Howard Stern "Sirius"-ly Turns Off Hyundai Customers (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Howard Stern "Sirius"-ly Turns Off Hyundai Customers
Date Posted 05-11-2005

SAN FRANCISCO — A surprising number of Hyundai customers have told the Korean manufacturer they didn't want Sirius Satellite Radio installed in their vehicles because they didn't want to listen to Howard Stern.

Stern is the so-called "shock jock" whose syndicated morning radio program is filled with sex discussions. He will broadcast on Sirius Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. beginning in January 2006.

Hyundai recently surveyed 300 to 400 customers as it was deciding whether to install XM or Sirius Satellite Radio in its vehicles. Hyundai decided to go with XM as it rolls out a fall program that offers 90 days of satellite radio programming for free with its new models, starting with the Santa Fe SUV, and the Sonata and Azera sedans.

John Krafcik, Hyundai vice president of product development and strategic planning, told Inside Line that executives were stunned by the number of "unprompted write-ins" on the survey that said customers were "not comfortable with programming from Stern."

Other automakers, however, say they prefer Sirius.

Dave Larson, Mercedes-Benz M-Class product manager, told Inside Line DaimlerChrysler chose Sirius because the brand "has positioned itself as the premium provider — it fits more with our brand."

What this means to you: A substantial difference between the XM and Sirius services has finally emerged. Will automakers really lose customers for offering one over the other?

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=105622

 

[TheLongshot]

What? Mainstream, bland, and uninteresting? Sounds like something Honda or Toyota would say.

I wish more car companies would go the way Volkswagen went, and be able to have the choice of either with the factory radio.

As for the Hyundai thing, I wonder if that was an organized deal? Sounds like it...

Jason

 

[Jed M]

I made a comment about this in the Stern thread. I think Stern will steer a lot of people towards XM. I think the fact that nobody knows who Opie and Anthony are helps XM. Sirius made a deal with the devil and now they need to see if grabbing a couple million Stern fans will make up for the millions and millions of others who absolutely hate Stern. I wouldn't want somebody as polarizing as Stern as the face of my corporation even though it would raise awareness. Like him or not, it would be like putting the George W. Bush channel on XM. I bet a lot of people would buy Sirius just because of that.

 

[DaveBB]

Has Sirius said if the Stern chanell(s) will be a premium fee or part of the basic service?

 

[Joe McCabe]

Stern will be included in basic service.

But has anyone been following Stern's ratings lately?
He's tanking in alot of key markets, and there's still 3 Arbitron periods to go before he hits Sirius.

I wonder if they have a "lemon" clause in that half a billion dollar deal?

 

[Chris]

Tanking is a pretty harsh way to put it.. I get the arbitron breakdown books.. so I'm unsure of what you mean.. yes, his ratings were down in NY, LA, Chicago by about 9% on average across demos, but in all markets, second or first in overall ratings, and amongst key demos, still doing very well; in several other markets, his ratings went up, rather then down (Philadelphia, etc.)

Me personally, I wouldn't mind if they guy dropped off radio altogether, as he's definitely not my cup of tea, and I would have much preferred SIRIUS grab Dr. Laura (who's now an XM exclusive).

That having been said, I'm just saying the term "tanking" is pretty harsh. What SIRIUS should be watching is that a good number of people realize this is it for the show, and that he's basically a walking commercial for the next six months.

Stern isn't in the KC market (thank god) so I've never heard him; and don't really intend to start

 

[Michael Whitney]

You dont like what youve never heard? What???? Seems kind of closed minded to me. Stern's not all about sex, like you have heard. Granted, sometimes the show does focus on that for a segment. Thats like saying McDonalds only serves fries. He has some of the most intersting guests on the planet, and provides stimulating conversation and gets incredible interviews. He asks the real questions people want to know about. Not some canned prerehearsed garbage interview. Maybe he is more Beer and Pizza then you want, but he still is a major force in the radio business.

If you dont like him, just dont listen to him.

 

[Chris]

That's why I don't. Look, there are lots of things I've never seen, and things you probably haven't seen, because, based on previews, it was worthless to you. I watched the preview, a five second blurb for a film and can say "eh, that looks like crap, I have no interest in it" and I don't watch.

This doesn't mean that I 'hate' stern or have anything against him. I just know, going in, that it isn't the general nature of what I care to listen to.

I have about the same reaction to Abba. Maybe some people love them, good for them. Yes, I've only heard two songs. But still, I'm not going to hang out on the 70s station waiting for a band I don't care so much about.

I think the point of my post wasn't to say "good riddance to Stern" in fact, if you look at it, I'm trying to say that there is still a very large audience for him, and the suggestion of "tanking" is incorrect, while at the same time I don't care for him.

I'm sure there are lots of people on the radio who others sit and say 'eh, I hope they aren't long' whether it's political from Rush to Hannity to Randi Rhodes & Al Franken, or Jim Rome.

I'm just saying "eh, not my cup of tea, and if it dissappeared from the radio tomorrow, I wouldn't miss it".. I'm sure lots of people feel the same about tons of other programming.

