Major Themes Regarding the New Age of Radio

Since radio’s advent in the late 1800s, radio technology has undergone a number of significant changes, and it is currently in the midst of a major one today. The major themes that mark the new age of radio are the new formats that are available, the major companies that have embraced them, the convergence of technology and the transition to on demand content. The new major formats available in the new age of radio are satellite radio and HD. Satellite radio covers a much larger range than traditional terrestrial radio signals. Satellite radio can be picked up throughout the entire country, which is one of its primary advantages. Hundreds of available channels also make it an attractive choice. HD radio is a frequency that entails compressed digital and audio signals simultaneously, which produced an MP3-quality signal. These two signals can be sent using HD without changing frequency bands. Many companies have tried to embrace these two technologies, however very few have actually succeeded in doing so.

The two major companies who emerged in the Satellite radio market are XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. These two companies have been each other’s chief rivals for a number of years, however it is highly likely that those days will soon be over. This year, the two satellite giants accounted that they would attempt a merger. This merger has not yet been approved, and may not be at all. If the merger were approved, it would prove to be highly beneficial to both companies because it would eliminate both of their main competitors and allow them to pool their resources in terms of channels and content. The merger would mean big changes for the radio industry in that satellite radio would finally be able to compete with traditional radio, which is vastly more popular than satellite.

This is the exact reason as to why the U.S. government (The Federal Communications Commission) might allow the merger. Normally, if the only two major players in an industry tried to merge, U.S. antitrust laws would ban it in order to restrict a monopoly. The radio industry situation with satellite radio, however is quite different, because satellite radio isn’t the overall industry they are involved in- its radio. To compete with all the other forms of radio, the satellite radio companies will almost have to merge. Some analysts even think both companies will go under if the merger does not go through.

The convergence of technology that marks the new age of radio simply refers to the various devices and electronics equipment that is incorporating a large amount of radio technology. Some of the devices and platforms that I have blogged about this semester regarding this trend are multiple brands of cell phones, iPods, automobiles and the technology that lies within them. Many cell phones have began embedding music features within their devices. Now an industry norm, phones have been competing with one another for who can store the most songs, how they can buy them, and if they have radio capabilities. Motorola has implanted XM Satellite Radio service into select phones, and Sirius even has its own portable music player. Some examples of satellite technology integration with automobiles is the Ford SYNC, which features a highly developed music player and a voice activated play-system.

I’ve also learned that automobiles will always have a significant impact on the radio industry because that is often where it is listened to the most. The automobile industry also sparks new radio formats because if the auto manufacterurs choose to incorporate the technology in ther cars themore popular the formats will become. Satellite and HD radio finally started getting some boosts in popularity and awareness only after auto brand like BMW and Ford began incorporating them.
As for the theme of on demand content, basically all forms of media are in one way or another are making content availible exactly when the consumer wants it. HD radio's tagging feature allows users to purchase a song whenever it comes on the station, music sites like pandora offer free customizeable radio, wifi enables internet radio wheverver it is available and national chains like Starbucks are now offering Starbucks radio- which allows you to purchase whatever song is playing in the store with one click of a button in iTunes.

New developments in radio will most likely not have a significant effect on my career, simplay because I do not plan to go into the radio business. I suppose if I go into advertising, it will have a minor effect on my career because the advertising landscape within the media will be altered substantially. At any rate, the not so distant future of radio will be vastly different form the one we know today, just as what it is today is vastly different from what it was ten years ago. With all these changes and constant innovations in mind, radio certainly becomes one of the most interesting mediums to keep an eye on.

Podcasts by XM Satellite Radio

At first glance, this seems like a fairly confusing development- XM Satellite Radio is now podcasting some of their content over iTunes podcast library, for free. Eric Logan, XM's VP of Programming justifies the move by saying "By making these original XM series available through xmradio.com, iTunes and other popular podcast web sites, millions more consumers have an opportunity to sample some of the best in premium music, news and sports programming that you can only get as an XM subscriber." This is the basic concept behind samples, just implemented in a new way in the new age of radio. By exposing consumers to a few snippets of their content, they will know what to expect if they actually purchased the service.
Orbitcast adds "It's an interesting move because the traditionally the "satellite radio" moniker went hand-in-hand with "payment" - a majority of the content is meant to be hidden behind the walled garden. Of course, XM has been going against the grain with this concept, what with Bob Edwards and Opie & Anthony being made available on free terrestrial radio.....But XM is leveraging what many believe to be one of its strongest assets: their original programming." By allowing people to get a feel for the original content that XM offers, they can understand that XM Satellite Radio is not just spitting out other broadcasts, but delivering its own content for listener enjoyment.

Source: www.hear2.com

BCS: Only on XM

One of the most important programming formats offered by satellite radio services are the sports coverage channels. These channels draw a huge audience because the satellite radio service grants access to braodcasts all over the country. Therefore if you lived in Upstate New York, and happened to be a fan of the L. A. Dodgers, you could tune in to the local radio feed live from California. This is a must have for any dedicated sports fan. Contracts with the Indy 500 and the NHL give XM an advantage over its competitors.




XM has recently added to its arsenal of exclusive sporting events by acquiring the rights to all five Bowl Championship Series football games in January of 08. XM Satellite Radio will be the exclusive satellite broadcaster for the following bowl games:

- The AllState Sugar Bowl
- Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
- FedEx Orange Bowl
- The Rose Bowl Presented by Citi
- The AllState BCS NAtional Championship

This coverage comes as a wrap up of its contract as this year's official satellite radio network for the half a dozen BCS collegiate conferences. All of these Bowl Games will be offered to XM's 8.5 million nationwide subscribers. Erik Logan, XM's Executive VP, reports that more than 1.3 million listeners tune in on a regular basis for Saturday college football games.
To add to the appeal of the package, XM also added Hall of Famer Barry Switzer as its head broadcast analyst.



Source: http://www.mediabuyerplanner.com/2007/12/04/xm-exclusively-airs-bcs-games-in-january/?camp=rssfeed&src=mbp&type=textlink

Sirius Stiletto 2 & 2 Domino Ads

Sirius recently unveiled its "Stiletto 2," the second generation of the company's portable satellite radio, which features WiFi connectivity and storage of 100 hours of Sirius programming. The second edition has slimmed down a considerable 25% from the original- which makes it lighter and more aesthetically pleasing. The satellite signal can be picked up by the device when outdoors, but when inside the user will have to connect to available WiFi networks to listen to Sirius content. The device has built in flash memory, and can store non-Sirius MP3s or WMAs. When listening to the Sirius broadcast, users can bookmark the songs they are listening to for a purchase later on. The Donor Advertising Agency, Sirius' agency on record has come up with the following advertisement that features the new gadget.



Interestingly, the spot does not technically advertise the device. The name of the music player is not mentioned, nor does it mention its features or what it can actually do. Apparently the ad was primarily designed to promote Sirius instead of the music player- but if so, why make it the climactic ending of the ad. It doesn't seem to add up.

Did the Sirius ad remind you of any other recent TV ads? Check out this one for Verizon.



I mean it's one thing for two ads to use the same concept to promote a product, but these two ads came out so close in time to one another that I wonder if there's a connection. I've seen these two ads played within in the same hour of television.
At any rate, if Sirius wants to promote this device, they definitely need to rework the advertising- otherwise, their sales will fall like dominos.

Source: http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/8189.html