WBUR underwriting crossing lines even more

["Aaron 'Bishop' Read" <aread@speakeasy.net>]

Remember my post about WBUR carrying underwriting from WGBH TV Channel 2?

Well JUST NOW during the 5:29pm break on Monday, I heard Gina Cervetti (yes 
Dave, I'm sure it was Gina this time :-) reading an underwriting spot for 
Sirius Satellite Radio.  This REALLY strikes me as WBUR shooting itself in 
the foot since Sirius, not XM, is the satellite service that has the rights 
to carry NPR and PRI programming (at least last I checked).   A successful 
Sirius will mean more competition in WBUR's drive to become a national 
player in the NPR world.  In fact, when NPR first revealed their intention 
to carry programming on Sirius many NPR affiliate stations screamed bloody 
murder and stopped airing some (in a few cases, stopped airing ALL) NPR 
programming and went all-local in retaliation.

I don't know how long that retaliation lasted, or if it was even terribly 
wide-spread.  It's just what I heard from both a Sirius rep and an NPR rep 
attending the IBS conference in 2001.   I wonder if it was really big 
enough to put a dent in NPR's member-station fees?


_________________________________________________________
Aaron "Bishop" Read       aread@speakeasy.net
Fried Bagels Consulting   www.friedbagels.com
AOL-IM: ReadAaron         Brighton, MA 02135