Mark Ramsey Media LLC - sync radio and digital media

If you were to ask me my favorite top 10 radio stations, they would all be Sirius XM channels.  I could only think of one t-radio station that would even crack my top 20.

When it comes to picking favorites, passion matters. When it comes to convenient utilities, passion doesn’t matter. When it comes to a world of choice, passion is critical.

 And unfortunately, the money-changers have all but sucked the passion out of the radio industry.

SiriusXM music channels are commercial free. That probably accounts for a good portion of the “passion” index you’re sensing.

Passion is a function of the people creating the content and the content they create. I still see plenty of passion in the business. But there’s not nearly as much represented on the air. That had better change – or else.

That’s possible. But if you ask SXM what their most popular channels are you will find MANY that are non-music and cluttered with spots.

Of course they’ll say that. Fox News is likely on that list of faves because that audience loves to be connected to their content no matter where they are. And ESPN is probably on that list too even though that channel is the same content as their terrestrial feed. Until SXM posts actual ratings for their channels, no one really knows.

I’ve done some of their research – I know. But nothing recent. And I’m not allowed to say, anyway. Let’s just say this: Content and concept rule over commodities.

Then you know how small the audiences are at any given time on most channels. But since subscription revenue is their most important metric, they deal with it. You are absolutely right that content rules. Concepts are dependent on now well they’re executed. Commodities are replaceable.

A L
I remember years ago when Mom and Pop broadcast TV stations laughed when they heard that a “cable company” was coming to town to put up wires to string to private homes that would bring in better reception and out of town networks like WGN from Chicago. All the local broadcasters laughed when they heard that the new cable company would charge a monthly fee for there services. The Mom and Pop owners laughed and knew the public would never ever pay for TV, because there signals were free and over the air.  That was in the early 70′s and this same situation will play out with SXM and people will not think twice about paying for Radio that they really enjoy.  Where this will really hurt the radio industry will be in the younger demo’s 12-34 who know nothing about the days of “free TV” and will not think twice about for paying for radio.  They do not care if the signal comes from there city or 2,000 miles away. 
PS remember the phrase in 1981 ” I want my MTV’

I sure do! Thanks for the comments!

They will care about local if the content of what’s local is worth caring about. “Local” is either more than a street address – or much less than one.

Thanks for the comment, Allan.

as a longtime broadcaster i always considered that sirius/xm could be a threat someday and i resisted it, THEN the Economy got me and i lost my job 3 years ago, i’m still living in the same town but have changed careers, I CAN’T STAND LISTENING TO MY OLD STATION or ANY Traditional radio station, but i love music and miss it. i recently bought a new car and  Sirius/xm came with it, I LOVE IT!.. and wish i could WORK FOR THEM! but i really enjoy the music and choices.  

This makes complete sense.  How could SiriusXM not ignite interest and loyalty with their, at least compared to the average terrestrial radio station, blockbuster, star-studded, programming.  All of the big time talent they employ with their massive twitter & facebook followers, are a feedback loop providing SiriusXM with hundreds of millions of dollars in free publicity.  Is everything on their stations great, of course not.  But clearly there is a lot listeners value, hosted by some big name talent, rich with marketing tentacles to make the big waves Mark sees in his research.  The innovation in radio content isn’t happening on FM & AM, it’s happening on satellite and Internet radio.  Most content on FM/AM radio seems driven and ultimately watered down by PPM.   The PPM technology may be good for buyers and sellers but how is it impacting  consumers of FM & AM radio?  I argue, not well.   In fact, it’s doing damage.   Radio executives urgently need to rethink their audience strategy fast – they can’t seriously be ignoring the explosive growth of Internet radio as well as SiriusXM, can they?!?  It will be interesting to watch what they’ll do – either keep going down the same path they’re on now, or investing heavily in content.   If they invest in their product in a meaningful way, they still may be able to save the industry that made them rich. 

Hi Paul!

I’m not so sure PPM is even good for buyers and sellers!

But ultimately we will become the kind of industry we aspire to be: Built for passive background consumption and redundant to non-local options – or made to be loved.

[...] consistently delivered exclusive high-quality content, which has secured it a relatively small, but committed listenership. Willie Nelson hosting his radio show, photo via [...]

I think content has a lot to do with it.  I have SXM in 2 cars and at home.  I literally got to the point that I couldn’t take the same thing over and over again.  There was a station locally that played deeper tracks, but when they flipped it in 09, I subscribed to SXM immediately.  Now I’m used to the Big 40 Countdown on 80′ on 8 and the replays of AT40 on 70′s on 7.  I never listen to T-radio now.

[...] Satellite radio has had numerous up and downs since it was introduced. XM and Sirius were a duopoly up until their merger that was approved by the FCC in July 2008. Until the merger, expensive exclusive programming agreements were the norm in the industry as the two companies looked to gain an edge over each other even though terrestrial radio still dominated the viewing audience. It is becoming clear that satellite radio is getting more important to consumers. Mark Ramsey regularly does proprietary research studies for broadcasters across the country. One of his favorite metrics is identifying the “favorite station” and in markets of varying sizes the majority feature SiriusXM as one of the top 12 favorite stations or services in the market. While the company has many stations, which gives it the edge over stand alone stations, it doesn’t have near the distribution in those markets. The rise of consumer loyalty and increase in free cash flow is a major reason why the stock made a move to the upside over the last 6 months. To read the full article please visit http://www.markramseymedia.com/2012/02/siriusxm-is-stealing-your-fans/. [...]

[...] Pandora absolutely, positively shows up in my research alongside radio stations – although not as often as SiriusXM.  And this is particularly true in the larger markets, as my clients have seen firsthand.  And if [...]