# Sirius, XM Criticize Broadcasters on Traffic/Weather



## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

Sirius and XM Satellite Radio, in a letter recently sent to the Federal Communications Commission, criticized ongoing radio broadcaster opposition to their local traffic and weather offerings, and they provided evidence that shows some station owners don't view their services as a threat to terrestrial radio programming.

Radio broadcasters, led by the National Association of Broadcasters, want the FCC to restrict or prohibit local traffic and weather services provided by satellite radio. In the letter, satellite radio companies disputed radio broadcaster arguments that their traffic and weather services will have an adverse economic impact on radio stations.

Sirius and XM attached statements in their letter from executives of radio companies Citadel, Cumulus, Emmis and Entercom, in which they said terrestrial radio views satellite radio as a niche market that won't have any economic impact on their business.

The letter had a statement from Lew Dickey, chairman and CEO of Cumulus Media, in which he said satellite radio companies are not gaining significant market share. He also said XM and Sirius are not "advertising-based mediums - they're really simply subscription-based mediums ... so as a result what they have to do to have a real impact on radio is take a serious amount of listening away from terrestrial radio."

Jeff Smulyan, Emmis Communications chairman, president and CEO, said satellite radio "certainly creates competition but the reality is a pay national service even with some local inserts for traffic if they get it done doesn't change the fundamental nature of a universally distributed locally based business that we are in." His statement also was in the Sirius/XM letter.

http://www.skyreport.com (Used with permission)


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## Pete K. (Apr 23, 2002)

The NAB, one of the most powerful lobbies in D.C., has been bending over backward to protect a nearly century old technology. Broadcasters have members of Congress in their back pockets. I'm glad to see XM and Sirius fight back. I fear though, they may win the battle, only to lose the war.


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

It's a good thing the Buggy Whip lobby wasn't strong or the Automobile would NEVER have gotten off the ground......

I LOVE how the national radio conglomerate are bemoaning the "lack of local content" on Satellite Radio and how they need to be protected to keep local radio viable as they strip radio of all of it's local flavor by homogenizing things based on national formulas. THEY are the ones guilty of killing local radio content.


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## RichW (Mar 29, 2002)

Gee. When did local radio station get a copyright on weather and traffic information? What next? Np news or traffic over the Internet? Get a grip, NAB!

Maybe we should have protected the jobs of town criers who roamed the streets a couple of centuries ago and not let the radio stations broadcast any of this info.


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

In a sane world they would be laughed out of the offices. The scary thing is that these jerks write such huge checks that there are many big wigs trying to figure out a way to sneak something like this through I'm sure....


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