 

[Bob_L]

I'm quite surprised that the Benz product manager perceives Sirius as the premium provider. With their addition of NBA and Stern, I would think they've positioned themselves as a populist provider, not the kind of "elite" branding I'd associate with Mercedes.

 

[Joe McCabe]

Chris....I refering to where I've read he's dropping about a full point in New York every quarter for the last three.
8.0
7.0
6.4


Refering to him dropping from #1 to 6th place in Orlando, trailing The Monsters of the Morning..and local morning teams.

To him falling to 7th place in L.A. mornings. Behind Kevin and Bean.

6th in D.C....not even near the top in Detroit.

I'm just saying...it's pretty clear that this guy is no longer what he once was. NY, Philly, and DC were all former strongholds of his. Hell, I don't even know anyone in my personal life who still listens to him anymore...and I come from a group of former DIE HARD Stern fans from WAY back.
And none of them are even considering getting Sirius for him.

So, what I meant was...by the time he arrives on Sirius...where's he gonna be in the ratings by then?

And at a half a billion dollars....should Sirius have made sure to have a lemon clause in that contract?

Just seems to me that Sirius made a fool hearty deal, based on what Stern USED to be....not what he currently is.

 

[Chris]

Certainly, time will tell, which is the only gamble you can make in the industry.

 

[Ray Chuang]

Actually, I think Sirius will actually get a bigger uptick in ratings when NASCAR goes to Sirius in 2007. NASCAR fans are extremely loyal and the fact you can hear all the NASCAR-owned Motor Racing Network and the Bruton Smith-owned Performance Racing Network broadcasts is a major plus for NASCAR fans.

As for Howard Stern, I think they should put him on a premium channel on Sirius with maybe a US$2.00/month extra cost to get his show on Sirius. That way, Sirius radio owners who have families can't easily dial into Stern's radio show, which I believe will be a lot less censored than the current syndicated show.

 

[Chris]

You know, though, it's all rep. I find it funny that people are all over this, whereas I can't recall any protest over Out-Q radio's "Derek & Romaine" show, which is far more profaine/pornographic then I can imagine anything on Stern (seriously).

But it's all about name recognition.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Asking subscribers to pay a premium for
Stern would be a big mistake.

People would be in an uproar if they had
to pay an extra $2 for Stern.

Besides, Sirius is counting on people
accidently tuning into his channel.

XM just learned this with Opie and Anthony.
There was no way O&A could compete with Stern
as a premium offering. When XM raised their
rates they made O&A part of their basic package
in hopes subscribers who would not have normally
paid for their show will now listen.

If anyone ever feels offended by the material
on any of these basic channels they can always
call Sirius or XM and have a channel block
installed at no extra charge.

 

[Ray Chuang]

Ronald,

Actually, let's see how long Howard Stern can control himself before he gets lots of complaints from Sirius subscribers who only have access to the non-premium channels on that satellite radio service. Who knows what will happen with the parental controls on Sirius receivers when Sterns cuts loose on the less-censored Sirius broadcasts....

 

[RomanSohor]

I am a daily O&A listener on XM, and they have already been pushing the envelope quite a bit on XM since they went "free"... and to a lot more subscribers than SIRIUS has, and to my knowledge, there hasn't been a big backlash and lots of complaints to XM about the O&A Show... I might be wrong, and I'm no insider, but I am sure that it would have been brought up on the air if there had been problems.

It seems like XM is letting O&A do what O&A do best, which is put on a show in their own specific style (like it or not) and get their listeners to do all the work advertising the show

 

[Chris]

I think the same thing will be true anywhere; as I said, come on, you've got shows like Derek & Romaine on SIRIUS where they have a weekly interview spot with porn actors, talk about their appearances in Showtime's "Family Business" etc. or have callers call in and discuss fantasizing about Jimmy Neutron for pete sake.

So far, I haven't heard of a lot of people dropping SIRIUS because of it. I think people who pay have a unique ability to listen to what they want with all the variety on both formats.

 

[Chris]

Apparently doesn't turn off all auto-makers.

Toyota signs a deal with SIRIUS to include it in their SCION and other vehicles.

http://www.shareholder.com/sirius/Re...=&newsroom=yes

 

[Jed M]

Let me give everybody here a test. Ask your Mom who Opie and Anthony are. Then ask your Mom who Howard Stern is. That is the difference. Most people shopping for XM won't have a clue who O&A are, but everybody will know who Howard Stern is. It will work for them and it will work against them. Its really a double edged sword.

 

[Dean_S]

I guess Hyundai didn't take into account that besides Stern there are about 100 other channels that won't be playing him. If they think that one channel that is offensive to some will keep people from buying their cars then they have bigger problems to overcome. I hate Stern but I didn't cancel my Directv subcription just because he was on one channel occassionally and I won't cancel Sirius for that reason either. I'm pretty sure this a lame excuse to cover up the real reason they choose XM...that would be MONEY for Hyundai!!! Obviously, XM offered a better deal and any press release should have stated that instead of some lame excuse that less then 1% of the content is offensive.