Dispute Alert / Sirius Outlook
Attention satellite viewers… there is another programming dispute and surprisingly this time it does not involve Dish Network. At odd are satellite giant DirecTV and sports network Versus.
Its rare to see DirecTV in a public programming dispute, but according to DirecTV’s website at http://www.directv.com/versus the sports network has been running a message on viewers screens telling them that they may no longer receive the Versus channel after August 31st.
DirecTV states that they are in contract negotiations with Versus and that their contract is slated to expire on August 31st so viewers will be able to continue to enjoy programming from Versus until then.
DirecTV goes on to add that is they do not reach an agreement prior to the expiration of the contract DirecTV will remove Versus from the lineup.
In what seems like a page out of the Dish Network programming dispute playbook DirecTV also mentions on it’s web page that “DIRECTV wants to keep your monthly fees low, so it’s doing everything it can to avoid paying exorbitant programming fees.” DirecTV also goes on to add “… this is about DIRECTV getting treated fairly and not wanting to pass on high programming fees to our customers.”
I am sure seeing this has some folks at Dish Network smiling. One of Dish Networks major public disputes was over the same channel (which was then called Outdoor Life Network.) Dish dropped the channel from their lineup over a dispute in October of 2005, the channel was not returned to Dish Network until April of 2006.
Versus is known for its hockey and professional bull riding coverage, but also offers college football and Indycar racing.
We will be keeping a close eye on this one.
Sirius Happenings
If you purchased shares of Sirius XM Satellite Radio for 10 cents a share, you are probably smiling from ear to ear now that the stock is up over 65 cents a share.
But besides Sirius’s stock outlook improving so is its programming. As a long time XM subscriber I was seriously unhappy when Sirius took over and butchered the expansive play lists that us XM fans had grown to love. The quality of the music channels and the limited play lists have been complained a lot by me here in “The Satellite Dish” a lot over the past year. I was not the only one upset by the cuts; online satellite radio fan forums such as XMFan.COM were also filed with complaints.
It appears the squeaky wheels are getting some grease, as many folks (myself included) are noticing songs being played which haven’t been played since the big Sirius XM programming massacre back in November.
But things even look to be getting better, on Sirius XM’s 90’s on 9 the folks at Sirius XM have brought back folks like Mike Abrams and Priestly in hopes of bringing the channel back to it’s glory days.
Plus other channels are advertising that changes are coming, in fact as typing this I heard an ad on the 70’s channel saying “a new and improved 70’s on 7 is coming soon.”
I got to admit it it feels good to be excited about Satellite Radio again, if you would have asked me a few months ago I would have told you to avoid satellite radio as it was nothing but pay FM radio, but it appears that is changing fast and satellite radio just might be worth paying for again.
But just because Sirius XM’s programming appears to be on the rebound I would still like to see a few changes which would give Satellite Radio the personality it use to have. First off I would love to hear some live personalities on the air, most of Sirius XM is voice tracked and has that canned feel, they at least need to have folks live for mornings and the drive home. In addition some channels that have live DJ’s need to start taking requests and also having people coming on the air with their “live requests” as it gives satellite radio that personal feeling like the DJ is there for you and that they are your friends. It was personality radio like this that made channels like 60’s on 6 popular. Anyone can play music, but when you have a personality there who feels like your friend it changes the experience for the better.
I would also like to see Sirius XM return “IT” to the satellite airwaves. “IT” was done on XM every year in the summer, and what it was almost every charting hit from the 1920’s through 2000 played in order of their release. It was amazing must hear radio and was something that only satellite radio could deliver.
To make things even interesting Sirius XM will be announcing a new lineup of radios and accessories (and hopefully some programming announcements) next Wednesday as they present an invitation only Holiday Gift Guide Event in New York. (hey… I didn’t get an invite… thanks guys for thinking of me… )
But no matter how you look at things it appears up is the only direction Sirius XM can go and it appears that they are looking to make that climb up. Things are definitely looking up for satellite radio!
JVC commented:
VS was the only place I could watch the WEC.....nnnooooooooo!!!!
cable commented:
No, cable initially came out in the 50's to provide a way for people in rural areas and the suburbs to get decent reception of local stations since at the time recieving equipment wasn't that great, and neither was the transmitting equipment, it was originally called "Community Antenna TV". It wasn't until the 70's when cable providers began creating their own channels (i.e. sports, movies, music, kids programming), which eventually they began selling to other providers and transformed into ESPN, SportsChannel, HBO, MTV and Nickelodeon that it began to gain momentum. It had nothing to do with being commercial free. They simply had no commercials because the penetration wasn't high enough to sell ads in the early days. It wasn't until the mid to late 80s when people in the big cities finally saw cable as something more than just "paying to get TV" and cable became available in the cities, which lead to a larger audience, which led to enough of an audience to start selling ads. Similar to how in the early days of digital cable and channels like VH1 Classic, The N, Discovery's digital nets, etc were all commercial free until digital cable began to take off. If you would look at some of the price plans for C-Band/4DTV, which is similar to the costs cable provider pay per customer, you would see that ad supported channels like Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and MTV are only a few cents per month each, while commercial free channels like Disney Channel, HBO, Showtime, etc charge around $10, ESPN charges around that too, but that's mainly because of the cost of the rights to all those sports. So yes, the ad supporting is doing something to keep the costs down for the majority of channels.
