Satellite Radio's Real Competition

I just saw this video thanks to the CNET TiVoCast:

Did you watch it?  Good. 

So, it's basically a radio.  My first thought was that this was more competiton for broadcast radio.  But it's really not.  At least, it's not new competition.  Sirius XM should be the ones who worry about a product like this.

The Slacker G2 is more about niche programming on-the-go, which satellite radio delivers.  In fact, that ability has been one of Sirius XM's selling points.  But, services like Slacker, Pandora, Last.fm and the like go one step further and give the listener a great deal of control.  Satellite radio lacks that completely.

And, of course, listening to the Slacker G2 is free vs. the $12.99/month Sirius XM subscription fee.  That's the killer feature right there.

Now, back to broadcast radio.  OK, yes, the Slacker G2 is competition.  This is yet another reason that radio needs to evolve.  

More localism, unique programming and a strong sense of community are no longer ideas to consider for the future.

Does God approve of a Sirius-XM merger?

Ever since XM and Sirius burst onto the scene, I've been amazed at their respective PR machines. It seemed like even the most insignificant move by either company instantly got national media coverage. Now, with the proposed merger looming, the combined PR efforts have officially gotten ridiculous.

A press release came out on Friday with this headline:

His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan Applauds Satellite Radio Merger

Cardinal Egan is the Archbishop of New York. His take is that he likes the fact that the Catholic programming already on Sirius would get more exposure if and when the merger happens.

So, satellite radio is enlisting support from top religious figures now. I'm glad that the Catholic Church has handled all of their problems and can now turn their attention towards satellite radio mergers. I wonder how much of a donation had to be made to the Church to get this kind of endorsement.

There's a Difference Between XM and Sirius?

An interesting thread developed at my favorite "deals" website, FatWallet.com, regarding an alleged hot deal on a Sirius receiver.

What's interesting is the debate that fired up over the merits of Sirius as opposed to XM. Looks like both companies have dedicated fan bases. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this, but I was. We terrestrial radio-heads tend to consider satellite radio as this monolithic entity, but they're clearly not.

Then, I found an article in the Washington Post. I guess I'm not the only one who had trouble telling them apart if the Post thought it was necessary to explain it.

So, for now, both companies are probably more focused on competing against each other than against terrestrial radio. When those two companies someday merge, however...