Radio World published an article late last year about a group that's trying to do something I'm surprised no one had proposed before - expanding the FM broadcast band.
The idea would be to make more room for LPFM, relieve overcrowding on the AM band, and create more opportunities for growth on the existing FM band by extending it into the old areas for TV channels 5 and 6 that are being vacated by the switch to digital. It would also create an opportunity to finally create one or two standard frequencies for emergency use that could be worked into radio designs by manufacturers.
article at Radio World
editorial at Radio World
response at Radio World
Showing posts with label radio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label radio. Show all posts
Monday, March 23, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Slacker - a competitor for sat radio? Not...
I've been occaisionally drifiting over to Orbitcast, a blog devoted to news about satellite radio. As a subscriber, I've been interested in what's going on with the merger of Sirius and XM. (Lately, it's been some rate increases on some subscription packages and more changes to channel lineups.)
A few posters in comments there have been referring to Slacker, with some saying they may switch to the service. It's and intriguing idea, but I'm not convinced.
Slacker is a streaming audio service that offers apps for a Blackberry and an iPhone, as well as their own branded mp3 player. You have different channels devoted to popular genres of music (currently, it appears, about a dozen coverning major rock, pop and country). It basically downloads a whole bunch of music, along with commercials, when you're in range of wi-fi and you take the music with you to listen to in your car or whereever. And, it's free and ad supported, though a small subscription fee lets you listen without commercials and "skip" more songs.
I'm not convinced it's a viable competitor for satellite radio as much as it's a competitor for online streaming services like Shoutcast. Slacker works well for people who listen to a narrow range of music all day - if you're into talk, sports, or more esoteric genres, you're out of luck. It just doesn't have the variety of sat radio (or Shoutcast) - no classical, no oldies, no talk stations, and, more importantly to me - no old time radio shows.
That's the beauty of sat radio - it really does have something for everyone. And, since it's live and you're not depending on a mini "library" of songs you've downloaded through wi-fi, you can change channels and explore if you're looking for something new.
It's just too bad the folks running XM and Sirius don't seem to be able to get their act together to make sat radio a viable business. The problem is that the two companies made some very big mistakes. They concentrated too much on getting "names" like Howard Stern and Martha Stewart or expensive sports packages, spending way too much on programming. They were never able to hammer to the American public how cheap the service was for what you get in terms of great uninterrupted music. They concentrated too much on the auto market. Finally, they offered way too many models of radios with varying esoteric features - it was just too complex.
Now, as part of their restructuring, they're taking away free access to online streaming of channels that was formerly part of a basic subscription - you'll have to pay extra for it each month. It was valuable to people who wanted Sirius or XM in their offices where they couldn't have their radio and represents a big downgrade in service for many fans.
There's some dumb people running Sirius-XM.
As much as I've enjoyed the service and dislike the paplum of broadcast radio (even with the added channels of paplum on HD Radio), I'm thinking that sat radio might not survive at all unless they get their act together, particularly with the economy the way it is.
A few posters in comments there have been referring to Slacker, with some saying they may switch to the service. It's and intriguing idea, but I'm not convinced.
Slacker is a streaming audio service that offers apps for a Blackberry and an iPhone, as well as their own branded mp3 player. You have different channels devoted to popular genres of music (currently, it appears, about a dozen coverning major rock, pop and country). It basically downloads a whole bunch of music, along with commercials, when you're in range of wi-fi and you take the music with you to listen to in your car or whereever. And, it's free and ad supported, though a small subscription fee lets you listen without commercials and "skip" more songs.
I'm not convinced it's a viable competitor for satellite radio as much as it's a competitor for online streaming services like Shoutcast. Slacker works well for people who listen to a narrow range of music all day - if you're into talk, sports, or more esoteric genres, you're out of luck. It just doesn't have the variety of sat radio (or Shoutcast) - no classical, no oldies, no talk stations, and, more importantly to me - no old time radio shows.
That's the beauty of sat radio - it really does have something for everyone. And, since it's live and you're not depending on a mini "library" of songs you've downloaded through wi-fi, you can change channels and explore if you're looking for something new.
It's just too bad the folks running XM and Sirius don't seem to be able to get their act together to make sat radio a viable business. The problem is that the two companies made some very big mistakes. They concentrated too much on getting "names" like Howard Stern and Martha Stewart or expensive sports packages, spending way too much on programming. They were never able to hammer to the American public how cheap the service was for what you get in terms of great uninterrupted music. They concentrated too much on the auto market. Finally, they offered way too many models of radios with varying esoteric features - it was just too complex.
Now, as part of their restructuring, they're taking away free access to online streaming of channels that was formerly part of a basic subscription - you'll have to pay extra for it each month. It was valuable to people who wanted Sirius or XM in their offices where they couldn't have their radio and represents a big downgrade in service for many fans.
There's some dumb people running Sirius-XM.
As much as I've enjoyed the service and dislike the paplum of broadcast radio (even with the added channels of paplum on HD Radio), I'm thinking that sat radio might not survive at all unless they get their act together, particularly with the economy the way it is.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
NPR cancels shows; listeners yawn
NPR is laying off 7% of its workforce and canceling two shows, "Day to Day" and "News and Notes".
