Should Satellite Radio Ditch The Satellites And Go Online Only?
from the kill-two-birds dept
In discussing the troubled satellite radio business, we noted that two of the major difficulties faced by the industry were the huge capital costs required to build and maintain the business, combined with the rise of (somewhat unexpected) competition in the form of internet radio and internet downloads combined with portable MP3 players like the iPod. Over at Slate, Farhad Manjoo has a suggestion that would solve both of those issues: Sirius XM should ditch the satellites and become a web only broadcaster. It's an interesting idea, but it seems unlikely (even though they offer online streams currently). Sirius XM still remains so car focused, it still thinks that being in automobiles is a competitive advantage. However, as Manjoo points out, it's actually damaging the company, because it's had to pay large sums to automakers to get the devices installed in cars. Instead, if it went to an internet-only solution, and cut the subscription prices, it could reach a much larger audience, much more easily and cheaply. Build mobile apps, and people can use their phones to listen to content. Add downloadable podcasts of popular shows, and anyone with a portable device can time shift. It's so reasonable that it'll never happen.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.
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Filed Under: bankruptcy, competition, failure, satellite radio
Companies: sirius, sirius xm, xm
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Honestly, why do I need radio (whether FM, satellite, or internet)? The only purpose for radio would be the discovery of new music (and with 7,000+ songs/500+ hours, do I really necessarily need new music), and with the proliferation of services for matching like minded artists I don't even necessarily need radio for that either. When I sign onto a service like eMusic or Lastfm, it's usually very easy to find music that matches my tastes (and often I find music that I like much better than some of the crap I'm usually force-fed on the radio anyways).
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Re:
As for Internet only, XM is right that it's all about the automobile. I get in my car and the radio starts playing. I have coverage everywhere I go, including places where cell coverage is limited or even non-existent. When there's an Internet connection option which works in an automobile, has complete coverage, is completely reliable in terms of sufficient bandwidth to avoid buffering slowdowns and stuttering, is as cheap as my XM subscription, and is available via a hardware option which is as convenient as my XM tuner, they'd better maintain their satellites if they want to keep me as a customer.
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3G car solution
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Re: 3G car solution
If Sirius XM is looking to put the final nail in its coffin, then it should switch to web-only. I hope it doesn't because I really enjoyed it when I lived in Germany. In that case, I bought the web-only subscription because the SAT signal is only available in N. America. Being back in the states, I didn't want to pay for the hardware and the subscription right away, but in the future I think I'll end up re-subscribing.
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Satellite radio is for when you want non-crap radio stations in your car, on demand, that you can flip through. Webcast would not fulfill that.
While their current position is not tenable (at least, at this cost level), webcast isn't a solution for them, just another failure.
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Are you high?
Seriously, are you high?
Cell reception isn't nearly ubiquitous enough to make it as available as a satellite signal - not to mention the how many hundreds of thousands of already deployed units?
Plus what would it cost if you didn't have an unlimited data plan?
Your remarks are so ludicrous that I seriously am asking, are you high?
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Hybrid
I don't know that an online play would help them much: there is a ton of competition in that space, and satellite is their main differentiator.
What they could do is perhaps add an online service _in addition to_ their current system, if they don't already have one. Then expand to offer an online-only service tier for a much lower price point.
This wouldn't cost them anything and could bring them new users and fans.
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Because of the amazing level of customization, Slacker currently has the best implementation of 'music on the go' that I know of. I've rarely turned on the XM in the car since getting their G1 portable, especially now that they've worked the serious bugs out of the firmware. There are still some frustrating quirks, but hopefully they'll be fixing them in upcoming releases.
The portables download 100+ songs per 'station' you set up via wifi or USB, so they're ideal for listening in the car or in any situation where a persistent Internet connection is unavailable. Sound quality is about double that of XM/Sirius if not better. There are also apps for Blackberry and iPhone, but I have neither so I can't comment on how well they work.
It boils down to to high-quality stations customized to your own musical tastes for free, VS low-quality shallow playlists for $12.95 a month.
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Huh?
Why would anyone pay a subscription for a service they can get for free that confines them to their computer for watching? (I know there are some other options. I used to use my data plan to stream internet radio through my smartphone to an FM transmitter in my car, but the average user is not going to jump through those hoops.)
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Sirius XM
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Should Satellite Radio Ditch The Satellites And Go Online Only?
XM was a great service, I've got 5 radios on subscription and all 5 are used constantly. An online solution is stupid, vaporous, and technically unfeasible.
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Satellite radio is all about listening in vehicles. Wireless Internet service is no where near ready for something like this. 3G data plans are so expensive here in Canada that listening to streaming radio while commuting would cost hundreds of dollars per month.
