SatRad vs. Broadcast vs. DIY

[ljs0610@comcast.net]

You are right about that...sometimes tall buildings are an impediment, too.  But overall the reception and coverage is something local radio could never achieve by its very nature....

----- Original Message -----
From: Paul B. Walker, Jr. <walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com>
To: Bob DeMattia <bob.bosra@demattia.net>
Cc: ljs0610@comcast.net, B-R-I <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>
Sent: Tue, 05 Jun 2012 03:15:00 -0000 (UTC)
Subject: Re: SatRad vs. Broadcast vs. DIY

Satelitte radio reception isn't always perfect, either.

Here in the Northern Allegheny Mountain region of North Central PA, I regularly drive around with a friend who has satelitte radio is his car. .I've had it drop out several times when we're in lower terrain or pass under/by some obstruction, bye bye goes the satelitte signal.

paul




On Mon, Jun 4, 2012 at 11:07 PM, Bob DeMattia <bob.bosra@demattia.net> wrote:



>


> Hmmm...really?  No sense of currency?  The day Davy Jones passes, the


> sixties channel brought in their morning jock (who is very live and very


> current each morning) to play Monkees tunes, reminisce about Davy Jones and


> the group, and let listeners weigh in.  If that isn't a sense of currency,


> I'm not sure what it.   That is only one recent example, but I could


> certainly enumerate additional.


>



That's one example, and I'm sure there are more, but local radio has


satellite radio beat on a day-to-day basis.  I still stand by my impression


that the XM music channels


sound sterile.  You mention the 60's channel, but try listening to some of


the less popular channels up the dial.




> As for "local weather", how do you address that when your audience is a


> national one?  But when there is something unusual going on somewhere in


> the country weatherwise, it gets a mention.


>




I don't have to address it; that's my point.  Bringing weather, local


sports scores, traffic,  and other local community stories is an advantage


that local radio has over satellite.


Satellite has advantages too - like reception in mountainous rural areas


away from major markets.




-Bob





>


> ----- Original Message -----


> From: Bob DeMattia <bob.bosra@demattia.net>


> To: B-R-I <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>


> Sent: Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:07:07 -0000 (UTC)


> Subject: SatRad vs. Broadcast vs. DIY


>


> Sirium XM came installed in my car with a free 1-yr subscription.


> About the only things I ever listen to are some of the produced-for-TV


> cable channels.


>


> I've tried to listen to the music channels, but it's like listening


> to an automated station most of the time.  The DJs, when they have


> them, sound voice-tracked.  There's no sense of currency.  Maybe the its


> lack of a local stories or local weather forecast; there's just something


> missing.


>


> So while I still have access to these stations, most of the time I find


> myself listening to broadcast.


>


> The one major exception is when driving through areas like central NH


> or rural PA, where it becomes annoying that the flea-power stations


> they have in the smaller markets only last for 20 to 30 minutes at a


> time.


>


> When I'm not in the mood for commercials, I have a 4Gb USB stick that


> plugs into a USB port on my dash.  Set the player to random and it


> plays from a collection of 250+ tracks, all of which I like.  No DJs,


> but no  bad songs either.  This is far superior than anything XM has


> to offer.


>


> Another problem with XM is the compression.  There just doesn't seem to


> be as much "umph" to the sound.   The compression on the non-music


> channels is even worse.


>


> -Bob


>


>


>


>


> On Mon, Jun 4, 2012 at 7:53 AM, Sid Schweiger **wrote:


>


> > "the formats on Sirius/XM that get ANY ratings at all are the ones that


> > duplicate the broadcast formats available to anyone on AM/FM."


> >


> > The only format on SiriusXM that gets any ratings at all, according to


> > Eastlan (the only company that includes satellite radio in its local


> > ratings, in the few markets in which it operates), is Howard 100, Howard


> > Stern's main channel.  No other satrad channels get enough mentions to


> meet


> > Eastlan's minimum reporting standards, and Arbitron stopped rating


> > satellite radio in 2008.


> >


> > There is NO satellite channel that duplicates an OTA broadcast station.


> >  Some of them come close in programming content, but none of them carry


> > commercials (and the five- to seven-minute stop sets that go along with


> it)


> > and all the other clutter that OTA music formats must deal with.  I can


> > understand why some people think that satrad is evocative of radio's


> past,


> > when you could actually hear music on a music-formatted station without


> > having to wade through all the other formatics, but the idea of paying


> for


> > radio hasn't taken hold yet, and probably never will on a mass scale.


> >


> > Sid Schweiger


> > IT Manager, Entercom New England


> > 20 Guest St / 3d Floor


> > Brighton MA  02135-2040


> >


> >


>