Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
scott@scottlongonline.com
Many of you know that I'm a gadget guy, loving the latest and greatest tech toy that's out. I have my Sidekick II, my iPod and iPod Shuffle, my Tivo, but there's something different about XM and it evokes something. While sometimes I prefer my iPod - if I'm moving around, jumping in and out of the car doing errands, etc - the XM is one of the most amazing things I've experienced and it truly changes the metaphor on radio.
For someone who works in radio, this is important. XM changes *all* the rules and is truly a disruptive technology to a couple industries. First, for radio stations (largely a small group of conglomerates such as Clear Channel, Infinity, Cumulus, and a handfull of others), it's instant competition that drives people from their ad-based model. For car companies, it changes how they design cars. Acura is the first to showcase XM's traffic technology that not only alerts the driver to problems, but works with the GPS system to select the best alternate route. It's amazing.
XM does have competition in Sirius, but most of what I have to say about XM holds true for Sirius. The difference is in content. Where XM has focused on original content, Sirius has gone for the big name like Howard Stern or Martha Stewart. I'm not sure which will be more successful, but I don't think this is an either/or situation. Both can exist and at some point, there's likely to be some kind of convergence if they can't hit critical mass as two entities.
I chose XM because it came standard in my best friend's car with 3 months of service. We took a quick road trip and by the time we got back, I was hooked. Hundreds of channels, coast to coast? Music you don't hear normally? Niche channels that give everyone a bunch of things they'll like? Add in the MLB package and wow, wow, wow.
What's most interesting to me is that I don't listen to XM like I listen to radio. Partially, that's a function of choice - I can't switch between hundreds of channels of normal radio - but it's also a function of how I think about the freedom of XM. Need some charging music? Fred (44) has the alternative stuff. Need to tone down? XM Cafe (45) is only one click away. News? Sports? Baseball? Top 20? Alt.country? Whatever mood strikes, there's a channel for it and my moods can change quickly. Of course, there's some default channels like XM Comedy (150) where I know I'll likely stay a while.
It's not perfect, but XM deserves a close look by you, the consumer, if you haven't already and by us, the analysts. Scott and I are both XM enthusiasts and two people that aren't satisfied with great. We'll be looking at XM with our unique lenses more often here on The Juice, so hopefully, you can tune in.
Now, back to the baseball, music, porn and steroids ...
I can also listen to them via internet.
Of course, MLBs deal is with XM and the NFL is with Sirius. So for baseball Sirius is not a serious option (yet).
Satellite radio has so many options to listen to. It's great.
The bridge/tunnel thing is there, but XM uses about a five second buffer so it has to be a pretty big tunnel. XM also has a network of ground repeaters in urban areas so buildings don't create problems.
The MLB package ISNT on the net stream, so don't rely on that.
An alternative, at work and home if you have broadband, is the streaming audio from MLB. Fifteen bucks for the whole season, choice of home or visitor broadcasts, and good streaming sound quality. Doesn't help you in a car though.
On the other hand, I drove through the blue ridge mountains only occasionally losing reception briefly in dense forests. Since you can almost never get a radio station in those parts, it was really cool.
Even locally, I occasionally get drops when I pass large trees situated south/southwest of me.
I can't not afford it now that I have it. If it weren't for small children and their need for PBS Kids, I would probably drop satellite TV before I'd drop XM. But I'm not much of a TV watcher except for sports.
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