A columnist for an IT trade publication caught some attention this week when he predicted satellite radio is not long for this earth.
Mike Elgan, a columnist for Datamation, put a two-year end-point on the service, predicting satellite radio will be the victim of money problems and technology innovations that threaten to bypass the service.
In the plus column, Elgan counts “better sound quality,” more content and “more focused” channels that terrestrial radio; however, in his mind, the negatives outweigh the positives as other technologies continue to evolve. Among those negatives is the rise of MP3 phones and MP3-compatible cars, as well as the rise of podcasting and the coming wave of mobile broadband dashboards.
These changes, as well as the worsening economy and Sirius XM’s some $3.4 billion in long-term debt, spell bad news for the company, Elgan predicts. “The ugly truth is that satellite is simply an obsolete way to deliver sound.”
