Whither Satellite Radio?

Media writer Frank Ahrens asks, “Can XM Put Radio Back Together Again?”

I still haven’t heard it, but would like to check it out. My concern is audio quality, since XM uses a lossy compression schema to cram in so many channels, and I understand that the bitrates are relatively low. Of course, the test lies in the listening.

A much bigger test lies in store for Sirius satellite radio, XM’s competitor. John at DIYmedia.net notes that the company just sold out to its creditors in exchange for $700 million of debt and $200 million cash.

It could just be that satellite radio is a little too late (and too expensive to launch). Not to knock on radio, but with mp3s, file sharing, streaming radio and audio services bundled with cable and satellite TV, I don’t know how many folks are willing to shell out that extra $10 for subscription radio. It’s not that the service isn’t necessarily worth it (and I’m not saying that it is worth it), so much as it’s one more thing.