5.2 Satélite

O auto-rádio como central de compras

(é antiga, mas justifica-se ser recuperada)

«A Sirius Satellite Radio e a ATX Technologies anunciaram quarta-feira a criação de uma parceria para desenvolver um sistema que permita aos condutores efectuar compras dentro do automóvel, a partir do auto-rádio.

Segundo a Reuters, o projecto deverá permitir ao consumidor a aquisição de produtos e serviços anunciados na emissão de radio via satélite da Sirius. O pedido poderá depois ser feito usando os botões do auto-rádio.

O do sistema deverá incluir a ligação dos receptores da emissão da Sirius a telefones móveis e a sistemas de GPS, instalados no automóvel. Esta ligação permitiria o envio das ordens de compra para a emissora.

A Sirius já chegou a acordo com os fabricantes de automóveis Ford e DaymlerChrysler, para a instalação de receptores da sua emissão nos veículos produzidos por essas empresas nos próximos anos.» Comprar em trânsito, 2000-03-01 00:00:00, Casa dos Bits

Satélite ou HD?

«HD vs. satellite

Sure, the new radios are expensive. So were XM radios when satellite first became available in 2001. Satellite would seem to be a natural rival for HD radio, but there are wide differences:

• Once you’ve sprung for the radio, you need not part with any more loot with HD radio; with satellite, you’re on the hook for a $13 monthly subscription fee.

• Compared with any form of terrestrial radio, satellite provides many more choices for avid listeners. XM and Sirius each offer more than 120 coast-to-coast channels, including commercial-free music in diverse genres (blues, show tunes, etc.). By contrast, far fewer HD stations are available in any specific market. In New York, just a dozen stations offer multicast options, and only three AM stations transmit digitally.

• Most satellite stations are national; HD stations are local. No matter how good they sound, the regular stations are, well, the regular stations (commercials and all). Depending on your point of view, that’s as easily a plus as a minus. We all have favorites. I still gravitate to AM for traffic and sports talk. »

excerto de um artigo do USA Today, "Listen up for data on digital’s latest DJ domicile: HD radio", de Edward C. Baig, Posted 1/25/2006 9:58 PM, Updated 1/26/2006 10:50 PM

Comentário: "And while I'm pretty much anti-anything when it comes to commercial radio, I really can't argue against this article. HD really is too young to compare it right now, and satellite radio really does offer more selection nationwide. The only thing I would point out is the headstart that satrad has against HD. Only now did the Radio industry start to get organized with this technology - Satellite Radio is already looking far into the future to bring much more than just "radio" to the table. Let's take a look in a few years and see where both industries are, and then let's do a true comparison, shall we?"

O negócio da rádio por satélite no mundo

O negócio da rádio por satélite não se limita aos Estados Unidos ou à GB. A WorldSpace é a empresa líder a nível mundial.

Informação oficial: "WORLDSPACE® (Nasdaq: WRSP - News) is the world’s only global media and entertainment company positioned to offer a satellite radio experience to consumers in more than 130 countries with five billion people, driving 300 million cars. WORLDSPACE delivers the latest tunes, trends and information from around the world and around the corner. WORLDSPACE subscribers benefit from a unique combination of local programming, original WORLDSPACE content and content from leading brands around the globe including the BBC, CNN, Virgin Radio UK, NDTV and RFI. The WORLDSPACE satellites cover two-thirds of the globe with six beams. Each beam is capable of delivering up to 80 channels of high quality digital audio and multimedia programming directly to WORLDSPACE Satellite Radios anytime and virtually anywhere in its coverage area. WORLDSPACE is a pioneer of satellite-based digital radio services (DARS) and was instrumental in the development of the technology infrastructure used today by XM Satellite Radio. For more information, please visit http://www.worldspace.com.»

Alguns pormenores: "XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio both offer multiple channels of commercial-free radio programming to their subscribers including music, news, sports, talk, traffic and weather. Another satellite radio company, Worldspace, offers programming in multiple languages targeting customers from Africa and Asia with their music and news programming; the United States is not currently in the area serviced by Worldspace".

Desenvolvimentos: «SILVER SPRING, Md., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WORLDSPACE®, Inc., one of the world leaders in satellite-based digital radio services, today announced that it finished 2005 with more than 115,000 subscribers globally. During the fourth quarter, WORLDSPACE added more than 40,000 net new subscribers, increasing its subscriber base by more than 50% in the fourth quarter alone.»

