Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004 | 8:19 a.m.
For more than 10 years Ramsey Singer has started his weekdays with a shower, a cup of coffee and Howard Stern.
Singer, a 38-year-old Las Vegas resident, wakes to "The Howard Stern Radio Show" at 6 a.m. and follows along until the popular shock jock signs off five hours later.
"I listen to it at home, in the car on my way to work and then in the office," Singer said. "I have it at my desk, turned down low."
Fourteen months from now Singer will face a dilemma. That's when Stern will leave traditional radio airwaves, including Las Vegas station KXTE 107.5-FM ("X-treme Radio"), for subscriber-based Sirius Satellite Radio.
To continue listening to Stern beginning in January 2006, Singer would need to purchase a Sirius unit -- a wide variety of which are available from around $100 to $2,000 -- and monthly Sirius service, which costs $12.95 a month.
Singer says he's considering making the investment.
"It's part of my daily routine, and I just can't listen to the other morning shows," Singer said. "They're just ripoffs of Howard. He's original. So I'll probably end up doing it."
Singer is one of approximately 8 million listeners who tune in to Stern each week. Sirius is counting on a significant number of those Stern fans following him over to satellite radio.
"We hired a company to do some polling of avid Howard Stern fans ... and basically what we were able to distill is that 29 percent said they would be very likely (to try satellite radio)," Sirius spokesman Ron Rodrigues said. "If in fact we get 29 percent, that's 2 1/2 million people, and we only need a million to pay for the deal."
Regardless of how many Stern listeners do make the move to Sirius, the publicity generated by the deal has already raised the awareness of satellite radio.
Since Stern's announcement last month, print and online press have been filled with stories hailing the arrival of satellite radio. And that's good news not only for Sirius, but for its competitor, XM Radio.
"I think it does raise that profile," said Tom Taylor, editor of Inside Radio, a daily industry newsletter. "I think it has made the people who run AM and FM stations look in the mirror pretty hard."
XM launched in 2001 and has attracted more than 2 million subscribers (for $9.99 a month). Sirius started up in 2002 and recently surpassed 700,000 subscribers.
Satellite listeners maintain their signal virtually everywhere they go, allowing them to continue tuning in in remote locations, such as on highway trips spanning several states.
Several car companies, including the "Big Three" American automakers, now feature XM or Sirius as a factory option. Local car stereo shops can also provide after-market installation, for around $50 to $100.
Both XM and Sirius offer approximately 120 channels -- many of them commercial free -- ranging from niche music stations focused on blues or folk programming to stations providing real-time ESPN and CNN broadcasts.
Sirius subscribers can tune in to every NFL game, while XM will begin airing every Major League Baseball contest beginning next season.
It might sound similar to the expanded set of options cable television provides beyond the over-the-air television networks.
But Harry Williams, Las Vegas market manager for Beasley Broadcast Group Inc., which owns local stations KJUL 104.3-FM, KKLZ 96.3-FM and KSTJ 102.7 ("Star 102.7"), cautions that the cable analogy might not apply to satellite radio.
"I would argue cable was successful because it offers compelling programming content that people are willing to pay for," Williams said. "There's not a tremendous amount of listener dissatisfaction (with free radio).
"There aren't compelling numbers of people sitting around going, 'You know, I really need a Hungarian music channel.' I'm sure there are some Hungarians in Las Vegas that would love to have that, but there just aren't enough of them for it to be economically viable."
Williams' conclusion: "Satellite radio can program to smaller niches, but it's not the same thing as putting 'Sex and the City' on cable."
Rodrigues readily concedes that Sirius has no designs on driving out traditional (also known as terrestrial) radio.
"We don't anticipate satellite radio ever replacing AM and FM radio," Rodrigues said. "Our feeling is that our relationship to the radio industry is probably comparable to HBO's relationship to the television industry. We feel that we are providing premium programming, something that you can't get on broadcast radio, for the most part."
Rodrigues also quashed rumors that Sirius might charge an additional fee on top of its monthly subscription rate for Stern's show.
"He will be part of the package," Rodrigues said. "There will be no premium over the standard monthly fee of $12.95 a month. We want people to feel good about the price and that we're not going to nickel-and-dime them for programming and add-ons."
Still, for Singer to continue following his typical daily routine, he would need to purchase separate Sirius units -- or at the very least multiple listening docks for a removable unit -- for his home, car and office.
"Wherever you go, if you want to listen to satellite radio, you've got to haul around your gizmo," Williams said. "So is your desire for that unique programming compelling enough for you to jump through those hoops?
"The first hoop is financial. Then there's this other hoop, once you realize, 'Oh, wait a minute, I've got this Sirius radio in my car, but I'm used to listening to Howard as soon as I get out of bed in the morning, so I've got to buy a home unit.' "
XM addressed that concern last week, when it introduced the MyFi, a portable device that delivers satellite programming through an internal antenna.
Rodrigues said Sirius intends to have a similar product on the market before Stern makes his switch.
Most Dish Network satellite television packages also include a truncated version of Sirius' (music only) programming. And XM offers an online version of its service for $7.99 a month, or $3.99 to existing XM subscribers.
When Stern does begin broadcasting to Sirius listeners, his show will have at least one significant difference: It won't be subject to the Federal Communications Commission's indecency regulations.
Since the FCC has no jurisdiction over satellite radio content, Stern will be free to say whatever he wants.
Popular shock-jock tandem Opie and Anthony took advantage of that freedom immediately upon hitting the satellite airwaves. Five days before Stern made his announcement, the duo kicked off their XM debut with George Carlin's famous list of the "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television."
Andy Kaye, longtime co-host of the morning show on KOMP 92.3-FM, says he doesn't see the attraction of that sort of unregulated format.
"So Howard gets to drop a couple of F-bombs. What's the big deal?" Kaye said. "There's no creativity involved when you can do that. And that's the challenge for a good radio show, creativity. Let the listeners draw their own conclusions."
Kaye also emphasized that satellite radio does not provide local information, including weather and traffic updates, in many markets.
Despite their growing exposure, neither satellite provider has turned a profit. In 2003, XM lost $584.5 million, while Sirius lost $226.2 million, according to Forbes Magazine. Both companies had announced they expected to lose money for their first several years as satellite radio caught on.
Williams said he wonders how Stern, or anyone else, will be able to change that.
"I like our economics because I understand them and I have a lot more certainty about what they are than I would like Sirius' economics," Williams said. "Ten years from now, 15 years from now, they may be multigazillionaires and I may be in my grave. But right now, I kind of like where I am."
Taylor, meanwhile, sees satellite radio becoming "accepted as another kind of radio."
"We already have a number of kinds of radio: AM, FM, cable radio, Internet radio is going to come on, there's short-wave radio," Taylor said. "And I think satellite will find its place.
"I think we're just headed to a world where we're going to have almost endless radio options."
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