The Wires (Mar 3, 2007)

Letter from XM Radio: In an open letter to XM customers published in today's USA Today, the company said: "As long as you are an XM subscriber, your XM radio will continue to receive XM's great programming. Following the merger, XM expects that the existing radios will be able to receive a mix of programming from both services"

Excerpts:

WASHINGTON, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- XM Satellite Radio, which recently joined Sirius in announcing plans to merge to form the nation's premier audio entertainment service, today put a stake in the ground to remain focused on existing consumers and prospective subscribers by announcing the XM Customer Promise. This Promise was issued to XM's more than 7.6 million existing subscribers and to consumers who are considering purchasing the industry- leading XM service.

The Customer Promise, signed by Chairman, Gary Parsons, CEO, Hugh Panero, President and COO, Nate Davis, reiterates that existing XM radios will continue to feature XM's stellar programming before and after the merger.

The merged company will be able to provide consumers with even better programming and more choices. The merger is expected to be completed in late 2007.

In an open letter to XM customers published in today's USA Today, the company said: "As long as you are an XM subscriber, your XM radio will continue to receive XM's great programming. Following the merger, XM expects that the existing radios will be able to receive a mix of programming from both services."

The company's letter also said: "XM's programming, including Major League Baseball, Oprah & Friends, Bob Dylan, Opie & Anthony and commercial-free music channels will not be interrupted by the merger. In the future, we will be able to offer the best of both companies' programming."

XM said that customers with questions are encouraged to visit the new portion of the XM website dedicated to consumer input and updates on XM's business throughout the merger process at http://www.xmradio.com/promise. While on the site, consumers are encouraged to sign up for The Signal, XM's weekly customer e-mail that provides updates on XM's programming, promotions and, now, also on the merger.

Existing consumers can also contact XM Listener Care at 1-800-XM-RADIO (1-800-967-2346)

Kim Komando: HDTV 101: What you need to know

Let the Equimas Shopping Season Begin (Mar 1, 2007)

Season's greetings from SDN.

Deathwatch: CompUSA (Mar 1, 2007)

CompUSA has announced that they're closing 126 stores including four in San Diego and all in the Southern California area.

The closest CompUSA store that will be open will be one located in Santa Barbara, some 210 miles up the coast.

The restructuring will leave CompUSA with 103 stores in 39 states and Puerto Rico.

The eight CompUSA stores to remain in California are in Bakersfield, Emeryville, Fresno, San Bruno, downtown San Francisco, San Rafael, Santa Barbara/Goleta and Santa Rosa.

What's happened to CompUSA over the years is that they stretched themselves too thin, adding a cell phone counter and a HDTV section, turning CompUSA into a small version of Best Buy or Circuit City, straying so far from the core of computers that was once the sole focus of the store's direction.

Nobody can do cell phone service right in the USA with every company that I heard of crippling the cell phone circuits so that you can't use one cell phone with any given cell phone provider. That's why I won't buy a cell phone. I want some legislative action going to outlaw contracts and force the cell phone makers to make the phones work with any service provider that they choose to use and all of the basic telephone functions working universally. Who cares about cameras and mp3 features? Buy a separate mp3 player and separate camera for those capabilities.

The Wires (Mar 1, 2007)

Radiosophy: (SDN Note: this is not a paid advertisement and the product is not endorsed by SDN) Radiosophy is now selling and shipping the Radiosophy MultiStream HD, the world's first transportable HD Radio receiver. “We’re excited to be shipping MultiStream™ HD Radiothe MultiStream HD to the loyal customers who have waited patiently with us throughout the extended design and manufacturing process,” commented Bill Billings, founder and Chief Technical Officer. "We feel this radio is well worth the wait."