Stern e a mudança dos ouvintes para o satélite

Sobre a mudança de Howard Stern

«A nationwide survey conducted by American Media Services indicates that 86% of Americans are not likely to consider the purchase of satellite radio in the future because Stern has left terrestrial radio.
Sixty-nine percent of those responding said they were “not at all likely” to consider purchasing satellite, and 17% said they were “not very likely” to after Stern’s move. The respondents’ negative reaction to the Stern question was even stronger than another question that asked their likelihood of paying for satellite service»

Afinal a rádio via satélite tem ou não publicidade?

Um cidadão norte-americano decidiu processar a XM por publicidade enganosa, um,a vez que esta afirma que os seus canais são "commercial-free". Este ouvinte da ráido via satélite contesta: "As an example, Mr. Enderlin said he repeatedly heard promotions for text-messaging services provided by a large telecommunications company on XM music channels, said Darrin Williams, another partner at the law firm, who declined to name the sponsor.
    "The suit is without merit," said XM spokesman Nathaniel Brown. "The accusations are baseless. The fact is XM does not air commercials on its music channels."
    Mr. Cauley said he would file a motion for class-action certification within the next 60 days in which Mr. Enderlin would represent a national group of fellow consumers who subscribed to the service or bought equipment needed to hear it since Nov. 12, 2001." (excerto da notícia "XM Satellite Radio not commercial free, suit says", By Dan Caterinicchia, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, January 20, 2006) via RadioAbout (onde se pode encontrar mais informação sobre o assunto). 

A grande vantagem da rádio via satélite nos EUA

"Imagine a radio station that can broadcast its signal from more than 22,000 miles (35,000 km) away and then come through on your car radio with complete clarity. You could drive from Tacoma, Washington, to Washington, D.C., without ever having to change the radio station! Not only would you never hear static interfering with your favorite tunes, but the music would be interrupted by few or no commercials"("How Satellite Radio Works", de Kevin Bonsor)

Satélite resolve problema da mobilidade?

Um dos maiores problemas da rádio-satélite nos EUA é a necessidade dos receptores estarem imobilizadospara garantirem uma boa recepção (caso contrário a qualidade do sinal falha: A major concern with current-generation satellite portables is reliable receptivity. A few devices already exist on the market, including the Delphi MyFi, but traditional radio receivers are far more reliable. XM indicated that its new line of receivers will feature stronger connectivity, while Sirius pointed to new releases in June that will also offer improvements). Ou "To get live radio, most portable satellite receivers on the market need to be docked (they can, however, play recorded programs on the go). Some have internal antennas for receiving live broadcasts on the go, but reception tends to be spotty" ("Satellite Radio Leaves the Car to Go Home and on Walks", New York Times, 12/1/06. neste endereço http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/12/technology/circuits/12basics.html)

)Os novos aparelhos receptores têm, além de  melhores antenas, "Both allow users to grab satellite streams on-the-fly, while also functioning as an MP3 player. While listening to any XM station, users can also bookmark a specific song, and download the track on a PC using the upcoming XM+ Napster service. Less ambitious portables do not allow on-the-go receptivity, though they do allow listeners to record satellite streams while docked."

XM também pela Internet

Era uma saída óbvia, para rentabilizar o investimento: chegará uma altura em que a rádio via satélite, com origem nos EUA, poderá ser ouvida na Europa (pelo menos), mas para já - e enquanto não resolvem problemas de direitos e de tecnologia - a experiência faz-se pela internet.

"Trata-se de uma iniciativa interessante, que permite que o universo XM se estenda para lá dos receptores satélite e do computador, para as subscrições dos canais online, e favorece e escuta continuada da música oferecida pelos canais XM. Ou seja, não só o público escuta os canais XM para ouvir música, como pode efectuar o donwload dos seus temas preferidos, mantendo-se a escutar aquilo que lhe é proporcionado pela XM quando não está online."

XM ganha 2,7 milhões num ano e chega aos 6 milhões de assinantes

A XM, sem Howard Stern, conseguiu fechar o ano com 6 milhões de assinantes, totalizando mais 2,7 em 2005. Perspectivas para 2006: 9 milhões de assinantes, continuando a liderar o mercado.

