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!

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? 

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.

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] 

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.

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]