Opinion: iNet Radio Threat to SiriusXM Gone

From Brandon Matthews Satwaves Pro:

Bad news Howard. Bad, bad news. You might want to sign that contract with Sirius XM (SIRI) right away, because thanks to this week's election results, Internet Radio has been dealt a mighty blow.

For years I have written that Internet Radio posed little threat to Satellite Radio, for a multitude of reasons. Most recently, I pointed out that Internet Radio services compete more with iPods and CDs than they do with even terrestrial radio, due to its music only content offerings.

My main argument however, was that the costs of data streaming would exclude much of the market potential of Internet Radio.

The F.C.C. had sought to force Internet Service Providers to stream content at any cost, for free, to all of the world. This was easily shot down by the U.S. Court of Appeals earlier in the year. The election results however, have all but ended the idea. Internet Radio as a viable alternative to Satellite Radio, is dead.

Read more here.