29 E. Pleasant Ave. Maywood, NJ
[email protected]
To Dr. Beaton and
to everyone in the community
Dear community,
I am submitting this proposal in order to show the benefits of Satellite radio.
Sincerely,
Frederick J. Henkel Jr.
Sirius-XM Satellite Radio
Frederick J. Henkel Jr.
Technical Writing 352-453
October 29, 2008
Table of Contents
Executive Summery…………………………………………………………….1
Background……………………………………………………………………..2
Receiver units...………………………………………………………………....3
Programming……………………………………………………………………4
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………5
References ………………………………………………………………………5
Annotative Bibliography...………………………………………………………6
Executive Summary
Imagine this common scenario; you have a twenty minute drive to work. You get
into your vehicle and turn on the radio to listen to music and there is a block of
commercials playing. You then find yourself scanning the radio dial for other channels
that aren’t in commercial breaks. You finally find a channel that is playing a song that
you like and the second it is over there is another commercial break. Before you know it,
you are pulling up to your job and have only heard half of one song that you liked.
This scenario is a common place among radio listeners. I know I would become
frustrated changing the radio dial to find the one or two radio stations that played music I
liked. When I did finally find a song it would usually be half over then immediately when
it was over more commercial would start and I’m back at square one searching for radio
stations that are playing music. I propose to you a solution to this entire searching and
commercial advertising overload.
The solution to these problems is broadcasting right above your head, Satellite
radio. Satellite radio has been broadcasting commercial free music since July 1, 2002. In
this proposal I will factually state out the overall benefits of satellite radio vs. regular
radio. The satellite radio medium is more that the average radio listener thinks it is. It is a
breakthrough technology that allows you to listen to music nonstop without changing
stations. The satellite medium also allows the listener to hear the music the way the artist
meant it to be heard, digitally broadcast and unedited.
1
Background
In this proposal I’ll strive to give the reader a good understanding of the Satellite
radio uprising. Within the proposal I’ll convince the reader that the satellite radio services
that one receives is well worth the 43 cents a day. The subscriber to the service receives
more than just commercial-free music it is also a source of 24 hour sports, talk radio and
local traffic and weather. At any time of the day or night one can turn on his/her satellite
radio and get hundreds of different channels on a single FM frequency they’ve chosen.
Sirius satellite radio officially started broadcasting on July 1, 2002; from that day
forth regular radio had a formidable competitor to contend with. Sirius also known to
astrologers as the “Dog Star” was founded as Satellite CD Radio, Inc., and founded by
David Margolese. From its headquarters in New York City “it currently provides 69
streams (channels) of music and 65 streams of sports, news and entertainment to
listeners. Music streams on Sirius carry a wide variety of genres, broadcasting 24 hours
daily, commercial-free, and uncensored.” [1] This type of radio broadcasting is unheardof in the everyday radio channels you find on your FM or AM dial.
On July 29, 2008, Sirius merged with its rival satellite company XM forming the
now Sirius XM radio. With this merger intact, Sirius XM now provides services from
both companies for a nominal fee. Within three months after its merger it provided a now
receiver that was able to pick up broadcast from both Sirius satellites and XM satellites.
With these new receivers the subscriber now has the option of “A-La-Carte pricing” [1].
This gives the subscriber the option of removing certain channels of programming from
Sirius XM that they do now want therefore reducing their monthly subscription
payments.
2
Receiver units
There is a multitude of Sirius receiver units that one can choose from. All of
which are geared to fit any price range. Here are a few examples of Sirius’s products:
This is the InV2 satellite radio receiver $39.99
Figure 1- InV2 Radio [2]
This is the Stratus 5 Satellite receiver $49.99
Figure 2 – Stratus 5 [2]
This is the Starmate 5 receiver $129.99
Figure 3 – Starmate 5 [2]
This is the portable Stilleto 2 radio receiver $279.99
Figure 4 – Stilleto 2 [2]
The receiver is a separate purchase than the subscription. It is necessary for the
subscriber to purchase at least one of the satellite receivers to receive satellite services.
