XM Censorship

[BlueHUMMERH2]

Why I love SIRIUS:

http://mediabiz.blogs.cnnmoney.com/2007/05/15/xm-suspends-opie-and-anthony/

XM suspends Opie and Anthony
So much for satellite radio being a medium where shock jocks can get away with anything. XM Satellite Radio (XMSR) announced Tuesday that the network was suspending Gregg ?Opie? Hughes and Anthony Cumia and ceasing to broadcast their ?Opie and Anthony? show for 30 days effective immediately.

The two came under fire last week after they aired a segment that featured a homeless person saying he wanted to have sex with Condoleeza Rice, Laura Bush and Queen Elizabeth. The two even joked about Rice being raped and punched in the face. (We?re not going to link to their comments, but for those of you who want to hear exactly what they said, the audio can be easily Googled.)

Although the shock jocks apologized on Monday?s show, XM did not seem satisifed with their remarks.

?XM Radio deplored the comments aired on ?The Opie & Anthony Show? last week. At the time, the company strongly expressed its views to Opie and Anthony, and they issued an immediate apology,? the company said in the statement.

?Comments made by Opie and Anthony on yesterday?s broadcast put into question whether they appreciate the seriousness of the matter. The management of XM Radio decided to suspend Opie and Anthony to make clear that our that our on-air talent must take seriously the responsibility that creative freedom requires of them,? the company added.

The Opie and Anthony controversy could not come at a worse time for XM, which has agreed to merge with rival Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI). That deal needs to get the approval of both the Federal Communications Commission and Justice Department - and there is a growing sense that regulatory opposition may kill the deal. Several members of Congress have also come out saying that they are against the merger.

It just goes to show that even for satellite radio, where hosts can curse and use other objectionable language since they are not being broadcast on free ?terrestrial? radio, racy comments can get on-air personalities in trouble.

So at the risk of angering many readers who flamed me when I suggested that there was no way Sirius or XM would hire Don Imus after CBS (CBS) fired him for his racist and sexist remarks about the Rutgers college women?s basketball team ?I told you so.

The fact that XM was willing to suspend Opie and Anthony is proof that offensive programming could hurt even satellite radio, a medium that does not depend on advertising dollars as free radio does. XM and Sirius do have to worry about losing subscribers if shock jocks go too far.

The suspension also demonstrates how scared the satellite radio companies are of looking like the poster children for bad behavior at a time when XM and Sirius will depend on the goodwill of the government to green-light their merger.

Many readers argued that Opie and Anthony got away with a lot because of the fact that people have to pay for satellite radio and suggested that Imus could do the same.

But it?s really starting to look like all radio hosts, whether they work for free radio or satellite, are going to be held accountable for controversial comments. And XM is making it clear that if they have to sacrifice Opie and Anthony in order to have any hope of getting approval for the Sirius merger, they will do it.


NO MERGER!

[f5fstop]

First of all, if there is NO merger, say goodbye to both Sirius and XM. The other alternative is Sirius goes under, and Worldspace comes out and takes over XM as XM goes under, and we now have an XM/Worldspace combination. Worldspace, which helped start XM, uses the same type of equipment, so taking over XM would not be as hard or costly as taking over Sirius. Both services are in bad shape. So don't hope for NO merger, unless you want to do away with satellite music.
Many analysts do not believe one service can make it, due to competition with iPods/MP3 players, and HD radio on the horizon. In addition, if it comes down to one, XM might win due to their larger supporters who are willing to invest some money. Worldspace, GM are two. Whether this will save XM, who knows?
They both are discounting their services. XM will give you the service for $77.00 per month, and per some friends I know who have Sirius, Sirius will match the price.

As for the censorship? I disagree with any type of censorship, however, it might be due to the possible merger. ("The Opie and Anthony controversy could not come at a worse time for XM, which has agreed to merge with rival Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI). That deal needs to get the approval of both the Federal Communications Commission and Justice Department - and there is a growing sense that regulatory opposition may kill the deal. Several members of Congress have also come out saying that they are against the merger.")

The censorship might have been due to this merger as the above paragraph implies.

Now, what I would like to know is where in the hell were Al and Jesse? These idiots were talking about raping a black woman, so why didn't the black leaders come out in protest over these statements. I mean, what they were saying was sure worse than "nappy headed ho." I forgot, Rice is a republican conservative so the black leaders like Al and Jesse don't care if they are insulted.

As I said, I do not agree with censorship, but I want fairness.

(I also believe, if it was reversed, and Sirius had to censor someone, they would too, they need this merger as much as XM.)

