As a result of this type of show’s offensive practices there have been enormous fines as well as even more dire consequences to personalities known as “Shock Jocks” Though fines to these areas of broadcasting mounted up over years in most part it was tolerated until era of Janet Jackson scandal. With this broadcast scandal - tolerance went out window and in came fierce regulation of broadcast world.

Shock Jocks Turn To Satellite Radio

Like satellite television, Satellite radio is not marketed to any one demographic more than any other. The concept behind satellite radio is very basic. Satellite audio's model is a basic copy of Satellite television. XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Radio both have looked at DirecTV's success and set out to attract same market to its product.

In United States, two companies have monopolized satellite radio: XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. XM has a 100,000 Sq. Ft. broadcasting facility in Washington DC as well as some satellite offices in New York. Sirius broadcasts out of New York City. They both require a person to buy equipment ranging from $200 to $500 in order to receive signal, and they both have similar methods for dealing with spots not conducive to satellite coverage.

Originally some XM music channels had commercials, while Sirius was commercial-free. Since February 2004 XM has 68 Commercial-Free Music Channels, 33 Channels of News, Sports, Talk & Entertainment, 21 dedicated Channels of XM Instant Traffic & Weather. Sirius has 65 music-only channels as well as traffic and weather reports for major cities. XM operates on 2 geostationary satellites while Sirius uses 3 geosynchronous satellites. Both services are available mainly via portable receivers in automobiles, but both have many accessories so you can listen at home through your stereo, with a portable boombox, or online through your computer. Local repeaters, on same satellite frequencies, allow XM and Sirius's signals to be available even if view of satellite is blocked. As of June 30, 2004, XM claimed 2.1 million subscribers, and Sirius claimed 400,000.

Car manufacturers have been installing satellite radio receivers in some models for a few years now, and several models of portable satellite radio receivers are available from a variety of electronics companies

Howard Stern heads for Satellite Radio

On October 6, 2004, Stern announced on his show that he has signed a five year, $500 million deal with satellite radio service Sirius. The deal, which takes effect on January 1, 2006, would enable Stern to broadcast his show without restrictions imposed by FCC. The deal would permit Howard Stern to program two additional Sirius channels, one of which would be available at an extra charge to subscribers.

Opie and Anthony

Opie and Anthony are hosts of satellite radio program 'The Opie and Anthony Show.' The show is based in New York City and airs on XM Satellite Radio. The show was previously on WNEW-FM in New York and WAAF-FM in Boston. Opie and Anthony's crude style of entertainment has earned them status of elite of "shock jocks" The pair signed a contract with XM on August 5, 2004 and started broadcasting October 4th of same year. They had remained off-the-air for about two years as Infinity Broadcasting, their previous employer, held them to their contract as well as their no-compete clause. On XM satellite radio, O&A are no longer bound by FCC regulations regarding language and content, thus curses and pollitically incorrect humor are common on their show.

There is some concern that with initialization of satellite radio that mainstream media will begin to be monoplized by a few companies and many radio stations go off air. Though it is important to safe guard media from monopolization of few, future of airwaves are in heavens with satellite radio.

Established and popular: XM satellite radio has been around a little longer than Sirius. It also has a higher subscriber base of over two million compares to Sirius, which has under one million.

Quality and clarity: There really isn’t much in it when it comes to quality and clarity of sound. Because XM and Sirius are both satellite radio providers, listeners can enjoy crystal clear sound and uninterrupted entertainment with either of these services. With both services available across Continental United States you can enjoy widespread digital entertainment wherever you are in country.

Choice: Again, there is not much in it when it comes to choice. Both XM radio and Sirius can offer over one hundred channels of music, entertainment, news and even commercial-free entertainment. Because of choice available with both of these providers, there is likely to be something to suit every taste with both XM and Sirius satellite radio. However, there are some differences in programming choice – although both do offer plenty of choice. It may be worth looking at actual programs themselves to see which service will offer most channels that suit your tastes and needs.

Cost of service: There is a slight difference in price when it comes to monthly subscription fees. With XM radio you can enjoy a monthly subscription fee of $9.99. With Sirius, monthly subscription fee is $12.95. However, Sirius also offers a range of block subscription options, and these can help to dramatically reduce cost of subscribing to its satellite radio service.

Activation fees: You can activate your service with XM radio for $9.99 via website, and if you wish to activate by phone it will cost you $14.99. To activate Sirius via website will cost you $5.00 and to activate via phone will cost $15.00.

Cancellation procedures: You can cancel both Sirius and XM at anytime. If you cancel Sirius prior to expiration of a prepaid subscription you may receive a refund of any unused subscription fee. If you cancel XM before expiration of a prepaid subscription you will also receive a refund of unused subscription, but you may be charged a cancellation fee of $75.00.

Listening online: You can listen online with both Sirius and XM. With Sirius this service is already included as part of monthly subscription cost, With XM you have to pay an additional $3.99 per month for this service.

Additional radios: You can get these with both Sirius and XM. You can get 2-4 additional radios with Sirius at $6.99 per month, and 2-5 with XM for same cost of $6.00 per month.

Subscription costs: The subscription costs and formats differ slightly between Sirius and XM. The structure is as follows:

Sirius

$12.95 per month $142.45 per year $271.95 per two years $499.99 for a lifetime

XM $9.99 per month $199 per two years $289 per three years $369 per four years $449 per five years

Conclusion

Based on service, choice, and quality it is very difficult to determine whether one service is better than other. Clearly Sirius offers more cost effect subscription options, and on other hand XM is longest standing and most popular of two services. The service providers you select will be largely based on your needs and your budget.

The best way to ascertain which is going to be best satellite radio service provider for your needs is to make comparisons, which can be easily done online. Compare reviews from other users, compare cost of receivers and other equipment, and compare programming choice available from each of these providers.

Whether you select Sirius or whether you go for XM you will still be able to enjoy high definition satellite radio, crystal clear sound, over one hundred channels of pure entertainment, and widespread accessibility. Making some comparisons will enable you to determine whether one satellite radio providers offers anything over and above other that will meets your specific needs or provide a more cost effective option for you.