"XM has the commanding numbers, but Sirius is growing at a faster pace. The underdog provider now has 3.3 million subscribers, surpassing company guidance of 3 million for the end of 2005. The company revealed that it had tacked on 2,173,302 subscribers in 2005 alone, landing at 3,316,560 just prior to January. That is a remarkable surge, and reflects growing excitement and hype ahead of the arrival of Howard Stern. Meanwhile, the company has awarded Stern 34 million shares of its stock, a contractual reward for meeting its year-end subscriber goals satisfactorily. Stern begins his first broadcast January 9th."

E agora com um grande trunfo: vêm aí LAD/mp3 compatíveis com a recepção satélite: "Electronics manufacturers Samsung and Pioneer have both announced new portable audio players that support XM Satellite Radio. Samsung has tossed three XM-compatible models into the ring, all of which offer a new "bookmark" feature, which lets users tag songs for later purchase on the XM+Napster online service."

Os olhos na estrada, a voz comanda a rádio

Quanto vale Howard Stern

"A lot of the buzz on Wall Street is due to radio loudmouth Howard Stern taking his act to Sirius, which expects a million people to sign up at $12.95 a month to hear him talk naughty via outer space. Sirius might be right; it’s a big country and a million people will try anything. Witness the popularity of televised poker." (in Chicago Sun Times, "Satellite radio could be a lot of sound and fury", 18/12/05, by David Roeder)

ACT a 3/1/06: Já há resultados:

"Sirius Crosses 3 Million, Stern Effect Showing

Sirius Satellite Radio has recently reached its 3 millionth subscriber, an increase powered in part by the upcoming arrival of Howard Stern. The accomplishment was announced on December 27th by the company, and satisfies a goal set at the beginning of the fourth quarter. At that point, Sirius had 2.17 million subscribers, less than half of the 5.03 million then carried by rival XM Satellite Radio."

Alguns dados sobre a rádio via satélite

Sirius lançou o seu primeiro satélite em Julho de 2000. Juntou depois mais dois. A emissão nacional (apoiada por cerca de 100 repetidores terrestres) começou em 2001. O sucesso da tv por cabo inspirou os investidores;

Prometeram um preço de arranque /mês de $9,95 e cerca de 100 canais; "Both XM and Sirius have had successful IPOs, thanks in part to their unique FCC licenses. In 1997 the two companies paid a combined $172 million for the only FCC licenses to broadcast a nationwide digital signal" (Can Digital Kill the Radio Star?", by John Gartner, 2000-07-08 04:00:00.0)

Desde o princípio que foi definido como mercado-alvo o automóvel. "At home people can watch TV, movies, or listen to the radio, but in cars, radio is the only broadcast entertainment available," he said. "You really have a captive audience." Sirius e XM têm os maiores estudios de rádio do mundo (os da XM, em Washington, têm 80 estúdios). "Sirius currently has 30 engineers and former DJs ripping CDs into the music archives, which can be pre-programmed into daily shows for its 50 music channels."

Sirius (diz que) tem três milhões de assinantes

"The company, which recently launched a Martha Stewart channel and agreed to a multimillion deal with Howard Stern, didn’t provide additional information about its subscriber count or expectations for the year in its statement Tuesday. Rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. has more than 5 million U.S. subscribers."

Aqui há actualizações da notícia.

Uma previsão (pessimista) sobre o satélite (e a rádio paga)

"No one has ever made a penny, anywhere in the world, on subscription-based radio," Smulyan said. "This doesn’t mean that Sirius (Satellite Radio) and XM won’t make it. ... But even if you take the most wildly enthusiastic estimations of their penetration, they will reach 30 million Americans in the next five years, 40 million. Radio ... will probably still reach 275 million people a week"."

Free Radio Biz Tunes Out Sat Gains
Dec. 22, 2005
By Alex Woodson and Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter

aqui há as inevitáveis reacções da indústria do satélite.

A deficiente qualidade do som via satélite

"Satellite radio sound is, at best, barely passable. That’s because your satellite service provider sends only one digital signal to your receiver. The receiver then splits that signal into hundreds of audio streams: some, for voice, very narrow; others, for music, a little wider. I’ve been told these streams run from a few kbps for voice to something like 30 to 60kbps for music."

