ART Off the air........

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turtle101
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ART Off the air........

Post by turtle101 » 11-11-2013 12:49 PM

By Selwyn Harris
Pahrump Valley Times
[email protected]



After less than two months on the air, Art Bell, the master of late night paranormal talk radio is in a dispute with his new employer SiriusXM Satellite Radio.

As a result of the rift, Bell’s new show “Dark Matter” has gone dark on SiriusXM channel 104.

Not long after the show premiered on Sept. 16, Bell noted some problems associated with the streaming of content on his program.

On Bell’s website this week, the following message was posted to inform his legions of fans and listeners why he decided to halt the broadcast: “We are sorry that Dark Matter on SiriusXM has come to an abrupt end.” Bell said. “We’ll examine our options and may be able to return in a different format and medium. In the meantime, ArtBell.com will still operate as long as financially possible, hoping for a workable solution to bring Art back to you, soon. Keep checking back here often,” the post stated.

In another post, Bell expanded on the situation between he and SiriusXM executives that presumably led to the apparent suspension of his broadcast.

“Many thousands of my listeners came on board when it began but they have fallen off because of that reason. It’s a systemic problem. For a caller-driven show like this one, speaking only to people on cell phones in moving vehicles is somewhat difficult. The show also is being pirated, oh you have no idea. We are all over the Net right now, from YouTube to a server in England, for example, that’s streaming the show live. And because of all this, I have asked SiriusXM to alter their normal method of doing business and allow free streaming for everybody from artbell.com. If we get the opportunity to do this streaming, we will kick some serious butt…If not, we may not have a viable situation going forward,” the statement read.

Bell founded Pahrump’s own KNYE 95.1 FM, where he broadcast the very popular Coast to Coast AM for many years.

His return to the airwaves came as a pleasant surprise to all of his fans this summer.

In an exclusive interview with the Pahrump Valley Times in August, Bell seemed ebullient about returning to talk radio.

“Two terrestrial networks, which I won’t name, approached me and I turned them both down. I later got a Facebook message from a fellow named Jeremy Coleman, who is the programming manager for SiriusXM. We connected and talked. The more we talked, the more it seemed logical. That’s how it happened. He approached me and after turning down a couple of big networks, I said ‘this would be fun.’ I really like the technology. I’m thankful to be back on the air,” he said at the time.

On Tuesday, comments from listeners on Art Bell.com’s Facebook page were plentiful and varied.

“I have listened to the show on my computer, iPad, iPhone and iTouch and never had a problem,” said Wayne MacPherson. “This is just a stunt to get the show on his website to get more traffic and sell advertising. That way he can get paid by SiriusXM and make a buck of advertising as well. What a scam. He should have stayed retired. I don’t buy this for a second. It makes me question everything I have ever heard him say over the years.” the post read.

Another listener opted for the simplest solution to get Bell back on the airwaves.

“I think Art ought to just buy some air waves and run his own show,” said Alyssa Bubbliez. “Wouldn’t it be nice if it were that simple?”

It’s not the first time Bell prematurely signed off the air.

He semi-retired from his popular Coast to Coast AM in 2003.

Talk Show Host George Noory became the permanent host of Coast to Coast in the wake of Bell’s departure.

His most recent retirement came in 2007.

At the time, he said he wished to spend more time with his new wife and daughter while making it clear that unlike the reasons of his previous retirements, the 2007 episode was a positive decision and he would not disappear permanently.

A year prior, Bell moved to the Philippines but returned home to Pahrump less than a year later.

The legendary talk show host has not commented on the matter nor has Patrick Reilly, a senior vice president and spokesman for SiriusXM.
Due to current economic conditions the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.

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Post by turtle101 » 11-11-2013 01:05 PM

(“I have listened to the show on my computer, iPad, iPhone and iTouch and never had a problem,” said Wayne MacPherson. “This is just a stunt to get the show on his website to get more traffic and sell advertising. That way he can get paid by SiriusXM and make a buck of advertising as well. What a scam. He should have stayed retired. I don’t buy this for a second. It makes me question everything I have ever heard him say over the years.” the post read.")

I disagree. I'm not paying for any stupid radio station to listen to one program. I like Art Bell but 25 a month is way to much money.

(The show also is being pirated, oh you have no idea. We are all over the Net right now, from YouTube to a server in England, for example, that’s streaming the show live. And because of all this, I have asked SiriusXM to alter their normal method of doing business and allow free streaming for everybody from artbell.com.)

This I agree with.....free for one free for all.
Due to current economic conditions the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.

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Post by HB3 » 11-11-2013 03:10 PM

Last Week
11/04 - Mon - REPLAY - Richard C. Hoagland
11/05 - Tue - REPLAY - Charles Faddis Ex-CIA
11/06 - Wed - REPLAY - Loyd Auerbach
11/07 - Thu - REPLAY - Richard C. Hoagland / Whitley Strieber
This Week
Hoping to get Art released from SiriusXM contract so he can come back on Internet LIVE Streaming. We already have the technology in place, just waiting for the lawyers.

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Post by Lore » 11-11-2013 03:14 PM

I was one of those who experienced constant 1001 errors. Getting the show back on the internet sometimes was as simple as just refreshing the page.

However, many times the show for me would be off the internet for anywhere from 5 - 15 minutes. Once I couldn't get it back for about 25 minutes. This would happen 3-4 times or more a night. If I had a night where it only happened two times, it was very unusual. More than a few times I had to get completely out of the program and start all over to get back onto the stream. I don't sit at the desk while listening, I have wireless headphones and quite often sit outside on the patio, move about the house, or get into some project elsewhere in the house while listening. Very inconvenient to have to keep running back to the computer every few minutes refreshing the page or whatever it took to get back to where I could hear the stream. I am sure while there are people who never experienced this problem, I am equally sure there were many, many, who did.

