Sirius Satellite Radio is now censoring their broadcasts? Who would have thought that Sirius, which made a name for itself by signing the controversial Howard Stern to its radio line-up (after the FCC fined Howard and forced him to go to satellite radio) would decide to censor its broadcasts?
Well, if my tip is correct, this is indeed the case. According to my source, he is a daily listener of Alt-Nation Sirius 21 and all of a sudden swear words, vulgarity, etc. was "bleeped out". He points out that Sprint and Sirius just partnered up to offer satellite radio over the phones. Apparently, Sprint didn't like the explicit lingo and had Sirius censor their own channels despite their subscribers. He also confirmed it by talking with Sirius's customer service.
Now, this isn't technically "censoring" of the satellite feed that you receive in your Sirius car receiver, but if Sirius is offering their infamously "uncensored" content to third parties such as Sprint, why would the Sirius subscribers think any differently? They would expect the same level of non-censorship.
Here is an email sent to SIRIUS:
Thank you for writing us here at SIRIUS. We appreciate your comments about our censored music channels on SIRIUS. Due to our new partnership with Sprint, some of our music programming lineup will now be offering censored music. These channels include:
-Faction // Channel 28
-Alt Nation // Channel 21
-First Wave // Channel 22
-Hot Jamz // Channel 50
SIRIUS remains fully dedicated to providing an unparalleled variety of music programming on our 65 commercial free music channels in virtually every genre. Our channels are designed to please subscribers of every listening preference.
Why does Sprint care what people listen to on their phones? What if I call my wife, we get into an argument and I say the f- word? Are you going to "bleep" that out too? C'mon Sprint, you're a carrier - your job is to "carry" the voice, not censor it!
Sirius Censorship
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I am glad to see that someone else has taken exception to their decision to censor their content. I find it unconscionable that they would do so. I recently confirmed that what you posted above is indeed true. Below is the message I sent to their customer service center a few hours ago. If they don’t rectify this soon I would like to ask for everyone’s help in launching a campaign to hold them accountable for what they promised to all subscribers. This is a much bigger issue than simply being denied what we are paying for. Censorship in this country has run amok and if it has reached this level of free enterprise then we should all consider ourselves in serious trouble. Oh and Sprint, you should be ashamed of yourself also.
________________
Dear customer care, Messrs. Clayton and Karmazin:
I write with a very serious concern regarding the programming of SIRIUS channels 21, 22, 28 and 50. Over the past several days I have noticed that certain words in certain songs were being "bleeped out” just as they were during my entire life of listening to "regular" radio. This is a marked departure from what I had come to know and expect from your service. I recently finished speaking with a very helpful and courteous customer service representative who confirmed that you have indeed begun to censor your content on these channels. I have been a loyal customer for nearly nine months and I signed up for your service because I am disgusted by censorship in this country and the bland content on the public radio stations. I am also responsible for the membership of at least one of your other customers and have been working to convince several of my other friends to sign up. While I am not a proponent of “profanity” solely for the sake of profanity’s sake I believe that the work of a musician should be broadcast in its entirety as the artist intended. This in fact was one of your selling points nine months ago though you may not have used that precise language. Your decision to censor even one, let alone four, of your channels is deeply disturbing and I ask that you end this censorship IMMEDIATELY!!! I cannot imagine how you could betray your customer base so completely regardless of how lucrative your agreement is with SPRINT. Your decision to do so is incredibly offensive. I would very much appreciate a response in the next two or three days that includes a description of a clear (and very short) timeline for reverting back to your normal programming. I will remain a loyal customer for a limited period of time. Please fix this soon. Please also forward this message to Mr. Clayton and Mr. Karmazin as their contact information was absent from your website. If you wish to discuss this further, do not hesitate to contact me at XXX-XXX-XXXX.
Sincerely,
Nolan
cc: Joseph Clayton, Chairman of the Board
Mel Karmazin, CEO
I am glad to see that someone else has taken exception to their decision to censor their content. I find it unconscionable that they would do so. I recently confirmed that what you posted above is indeed true. Below is the message I sent to their customer service center a few hours ago. If they don’t rectify this soon I would like to ask for everyone’s help in launching a campaign to hold them accountable for what they promised to all subscribers. This is a much bigger issue than simply being denied what we are paying for. Censorship in this country has run amok and if it has reached this level and type of free enterprise then we should all consider ourselves in serious trouble. Oh and Sprint, you should be ashamed of yourself also.
Dear customer care, Messrs. Clayton and Karmazin:
I write with a very serious concern regarding the programming of SIRIUS channels 21, 22, 28 and 50. Over the past several days I have noticed that certain words in certain songs were being "bleeped out” just as they were during my entire life of listening to "regular" radio. This is a marked departure from what I had come to know and expect from your service. I recently finished speaking with a very helpful and courteous customer service representative who confirmed that you have indeed begun to censor your content on these channels. I have been a loyal customer for nearly nine months and I signed up for your service because I am disgusted by censorship in this country and the bland content on the public radio stations. While I am not a proponent of “profanity” solely for the sake of profanity I believe that the work of a musician should be broadcast in its entirety as the artist intended. This in fact was one of your selling points nine months ago though you may not have used that precise language. Your decision to censor even one, let alone four, of your channels is deeply disturbing and I ask that you end this censorship IMMEDIATELY!!! I cannot imagine how you could betray your customer base so completely regardless of how lucrative your agreement is with SPRINT. Your decision to do so is incredibly offensive. I would very much appreciate a response in the next two or three days that includes a description of a clear (and very short) timeline for reverting back to your normal programming. I will remain a loyal customer for a limited period of time. Please fix this soon. Please also forward this message to Mr. Clayton and Mr. Karmazin as their contact information was absent from your website. If you wish to discuss this further, do not hesitate to contact me at #.
Sincerely,
Nolan
cc: Joseph Clayton, Chairman of the Board
Mel Karmazin, CEO
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This is such a strange way to go about controlling consumers and content.
It seems that the more that time passes, the less things you are allowed to do in the privacy of your own home.
Is censoring voice calls even legal?
It used to be the case that it was difficult for authorities to get the ability to infringe a persons rights, but this issue shows that time change.
What next - gags for people who say things that anyone in earshot doesn't like?
Satellite Guy
http://www.satellitetoradio.com/
I suspect it may have something to do with the fact that at least one State has a law against "Cussing over the telephone" and some have other profanity laws that may apply.
http://www.dumblaws.com/law/1490