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First Satellite Radio System To Be Launched In US
Washington - June 28, 2001 Satellite radio begins broadcasting this week over US skies, with billions of dollars riding on a bet that consumers are ready to pay monthly fees for high-quality music and other programming. Wednesday is the launch date for Washington-based XM Satellite Radio, one of two companies that are aimed at transforming radio into a subscription service in much the same way cable has changed television. XM, first being launched in the San Diego, California, and Dallas, Texas, markets, will offer 100 channels of digital broadcasting -- allowing people to choose a niche ranging from modern jazz music to all-news to comedy skits. The music channels will be commercial-free, and the others will have limited ads. The XM service is priced at 9.99 dollars a month and should be available nationwide by November. For that, consumers are promised a clear signal anywhere in the United States. Hot on the heels of XM is New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio, which will offer 100 of its channels -- ranging from "smooth jazz" to reggae to Radio Disney for kids -- at a cost of 12.95 dollars a month. Service is due to launch later this year. In addition to the monthly fees, listeners will have to shell out 200 dollars or more for a compatible radio receiver. Since most Americans listen to radio in their cars, the major automakers are involved in the satellite services. General Motors is a major backer of XM, which will be available on some new Cadillacs as well as those made by Saab, Honda, Isuzu, and Acura. DaimlerChrysler and Ford are offering the Sirius service. Investors have poured in some 1.5 billion dollars into each of the two services, and the big question is whether consumer habits will change or whether satellite radio will become a white elephant. A satellite radio serviuce by US-based WorldSpace serves Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. But backers here say the projects are more based on the history of US cable television. Sirius spokeswoman Mindy Kramer says history shows that consumers will pay extra if they get something more for their money. "If you look at television years ago, people were pretty happy with four or five or six channels until their neighbor got cable with 50-60 channels," she said. "Then they realize there's something so much better; we think the satellite radio story is akin to that -- television is the king in the home, radio is the king in the car. There hasn't been any real change in radio for 40 years, since the advent of FM ... What has been lost in radio is the 'wow' factor." Stocks of the two firms have been battered in the recent Wall Street slump; XM stock has fallen to under 10 dollars from a high of 46 dollars and Sirius is under five dollars from a high above 60 dollars. But Robert Peck of Bear Stearns said he is bullish on XM and sees the stock price climbing back to 49 dollars and that it will pick up at least 100,000 customers in the first year and 660,000 in the second year. "We think that the company has done a tremendous job on hitting its milestones thus far," Peck said in a research note. "The technological aspects of the system has surpassed our expectations." Others say the two firms will face a big hurdle in transforming radio from a local medium into a national one. "Satellite eliminates localization, which I really believe is radio's greatest strength -- being able to go out on the street and shake (a local host's) hand and say, 'I really like your show.'" says Andy Lockridge, operations manager in Dallas for Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. "There's a bond that's created there that's going to be a real issue for any kind of national programming." All rights reserved. � 2000 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links XM Radio SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express The latest information about the Commercial Satellite Industry
Sea Launch Lofts XM Radio Bird
Long Beach - March 18, 2001Sea Launch successfully boosted the first satellite of the XM Satellite Radio network, XM "Rock" at 2:33 pm PST from the Sea Launch platform in equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean. The first signals from the satellite were captured by a ground station in Australia at 6:43 pm EST as planned. |
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