I dropped out after the first free trial over the frustration. Tried a second free trial and nothing was better in fact it was worse, happening more often.

If the subscription been on par with Coast Insider, about 64 dollars a year, I probably would have subscribed anyway just for the archives but at $180.00 a year, and I couldn't even listen to it in real time, I wasn't interested even though I miss Art's show tremendously.

My computer is only a year old, it is a gaming computer (not that I game), I wanted the huge processor, hard drive capacity and tons and tons of memory, as I tend to junk up a computer with pictures, recipes, information, etc.

I am sure it is not my computer. Besides this is a streaming problem. I would say though, that my ISP is a bit of a weak player compared to the ISP that I used to have. This ISP is slow, not my computer. A lot of people have slow ISPs. If that is part of the problem this is still Serius' problem.

Art may have a case to get out of his Non Compete clause under the guise of non performance on the part of Sirius if this streaming problem wasn't disclosed at the time of signing the contract and if it can be proved that Sirius/XM management was aware of the problem before signing Art.
Last edited by Lore on 11-11-2013 05:57 PM, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by HB3 » 11-11-2013 04:19 PM

Yeah, I just think he doesn't want to do the show.

Why couldn't he have continued to do the show for Sirius while trying to make the arrangement he says he wants?

And if he couldn't be bothered to fix and/or "build up" a new show on Sirius, why would he be interested in doing the same thing with internet only streaming?

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Post by voguy » 11-11-2013 04:47 PM

I don't think he wants to do the show.... given the cards dealt to him. HB3, in the field he's in, this is like being a name band, and having your sound guys duck out on you, and your ticket sales cut by 50%. What he expected to getm and what XM delivered, was two different venues.
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Post by HB3 » 11-11-2013 05:04 PM

I understand, but how could he have not known that? I listened to some of the other Sirius hosts recently discussing their long term problems with the company.

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Post by fos » 11-11-2013 06:05 PM

I paid for the second month. I tried several times to cancel my account. It renews today. In each case when I called, I was left on hold for a very long time. I hung on until the phone went dead. I went into my account and deleted my credit card. I hope they don't have an archive where they can charge it anyway.

SiriusXM wasn't worth the coast for Art, it really isn't worth the cost without him. I am sure glad I didn't buy a radio. The local Radio Shack offered me a new radio kit for half price. I didn't spring for it.

fos

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Post by kbot » 11-11-2013 07:03 PM

I'm going to hold out hope that Art will find a way........

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Post by voguy » 11-11-2013 07:45 PM

HB3 wrote: I understand, but how could he have not known that? I listened to some of the other Sirius hosts recently discussing their long term problems with the company.


It's not the first time someone has lied in, or aside of a contract. Won't be the last. Management, to get what they perceive as the the better end of the deal, will often write into contacts vague language which can be debated for meaning on either side. It comes down to who has the better lawyer and wants to push the envelope.

Years ago, I worked at a station, and all the air talent was offered a 10% raise if we achieved 10% more in sales, and 5 points in the ratings book. We programmed sort of pop-rock adult contemporary format (Doobies, Rupert Holmes, EWF, Chicago, etc).

We hit the goals and then some. Sales was no problem. If you have a good product you can sell it. Numbers wise, we took a 6.2 lead. You would think that would have given everyone the raise. But not so fast, said the owner.

When he calculated the ratings, he included people 55+ and 14 and younger, (which would never listen to our station), and the number was more like 2.02. "Sorry", he said, I never said what demographic you had to hit.

The result was he got to keep his 10% raise, but within 2 weeks everyone walked out on him, leaving the station crushed in last place. In the end he lost.

The point is, sometimes the suits will make claims they know they can't keep and then bank on the fact that you'll still stick with them, or you will be intimidated by the contract. I'm sure in Art's case there were a lot of promises tossed around, and sadly Art was taken.

Having worked worked both talent and management side of the business, I've seen it play out many a time. However, I've never screwed anyone.
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." - Thomas Jefferson

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Post by Dude111 » 11-11-2013 08:49 PM

voguy wrote: I don't think he wants to do the show.... given the cards dealt to him.
I dont either seeing people have been saying MEAN AND NASTY things about him.... IF I WERE HIM I WOULD TELL PEOPLE TO PISS OFF!!


I think this whole thing of taking the show down WAS A TEST to see how people really felt about him...

You really see peoples REAL SIDES when stuff doesnt go thier way AND THEN YOU DONT WANNA DO IT!!!!!!

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Post by turtle101 » 11-11-2013 11:37 PM

I don't think Arts out to do testing on his listeners or tried of doing the show, myself. I think Sirius sucked him in like it did lots of us. I got the 30 days free and forgot to cancel so when I did call in I told them it was horrible and all I wanted to do is listen to Art Bell, and that was just to much money for something that didn't work. They stop my subscription and sent 1/2 my money back. which was nice. Its just how Art puts it. it's a bad system for him here in Pahrump. Pahrump sucks when it comes to phones and internet service if you want to stay connected. He needs to start his own radio station again.....and power out to the world. Art Rocks!!!!!!
Due to current economic conditions the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.

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Post by Dude111 » 11-12-2013 02:09 AM

I wonder if Howard Stern also has problems?

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Post by BenSlain » 11-12-2013 03:28 AM

Dude111 wrote: I wonder if Howard Stern also has problems?


$500.000.000 for five years . 3 days a week. Nice .

I guess that could cause some problems.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been The champion of the world.

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Post by voguy » 11-12-2013 04:23 PM

Dude111 wrote: I wonder if Howard Stern also has problems?


Howard's audience is completely different, different demographic, and taste for platforms. It's not really a good measure of where Art should be.
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." - Thomas Jefferson

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