Letter To NAB's David Rehr

October 24, 2006

Mr. David Rehr, Ph.D
National Association of Broadcasters
1771 North Street NW
Washington, DC 20036-2800

Dear Mr. Rehr

This letter is in response to the letter of October 23, 2006 that you sent to Mr. Martin, Chairman of the FCC. Once again, I find myself compelled to respond to your letter because I see several flaws in both your approach and your logic. You are a learned man, and it is my hope that your stance is simply due to posturing rather than simple ignorance. Whichever the case, perhaps this letter can help you down the correct path.

I hope you understand that while your letter is addressed to the FCC, that you are also addressing that letter to over 12 million other Americans, as well as Canadians, and people across the globe that enjoy and find TRUE VALUE in what satellite radio delivers (The number will be over 14 million by the end of the year).

I can understand why you are nervous about satellite radio. The content delivered by this medium is simply unmatched by your membership which makes the conscious decision to maintain as content challenged. Your membership even goes to great lengths to fill up as much air time with commercials as the law allows, and on top of that add “bumpers” disguised as station announcements (many barely pass as bumpers), when in fact, most of them are actually ads. The fact that your membership chooses to maintain this system of delivery is not lost on the 12 million satellite radio fans, or the Chairman of the FCC.

Now to address your “concerns”. First, you seem to feel that satellite radio has some sort of privileged status with the FCC as compared to the NAB. This could not be more absurd. You cite “new delivery methods”, when in fact, the methods of delivery have been available and used for quite some time, and even by your own membership.

First you seem concerned about XM’s new plan for Certified pre-owned Acuras. You state that the consumer gets the service regardless of whether they want it or not. This is actually an untrue statement. If the consumer does not want the 3 months of complimentary service they merely need to say so. The car will not be activated. Did you really think this through before making this statement? Did you take a moment to test out how the system works, or did you simply shoot from the hip? The process is really quite simple. First the consumer buys the car. The satellite radio (as well as the FM and AM radio) are all working. With the satellite radio, you get a preview channel. That channel lets the consumer know a phone number to call so that they can activate their 3 month trial. This way, XM satellite radio knows when the three month period starts and ends. The activation fees you speak of, and the fact that XM will not charge an activation fee has nothing to do with anything. An activation fee is a component of additional revenue. Waiving an activation fee is at the discretion of XM Satellite Radio. There is no law requiring XM to collect an activation fee. In summary, the concerns about the Acura program that you aired in your letter were simply unfounded. Perhaps you will be so kind as to issue a follow-up letter acknowledging this.

Secondly you raise a concern that satellite radio is available to non-subscribers in rental cars. Again, I must hope that your statement comes from posturing rather than ignorance. I happen to be a subscriber to satellite radio. I happen to rent cars from time to time. When I rent cars I make it a point to ask for one with satellite radio. Many rental companies charge an additional fee for this. Some do not. They see that I am a consumer who wants something, and they have every right to waive that fee as they see fit. That is a business decision of the rental car company. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the FCC, and would not fall under their purview.

Thirdly you make an assertion that Sirius and XM have deals in place that provide free factory installed satellite service to consumers. Have you taken a moment to look at a window sticker for a new car? Take it a step further. Have you ever bought a new car? Do you think there is anything on that new car that is free? Please don’t tell us that you believe that sales pitch about giving you $5,000 in trade on any old junker you can drag to the dealer lot!!!!! Again, the consumer needs to activate the satellite radio service. This means that they actually have to make a call. If they do not want the service, they simply do not make the call.

Fourth, you take up concerns with the two days free of Sirius content on October 25 and 26. Perhaps you missed the news flash. Sirius Satellite Radio is not available for free on October 25 and 26. Sirius Internet Radio is what is available. Sirius Internet Radio is a subscription based service that plays content from Sirius Satellite Radio over the internet for a subscription price of $12.95 per month. Additionally, those that wish to sign up for the two days free agree to terms of service, and verify that they are of legal age, as is the practice with many sites on the internet. There is no license whatsoever required to stream content over the internet. You yourself could put together a band, and play to your hearts content over the internet. By the way, have you ever watched HBO or Showtime when they run their free weekend promotions? Or do you boycott it out of principal?

You then state that regulation of broadcast content is based in part on governmental interest in protecting the listener/viewer from unexpected program content, particularly when children are involved. Is that like me getting into a rental car and the radio is unexpectedly on, and there is an advertisement from a workers compensation attorney asking me if I have been injured? Are you implying that the government can stop this? Are you really asking for more government? You will not have me as a fan there. The government already has entirely to much say in the day to day lives of the citizenry. You make the statement that people are receiving satellite radio free of charge, and that because of this, some regulation should be placed upon satellite radio. You fail miserably in this debate, because in no case is this the superior content of satellite radio made instantly available to any one, and further, it is not available for free on a perpetual basis. In all cases the consumer must make efforts to obtain even a free trial, and in no case is the consumer ever receiving free content for an ongoing basis.

Mr. Rehr, perhaps your energies would be better focused on improving the content that you deliver. After all, the music you play is royalty free. This gives you a distinct advantage over satellite radio, which pays royalties on every song they play. Surely you can make that work to your advantage somehow (we wont get into all of the payola). Hopefully you will also begin to see that you are attacking millions upon millions of people who have made their listening desires clear. The fact that millions more will join our ranks over the next year should send you a message. The NAB has a pretty big membership, and is organized but you really should consider what is happening, and who you are attacking. Imagine how big a Consumer Association for Satellite Entertainment (CASE) could be. You are not merely taking on Sirius and XM. You are taking on the consumers who make a CHOICE to switch to a subscription based service because Sirius and XM offer compelling content.

This letter is available for you to read on the internet. Perhaps some who read this that are offended by your actions (3 public letters in the last month) will also send this letter, or one with their own feelings. I am not requesting that fans of Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Bubba The Love Sponge, or Ron and Fez fans grab hold of this idea and let their voices be heard over phone, fax and email, but it would not surprise me if they did. Then of course, there are Oprah fans, Martha fans, Comedy channel fans, Football fans, Baseball fans…..might I digress.

Sincerely,

SSG

10/24/2006 10:17:00 PM

SSG Has Merged. You Can Read All Of The Latest SSG Content By Clicking Here

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

SSG is not a Financial Advisor. Read Disclosure: HERE

--------------------------------------------------------