Syndicating Satellite To Terrestrial Pays Off, At Least A Little, For XM

from the across-the-airwaves dept

Fri, Jul 28th 2006 3:50pm — Carlo Longino

Back in April, XM caused a bit of a stir when it announced it would syndicate the show of shock jocks Opie and Anthony to a number of terrestrial stations, the first time such a thing had been done. The deal was met with plenty of skepticism, but because they hosts could plug XM on the air, and CBS was getting a shorter, censored version of the show, XM felt it could drive listeners to its satellite-based service -- and it looks like they were right. During the company's quarterly conference call, its CEO says the number of new subscribers saying they joined because of Opie and Anthony has doubled, while the show's terrestrial ratings are rising. Still, the effect may not be helping XM all that much overall, as it announced a quarterly loss and cut subscriber forecasts for the rest of the year.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

28 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Chris, 28 Jul 2006 @ 4:37pm

Earth Radio dying
Ok, XM and Sirius have something going for them, they dont have to bother with the FCC's censors and therefore people can really speak their minds on the radio without the host having to worry about his license being pulled. As one radion host I listened to said, The FCC needs to be sued because it the radio industry, the industry I love (Ok, its not an exact quote but its close enough) Satalite radios only downside is its expense and the special equipment you need to listen to it, other than that, radio may live a less glamorus life but still live in outter space.

*Note* I know that last part might be a little hard to understand, I wasnt sure how I could make it any clearer.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Jim Norton, 28 Jul 2006 @ 5:06pm

I invented syndicating shock jocks to terrestrial radio, hoo hoo. Tell em Fred.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Steve from yellowstone, 28 Jul 2006 @ 5:33pm

Th.. thats terrible. I'm sorry.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 28 Jul 2006 @ 5:35pm

Re: Earth Radio dying
Xm or seius isnt that expensive...and my new receiver has a built in plug for it :D
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Steve from Yellowstone, 28 Jul 2006 @ 5:36pm

I think that is great. The boys deserve it. Hopefully now XM stock begins to rise up like a phoenix. I just...RAMONE!!!!!!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chris, 28 Jul 2006 @ 5:55pm

Re: Re: Earth Radio dying
I was refering to it as to my income. I'm not old enough to have a part-time job so I have to do odd jobs and I don't make enough to pay for XM or Sirius and buy the equipment
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Master PO, 28 Jul 2006 @ 7:01pm

CEO says the number of new subscribers saying they
It could be more than that gentlemen
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Ambiguous Coward, 28 Jul 2006 @ 7:29pm

A transitional technology
Any of you young whippersnappers remember Car Phones? or those ridiculous 10 pound luggable phones? They just faded away as cell phones got smaller and roaming charges disappeared. Who the hell do you know now with an actual car phone?

Satellite radio is the same way. Whenever the country is blanketed in 100% always on high speed wireless internet service then the idea of transmitting from space and the cost of maintaining a fleet of satellites will be ludicrous. We'll tune our music like we visit web sites... by url. For a fee still of course...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Blue Iris, 28 Jul 2006 @ 8:21pm

Re: A transitional technology
That's insightful, right there.

F O&A
[ link to this | view in thread ]
LilChester, 28 Jul 2006 @ 8:22pm

Re: A transitional technology
As is life transitional. Whenever the country is blanketed in 100% always on high speed wireless internet service we might have since joined Robert Reed. I need my Buttery Beats now....
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Internet Radio Listener, 28 Jul 2006 @ 10:30pm

Re: A transitional technology
Internet radio only needs to be portable to make a serious dent in the profits of terrestrial and satellite radio. With WiMax and other faster and longer distance standards being close to implementation, it is coming fast. Stay tuned and listen to www.111radio.com in the meantime.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
StickerNerds, 29 Jul 2006 @ 6:28am

LOL
"I invented syndicating shock jocks to terrestrial radio, hoo hoo. Tell em Fred"

Funny cause stern did in fact start real syndication in radio and made it all possible..you should only have him to thank for it.

my problem with the financial reports filed it says "doubled" the people who said they signed up for O&A... double what? double 20? double 40?

fact that they only signed up 330k vs sirius 660k really tells me that the double might have just been a spin on something.

besides they have been on for over a year, i would think their sub impact is minimal now, so if they are signing up minimium after 1 year which is possible cause their fans are already there, then DOUBLE is prob not the blockbuster everyone thinks it is
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 29 Jul 2006 @ 7:11am

Re: LOL
Yes, but did those 40 new subscribers have sex with a porn star? ... that's what America wants to know.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
AndrewDiceGay, 29 Jul 2006 @ 8:19am

Hey, He needed the MO-neeee
Tell you what....I don't giveafuck what anyone says, 1st, there will be no global wifi coverage in my lifetime, and I am under 40. 2nd, You can have my XM radio when you pry it from my cold dead hands, and 3rd...I NEED SOME COCK...WHO WANTS TO GET BLOWN?!?!?!?!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chesters Liver, 29 Jul 2006 @ 8:39am