[marin8703]

i dont really know much about Opie and Anthony or their show, but what was said was the stupidest thing i have ever heard, something a retard triyng to get a laugh would say (mostly the rape part). Never found rape being funny in any way, no matter who its about. Something only a low life would think about, or even joke about. just my opinion. although i think that sat radio should not be censored, so im kinda indifferent on the matter.:)

[usetosellhummer]

Ok finally my line of work comes up. I am a 25 year radio vet. I started in 1980 and yes we sill played Casey on LP and automation was still a pipe dream. Radio stations had full staffs and a owner could only have 2 stations. One FM one AM max. Long story short, Radio is near death and sat. radio with it's debt load and tied hands cannot survive either. Computer automation, corprate multi station owners and total disreguard for the product has done this. Can you guss how many people run (including jocks) an average station in markets outside the top 25? One to four max. new formats don't even have jocks or content, Jack stations that play what they want? Sirius has a chance with the huge increases made with the addition of Howard Sten and sports programming but XM is dead, now. Gm is all they have, and HD radio is a joke. HD recivers are far off and the cost is still too hight to plug and play on exsisting radios. Broadcast radio will go back to smaller private owners (Clear Channel) My group just went private this year. Local radio will work on more local services like traffic and events to survive and make ad revanue. Local radio will hub broadcast and shrink even more. Sat. can survive if the merge happens and the FCC approves local ad inserts. They have the ability to braodcast local content via booster transmitters and downloads to your reciver. The FCC will not let this happen due to the pressure from the NAB. So the only way they will survive is to cheap sell the subscriptions and start running commericals. Commericals are comming even more then before to XM and Sirius. A take over is likely but would still be years off. The Sat companies are now breaking even but will not shuck out any more big bucks to marth Stewert or Ophra in order to keep cash flow. There is always a chance they could go private if the right jerks team up to buy them. O and A are trying to survive in a changeing radio climate, they are a product of a group of broadcasters who have no understanding of what radio is now. There is no place for new talent to grow in a ever shrinking talent base. the Larry Lujack, Shotgun Tom's and Howard Sterns gone so regular radio will be milk toast boaring commerical filled dribble. Radio is the oldest electronic media with little or no changes since Marconi and the FM dial. The I pod is going to mutate again and the CD is going to die soon. Look for an all digital product coded so the RIAA can make money and to cut down copying. I just gota fighure out what a old Disk Jocky can do besides sell cars when the next gig ends.
Radio, most forms RIP:violin:

[jdrew]

I cancelled my 3 XM subs today because of this.

BTW, they are fired (from an insider who is VERY reliable) not just suspended...

Where is this consorship going to stop?

If you dont like it, TURN IT OFF.. Don't tell me what is offensive to me.

[Steve - SanJose]

I will not tolerate censorship.

[BlueHUMMERH2]

I would like to see SIRIUS pick these guys up (if they are fired) as a kick in the pants to XM. I imagine that terrestrial broadcasters would put a largely negative spin on it though.

Personally, I think if the companies are breaking even, things are going to be ok. They expected it to be a long battle to profitability (10 years?). But I see SIRIUS is now going in a lot of new vehicles, and I think if they continue the course of no censorship, then they will earn more fans, minus the religious right... :D Truckers seem to love SIRIUS too.

And the people who thought O and A was over the edge, just spend one day listening to Stern... This is everyday on his show, and it's funny as hell. :jump: I do get annoyed when he talks about the war and some crazy hippie theories, but I loathe many of the same people he does, so it works out ok usually... :)

[f5fstop]

Sirius still has one major problem; other than not making a profit. That is, it appears to only grow the customer base with people like Howard. XM which is not growing as quickly, seems to do it without the giant draw, or cost of Howard.
I'm upset with their censorship too, but I find it ironic, and probably happened due to the possible mergre. In fact, I would almost be (almost), that they conferred with Sirius before dropping the duo.
I've had both, and ended up with XM, but, if they raise the rate any higher than 77 per year, I believe I will drop em, just as fast as I dropped Sirius a few years ago.

[usetosellhummer]

amen on the censorship. Everything is recorded and can be acessed at any time via network. I sign a 14 page fcc and corprate compliance packet every quarter. It is getting real bad I don't think it's gonna stop.
Oh and Internet radio is dead now thanks to the record labels and recording artists.

[Steve - SanJose]

Regarding internet radio, at work I use Yahoo Launchcast but I have to pay about $20/year.

[bparker]

I dont care for those two at all but I <3 SIRIUS!!

[MarineHawk]

I will not tolerate censorship.

I will not tolerate intolerance of censorship. Where will the intolerance stop?

[bparker]

r e v o l u t i o n

I will not tolerate intolerance of censorship. Where will the intolerance stop?

[MarineHawk]

I disagree with any type of censorship, ...

Are you sure? If you son's third grade teacher showed his class hard core porn, and was then fired, would that be bad censorship? It's censorship if firing O&A is.

What if, to make a joke, a radio host broadcast in serious tones that there were hijacked planes imminently heading for New York and Chicago and caused needless panic and chaos. Okay to censor by supension/firing?

I'm asking because many people say that they are against all censorship, but I suspect most are for some censorship, at least at the extreme edge. People disagree on where the line is, but I imagine, when pressed, most people would see a line somewhere.

I don't really have an opinion on O&A being fired. It was a business decision. I think what they said was despicable. If a radio show fired a host who was just really annoying to listen to, would that be bad censorship? Certainly, O&A's comment were pretty annoying to many. It's a business decision.