[BC] death of portable radio

[Rich Wood]

------ At 04:11 PM 7/27/2005, Scott Cason wrote: -------

>Everyone will just be listening to the portable XM and Sirius radios.

Not in my market, they won't. Western MA isn't worthy of terrestrial 
transmitters. My portable receiver would only work outdoors. I have a 
nice screened-in porch on the house. It's a great place to read the 
newspaper, have a cold drink and listen to the radio. Unfortunately, 
it has a roof. I have a SIRIUS portable (the unportable one). I have 
to extend the antenna to where it sees the sky. I doubt the portable 
antennas are less critical in requiring a clear path to the satellite.

>While the lawyers fight it out in court, XM and Sirius subscribers will be
>pushed over the 30 million mark by 2010.

Lawyers fighting in court won't have any effect on radio. It may 
delay IBOC and save radio for a while. I think the false assumption 
here is that radio needs IBOC. I also think it may be a false 
assumption that satellite programming won't find itself subject to 
the same complaints radio is hearing now. Not live. Not local. 
Predictable. Blah. Blah. Blah. I've had both services for about 2 
years. I find them becoming sterile versions of terrestrial radio and 
don't listen as often as I used to.

That 30 million mark may be helped along by IBOC interference once 
enough stations are online to irritate listeners enough to look for an option.

Predicting life and death in the entertainment industry isn't very accurate.

Rich