Stickernerds is an idiot
I don't know what the numbers for signups are but regardless of the overall numbers, it means that opie and anthony are driving 2x as many ppl to XM as they were before. They are doing their part, and you can't ask much more than that. The rest is up to XM Marketing

second of all.. Hoo Hoo invented syndication on the radio??? are you retarded? there was other syndicated shows before that one-hit-wonder ass licker came around. He took Imus' show and added sex and a couple of good bits, got high ratings and they threw him on a bunch of stations. OOOO soo creative. That was 1987. Howard didn't invent controversy on the radio, dumbass.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Frank, 29 Jul 2006 @ 9:06am

Did you know, it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile?? ... an XM CEO with handsome slacks and a bowl haircut once told me.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 29 Jul 2006 @ 10:47am

XM sucks anyway, who cares.
SIRIUS BABY! FTW!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Joe, 29 Jul 2006 @ 6:32pm

XM Subscribers
Those no talent "shock jocks" are driving sales? Hard to believe. Ron & Fez are far better in my opinion. BTW I am over 18.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 29 Jul 2006 @ 9:21pm

I think XM and Sirius should merge. I don't like corperate monopolies, but it beats having to decide between to two for their different programs or pay two fees for both. They could pobobly make some more money that way, too, because it would attract people who wouldn't get satellite radio becaue it's all right there, in one package, for one fee.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
PopeRatzo, 29 Jul 2006 @ 9:30pm

"Half of the new subscribers...because of Opie and Anthony".

But the number of those new subscribers was still just half the number of new Sirius subscribers.

Notice how the media jumps when a press agent calls the tune. XM is finished until it merges with Sirius.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Andrew Strasser, 30 Jul 2006 @ 12:56am

Re: I think they should merge.
Being one of the same belief system in the whole monopoly thing you kinda have to throw that out the window when you're dealing with billion and trillion dollar satellites. If they merged you'd get the same quality service and they would spend half the cost on the satelites or did they do that and you just didn't see. Who ever said they were wholly owned by seperate entities. Is that even possible in broadcast anymore?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Arthur Chien, 30 Jul 2006 @ 7:51am

Xm v Sirius
What people fail to understand is that it's not just XM superior content that will lead them to total satellite radio domination, but it's also superior technology. Sirius does have some good units, but they came in late to the market and are trying to figure out the tech aspect as quickly as possible - unfortunately that means making some of the same mistakes that XM made early on - clunky units, fewer features, etc.
When you sacrifice an ungodly amount of capital to bring personalities in something has to suffer - in this case it's their tech funds. XM has kept their contracts slimmer and more flexible so that they can continue to spend tons of cash on development of their tech - the Inno for example, more repeaters, better satellites, etc.
It also helps to have contracts with the federal government - the most brilliant move XM has made to date was leasing for 3-5 years a ton of bandwidth to the government for not just nation-wide emergency communications, but also allowing them to bounce those communications from other sats around the world.
Look, I'm not going on a tirade about Hoo-Hoo and the Boys. It boils down to tech and corporate flexibility - XM has it is and the Doggie doesn't.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
-, 30 Jul 2006 @ 11:55am

-
Now that almost every car in America comes with/has an option for satellite radio, plus the fact that it is just better than AM/FM shows that XM/Sirius will soon start to rise. You know FM stations are starting to sweat when they come out with "HD Radio". What a stupid idea.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 30 Jul 2006 @ 5:57pm

Re: Hey, He needed the MO-neeee
i do
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Aug 2006 @ 2:50am

xm radio will die slowly as sirius picks up nascar,buy sprint
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Fatty Pig Fatty, 26 Oct 2006 @ 2:12pm

Re: Xm v Sirius
Hey Arthur, what the fuck is your problem man
[ link to this | view in thread ]
jack casey, 23 Dec 2006 @ 3:27am

EARTH RADIO..DEAD!
PREDICTIONS ARE MADE BY WATCHING THE SIGNS. CLEAR CHANNEL IS SELLING OUT, RADIO REVENUES ARE FLAT...IPODS AND THE INTERNET ARE GAING MORE LISTENERS. UNLESS RADIO REENVENTS ITSELF WITH PERSONALITY BASED PROGRAMMING,HD WILL NOT SAVE IT. CLEAR CHANNEL RUINED RADIO AS WE KNOW IT. PEOPLE ARE'T STUPID THEY 'VE CAUGHT ON TO VOICE TRACKING AND THE BORING COOKIE CUTTER PLAYLISTS SOME OF THE BEST SHOWS ARE ON "LIVE 365". LOOK TO THE SKIES BOYS & GIRLS
[ link to this | view in thread ]
jack casey, 23 Dec 2006 @ 3:32am

EARTH RADIO..DEAD!
PREDICTIONS ARE MADE BY WATCHING THE SIGNS. CLEAR CHANNEL IS SELLING OUT, RADIO REVENUES ARE FLAT...IPODS AND THE INTERNET ARE GAINING MORE LISTENERS. UNLESS RADIO REENVENTS ITSELF WITH PERSONALITY BASED PROGRAMMING,HD WILL NOT SAVE IT. CLEAR CHANNEL RUINED RADIO AS WE KNOW IT. PEOPLE AREN'T STUPID THEY 'VE CAUGHT ON TO VOICE TRACKING AND THE BORING COOKIE CUTTER PLAYLISTS SOME OF THE BEST SHOWS ARE ON "LIVE 365". LOOK TO THE SKIES BOYS & GIRLS
[ link to this | view in thread ]