1. Comment for you... did you happen to notice Eastlan's relationship with the National Association of Broadcasters and the Radio Advertising Bureau? Not saying that the research is invalid, but certainly have to question thier ability to be non-biased when their primary clients have a vested interest in SatRadio failing.

Posted at 5:27PM on Jul 20th 2005 by RalphJohnston

2. I've been contemplating Sat radio for some time now, even before Stern made his announcement. I listen to Stern most mornings, but I think for the most part I'd just like to hear how the show will change once it moves to Sirius more than anything else. I have no loyalty to his show nor do I feel compelled to follow him to Sirius, but if you listen to his show, you must be at least a tad curious how his show will change. Will it be as nasty and raunchy as he's claimed it will be?

There's just something about the monthly charge for Sat radio that makes me not want to hop on board. Isn't there something they can do to make it more palatable for cheapskates like myself? How about a limited service that allows us to pick, say, 10 stations that we're able to tune into and that's it, and price it at $2/mo. or something? Then allow us to change it only once per month in case our tastes change.

Posted at 10:53AM on Jul 21st 2005 by Keith McDuffee

3. RalphJohnston: NO, I didn't know that Eastlan and the NAB were in bed with each other. 5 stars for that piece of information, because that completely changes my perspective on the entire survey.

You always have to wonder about these sorts of 'studies' and who's agenda they're supporting. Still, looking at the numbers - even if 20% of people are potential customers - extrapolated out to the rest of the US population, that's something like... what, 50 Million people? Not too shabby if you ask me.


Keith: You're not alone. There's a big hurdle people need to jump to consider PAYING for radio. Music has the inherit trait of being "free" for many - so it's a hard pill to swallow. But it was the same for Television for so many 20 years ago... now paying for it is pretty much the norm.

As for an entry level subscription, Sirius doesn't have anything at this time. I guarantee that before Stern jumps ship they'll be having deals like crazy. XM offers XM Radio Online for $8/month - but that's really only a savings of $4 - not very enticing. Both have 3-day trial online subscriptions you can use to sample the service.

Posted at 9:48PM on Jul 21st 2005 by Ryan Saghir