By Gary Krakow, Columnist, MSNBC, Updated: 5:41 p.m. ET March 17, 2005

Receptores de rádio via satélite funcionam como LAD

A XM e a Sirius anunciam o lançamento no mercado dos EUA (e do Canadá?) de receptores que funcionarão como leitores de audio digital, o que já está a ser visto como uma ameaça à indústria musical: "the arrival in stores of new satellite-radio receivers that mimic iPods in their ability to store and organize hundreds of songs".

"New receivers from XM and Sirius, subscribers can record far more music from satellite-radio broadcasts and manage songs as if they had bought them individually, for instance by setting up playlists and deleting songs they don’t like. Because both services offer niche channels, it becomes easy for users to quickly find artists or songs they want and store them. Sirius, for instance, offers channels such as Rolling Stones Radio and Elvis Radio".

Outro excerto:

"The new receivers, which are just coming to market, greatly expand what a satellite radio can do. Sirius's S50, which retails for about $330, can store one gigabyte of music, enough space for about 750 songs. That's more than a comparable iPod, because the song files hold less information than an Apple song file. The Sirius device allows users to record long stretches of programming, and then edit and organize songs much like an iPod. It also has functions helping users navigate recorded material to locate music by a particular artist. The device has been a hit since being introduced a few weeks ago and is sold out at many stores."

A rádio por satélite afirma-se, entrando no campo da indústria discográfica. Esta pretende renegociar os contratos (favoráveis) que acertou com a XM e a Sirius.

O grande obstáculo é que estes (apenas estes?) receptores ainda não são verdadeiramente portáteis: para receberem a emissão têm de estar ligados aquilo que chamam uma "docking station"; depois de recebidas e gravadas as emissões, são autonomos e podem funcionar como um iPod. Para serem verdadeiramente portáteis têm de receber o sinal satélite em qualquer lugar.

A notícia do Wall Street Journal chama-se "Music labels see new threat from satellite radio" (por assinatura; possivel ligação aqui), por Sarah McBride, 8/12/05

Comentários aqui.

(dica: Clube de Jornalistas)

Howard Stern estreia-se a 6 de Janeiro na Sirius

É a maior contratação de sempre feita na rádio: a empresa de emissão via satélite contratou Howard Stern por 500 milhões de dólares e o jock começa em 6 Janeiro a tentar justificar a aposta gigantesca.

Até lá a Sirius está a tentar tirar o máximo de proveito, com uma impressionante campanha de relações públicas e de publicidade, que visa conquistar o máximo de clientes/subscritores até lá. Um exemplo. Outro é o sítio de acesso ao novo estúdio de HS.

Claro que um investimento tão brutal tem de ser medido. Por isso Corey Deitz pergunta como é que será possível saber se HS continua a ser o rei da rádio nos EUA? Isso remete para a dificuldade de medir as audiências nos canais satélite. De qualquer forma, a Sirius diz que tem as suas próprias formas de o medir: através da entrada de novos clientes e , “SIRIUS measures listenership and customer satisfaction by using detailed, customized customer surveys, administered regularly.” Acresce o problema da comparação com as audiências anteriores, na rádio convencional. "After all these years of judgment by ratings, maybe SIRIUS will be an oasis for Stern; a place where ratings will personally mean little".

O mesmo Corey Deitz já tinha alertado para um outro problema: HS saiu da Infinity (o gigante da rádio dos EUA) devido a multas impostas pela autoridade norte-americana, a FCC. Irá Stern repetir os impropérios na Sirius? O melhor talvez, para um animador tão polémico, fosse dedicar-se ao podcasting - aí a FCC não poderia intervir (acredita-se que mais cedo ou mais tarde a FCC entrará no satélite). "If he really wanted to guarantee his artistic freedom, he just may have been seduced by the wrong technology".

ACT a 14/12: Amanhã, sexta, é o ultimo dia de HS na rádio terrestre. A Yahoo reforça o impacto: "As part of his grand exit, Yahoo will usher the jock into a Yahoo-branded double-decker bus, which will careen the streets of Manhattan. The outspoken radio personality will then be the center of an exclusive event at the Hard Rock Cafe, all of which will be streamed to Yahoo users"

A primeira ameaça à rádio com conteúdos pagos...

... não foi o satélite. Antes, na década de 80, a indústria do cabo introduziu o sistema de subscrição via tv por cabo, com o "CD Radio" e "DMX", na expectativa de atacar as audiencias da rádio terrestre.

