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

[Mike Barraclough <softbulletin1@xxxxxxxxx>]

Not the best researched piece:

The idea that Worldspace, with 176,000 subscribers
worldwide and whose shares are now $3.92, down from
$23.29 when they opened on the market in August last
year, is proving more than a match for analogue radio
is laughable. What is the Indian financial newspaper's
agenda here? What does "growing steadily" mean, the
fact is that Worldspace is losing money and Motley
Fool say that it will run out of cash sometime next
year which is why they are seeking "further
investment".

Why Worldspace is Doomed, Motley Fool November 13th:
http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2006/commentary06111313.htm

"According to observers"- which observers and are they
independent observers? 

89.5% of UK listening is analogue despite constant
publicity for digital methods of listening so the word
"popular" needs to be put in context.

DAB does not provide CD quality sound and in any case
digital sound depends on the bit rate, processing
chain, the quality of the encoders used and how the
technicians set them. Same for DRM though the
journalist uses the vague "near CD quality" phrase and
then contradicts him or herself by saying digital
sounds is worse than analogue, presumably referring to
FM.

The UK does not plan to be fully digital by 2015.

Digital radio is no better in an urban environment
than FM, in fact it is slightly worse as it uses
higher frequencies so you need more gap filler
transmitters.

Mike

--- Richard Cuff <rdcuff@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> 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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