roger commented:
Why does eveyone want to turn sirius radio into fm radio? the only reason I pay for sirius is to get away from all the ads and mindless chatter from radio djs. If you pay djs then you have to charge more for the service which means more ads or higer fees. If anyone remembers cable TV came out because over air TV had too many ads and cable bragged about being commercial free and thats how they got popular and now the fees for cable are out of control and they have tons of advertising.
seepy commented:
No Freakin DJ's... If you want personality, turn on Bubba or Howard. DJ's suck, more music.
rey commented:
sirius xm also needs to consider what is needed to improve sound quality on most of these music channels. fm radio still sounds better than sat radio. that ain't right.
8seconds commented:
I am likely one of just a handful of Vs. fans, but I WANT MY BULLRIDING! I also enjoy their outdoor shows and college football. If DirecTv drops them...I drop DirecTv. (Note to Comcast: You will not be getting me...I will go to Dish)
Paul commented:
I remember the days of XM radio when I called a stated and the DJ would pick up the phone at 10 o'clock in the evening. Would be nice to see those days again.
Gumshoe commented:
I liked and miss the personalities on what use to be the XM decades stations. CQ USA with Phlash was fun, it made the whole USA seem like your neighbor. I dearly miss hearing Matt the Cat and the Night Prowl on 50s on 5.
hockey commented:
Exactly, Comcast thinks Versus is in the position to demand a higher ammount like ESPN can just because they have the NHL and some more college football (the Tour de France doesn't count since they had it for years back when they were the Outdoor Life Network and their distribution didn't increase until they held the NHL games hostage by creating a "new" feed called "OLN Plus" as a loophole to prevent violation of existing contracts for OLN, and only offered it to providers who agreed to negotiate a higher priced contract and put them on a standard tier). Versus is only shooting themselves in the foot by alienating the fans of the one major sport they do carry by forcing EVERY SINGLE TEAM to forfeit local TV carraige the night they have a game, even if Versus is carrying a game no NHL fans care about. Even ESPN doesn't do that on Sunday Nights, they just restrict Extra Innings since they have national rights, but they have no problems with REGIONAL sports networks carrying other LOCAL games. They would have gotten the Thursday Night Football package if they didn't try to force a similar clause on the NFL by having them give up their policy of having games over the air in the local market of the teams. (i.e. how Monday Night Football is available on WWOR whenever the Giants are playing, or on WPVI whenever the Eagles are playing.) The only reason why the NHL agreed to this was because they were desperate to get a new cable deal after the strike season and ESPN turned them down, but now the fans, players and teams are beginning to speak out against this to the league and the media. I wouldn't be suprised if the NHL just ditches Versus completely when the deal is up and just stick to regional sports net for the local fans, Center Ice for the hardcore fans, NBC for playoffs, and NHL Network (where they would possibly have to take over US distribution from Comcast or attempt to find another partner like NBC Universal for cable distribution if they give up the Versus deal) for Hockey Night in Canada and TSN's Wednesday Night Hockey, since it's clear the NHL isn't drawing the type of mainstream audience that other sports do anymore.
SEK commented:
I absolutely don't want more DJs and/or more talking. I want music, and music only - with fast crossfades. Getting rid of the clutter (DJs/commercials) of FM was the reason I signed up for Sirius in the first place.
Richardo commented:
No one watches the NHL and its cable ratings prove it.
Jennifer commented:
There is a DVD movie out about the whole Sirius XM/Mel K. story called: Stock Shock. Very good flick and explains stock market manipulation as well. Stock Shock is at amazon.com and stockshockmovie.com
mlb commented:
Why would you want more personalities? Just play music on the channels, that is why I pay for Sirius.
If I want to listen to talk then I turn on the talk channels.
Fred Farrar commented:
I would guess that this is just part of a larger skirmish between DirecTV and Comcast (which owns Versus).
Perhaps if Comcast would allow DirecTV to carry its Philadelphia RSN, DirecTV might continue to allow its 18+ million subs to watch Versus.
NHL commented:
Versus is crap anyway. It's because of THEM that most of the NHL is blacked out on Tuesday nights, even if Verus isn't carrying your LOCAL game. Yep, you're really serving the interests of the fans there Comcast...
MozRU commented:
Agreed. Satellite Radio needs personalities. I am only 31, but my dad listened to 101.1 CBS FM. I grew up with Cousin Brucie - Him and the live requests turned that music alive. I now have a great appreciation for Mo-Town.
stugots50 commented:
I enjoy satellite radio because it is all music and not a bunch of DJ's talking about stuff we don't care about. If I want that I would listen to FM. That is my opinion like what you said is only yous.