The Developmental Potential of Sirius
Somewhere in space, three satellites in a tundra orbit over North America and modestly representing what could very well be the future of radio entertainment— digital satellite radio. These three satellites allow listeners access to hundreds of channels, a range far outnumbering the capacity of terrestrial radio. Sirius satellite radio’s business model is cable for radio—a pay-for-service radio free of commercials and with a whole new world of expanded options. What are some of the defining characteristics of satellite radio?
Satellite radio does not have a standardized station model; listeners pay for the content they enjoy, often times prepaying for three months at a time. Other fees include the purchase of the Sirius or XM receiver (or additional receivers) and accessories. Whenever Sirius-enabled radios play the user can see the artist and song information appear, in like manner to a DVD or iPod system.
Satellite radio has also explored new technology for interactive entertainment as well as profitable partnerships. Sirius has worked with the Dish Network in providing free music channels to some satellite providers and also launched its own brand of Sirius Internet Radio, with 78 of its 135 channels now accessible on the Web. Sirius receivers are now available for most of of the top car manufacturers in the world, including Chrysler, Jaguar, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota and Volvo, among others. Rolls-Royce has gone one-step further and offered a lifetime Sirius Radio subscription as part of the cars standard equipment. Sirius has signed exclusive periodic contracts first with VW until 2008 and then Kia until 2014.
What are some of the most popular radio models from Sirius? There’s the Sirius Sportster 5 plug and play radio with color screen, while the Sirius Stiletto 100 is a portable Sirius radio that allows subscribers to listen to live programming. The Stiletto gives users two gigabytes of memory, which is about 100 hours of recording, and also features Wi-Fi technology. True to form, Sirius has continued to forge relationships with new partners such as Yahoo and Napster in finding additional content for the Stiletto.
Sirius has also made great endeavors online—that other digital planet of an entertainment and news medium. Sirius subscribers can access all of the proprietary music channels and many of the talk stations through the web, as stream media, through the official Sirius.com website. Yahoo has partnered with Sirius to in the creation of the browser-based player called the Yahoo! Widget, which resembles a Sirius Sportster model, and there is also a Sirius Internet Radio Player. Sirius’ Internet presence is gaining a following in its own right. Sirius offers special accommodations for its Linux users, who can hear streaming online channels without Windows Media Player or a web browser. Meanwhile, the Howard Stern Show streams content via a Java application. When it comes to Macintosh, users can use specially designed players the StarPlayr or the SiriusMac for a compatible solution.
When it comes to exploring the potential of satellite radio, the content is just the beginning of the universe and Sirius remains the Dog Star, possibly the brightest star in the sky.