WRKO bleeps out "Sirius XM" merger news

[raccoonradio]

Censored! Howie said a naughty word on the radio!

"Oh, breaking news--- Justice Dept. has approved the (silence). Oh that's good...(to producer)
Did you bleep that out? I can't report the news?"

Went to drudge: Sirius XM Merger Approved.
That's right folks: WRKO does not want you to hear the news.
(Similarly back when WTKK had Hannity and he had Opie and Anthony on as guests, WTKK
would not carry the hour. Promoting the competition.)

[ChrisNH]

I was going to pose a question to the group here on whether this merger approval was 'much-ado-about-nothing' for terrestrial radio, or whether it would accelerate the construction of a big tombstone in the shape of a red-and-white radio antenna.

I guess this would seem to suggest the latter.

[Dark Knight]

I don't know anything for sure, but if it were me, I would be more worried about WiFi than satellite radio if I were terrestrial radio. Until satellite has a viable local sales machine and until they are far more pervasive in automobiles, they will not be a big threat. Research shows that people who have satellite radios spend more time listening to their terrestrial radios anyway. They can chip away from TSL somewhat, but as a reach medium they are nowhere. The only medium that can compete with radio is TV.

To Rac's point about bleeping merger news, that's just silly. Probably some producer reacting to an old edict not to allow discussion of XM and Sirius on the air. It probably originated before Stern departed. This is news for goodness sakes - can they really be that afraid that people are going to jump in their cars and go buy radios now that the DoJ has passed the merger?

[Finn]

Had an opportunity to ask CEO of Liquid Compass http://www.liquidcompass.net/ about streaming in the car; he said there will be a wifi device for new cars by end of '09.  If I understood correctly, the device will also be satellite-ready, but don't quote me. 

And:

http://www.longtailbook.co.uk/The-Long-Tail/02-iTunes-Killed-The-Radio-Star 

http://www.longtailbook.co.uk/The-Long-Tail/03-The-98-Percent-Rule

[WLYNgm]

TV has a long history of doing this:  if somebody is a guest on a program (say, a talk show), and they regularly appear on a program on "another network", they are identified in this manner. Why give a free plug for the competition? It is like the elephant in the living room - everybody sees it and knows that it's there, but does not
reference it. Granted, this particular case is a bit extreme...

[Neanderpaul]

Ten years of insolvency from out of which it can never come.
Multiple violations of FCC mandates.
Inflated subscriber numbers via unsold automobiles all over America
Subsidation of subscribers who cancel to keep numbers from dropping.
Failure to deliver the promised unique programming content depth.
Signal processing and dropout equivalent to AM radio.

Satellite radio is a failure on every front.

...and I'm a fan.

BUT!!!!...be careful what you wish for. You and I both know that the era of "free wi-fi for everyone" is coming.  You know...when our municipal taxes will go toward providing internet access in every city...for FREE!!! And then internet radio will flourish.

...and it will fall under FCC regulation, and content will be restricted.

The circle is almost complete.

[WLYNgm]

Eloquently stated, Neanderpaul. My prediction is that satellite radio will go the way of STV --
scrambled "movie channels" sent via over-the-air TV stations, in the days before major cable
penetration -- think: OnTV, Preview, Starcase. 

The window for satellite radio is closing fast, for the reasons that you stated above.
The merger is merely a last ditch effort to stem the flow of red ink on the balance sheets.
If I owned stock in either company, I would be selling it all now, before the collapse...

[turkeydance]

sat radio and Blu-Ray are good for 3 years.
WiFi and downloads will handle all audio and video.
right now, on my HD computer moniter, i can watch
the NCAA's in high def. CBS has Inner Tube to watch
it's episodic shows. but....before the sats hit re-entry,
XMS will take what they can for as much as they can.
my advice: do not sign up for a long-term service contract.

[livingfruitvirus]

I don't know anything for sure, but if it were me, I would be more worried about WiFi than satellite radio if I were terrestrial radio. Until satellite has a viable local sales machine and until they are far more pervasive in automobiles, they will not be a big threat. Research shows that people who have satellite radios spend more time listening to their terrestrial radios anyway. They can chip away from TSL somewhat, but as a reach medium they are nowhere. The only medium that can compete with radio is TV.

Of course they're not worried about WiFi. Terrestrial is able to use it by streaming their stations over the internet. They can't use satellite radio to their advantage, but they CAN use wireless internet.

Oh, and Entercom is vehemently anti-satellite radio so it's no surprise they dumped out of the comments.

[Mark Decker]

Until satellite has a viable local sales machine and until they are far more pervasive in automobiles, they will not be a big threat. Research shows that people who have satellite radios spend more time listening to their terrestrial radios anyway. They can chip away from TSL somewhat, but as a reach medium they are nowhere. The only medium that can compete with radio is TV.

To Rac's point about bleeping merger news, that's just silly. Probably some producer reacting to an old edict not to allow discussion of XM and Sirius on the air. It probably originated before Stern departed. This is news for goodness sakes - can they really be that afraid that people are going to jump in their cars and go buy radios now that the DoJ has passed the merger?

Well, for starters, I purchased a Sirius satellite radio, installed it into my vehicle and listen to it exclusively.  On a side note, this is a forced decision because my car radio no longer has an antenna to pick anything up.  I find myself being quite surprised that I don't miss local radio.  I guess it just goes to show you how far quality programming (and those neat little tickers) will go.

As far as the bleeping... can't imagine why they would do that unless the CBS radio ouerve made it seem like sound policy.  Yep, they're very scared.