In the press release, NPR noted that neither program acheived enough listeners or underwriting to continue production.
It's not surprising. I listened to "Day to Day" a few times and found it to be just more of the same talk and light news features that NPR listeners get on every other show that the network puts out these days. "Day to Day" was particularly bad since many of the stories were just repeats of material you could read at "Slate", which was a corporate partner in the show.
It's strange how public radio used to have interesting, diverse programming with new and engaging music, dramas once in a while, experimental docs, and other works that gave me a better understanding of the world.
Now, every show (except the long in the tooth "Car Talk" and "Prarie Home Companion") all sound like "All Things Considered".
Sigh.
I do enjoy my satellite radio.
In the press release, NPR noted that neither program acheived enough listeners or underwriting to continue production.
It's not surprising. I listened to "Day to Day" a few times and found it to be just more of the same talk and light news features that NPR listeners get on every other show that the network puts out these days. "Day to Day" was particularly bad since many of the stories were just repeats of material you could read at "Slate", which was a corporate partner in the show.
It's strange how public radio used to have interesting, diverse programming with new and engaging music, dramas once in a while, experimental docs, and other works that gave me a better understanding of the world.
Now, every show (except the long in the tooth "Car Talk" and "Prarie Home Companion") all sound like "All Things Considered".
Sigh.
I do enjoy my satellite radio.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Sirius - OTR as a gay market?
I couldn't have been more surprised Thursday evening. I had my Sirius satellite radio tuned to Radio Classics. It's a channel devoted to old radio shows from the 1930's, 40's and 50's, things like the Jack Benny Show, Suspense, The Shadow and The Burns and Allen Show.
In between the shows, they'll play a bit of music, ads for cd's you can order of old radio shows, and promos for other Sirius channels. Sometimes, they'll play an old commercial or PSA from an old radio show, but they also play regular commercials as well.
Just after the Abbott and Costello Show, they played their usual promo for the channel, an old PSA from Lux Radio Theater, reminding everyone to save thier fat for the War effort, and then ... this ...
listen to mp3, 1.6 MB
Jeans "by gay designers"? "Inspired by the art of Tom of Finland"?
What the fuck?
I'm happy I've got a Sirius S-50 receiver that lets you back up and replay the channel you're listening to, sort of like a Tivo. I really couldn't believe my ears.
If you're curious, RufSkin jeans has their own website: http://www.rufskin.com/. Note that it's not safe for work.
Now, I do know they have ad agencies that are buying time on these channels, but why would they advertise something like this on Radio Classics?
Hmm.. Gay men ... they go to the gym, they shop for clothes, they go to the bar on Saturday night ... they listen to Abbott and Costello when they relax at home on Thursday night ...
After checking out the site, I can only conclude that they're actually targeting the ad towards Gay sugar daddies. The jeans, available in sizes up to 34, aren't aimed at men in the 40s and 50s that listen to Radio Classics, but at middle aged men who would buy them for their twenty-something boy toy that probably has the ... er... assests ... and waist size to wear something like this.
I've noticed they run promos for OutQ, the dreadful Sirius channel devoted to Gay talk and dance music, on Radio Classics. So maybe there's something to my little theory.
Target marketing, indeed.
And isn't that ad for RufSkin jeans a real parody of Gay stereotypes (even if the creators of it don't realize that it is)?
In between the shows, they'll play a bit of music, ads for cd's you can order of old radio shows, and promos for other Sirius channels. Sometimes, they'll play an old commercial or PSA from an old radio show, but they also play regular commercials as well.
Just after the Abbott and Costello Show, they played their usual promo for the channel, an old PSA from Lux Radio Theater, reminding everyone to save thier fat for the War effort, and then ... this ...
listen to mp3, 1.6 MB
Jeans "by gay designers"? "Inspired by the art of Tom of Finland"?
What the fuck?
I'm happy I've got a Sirius S-50 receiver that lets you back up and replay the channel you're listening to, sort of like a Tivo. I really couldn't believe my ears.
If you're curious, RufSkin jeans has their own website: http://www.rufskin.com/. Note that it's not safe for work.
Now, I do know they have ad agencies that are buying time on these channels, but why would they advertise something like this on Radio Classics?
Hmm.. Gay men ... they go to the gym, they shop for clothes, they go to the bar on Saturday night ... they listen to Abbott and Costello when they relax at home on Thursday night ...
After checking out the site, I can only conclude that they're actually targeting the ad towards Gay sugar daddies. The jeans, available in sizes up to 34, aren't aimed at men in the 40s and 50s that listen to Radio Classics, but at middle aged men who would buy them for their twenty-something boy toy that probably has the ... er... assests ... and waist size to wear something like this.
I've noticed they run promos for OutQ, the dreadful Sirius channel devoted to Gay talk and dance music, on Radio Classics. So maybe there's something to my little theory.
Target marketing, indeed.
And isn't that ad for RufSkin jeans a real parody of Gay stereotypes (even if the creators of it don't realize that it is)?
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