Clear Channel, the largest radio company in the United States, has sent a letter to the FCC requesting that satellite radio be subjected to the same regulations that terrestrial radio is required to obey. This mainly centers around so called “edgy” content that is restricted heavily on terrestrial radio but is unrestricted on satellite radio.

The complaint said that the lack of censorship of satellite radio poses a “potential danger to free, over-the-air radio” because the migration of “popular content” to satellite radio, causing a loss in advertising revenue.

While I see where Clear Channel is coming from, an often overlooked fact is that Clear Channel actually owns several XM stations (Extreme 152, America’s Talk 158, and Talk Radio 165) where they could potentially broadcast all of the “edgy” content that they want to. ClearChannel could completely migrate to satellite radio if they truely believed that radio is on the way out.

Another aspect to consider is that the FCC regulations are for protection against undesired content. Satellite radio is more controlled so that the entire network is completely owned by the satellite provider. This enables features such as content controls that would not be possible on terrestrial radio.

Thoughts? sam@gadgetcore.com

Filed under: Radio, Wireless | written by Sam