The Wires (Feb 28, 2007)

Happy Hare: In 1949, When I left Galveston to do afternoon drive at KLAC in Los Angeles, I had to relearn words that I had used all my life, like “greasy” which I pronounced like the “s” was a “z”…I said, “grea-zee” and had to learn to make the “s” hard, the way it is pronounced in Omaha and network radio. It was Betty White, while working at KLAC with me, who said sweetly, “Harry, darling, the word is “or-chestra” with an “o”, not “arkestra,” as in Noah’s ark.” My friends looked at me “ kinda strange” when I visited Galveston, and began laying mid-western American English on them. My boyhood friend, Louie, was shocked. “Harreh!” he said, “What the hay-ul happund to yore Texas Ak-sayent?"

House Leader Pledges To "Vigorously Oversee" FCC Rule Rewrite. Promising to keep a close eye on the FCC's ongoing media ownership rule review, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell today said that he believes a diversity of voices is the best way to "protect a strong democracy.

The Wires (Feb 27, 2007)

Universal Wi-Fi is Coming! Veteran industry analyst Jerry Del Colliano recently issued a warning to terrestrial radio broadcasters and satellite radio operators: ready or not, universal Wi-Fi is coming, and it will propel Internet radio's popularity with it. Read more about why Del Colliano argues that ubiquitious Wi-Fi could spell disaster for broadcasters who don't start preparing their products and services now, all in today's issue of RAIN: Radio And Internet Newsletter, at http://www.kurthanson.com.

Excerpts:

"When universal WiFi or its equivalent is available and consumers can take the Internet with them then it's all over for radio. Ditto for satellite radio.

"That is, of course, assuming that terrestrial radio broadcasters don't have an epiphany soon and decide to get into the wifiInternet radio business. Ditto for satellite. So far, the excuses are pretty lame.

"Radio is a fading industry thanks to the misdirected major consolidators. They've lost the next generation as they migrated to their mobile devices and the Internet. So what does that say? Well, nokiawhen they are not fighting Arbitron's People Meter or when they stubbornly try to sell HD radio as the next big thing, they make excuses.

"Can't pay the music licensing fees to stream our terrestrial signals. It would be prohibitive. No, it would be suicide — not to stream the signals. Pay the fees and get your programming where the next generation is — online. The rights fees will eventually come down...

"Can't get into the Internet radio business and develop new separate stations. No! Radio executives would apparently rather develop stations-on-the-cheap for their HD sub channels where no one is listening than get into the Internet radio business where everyone is listening. Go ask Kurt Hanson, publisher of RAIN how he is doing it. And he's doing it well with AccuRadio.

Read the entire blog from Jerry Del Colliano here!

Boston Globe: Starting Thursday, all new television sets designed to receive over-the-air signals must contain a tuner capable of receiving digital broadcasts, not just the old-style analog signals that we have relied on for the past half-century (read more - Hiawatha Bray-Boston Globe).

Cnet U.K. When a Wi-Fi radio arrives at the office, Crave gets excited. You'd think we'd never seen a radio without wires before -- as Bush TR2015: Radio without the wiresif FM was delivered by 3-inch-thick copper cable -- surely wireless is nothing new in the world of the radio? Radio used to be called 'the wireless', yet Wi-Fi radios still get Crave's juices flowing.

Karmazin Talks XM/Sirius Merger With Howard Stern

Milano in Pilot for Possible Fall (Feb 26, 2007)

Alyssa Milano, everybody's favorite cookie not produced by Pepperidge Farms, might be laying down the law as she plays the lead role in a drama pilot that's being considered for ABC's fall lineup.

She plays a successful Atlanta lawyer who returns to her messy family in Savannah, Ga., with her newborn son.

Milano starred in two TV series for eight years with "Who's The Boss?" from 1984 and "Charmed" from 1998. She also starred in Commando the movie with now California governor Arnold Schwarzeneggar, starred in 38 episodes of "Melrose Place" in 1997, and guested on "Spin City" playing a nude horseback rider.

Milano was also named #28 on VH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars of All Time in 2005 and #30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars of All Time in 2006.