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  School
of Communications professors Connie Book and Don Grady released
the results of their NAB grant-funded research on satellite radio
this summer. The study of nearly 500 satellite radio enthusiasts
found that the first wave of early adoption of the new service was
among highly dissatisfied AM/FM radio listeners, most of whom had
already abandoned traditional radio for their own CD and MP3 recordings.
When asked to describe the best thing about satellite radio subscribers
mentioned the variety of music and programming, the continuous signal
across the United States and lack of commercials.
Book and Grady
developed the idea for the study early in 2004, when XMSR and Sirius
Radio were already providing more than 1.5 million customers imported,
national radio content via satellite. "Much like the 1990s
launch of DirecTV and the Dish Network," they wrote in their
proposal, "broadcasters are faced with new competition and
early warning signs suggest this fight will be a tough one."
When they began their work, the academic community had not yet turned
its attention to this new medium, and as a result little was known
about satellite radio consumers. Their study illuminates the issues
tied to consumer adoption of satellite radio, exploring the characteristics
of the diffusion of the service, and more specifically how satellite
radio adoption impacts the subscriber's relationship with local
radio.
The data collected
during the study offers broadcasters important background and serious
numbers on which to base decisions as they attempt to understand
how the introduction of satellite radio will impact their respective
markets.
Book and Grady
write in their executive summary: "While the number of satellite
radio subscribers is significantly lower than the 230 million weekly
radio listeners enjoyed by terrestrial AM/FM radio (Arbitron, 2005),
the early positive response to satellite radio raises important
questions about the status of AM/FM radio, the audience adopting
satellite radio, the impact such adoption has and will have on AM/FM
radio, as well as, the important cultural, economic and public policy
implications associated with new radio distribution systems. This
study examined a subset of early adopters of satellite radio, described
as satellite radio 'enthusiasts' and examined their dynamic relationship
with AM/FM radio."
Nearly 500
respondents completed their online survey. They found the respondents
to be predominantly white, male and young. They found that satellite
radio enthusiasts are heavy users of other media technology and
twice as likely to be satellite television subscribers. Most of
the respondents currently subscribe to XM Satellite Radio, however
10 percent of the satellite radio enthusiasts subscribe to both
XM and SIRIUS. AM/FM radio's commercial loads and formula based,
limited content were cited as the compelling reasons to adopt satellite
radio.
To download
a PDF of the Book and Grady study, "Consumer Adoption of New
Radio Distribution Systems," please click on the link below.
Satellite
Radio report
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