[Swprograms] OT: Fwd: [uk-radio-listeners] Satellite v/s digital radio: A divided world

["Richard Cuff" <rdcuff@xxxxxxxxx>]

Of possible interest to some here...

Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA  USA

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mike Terry <miketerry73@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Nov 20, 2006 2:59 PM
Subject: [uk-radio-listeners] Satellite v/s digital radio: A divided world
To: DXLD <dxld@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, uk radio listeners
<uk-radio-listeners@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, BDXC News
<bdxc-news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>


November 20, 2006

Digital and satellite radio are proving to be rivals in many parts of the
globe.

In the last few years, three companies have taken the global radio industry
by storm-Sirius, XM and Worldspace. What is common between them is that they
are broadcasters of satellite radio-a technology that is proving to be more
than a match to terrestrial radio, which uses the analogue mode to broadcast
AM and FM stations.

A recently-released PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report in India points out
that satellite radio will significantly increase the availability and choice
of stations in the world. It is projected to improve spending on radio in
the United States and Canada-markets that have adopted the technology well.

A point worth noting here is that satellite radio is a subscription-based
service, not advertising-led as is the case with terrestrial radio. So the
increase in revenues projected will be in terms of subscription, not
advertising. According to observers, the beauty of the medium lies in its
clutter-free, clear-sound, multiple-choice environment-something that
terrestrial radio has failed to address. It allows the transmission of niche
channels since a number of stations can be squeezed into a small bandwidth.

Like direct-to-home television, where a dish antenna with a clear
line-of-sight to the sky transmits signals directly to a viewer's TV set via
a set-top-box, satellite radio requires a similar mode of broadcast. A clear
line-of-sight is necessary between the antenna and radio receiver. What has
worked for Sirius and XM in the US is the deals they have struck with
automakers to install in-car receivers to improve overall penetration.

Almost all major players including General Motors, Ford, Nissan, Toyota,
Hyundai, Volkswagen and BMW have partnered with either Sirius or XM for
installing the service in the US.

The trend is no different in Canada where Sirius and XM are speaking with
automakers to install in-car receivers.

Though the one-time cost of a satellite radio receiver is almost $300 (or Rs
13,500), listeners do not seem to be perturbed with it. US companies XM and
Sirius claim to have subscribers of about 7.19 million and 5.12 million in
their country of origin. Worldspace, in comparison, has smaller numbers, but
is growing steadily in the Asia-Pacific, Africa and Middle East.

If satellite radio is transforming the audio world so is digital radio. The
latter is a popular platform in the UK and parts of Europe and the Middle
East. In fact, digital audio broadcasting (DAB) has a 10% penetration in
Britain. DAB, like satellite radio, permits the transmission of a number of
stations within a small bandwidth.

Radio stations on DAB are multiplexed, which means that a number of stations
are transmitted on the same frequency. In the analogue mode of transmission
on terrestrial radio, each station requires a separate frequency consuming
more bandwidth in the process.

DAB provides CD-quality sound in comparison to DRM or Digital Radio
Mondiale, which provides near-CD-quality sound. However, a frequent charge
levied on DAB is that the radio stations on the platform sound worse than
analogue stations.

Despite this, PwC says that the penetration of digital radio will improve
over the next five-10 years in the world, especially, in Europe. Britain,
Germany and Netherlands, in particular, plan to become fully digital by
2015. Sweden saw an improvement in radio advertising with the introduction
of a DAB multiplex two years ago. Unlike satellite radio, which requires
large land masses for able transmission, digital radio works well in an
urban environment. A similar characteristic can be observed in digital cable
as against DTH, which requires open spaces.

However, with both satellite and digital radio out to grab market share,
there is no denying the loss to terrestrial radio. Already terrestrial
broadcasters are fighting a bitter war with satellite broadcasters in the
US, accusing them of non-compliance with regulator Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) rules.

In the APAC region, digital radio is likely to outdo satellite radio with
numerous forays round the corner, according to PwC. Of course, in India, the
graduation to
digital radio will be slow since it requires installing completely new
equipment by the operator.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=146876






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