# NAB's Rehr Attacks Satellite Radio



## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

David Rehr of the National Association of Broadcasters had a lot of things to say during his opening address before the organization's annual gig in Las Vegas. He talked retransmission consent, educating the public about the digital TV transition and broadcasters embracing new technology.

But Rehr also on Monday had harsh words to say for competing platforms. And satellite radio dominated early portions of his attacks.

Said the NAB's top guy, "Satellite radio has supposedly 10 million subscribers total. But 260 million people listened to broadcast radio last week alone."

Rehr also pointed to the losses incurred by satellite radio. "Its (satellite radio) business model is bankrupt. And this is even before our own digital HD radio has kicked in," he said.

If broadcasters are going to win the fight against satellite radio, they will need to keep a local focus, Rehr said.

"Our localism, our connection to the community, is also an advantage &#8230; an irreplaceable advantage," he said. "Helping the community is obviously a social good. Helping the community is also broadcasting's business plan and, frankly, it is our brand. We must continue to be evangelical about our community service and about our community content."

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


----------



## LtMunst (Aug 24, 2005)

Chris Blount said:


> ...... And this is even before our own digital HD radio has kicked in," he said.


If the NAB thinks digital radio is the solution to their problems, they are in for a big surprise. Nobody is switching to Satellite radio because of the better sound quality. They are switching for the programming. No amount of improved "HD quality" sound from the local broadcaster is going to change that.


----------



## rjruby (Dec 29, 2002)

Remember AM stereo?
That didn't exactly set the world on fire with the consumer.


----------



## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

I chose the XM service (online XM radio, not exactly satellite) so I COULD HAVE consistent quality as I travel from city to city. Local radio cannot offer that service. If the online rado doesn't cut it over the long haul, I may switch to the satellite version. One service can't be all things to all people. Today, these broadcasters need to understand that they serve a niche market.


----------



## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

Localism? Then why is it that conglomerates buy up all the local channels, fire all the local talent and run voice-tracked programming from corporate headquarters saturated with 25 minutes of commercials? You have NO connection to the community Mr. Rehr when you FIRE all the locals!

Oh yeah - local COMMERCIALS. They want all those car dealers and restaurants buying time on their channel.


----------



## lifterguy (Dec 22, 2003)

djlong said:


> Localism? Then why is it that conglomerates buy up all the local channels, fire all the local talent and run voice-tracked programming from corporate headquarters saturated with 25 minutes of commercials? You have NO connection to the community Mr. Rehr when you FIRE all the locals!
> 
> Oh yeah - local COMMERCIALS. They want all those car dealers and restaurants buying time on their channel.


Bravo! I agree completely. Broadcasters need to do more than pay lip service to local programming. Industry consolidation has devestated smaller communities where radio stations used to have local news, call-in talk shows, farm reports, etc. Now those stations just have generic satellite feeds (with local commercials of course.)


----------



## georgecostanza (Jan 11, 2005)

Didn't the folks at terrestrial radio say no one was going to subscribe to satellite radio because you have to buy additional hardware, but everyone's going to run out and buy an HD radio right? also, sitting through 30 minutes of commercials in crystal clear digital sound doesn't sound too exciting to me.


----------



## psnarula (Aug 13, 2005)

djlong said:


> Localism? Then why is it that conglomerates buy up all the local channels, fire all the local talent and run voice-tracked programming from corporate headquarters saturated with 25 minutes of commercials? You have NO connection to the community Mr. Rehr when you FIRE all the locals!
> 
> Oh yeah - local COMMERCIALS. They want all those car dealers and restaurants buying time on their channel.


thank you for saying exactly what i was thinking when i read the original quote. the idea is laughable. clear channel communications and inifinty broadcasting have changed the face of broadcast radio in the last 15 years and the change is not good. i basically only listen to NPR news and classical music these days.


----------



## LtMunst (Aug 24, 2005)

flemingljr said:


> Didn't the folks at terrestrial radio say no one was going to subscribe to satellite radio because you have to buy additional hardware, but everyone's going to run out and buy an HD radio right? also, sitting through 30 minutes of commercials in crystal clear digital sound doesn't sound too exciting to me.


Exactly. If anything, the switch to HD radio will probably cause even more people to jump to satellite. If you end up going to Best Buy for that HD radio, the cheap satellite radio will be right next to it. Hmmm, big decision...spend $$s for this new HD radio which gets me crystal clear commercials and the same 10 songs repeated incessantly by the locals, or... spend $$s for a Sat radio which gives me crystal clear almost limitless programming.

