An examination of XM satellite subscribers' perceptions of satellite radio compared to traditional AM/FM radio

new era in broadcasting began in September 2001, giving listeners the option of nationwide access to many different channels of music, sports, and talk radio programs. This new era is the birth of XM Satellite Radio (Orfinik, 2001). After only four months in operation, XM Satellite Radio reported nearly 30,000 paying subscribers, however it's still questionable whether people are willing to pay for radio when they can get it free ("XM Signs Over," 2002).;The most preferred quality of XM Satellite Radio was the variety of 100 different stations (56%) followed by the clarity of sound (18%). The most desired reason for subscribing to XM Satellite Radio was the little variety of AM/FM stations within respondents' local commuting areas (42.5%) followed by the desire to try a new technology (30.5%). Overall, subscribers did prefer the XM Satellite Radio Service (92%) over traditional AM/FM radio (8%).;The data were analyzed utilizing the ABstat data analysis program and several observations were made. Those that listened to AM/FM radio while driving most of the time while driving had the highest frequency of having a variety of AM/FM radio stations within their local commuting areas.;Subscribers that preferred AM/FM radio to XM Satellite Radio tended to have subscribed to XM Satellite Radio because it's a new technology they would like to try.;This thesis examined XM Satellite Radio subscribers' perceptions of satellite radio compared with traditional AM/FM radio. Data were collected from 200 respondents to an online survey for XM Satellite Radio subscribers, placed on 6 newsgroups and message boards dealing with XM Satellite Radio. Twelve questions were asked of each subscriber to determine their AM/FM radio listening patterns, their XM Satellite Radio listening patterns, their preference for one service over the other, and the reasons for that preference.;Some subscribers' preference for AM/FM radio over XM Satellite Radio was strongly related to XM Satellite Radio's monthly fee of...