All of these receivers with exception to the “Stilleto 2” [2] are for car set-up. There are a
multitude of different receivers based for car usage, home entertainment, and portable.
With exception to the Stilleto 2, most if not all the other satellite receivers have a FM
transmitter. This allows the subscriber to choose a FM station (preferable un-used) and
transmit a FM signal from the satellite receiver to the subscribers in car/home radio.
3
Programming
One of the main reasons for getting satellite radio is for the 24 hour commercialfree music. Programming consists of: “Music, News/Talk, Sports, and Entertainment.
Within each category there are multiple channels that present a wide variety of subgenres. For example the Music category sub-divides into streams for Rock, Pop, and
Country, Hip F Hop/R&B, Jazz/Blues – and within each stream there are channels for
various sub-sections. An example of the variety of music offerings available would be the
22 channels playing different sub-genres of rock.”[1] Satellite radio is what you want; it
provides so many genres of music, that it’s all but impossible for there not to be
something for everyone.
One of the big advantages of this programming is that it is commercial-free. There
is no more need for a person to suffer through cheesy radio commercials anymore. Now
don’t get me wrong, there are commercials on satellite radio but they are on the Talk
channels and are a total of six minutes long within an hour. These breaks are used mainly
for the talent so they can have a chance to use the bathroom or get something to eat or
drink. Arbitron did a survey in 2006 stating that “On Average, radio commercial breaks
hold more than 92% of its lead-in audience”[3], this means that even though commercials
come on the person in the car or office will listen to them despite not caring what they are
selling. The radio consumer has taken back his/her listening rights. The listener should
have the common sense to choose what they want to listen to. This next graph is the
amount of subscribers that choose to be free of commercial radio and felt that satellite
radio was the medium to do it.
Number
Of
People
In
Millions
Figure 5 – Graph of the # of subscribers to Satellite Radio [1]
4
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you like to listen to commercials on your radio now, and you like
playing the game of “find the right Station” on your radio dial this product isn’t for you.
For everyone else that prefers to hear their music in a digital format, and people who are
fed up with trying to tune in the right station. Also for those people who hate having to
listen through commercial after commercial on the radio, Sirius XM Radio is for you.
The subscription cost is 43 cents on the dollar a day, that price is roughly three times
cheaper than your coffee that you buy at the deli everyday. Over the course of 6 months I
can all but promise that if you have satellite radio, you will never want to go back to
listening to regular radio anymore.
References
1. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirius_Satellite_Radio
2. Sirius Satellite Radio, < http://www.sirius.com/
3. “What Happens When the Spots Come On” The Impact of Commercials on the Radio
Audience, A study presented by: Bill Rose (Arbitron Inc.), Philippe Generali (Media
Monitors, LLC), and Jon Coleman (Coleman),
<http://www.arbitron.com/study/ppm_spot_study.asp
5
Annotated Bibliography
1) Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirius_Satellite_Radio,
accessed October 21, 2008
This is a very useful website. There is a lot of background information that will be
very helpful. This webpage has a lot of data that I will be using in my proposal; it
also provides me with one or two data graphs that will be useful.
2) Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_Radio>,
accessed October 21, 2008
This is another good webpage I will use. There isn’t as much data that I will use
from this page. It basically helps me understand HD Radios a little better, and also
expresses HD’s shortcomings.
3) Sirius Satellite Radio, < http://www.sirius.com/>, accessed October 22, 2008
This is the company’s website. I will use this website for its products data. I don’t
think I will get much data out of this website due to its sales pitch of its product.
4) “What Happens When the Spots Come On” The Impact of Commercials on the Radio
Audience, A study presented by: Bill Rose (Arbitron Inc.), Philippe Generali (Media
Monitors, LLC), and Jon Coleman (Coleman),
<http://www.arbitron.com/study/ppm_spot_study.asp>, accessed October 22, 2008
This study helped me get information of the average time people listen to
commercial on regular radio networks. It has a lot of information that could be
viable in my proposal. Including multiple graphs I could possibly use.
6