The Arbitron ratings have really caused a stir, which is not surprising since this is the first time we've seen any public ratings of any kind for Sirius and XM.

And of course, usual suspects are jumping all over it. This from Inside Radio:

Howard Stern then: 20 million listeners. Today: 1,225,100.
That's Stern's weekly cume according to Arbitron's first-ever report detailing listening to XM and Sirius. It shows his $500 million contract with Sirius buys the company an average 96,700 listeners in any given quarter hour. While his audience is just a fraction of what it once was, his "Howard 100" channel is satellite radio's top-rated, delivering more listeners than any other channel.

Now I'm not going to say it's "unfair" to compare satellite radio ratings with terrestrial ratings, but I am going to say that the comparison is useless. It's not about listeners, it's about subscribers.

That's part of the benefit of satellite radio. Not being dependent on ratings and constantly trying to boost your cume/AQH/TSL gives broadcasters artistic freedom and allows them to drop the gimmicks. That's part of the reason why the best broadcasters from terrestrial have made the jump to satellite.

And that's part of reason why we all subscribe, because the B.S. of regular radio - which is ultimately meant to drive ratings - is not prevalent on satellite radio.

Howard Stern still tops the most popular talk radio personalities, based on Internet searches, for the 7th straight year. But coming in at number three, are Opie & Anthony, generating four times more search interest than this time last year.

...that is, according to Lycos.

And apparently some people still do use the aging search engine because, Lycos has just come out with the The Lycos 50 which is used to formulate the "The Lycos Top Talk Radio Hosts of 2007" (a list, that for the life of me, I simply cannot find... which might be a clue as to why Lycos isn't popular anymore? Anyway, I guess we can depend on the press release for this one).

What was I saying? Oh right. Stern's search activity increased 44% since making the move from terrestrial radio to Sirius in 2006, while Tom Joyner takes the number two spot on this year's list, more than doubling in search popularity over the past year.

But shock jocks Opie & Anthony, rank as #3 and are the biggest movers and shakers with web users in 2007, generating four times more search interest than this time last year.

See Lycos' full ranking of all talkers for 2007 after the jump...

Now, ignoring what Lycos is telling us in a fluffy PR, let's see what Google says about online popularity and rankings for talkers:

Here's the Top 4 from Lycos' list, according to Google Trends. Howard Stern remains as the leader, followed by Rush Limbaugh, Opie & Anthony, and then Tom Joyner.

But wait... wasn't there a big stink about a certain talker who scandalously mentioned the words "nappy headed hoes" on the air? Oh right, Imus. So let's add him to the chart:

According to Google Trends, Howard Stern remains in the number one slot, followed by Rush Limbaugh, then Imus (narrowly), Opie & Anthony and finally, Tom Joyner.

Oddly, according to the Lycos press release, "the controversy and subsequent firing of Don Imus failed to boost significant online interest for Imus in 2007, with his search numbers cut in half."

Funny, that's not what a real search engine is showing... ah well, long live fluffy PR.

In a press release that just went over the wires, Sirius and XM are making sure that folks know of the recent public support for their pending merger.

From members of Congress like Rep. Engel (D - NY), Rep. Boucher (D - VA), Rep. Weiner (D - NY) and Rep. Sessions (R - TX); to automaker (and Sirius partner) Kia Motors; to consumer advocate groups that most people here have never heard of; to unlikely bedfellows Charlie Daniels, Cousin Brucie and Deepak Chopra - the satcasters are beating the PR drum as we get down to the final hour.

Here's some of the better quotes in my opinion (the rest are viewable after the jump):

"The proposed merger should be considered in the context of a broad market definition, which includes the entire marketplace for audio entertainment. Under such an appropriate definition, the merger would combine only a small percentage of the market, but would lead to significant pro-consumer benefits. I, therefore, believe the merger is in the public interest and urge that the Commission approve it." (Rep. Rick Boucher, September 4, 2007)

"There is no doubt that the merger would be good for consumers of this service. A merger will allow the two companies to pool their resources, cut costs through economies of scale, boost innovation by bringing together their best and brightest talent, and ultimately make more programming available to subscribers." (Rep. Anthony Weiner, September 12, 2007)

"IWF is also interested in the increased efficiencies of a combined company and greater competition from other audio providers that would increase the speed to market of new and advanced technologies in satellite radio and audio entertainment. These are exactly the kinds of byproducts fueled by a free market that would simply not be possible without a merger of the two companies." (Michelle D. Bernard, Independent Women's Forum, October 1, 2007)

"The merger between SIRIUS and XM will further enhance Kia's goal of providing our customers with high-quality, high-value products. We believe that it is in our customer's interest and the public interest to allow SIRIUS and XM to merger." (Kia Motors, August 21, 2007)

"Truckers were among the first satellite radio customers and many continue to be very loyal listeners. They also will have a lot to gain from this proposed merger. Once this deal is approved, truckers and others who spend many hours on the road will have a greater range of programming choices and packages available to them." (Charlie Daniels, October 2, 2007)

More after the jump...