Podcasting Killed the Satellite Radio


Posted: March 15th, 2009 | By: Steve Mullen | Filed under: Media News, Social Media Opinion | No Comments

Video may have killed the radio star, but podcasting and Internet radio are killing satellite radio.  SIRIUS and XM satellite radio services (now joined to become one company, SIRIUS XM) , were once great destinations for commercial-free niche programming and a nearly endless variety of talk, news, and sports programming.  I was a subscriber of SIRIUS until very recently.  Despite listening to very little other than podcasts when I’m driving, I did enjoy the variety of commercial free music in my office.  I have my own collection of digital music, but it’s nice to not listen to the same tracks over and over again, no matter how many there are in the mix.

The problem for satellite radio, however, is that Internet radio and podcasting are maturing and filling the space that satellite radio once owned. Not only is there similar content available out there, the vast majority of Internet radio sites and podcasts are free.  SIRIUS is trying to combat this with an iPhone app that will allow subscribers access to the company’s Internet audio on their iPhones.  This is a great idea, but it’s too little too late.

A couple of weeks ago I canceled the SIRIUS subscription I’ve had for five or six years, deciding to experiment with Internet radio sites.  I’ve landed on using Pandora for my office music listening, and it’s a wonderful free replacement with outstanding sound quality.  Meanwhile, I’ve already replaced the talk radio content with podcasts.  There’s no true replacement for the sports programming available through satellite radio (I may miss having all of the NFL games this fall .. we’ll see) but I couldn’t see spending nearly $13 per month for just the sports programming.  I haven’t looked around for it, but between podcasts and streaming audio and video from the NFL, I suspect I’ll be fine.

SIRIUS XM reported a narrower loss in the most recent fourth quarter than the one before, and also reported a growing subscriber base.  However, they recently had to reach out to angel funding to save them from going under.  Unfortunately I suspect that it’s inevitable that the company will go the way of the wind.  Much of the growth that SIRIUS is seeing is from people who buy new cars.  Many auto makers have agreements to provide satellite radio-equipped radios, and in most cases the new car purchaser gets a free year of the service.  However, more and more cars are also coming equipped with an audio jack for plugging in an iPod or other mp3 player.  And, as we all know from reading the news, fewer and fewer people are buying new cars right now due to the economy.

Visit EndGame PR’s Podcast Production page to sample the variety of shows we produce!

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