ethernet, as well as 802.11g/n, Z-Wave and BlueTooth wireless protocols. Whether or not this is how the Astro is able to handle three-zones without three separate subscriptions, via Sirius Internet Radio, is unknown but that would be my assumption. The Astro is fully functional as a stand-alone device.

[CRN]
Thanks Brad!

Sumner Redstone, Chairman of the Board and controlling shareholder of Viacom/CBS Corp, told PBS' Charlie Rose that satellite radio has no future, in a recent interview. "And that's not just because Karmazin runs it," he continued, "They keep losing money, losing money, losing money."

Redstone also said he ran into Howard Stern at a restaurant in New York and that Stern said to him "Someday, I'll be back." Restone continued to say that Stern "was probably kidding."

Here's the video:

It's an interesting interview, beyond just the satellite radio reference. He talks about his relationship with Mel Karmazin as well as losing MySpace to Rupert Murdoch. The satellite radio mention is 31:13 into the video if you want to skip ahead.

Speaking the National Press Club in Washington, DC, NAB President and CEO David Rehr felt that it was appropriate to attack the satellite radio industry again. Further solidifying that the NAB is not all threatened by the growth potential of satellite radio, Rehr deferred to the numbers in hopes to prove his point:

"...let’s look at the facts. Satellite radio says it has at most 12 million subscribers. By contrast, 260 million people listened to local radio last week." 

The difference here is that satellite radio isn't saying they have 12 million subscribers (12.2  thankyouverymuch). This is fact. This number isn't based off of any extrapolated numbers based on a written diary, but on actual paying subscriptions.

If we want to compare extrapolated numbers, there are on average ~2 listeners per satellite radio subscriber, meaning the true number of comparison is over 24 Million listeners. That's roughly 10% of terrestrial radio's audience. Not bad when you compare an industry that's been around for 5 years, versus one that's been around for 80+ years.

Rehr goes on to bring up the "upwards of 500,000" satellite radio subscribers that "are in empty cars that sit in dealer parking lots." This is the same old song that Rehr has been singing. It's funny that an industry that dominated the 20th century and holds the ear of the majority of the U.S. population, is so concerned with such a relatively small number. It's in fact, very telling. Threatened? No, not at all.

You can read his speech here, or if you're so daring watch the video (RealPlayer) but honestly, it's not really worth it. 

The WiMAX industry supposedly lashed out at XM over their terrestrial repeater towers that were operating over limit or outside of authority.

“The revelation by XM certainly supports a full enforcement investigation before the FCC grants any additional STAs,” said Paul Sinderbrand, outside counsel to the Wireless Communications Association International.

XM is not aware of any WiMAX facilities in any of the cities involved in the matter. XM said they "are working with the FCC to address this matter expeditiously."

[RCR Wireless News] 

All Dylan, all day long. XM Satellite Radio will be airing a 24-hour marathon of Bob Dylan's "Theme Time Radio Hour" starting 12-midnight ET on October 11th.

Coinciding with Dylan's 24th Episode (get it?), the Theme Time Radio Hour marathon will be broadcast on The Village (ch 15).

Each show will be played in the order they were aired since the first episode in May, include favorites like "Baseball," "Mother," "Jail," and of course "Divorce."

By now you're probably over the initial shock-and-awe reactions from today's Q306 announcements by XM and Sirius. The basic question on everyone's minds is whether or not the satellite radio industry has peaked?

Looking forward, in order to reach guidance SIRIUS needs to add 1.18 Million subscribers, and XM needs to add 515,000-1.01 Million subscribers, in Q4 of this year.

If we look at last year (aka "the Golden Age") as a comparison, SIRIUS added 1,142,640 net subscribers and XM added 898,315 net subscribers, in Q405. But that was when The Messiah of Radio was at his peak of publicity and hype, and XM was practically paying you to buy a radio. Can Sirius or XM expect to see similar results this year? And in Sirius' case, can they actually beat last year's Q4 numbers in order to reach guidance? It seems doubtful right now, and probably a reason why analysts are skeptical.

When I talk to analysts about this, I always try to stress that 2005 was essentially one big anomaly. Stern really messed up everyone's trending. The massive amount of interest, and the number of subscribers he generated, is simply not sustainable. That time is over, deal with it. Howard now is essentially a halo vehicle for Sirius - his influence will continue, but we will never see the growth we've seen in the past.

Production cuts from the Big Three auto manufacturers. Word that the retail channel has peaked (though I'm still not sold on that theory). These play against the numbers. And don't forget the number of returns we are possibly going to see when people realize the FCC-mandated restrictions make plug-and-play receivers even harder to use (as if they weren't hard enough).