"Pioneering the idea of satellites in digital radio broadcasting, DC-based CD Radio Inc. (who recently joined forces with the 4-billion-dollar aerospace company Loral) is anxious to hit national airwaves but is waiting for the go-ahead from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) (...) Digital Cable Radio (DCR) of Hatboro, Pennsylvania, which formed a partnership in January with Time Warner Cable, the nation's second largest cable-television operator, will make 78 digital radio channels available to its subscribers within the next year. Tom Oliver, president of DCR's competition, Digital Music Express (DMX), based in Los Angeles, says that through fiber optics and advances in compression equipment, more channels can be squeezed into the spectrum bandwidth--which translates into an enormous amount of programming potential".

in Digital radio: linking the global airwaves, Omni,  August, 1993  by Byron Poole. Mais aqui.

Ouvintes do satélite insatisfeitos com o AM/FM

O que pensam os clientes do satélite (pago) da emissão AM/FM?

"The most frequently mentioned reason cited by enthusiasts for adopting satellite radio was dissatisfaction with the programming on AM/FM radio.  Twenty-four percent (24%) of respondents said they adopted satellite radio to leave AM/FM, 16% because of satellite radio’s diverse programming, 13% because satellite equipment was on sale, 8% the commercial free environment and 7% because of the nationwide signal coverage provided by satellite radio.

The first wave of satellite radio adoption has occurred among highly dissatisfied AM/FM radio listeners.  Satisfaction with terrestrial radio among satellite enthusiasts is low.   Ninety-three percent (93%) of respondents said they were either “very dissatisfied” or “dissatisfied” with AM/FM radio.  More recent satellite radio adopters were significantly less dissatisfied with AM/FM radio than those that adopted satellite radio in late 2001 and 2002.  This suggests that satellite radio adoption rates may begin to decline as satisfaction rates with AM/FM radio improve.   Among their favorite AM/FM radio formats, enthusiasts (who were allowed to list more than one format) mentioned: talk (50%), sports (29%), Top 40 music (27%), Adult Contemporary music (26%) and public radio/NPR (26%).
 

The key relative advantages of AM/FM radio mentioned by satellite radio enthusiasts are:  it is free (26%), provides local news/talk (13%), and provides other local content (12%) and local personalities (5%).  Key negative factors mentioned by respondents are:  too many commercials (48%), repetition/lack of variety (13%), and limited playlists (8%).

After adopting satellite radio, satellite radio enthusiasts, on average, reduced their AM/FM listening time by 61%.  Average daily AM/FM listening time was reduced from 3.8 to 1.5 hours, while the average satellite radio listening time was reported as seven (6.98) hours a day."

(excerto do estudo "Consumer Adoption of New Radio Distribution Systems", Junho 2005, págs. 6/7)

 

 

Diagnóstico do mercado satélite dos EUA (via WP)

Um artigo do Washington Post ("XM and Sirius in Pitched Battle for satellite radio Subscribers" by Annys Shin, Washington Post Staff Writer, Saturday, November 26, 2005; Page D01) suscita algumas questões muito interessantes:

- A XM lidera sobre a Sirius, mas esta conta com Howard Stern ("Coming in January. Howard Stern. Only on Sirius")para dar a volta; ("XM, with 5 million subscribers to Sirius's 2 million, has a larger share of the automobile market, with deals to install XM receivers with manufacturers of nearly 60 percent of all U.S. cars, trucks and sport-utility vehicles. As of the third quarter, XM had a bigger share of the retail market, too.")

- Os principais clientes são os automoveis e as lojas (que recebem música sem publicidade);

- O negócio está numa fase crítica: tem de descolar, sob pena de perder a credibilidade dos investidores. ("New York-based Sirius and D.C.-based XM Satellite Radio are competing for customers... this holiday shopping season. Each is expected to sign up a million subscribers during the last three months of 2005, analysts said.")

- Cada uma cobra 12,95 dolares por mês. Mas a oferta da XM é maior: ("XM offers about 150 channels of music, news, talk and entertainment. Sirius offers about 120 channels.")

- o próximo desafio é o negócio dos aparelhos receptores. Com leitores de Mp3. ("Sirius recently came out with its first wearable device, the S50, which can play downloaded digital music and several hours of recorded Sirius programming. Next year, XM will introduce its first portable satellite radio receivers combined with digital music players")