No brainer.


----------



## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

This only proves one thing, terrestrial radio is running scared of satellite radio. HD Radio will be the AM Stereo of the early 2000s, I have no doubt about that.



> "Satellite radio has supposedly 10 million subscribers total. But 260 million people listened to broadcast radio last week alone."


This is the same joker who 4 years ago probably said satellite radio won't get a dozen subscribers and the industry won't last more then 6 months. 10 million in under 5 years, that sounds good to me.

What localism? Car commercials every 3 songs? At work I head a clip from our local rock station 'Now playing 5 songs in a row'. A few hours later when I had to go to the back of the plant I head a station ID, 'We're Saving you $12 bucks a month"

Local radio is sad. This Friday I will be buying a Starmate Replay for my truck, so I have both XM and Sirius in my truck as well as home. $39.96/month spent on radio, money well spent! Now I'll have to get a Sirius decal for my rear windshield to put besides my XM decal. When I'm traveling and see a radio station van, if I can, I'll get ahead of them so they see my XM sticker, and whatever station it is, I'll set my FM mod to that frequency since the driver is most likely the on air personality and most likely listening to that station.

I hate FM radio.


----------



## pez2002 (Dec 13, 2002)

xm rules xm rules 

ok you get the point


i find myself listening to xmlm alot latley 

and i was never into metal thanks xm


----------



## WRBreland (Jul 26, 2004)

I think Mr. Rehr overlooked other important areas of music availability and competition. Music via Dish Network, DirecTV, local cable operators and Internet streaming. I have subscribed to Music Choice or Dish Music for over 12 years. Reason: Good quality, available 24/7 and NO DA commercials.


----------



## reddice (Feb 18, 2003)

I finally convertered my uncle over to satellite radio. He has always listened to FM radio but stopped and it probably was because of all of the commercials. (Christmas was patheitc opening the gift and having to hear commercials. Even that day is not ad free nomore on FM) I gave him my extra radio (Myfi because it had terrible portable reception and the headphone jack broke) and he listing to it. It is hooked up to his home stereo. He won't pay for radio, he does not even know you have to pay for it so I am paying the extra $6.99 but at least he does not have to listen to FM anymore.

HD radio is a joke anyway. The receivers are expensive and they say the extra HD stations are ad free for now but they will carry many commericals. The only thing HD might have a small advantage is reception but as long as you don't use XM as a portable, reception should be fine.


----------



## GeorgeLV (Jan 1, 2006)

I'll never go back to 20 minute commercial blocks and playlists that repeat every hour.


----------



## greatwhitenorth (Jul 18, 2005)

As a former disk jockey who has thrown up his hands with local radio, I can say that Rehr has no idea what's happened to his industry. The idea of "localism" is a farce. Even if you are "live" in a market, sounding local has always been discouraged. You are ridiculed by your peers, and makes getting a job in a bigger market much more difficult. 

One of my most rewarding jobs was running a station in a small coastal town of about 4,000 people. We were painfully local, running very little national news, only syndicated programming was the overnight, and on top of every little thing happening in the community. Our ad inventory was usually sold out, and advertisers and the audience loved us because we knew what was going on. After I left, Clear Channel bought the station and moved the studios out of town to a larger town to increase ad revenue. Now the station has no relevance to its city of license. 

Although I had a great time with my radio career, and am proud of what I accomplished, I have given up on terrestrial radio. 

Happy Sirius customer for over a year now!


----------



## SamC (Jan 20, 2003)

I think my area is pretty typical of most small markets. While the two towns I live in between form on TV market, they are seperate radio markets, so I get to count both. 

Localism. There are four main ownership groups. One is an NYSE traded mega-corp, two are closely owned corporations from out of town, one is a local rich guy who is an out of town owner in other cities he owns stations in. 

All of the major format stations on AM and FM are programmed from afar, most a run by automation. The ONLY exception is the AM talkers, which, have a very few hours of local talk, and some local college sports.

And the popular formats are filled with commercials.


----------



## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

Chris Blount said:


> "Our localism, our connection to the community, is also an advantage &#8230; an irreplaceable advantage," he said.


!rolling

The only connection to the community is the advertising dollar. Period. These megacorps in the major markets often combine the operations of several stations under one roof, and then only need about 5 people to run the station. Everything else can be automated and satellite delivered. As a result, blandness from coast to coast.

Yet, can I get out of market stations? Heaven forbid.

If satellite radio wasn't a threat, how come I am hearing ads that have the line "Radio... you shouldn't have to pay for it."


----------