The good news is that I truly don't think we've reached a plateau in interest for satellite radio. Not at all. OEM vehicle installations are the cash-cow, but they're a slow to move herd. Until more vehicles include satellite as standard-equipment we're just not going to see the penetration needed to sustain the growth investors seem to be expecting. That said, in the long-term, standard-equipment is definitely coming.

What both XM and SIRIUS do have control over is the retail channel.

The early-adopter phase is over, but that just means that there's more growth potential ahead. Both companies need to get more creative. They need to simplify plug-and-play receivers (or just get rid of them). They need to kill the FM modulators. They need to remove the wires. They need to stop asking us to wear antennas on our heads. They need to embed SDARS chips everywhere. The early-adopters are willing to put up with wires and messy installations in order to be on the forefront of technology - but the critical mass is not.

OEM growth will keep satellite radio in the mix, but it's receiver innovation will keep satellite radio retail growth moving. Oh, and marketing... we need to make satellite radio cool again, but that's a post for another time.

SIRIUS Satellite Radio has added 441,101 new net subscribers during the third quarter of 2006 for a total of 5,119,308 subscribers. This is slightly below in line with analyst estimates of ~440,000 new net additions.

During the same period last year, SIRIUS had 2,173,920 subscribers, representing a 135% increase in total subscribers year and a23% increase over year-ago third quarter net subscriber additions.

XM Satellite Radio has added more than 285,000 new net subscribers during the third quarter of 2006 for a total of more than 7.185 million subscribers. This is down from the ~325,000 net additions that analysts estimated. XM will update its guidance (currently between 7.7 million and 8.2 million) during their upcoming quarterly conference call.

One thing to note, for the third quarter of 2006, XM no longer includes certain rental car fleets in their subscription total (about 20,000 subscriptions).

George W. Haywood has resigned as a member of XM's Board of Directors, effective October 3rd.

"It is with deep regret that, for personal reasons, I have decided to step down from XM's Board of Directors," said Haywood. "I take pride in the growth and accomplishments of the company and I continue to fully support the current direction of the company and the company's management."

With Haywood's resignation, the NASDAQ Stock Market has notified XM Satellite Radio that its Board composition is not in compliance with NASDAQ Rule 4350(c)(1), which requires that a majority of the board of directors of the Company be comprised of independent directors as defined by NASDAQ Rule 4200(a)(15).

XM expects to have a Board composed of a majority of independent directors no later than its next annual meeting, as contemplated by applicable NASDAQ rules.

[View SEC Filing] 

On October 4, 2004, Opie and Anthony started broadcasting on XM Satellite Radio, marking the first time that a major radio show made the move to satellite radio.

Opie & Anthony originally started broadcasting on a premium channel (High Voltage ch 202) that required an additional $1.99 monthly fee (XM was $9.99 a month at the time). In April 2005, the O&A virus was released to the rest of the XM Nation when the premium channel was made available to all subscribers and XM's monthly fee was upped to $12.95.

To celebrate their two-year anniversary, O&A are teasing a 'special announcement' that will be made today for XM listeners. While speculation abounds, it is known that XM registered "The Virus" trademark in late August, so a channel name change could very well be in order.

Opie and Anthony are under contract with XM until 2010, and currently simulcast on 24 terrestrial radio stations. According to FMQB, there is mounting pressure to expand their terrestrial show by 1-hour to 10am in order to better suit Arbitron's morning drive ratings system. Currently terrestrial radio stations are losing out on 1/4 of O&A's ratings when lower rated mid-day programming go on the air (WFNY's audience drops in half when JV & Elvis air).

Jimmy Buffett will be previewing his upcoming new album, Take the Weather With You, on SIRIUS Satellite Radio's Radio Margaritaville (ch 31), this Wednesday, October 4th at 6pm ET.

Buffett will tell the story behind every song on the new album (which is being released on October 10th) with Radio Margaritaville's host Steve Huntington.

Some of you Buffett fans might have actually heard a few of the new songs during his 2006 concert tour, because every show was covered live on SIRIUS.

Replays of Jimmy's album preview will be on October 6th at 12pm ET, October 8th at 3pm ET, October 10th at 9pm ET and October 11th at 5pm ET.

According to Satellite Radio TechWorld, XM Satellite Radio has reduced the power levels of 210 repeater towers that were emitting above authorized levels, bringing them into compliance.

Nineteen repeater towers were being operated without authority, fifteen of those have been subsequently shut off. A filing with the FCC requests the authority to turn back on eight of the fifteen repeaters that were shut off.

More information on this to follow. My only hopes is that this action (which began on Sept 23rd) was something that XM did on their own.

