Primosphere Limited Partnership was one of four companies bidding for Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service, or

SDARS Digital audio radio service (Spectrum management) refers to any type of digital radio program service. In the United States it is the official FCC term for digital radio services. The most popular type of DARS in the U.S. and Canada is SDARS: Satel ...

, licenses in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The service would have been an

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

-supported

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

audio service with an emphasis on serving music

genres Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

that had lost exposure in the terrestrial radio market during that period, such as classic

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, "

beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator musi ...

," "

pop standard Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

s," and

swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...

. Two dedicated public radio talk channels were also proposed along with traditional

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

channels.

History

In 1990, Satellite CD Radio, Inc. proposed the concept of a satellite-delivered digital radio service to the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

. The following year,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

radio station WPAT switched formats on both its AM and FM stations from "beautiful music" to "

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

", removing a high-fidelity

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...

outlet for these formats in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

. In 1993, popular music radio station WNEW in New York changed format from pop standards and swing music to business talk radio WBBR-AM, and WQXR changed its call letters to WQEW and format to pop standards, in an unsuccessful attempt to capture the WNEW and WPAT listener diaspora. In January 1995, the

(FCC) set aside 50 MHz (2310 MHz through 2360 MHz) in the

S-band The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the conventional ...

for Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (

), now commonly known as Satellite Radio. In 1996,

WPAT-FM WPAT-FM (93.1 FM) – branded "93.1 Amor" – is a radio station that programs a Spanish CHR radio format. Licensed to Paterson, New Jersey, the station is owned by the Spanish Broadcasting System and serves the New York metropolitan area. I ...

switched from music to Spanish language "adult contemporary" format. Its sister AM station WPAT switched to a Mexican music format, then to Korean language, and eventually paid ethnic programming. In the same year,

Clifford Burnstein Clifford may refer to: People *Clifford (name), an English given name and surname, includes a list of people with that name * William Kingdon Clifford *Baron Clifford * Baron Clifford of Chudleigh *Baron de Clifford * Clifford baronets *Clifford f ...

, a New York-based partner in entertainment industry company Q-Prime, and

Peter Mensch Peter Mensch (born March 28, 1953) is an American music manager. He started his career in music management at the age of 26, managing AC/DC. In 1982, Mensch formed the management company Q Prime with Cliff Burnstein. Their first client was Def L ...

bid $68 million for an SDARS license through holding company Primosphere Limited Partnership with the stated intention of restoring music genres no longer available in major radio markets. In April 1997, American Mobile Satellite Corporation and Satellite CD Radio, Inc. were each awarded SDARS licenses. The companies eventually become known

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...

and

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Sirius ...

, respectively. Primosphere and Digital Satellite Broadcasting Corporation were denied licenses as third and fourth lowest bidders, respectively, during the auction. On October 27, 1997, the FCC formally dismissed Primosphere's and Digital Satellite Broadcasting Corporation's applications for an SDARS license. In November that year, Primosphere petitioned the FCC to adopt foreign ownership restrictions for SDARS licensees in order to overturn both Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio's licenses. XM at the time had a 20% stake owned by foreign-owned

WorldSpace Satellite Radio 1worldspace, known for most of its existence simply as WorldSpace, is a defunct satellite radio network that in its heyday provided service to over 170,000 subscribers in eastern, southern and northern Africa, the Middle East, and much of Asia wi ...

. In July 1999, American Mobile Satellite bought the 20% share of XM Satellite Radio owned by WorldSpace, effectively removing foreign ownership issues. In March 2001, Primosphere petitioned the

United States Court of Appeals United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

to require the FCC to review its previous petition, to require the FCC to adopt foreign ownership restrictions on SDARS licensees, now only Sirius Satellite Radio.

launched on September 25, 2001. In December 2001 the company petitioned the FCC to reconsider its 1997 decision to dismiss the company's SDARS application. The FCC reaffirmed its decision and sealed the company's fate.

officially launched on July 1, 2002, after several technical and financial delays. On August 27, 2007, Primosphere filed a second comment concerning the merger of Sirius and XM Satellite Radio.http://siriusbuzz.com/primosphere-weighs-in-on-merger-again.php Primosphere weighs in on merger again (Siriusbuzz.com) In 2009 Sirius/XM was required to lease 8% or 4 channels each to qualified groups as a condition of their merger, potentially opening the door to Primophere leasing channels on XM and on Sirius existing radios for free to consumers, supported by commercials.

References

{{Reflist Mass media companies of the United States Satellite radio Telecommunications companies of the United States