Perhaps satellite radio needs to adopt the cable TV business model: charge a monthly fee for the pipe, then pay content providers for the channels. Many commenters in the previous satellite radio article had complaints about XM and Sirius playlists. Why not let third party stations compete for satellite radio subscribers?
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Why I like XM Radio
2) All-Elvis Channel. For when you need that fix.
3) Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan. I am in complete agreement though with Mike that this show, the Tom Petty show, and the new Lou Reed show should all be PODCASTS. I for one can never figure out when the Dylan show is on (it's on at strange times like 10 AM and 7 PM - not during commuter hours, morning wakeup, or evening chill out), and if you miss it then it's gone.
4) Live football and baseball games. Sirius XM is making a huge mistake though charging for the NFL (or for MLB if you are Sirius).
5) Coast to Coast AM on Talk Radio. If you listen to it on regular radio driving, you have to keep switching stations. However, the ADS are interminable too! That is why I have the podcast, and no longer need this one from Sirius XM. I pay $8 a month for Coast to Coast, and it is worth it! I'd do the same for Theme Time Radio Hour.
Mike is right. Their model is flawed and needs to be revised if they are to succeed. Perhaps they could feature the best of Internet Radio? A whole channel devoted to unique web shows? That'd be great...
Generally, though, I hate listening to music on XM because of the compression and the anonymity of the shows (if I want machine-dictated music, iPod shuffle is much better). Some internet radio shows have better audio. I am an engineer/producer, though...I'm sure most people don't even notice, but once you do it ruins it. Still...sometimes I dip into the Liquid Metal, the Rhyme, and the Grateful Dead channels just to see what's going on...
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Nope...
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Silly...
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Internet only bad idea!
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In the year 2000...
On the other hand, when's the last time you heard about exciting developments in the satellite industry? Are they getting better satellites? Will the satellites have stronger signals? Will satellites use cutting edge techniques that let me listen to the Verge even on stormy days? Or will they float up there getting older and less useful every year in an increasingly crowded region which might force them to be grounded for feat of damaging other more "important" satellites?
To succeed, you have to take care of today, but you must plan for tomorrow as well.
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gah!
Then again. If I could stream to my car I'd drop Sirius in favor of Pandora.
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A must for Canucks
I also know plenty of people who bought life-time subscriptions for 500 bucks! They would seriously be pissed if they lost their satellite radio.
I have a transferable unit that I can move from my house to the car which really makes the subscription a good deal.
Hopefully they will figure out a business model that works for them and all of their existing and new customers.
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Just a Thought
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been there done that
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Re: been there done that
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RE: Love my XM
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yes the cell phone will kill sat radio
3G/HSDPA coverage is expanding very rapidly and within a few years will cover the 80% of the US population that lives in cities or suburbs. It already covers about 20% of that 80%. No, truck drivers won't have complete coverage all the time, and no, the other 20% of the population will be SOL. But most of the time the 80% will be fine.
Users don't want to commit to expensive dedicated devices that are junk if XM dies - another problem that is hurting them now that they might die soon. Modern phones can do the job better than those devices using 1980's technology, and with complete 3G coverage in the near future, any streaming service, along with their portable nature... they are the future.
XM has something that Pandora or Slacker don't, content-wise. No-fuss pre-programmed content - tune in and you are done. No syncing every night, no picking your playlists, and in most cases no commercials. XM needs to advertise these benefits and then people will pay a reasonable amount vs. the free options online.
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Satellite Radio
He waved his hand at me and said, "you'll see." Yeah, I saw. I saw a bunch of idiots follow Howard Stern to a dead duck and.....
Geez I hate bein right all the time!
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The thoughts of this person are very dumb and stupid since it seems he has no damn clue about satellite radio.
Seriously, most people like satellite radio because they can always listen from a single station to hundreds while they commute or travel. Some areas might only get a couple of stations and to think that in such places there would be "mobile" internet?....HAHAHAHA!
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I liked being exposed to new music and quality sets of music that I couldn't program just with an IPod. Hosts like Jesse Scott and Lambert were informative without being annoying. Bobby Bennett on Soul Street dug up gems i've never heard anywhere else.
But thanks to Mel and his Merry Consulting Band, the special qualities of most XM music channels are long gone.
However, for those who think internet radio is the saviour, keep in mind two things:
1. wireless broadband will take a LONG time to cover the territory of sat rad. a lot of people i know can't even get wired DSL at the slowest speeds yet.
2. The RIAA and Soundexchange are bound and determined to suck the life blood out of the still young internet radio business, and make the costs per song dramatically high thus squeezing the smaller, more innovative independent streams out of the business. So look for more Siriusized internet streaming if you don't speak up about that to your representatives NOW.
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Poor sound Quality
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Re: Poor sound Quality
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Satellite Radio
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There's more to this than Howard
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