Editing Satellite radio (section)

==Satellite radio versus other formats==
Satellite radio differs from AM, FM radio, and [[digital television radio]] (DTR) in the following ways (the table applies primarily to the United States):

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Radio format !! Satellite radio !! AM/FM !! Digital television radio
|-
| '''Monthly fees''' || US$10.99 and up || Free|| Free for terrestrial. Very low for [[cable television]] or satellite—DTR represents a small portion of the total monthly television fee.
|-
| '''Portability''' || Available || Prominent || None—a typical set consists of a stereo attached to a television [[set-top box]] (the primary function of the set top-box is normally designed for viewing digital television on an analogue set).
|-
|-
| '''Listening availability''' || Very high—a satellite signal's footprint covers millions of square kilometres. || Low to moderate{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} — implementation of FM service requires moderate to high population densities and is thus not practical in rural and/or remote locales; AM travels great distances at night. || Very high{{clarify|date=November 2023}}
|-
| '''Sound quality''' || Varies{{efn|name=quality varies}} || AM: Usually very low in analogue mode<br/> FM: Usually moderate, but can be very high || Varies{{efn|name=quality varies}}
|-
| '''Variety and depth of programming''' || Highest || Variable—highly dependent upon economic/demographic factors || Variable—dependent on location and the television provider for cable and satellite, dependent on the various packages they provide and on the user's subscription.
|-
| '''Frequency of programming interruptions (by DJs or commercial advertising)'''{{efn|name=interruptions}} || None to high—mostly dependent on the channels, some of which have DJs; most channels are advertisement-free because of the paid subscription model of satellite radio. || Highest{{efn|name=PSA}} ||  None to low—dependent on the provider; however, it is common that some stations will have DJs. Usually no advertisements on subscription services ([[DirecTV]] and [[Dish Network]] both claim to provide advertisement-free content).
|-
| '''Governmental regulation''' || Minimal<!--[[Help:Cite errors/Cite error references missing key]] trouble putting note with embedded reference in list-->{{efn|name=FCC|In the United States, the [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] regulates technical broadcast spectrum only. Program content is unregulated. However, the FCC has tried in the past to expand its reach to regulate content to satellite radio and cable television, and its options are still open to attempt such in the future. The FCC does issue licenses to SiriusXM, the satellite radio provider, and controls who holds these licenses to broadcast.<ref name="Erskine">{{Cite journal|last=Erskine|first=Daniel H.|date=2007-05-20|title=Satellite Digital Audio Radio Searching for Novel Theories of Action|ssrn=987358|location=Rochester, NY}}</ref> Many of their channels, including the pop music ones, are self-regulated.}} || Significant governmental regulations regarding content{{efn|name=regulation}} || Yes for terrestrial. For cable and satellite, low to none.{{efn|name=FCC}}
|}

{{Notelist|refs=
{{efn|name=quality varies|The sound quality with both satellite radio providers and DTR providers varies with each channel. Some channels have near CD-quality audio, and others use low-bandwidth audio suitable only for speech. Since only a certain amount of bandwidth is available within the licenses available, adding more channels means that the quality on some channels must be reduced. Both the frequency response and the dynamic range of satellite channels can be superior to most, but not all AM or FM radio stations, as most AM and FM stations clip the audio peaks to sound louder; even the worst channels are still superior to most AM radios, but a very few AM tuners are equal to or better than the best FM or satellite broadcasts when tuned to a local station, even if not capable of stereo. The use of [[HD Radio]] technology can allow AM and FM broadcasts to exceed the quality of satellite. AM does not suffer from multipath distortion or flutter in a moving vehicle like FM, nor does it become silent as you go behind a big hill like satellite radio.}}

{{efn|name=interruptions|Some satellite radio services and DTR services act as ''in situ'' repeaters for local AM/FM stations and thus feature a high frequency of interruption.}}

{{efn|name=PSA|Nonprofit stations and public radio networks such as [[Public Radio International|PRI-affiliated]] stations and the [[BBC Radio|BBC]] are commercial-free. In the US, all stations are required to have periodic station identifications and public service announcements.}}

{{efn|name=regulation|Degree of content regulation varies by country; however, the majority of industrialized nations have regulations regarding obscene and/or objectionable content.}}
}}