[FCC Filing via Satellite Radio TechWorld]

WorldSpace Satellite Radio's Chairman and CEO Noah Samara will participate in the "Consumer Electronics" panel on October 9th at the European Technology Roundtable Exhibition (ETRE) in Barcelona, Spain.

Samara will join international executives on a panel chit-chatting over the convergence of digital entertainment technologies including satellite radio, IPTV, and MP3, the changing market landscape, and - what else - emerging trends.

The executive panel to discuss "Consumer Electronics" will take place on Monday, October 9th, 5:45 - 6:30 p.m. (ET) in the Hotel Arts, Room A Barcelona, Spain. Mark your calendars.

Delphi has an excellent mini-site on the new XM SkyFi3 satellite radio receiver/MP3 player.

They do a nice job of explaining how this hybrid unit is optimized for your car, but has the flexibility to be a fully portable unit as well (in two different wearable kits). Also explained is the difference between the storing of XM content (10-hours worth) and storing of your own MP3/WMA library (on the included 2Gb microSD card).

It's worth checking out if you're interested in getting this receiver, plus they also provide the SkyFi3 user guide (PDF) for your reading pleasure.

And likely to cause a ruckus among Orbitcast commenters - there's also a well put together comparison chart that has the audacity to compare the SkyFi3 to the Stiletto 100 and Stiletto 10, among others. (gasp!) A Sirius vs. XM comparison? Let the war begin!

Thanks Steven! 

"A weekly schedule [for ION Media CEO Brandon Burgess] might include meeting with Samsung in New York about cell phone chips for broadcast signals, before jetting off to Washington to chat with pals at the Federal Communications Commission. Then it's back to New York to dine with Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin as they explore new ideas for the two companies."

ION Media apparently is also pushing a values-oriented kids digital channel, and Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin has specifically mentioned children's programming and that the Sirius video feed will be live. But besides that, and the two CEOs having dinner together, there's little other evidence that anything is going on.

Speculate away.

[BusinessWeek]

The day has finally come that the first Hyundai equipped with standard XM Satellite Radio is rolled out of the factory. An all-new 2007 Santa Fe, with XM Radio standard, was produced today at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) in Montgomery.

XM Satellite Radio and Hyundai announced a deal back in March 2005 to include XM as standard equipment in all Hyundai models. It has begun. 

The Santa Fe is the first of four Hyundai models to add XM Satellite Radio as a standard feature to all audio systems this year. Others include the 2007 Sonata, Azera and Elantra.

Every new XM-equipped Hyundai also comes with a 3-month trial subscription. In 2005, Hyundai's U.S. sales reached 455,012 units.

Bridge Ratings has been maintaining their ongoing study on satellite radio this year, and their most recent research has shown that the retail sales is showing "a sluggish environment."

Since Labor Day Weekend, retail activity has dropped by 29%, and is down 16% since last week.

An interesting aspect is that Bridge is saying that they're finding it harder to find participants to interview. Generally Bridge likes to grab about 4,000 people - about 100 people in 40 different locations. In recent weeks though, "retail traffic has been lighter" and so Bridge has had to expand the number of locations. Bridge feels that should this trend continue, "it may very well be appropriate to assume retail interest in satellite radio has waned."

Is it interest in satellite radio? or interest in completing an interview that has waned? 

With subscriber numbers expected out sometime this week, I'd love to see exactly how much of this doom-and-gloom actually proves to be true or not. 

[Bridge Ratings] 

XM Satellite Radio will be airing both teams' home broadcasts for every game in the League Championship Series, starting on October 10th, as well as the World Series which begins October 21nd.

The games will air XM's MLB Play-by-Play channels (ch 176 - ch 189) plus XM will also broadcast ESPN's coverage of the games, as well as Spanish play-by-play of select games. XM has broadcast every single one of the 2,430 MLB games played during the regular season.

For the MLB playoffs XM's own all-star team includes Rob Dibble, Kevin Kennedy, Mark Patrick, Buck Martinez, Orestes Destrade, Chuck Wilson, Charley Steiner, Cal Ripken, Jr., Bill Ripken, Ronnie Lane and Joe Castellano.

A complete program guide for the MLB postseason on XM is available here.

An Engadget reader has sent in some pics of the Sirius Stiletto out in the wild. There's lots more photos on his Flickr page.

Apparently the live Sirius Satellite Radio signal is best done through the antenna-headphones rather than through the internal antenna.

If you've bought yourself a Stiletto and want to share your experience with the world, g'head and shoot me an email. I'd love to hear everyone's impression of Sirius' first live portable receiver. 

[Stiletto Photo Gallery via Engadget]

Also, here's a YouTube video showing the Stiletto's slick interface. I love the animations between screens, very nice.