XM Satellite Radio Surpasses 5 Million Subscribers
XM Satellite Radio on September 27th surpassed 5 million subscibers . They even expect another million by the end of this year. This industry is growing so quickly. There are only a few companies out there right now who offer satellite radio but its booming either way. XM being the leading company is offering more and more new channels every year to accommodate all listeners. Sirius Satellite Radio, the next largest company is offering a Howard Stern channel this fall. Both companies offer tons of sport choices and Sirius even has every pro football game on a channel. There are even over 100 channels of commercial music to choose from. Both companies also offer channels for women, comedy channels, cooking channels, car channels, and the list goes on and on. My question is; what's going to happen to good old fashion radio. If this industry continues to boom like it is now will we even listen to regular radio. There is talk about major automobile companies making deals with these companies so cars come with XM already built into the car. Why would you even listen to the radio when you have satellite? How much is this going to hurt our FM or AM radio stations.
4 comments:
I can understand why satellite radio is becoming increasingly popular. Not only does it provide clear sound and a variety of channels, but there are no commercials. Many listeners can't stand commercials these days and probably subscribe to satellite radio based on that factor alone. This booming satellite radio business will not only hurt the FM and AM radio stations already in existence, but eventually will begin to hurt the advertising business as well. Less people will be listening to regular radio and therefore will not hear the commercials that companies pay so much to broadcast on the air. It will be interesting to see how advertisers weasle their way into the satellite market in the future.
I feel that these automobiles are making the right decision by making deals with these satellite companies. With the increased use of these satellites, the fm and am radios will decline, but I feel they will "not be run out of business." With older drivers still on the road, and with people who like the radio because of the music, shows, or just like listening to talk shows, I feel the am/fm will be able to hold strong in this battle.
I think that FM and AM radio are going to have to adapt to satellite in order for them to survive. It's easy to see why so many people are choosing satellite, they have hundreds of options to choose from. The XM Satellite and Sirius companies are being inclusive and attracting new listeners. They have channels for mechanics, cooking, football and commercial free channels. If FM and AM radio do not expand their options, then they will become obsolete or be absorbed into satellite.
I believe that the increase in satellite radios will outperform AM/FM radio and cause the profits to decrease significantly. I think that the channels with cooking and cars may not be what is causing people to look more towards satellite radio, I think that because it is commercial free... No one likes to listen to the commercials on the radio. AM/FM radio stations have tried to limit the number of commercials and try to only do commercials every 60 minutes, but it still doesn't compare to the newer satellite radio. More people will begin to want satellite instead of the ordinary AM/FM radio. I think it will be like the case of video tapes and DVDs. DVDs and DVD players are beginning to replace the VHS world, which is what I predict will happen in this case (Satellite will replace AM/FM radio)
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