The Broadcast Battle: Conventional Radio Versus Satellite Radio
Jami Daugherty
- Published Content: 19
- Total Views: 13,398
- Favorited By: 6 CPs
History of Conventional Radio in the United States
Many will argue over who actually invented the first radio. While there are many claims, it is thought that it was invented in the 1890's. The first radio audio broadcast was actually made from Brant Rock, Massachusetts. The date was Christmas Eve of 1906 and the two men responsible were Reginald Fe 
ssenden and Lee de Forest.
The first radio stations started appearing and broadcasting throughout the nation around 1919. In the 1940's FM radio was first broadcasted with a much improved sound quality from the original AM radio. From this point on radios started popping up in every home and every car. The world has relied upon AM and FM radio for their broadcasts, that is until satellite radio came along.
History of Satellite Radio in the United States
Satellite radio is actually a digital radio signal that is broadcasted using a communications satellite. In 1992 the FCC created Digital Audio Radio Services (Dars) which established certain radio frequencies for satellite radio broadcasting. The rights to obtain a license to broadcast satellite radio were auctioned off and XM and Sirius were the high bidders. It is estimated that it cost over $1.5 billion just to launch satellite radio.
In November of 2001 XM launched their service nationwide. The next year in the summer of 2002 Sirius launched their nationwide broadcasting. Since then both of the companies have been gaining subscribers by the millions. As of January 2007 XM reported to have 7.6 million subscribers and Sirius a close second, with 6 million subscribers.
Pros and Cons of Conventional Radio
There are many good points to conventional radio. First off, it is completely free as long as you have a radio and an antenna. There are many wonderful stations that can be picked up with a conventional radio depending on the area. Also there is local news and weather on these stations.
Many will argue over who actually invented the first radio. While there are many claims, it is thought that it was invented in the 1890's. The first radio audio broadcast was actually made from Brant Rock, Massachusetts. The date was Christmas Eve of 1906 and the two men responsible were Reginald Fe
The first radio stations started appearing and broadcasting throughout the nation around 1919. In the 1940's FM radio was first broadcasted with a much improved sound quality from the original AM radio. From this point on radios started popping up in every home and every car. The world has relied upon AM and FM radio for their broadcasts, that is until satellite radio came along.
History of Satellite Radio in the United States
Satellite radio is actually a digital radio signal that is broadcasted using a communications satellite. In 1992 the FCC created Digital Audio Radio Services (Dars) which established certain radio frequencies for satellite radio broadcasting. The rights to obtain a license to broadcast satellite radio were auctioned off and XM and Sirius were the high bidders. It is estimated that it cost over $1.5 billion just to launch satellite radio.
In November of 2001 XM launched their service nationwide. The next year in the summer of 2002 Sirius launched their nationwide broadcasting. Since then both of the companies have been gaining subscribers by the millions. As of January 2007 XM reported to have 7.6 million subscribers and Sirius a close second, with 6 million subscribers.
Pros and Cons of Conventional Radio
There are many good points to conventional radio. First off, it is completely free as long as you have a radio and an antenna. There are many wonderful stations that can be picked up with a conventional radio depending on the area. Also there is local news and weather on these stations.