Satellite fare is forcing local radio to alter niche

Is satellite radio affecting local radio stations? Probably to some degree, but not as much as some people think.

I heard a guy on a bus this week loudly proclaim that he understood local radio will be dead by 2009. He also said all the current radio sets will be worthless as satellite radio will have taken over the market completely by then.

Comments like that bring to mind the fears that cable and satellite TV would doom local television. But local TV stations are still around and doing more newscasts than ever.

I'm satisfied that local news and comment on radio will also always have a niche.

XM Satellite, the largest satellite radio company, expects to have 6 million subscribers by the end of the year. Competitor Sirius has at least 2.2 million subscribers.

Local radio certainly isn't going to disappear in the next five years, but it may make the industry better realize that local talk is airwave-radio's strong suit.

KSL radio (AM-1160/FM-102.7) remains the No. 1 station in the Salt Lake market, and it has a pretty good share of local programming and news.

I've tried satellite radio, but unless you are in your car for long periods of work or commuting, it doesn't seem that appealing to me.

Local airwave radio is free, while satellite radio charges a monthly fee. For example, Sirius charges $12.95 a month for its 120-plus channels.

Because 85 of those channels are commercial-free — satellite's other strong selling point — I no longer sit through a long block of commercials on airwave radio stations; I switch channels.

• KTKK UPDATE — Jim Sumpter has now moved to the USA Radio Network. He's doing a 6:05-8 p.m. show there, which is a big step forward for his discussions of politics, current events and lifestyle issues.

Go online to www.usaradio. com for more information on this new syndicated show.

Sumpter is still on K-Talk, AM-630 from 11 p.m.-2 a.m. each weekday, but the station has revised its lineup to cover for Sumpter's former late-afternoon shift.

G. Gordon Liddy is also back on the air on KTKK, too.

The current KTKK weekday lineup is:

2-6 a.m.: Doug Stephan

6-9 a.m.: Jack Stockwell

9 a.m.- noon: G. Gordon Liddy