Sirius Satellite Radio

The blocking of the Howard Stern channels is anticipated to change once the announced return of Stern to Canada takes place. The film Date Movie features a part where Julia Jones (Alyson Hannigan), the main character, gets "pimped", complete with gold teeth. However, Sirius cannot stop grey market receivers from picking up the American programming. An issue of Wizard featured an article in which superheros and their "supermobiles" (e.g-Batman and the Batmobile, Wonder Woman and her invisible jet, Optimus Prime) were pimped. For example, the Sirius ONE radio is model "SV1" in the United States, but "SV1C" in Canada. The Weebl and Bob episode "joust2" features the car belonging to the character Bob being "pimped" for a joust, by a jar of jam and a talking fried egg known as "Eggsy Bit". Most of these radios have a 'C' suffix in the model name. Spoofing PMR, Robot Chicken's version was Pimp My Sister, where a pimp and his stable turned a kid's nice, average sister into a whore for the kid to pimp.

Sirius had previously disabled the Howard Stern channels on radios with a Canadian ESN number, even if they are subscribed to American content from an American address. At midday, a picture spoofing the test card (with the word "fool" written on the blackboard) was shown with an announcement that Chav my Motor would not be shown due to "ongoing police investigations", and would be shown on 1st April next year. [2]. This is because it turned out to be an April Fools joke. On February 1, 2006, The Globe and Mail reported the announcement that Stern's show on Howard 100 would become available in Canada as of February 6, 2006. Chav My Motor was a spoof of PMR, and although there was advertising for the show, it was never shown. On January 11, 2006, a Canadian writer interviewed on Stern's show announced an online petition to bring Stern to Sirius Canada. A PMR spoof appeared on VH1 in the UK, called Chav My Motor.

[1] (It should be noted that this figure also includes an unverified number of listeners who subscribed before the Canadian satellite radio services launched at all — the analysts' figures did not offer any estimate of how many Canadians chose a grey market subscription over Sirius Canada specifically because of Stern.). This short skit shows Xzibit entering a church and excited to see the bride who is getting pimped - after which, Xzibit tells the groom to come to the alley with him and reveals the bride, who, as expected, is done up like a prostitute and has a television installed on her back. Howard 100 News has stated on air that they estimate at least 60,000 grey market satellite subscriptions in Canada; in December, the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported that business analysts in Canada estimate a total of 60,000 grey market subscribers to both Sirius and XM combined. A PMR spoof appeared in Jimmy Kimmel Live, called Pimp My Bride featuring Xzibit himself and written by Kimmel's team. A significant number of Canadians have purchased grey market subscriptions to Sirius' American service to listen to Stern, although owing to the nature of grey market economics a precise number is difficult to verify. An AirFerg sketch featured Ferg pimp a boy's mother to become a full-fledged whore with an automatic coochie among other things. Despite popular belief that Stern's broadcast was banned by the CRTC, this is not the case — Sirius Canada, in fact, voluntarily chose not to air the program at the time of its launch in Canada. The spoof ultimately ended with the car being vandalized and left on blocks in a parking lot when the owner went into a store.

Sirius Canada did not initially carry Howard Stern. The car, "dumped" by "Messed-up Customs", was (apparently) a 1977 AMC Gremlin, which was outfitted with multiple television sets, a miniature race-car track, a deep fryer, and a koi pond. Sirius Canada was officially launched December 1, 2005. A PMR spoof appeared in MAD #456, called Dump My Ride. After a lengthy debate, cabinet rejected the appeals on September 9, 2005. Season 1. The groups objected to Sirius’ approach to and reduced levels of Canadian content and French language programming, along with the exclusion of Canadian non-commercial broadcasting. Special.

The decision was appealed to the Canadian federal cabinet by a number of broadcasting, labour, and arts and culture organizations, including the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, CHUM Limited, and the National Campus and Community Radio Association. Season 4. The application was approved on June 16, 2005. Season 3. In November, 2004, a partnership between Sirius, Standard Broadcasting and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation filed an application with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to introduce Sirius in Canada. Season 2. Some popular radios from Sirius:. Season 1.

Sirius' hardware lineup is available at Sirius.com. Hosted by the Italian hip hop group Gemelli DiVersi, Pimp My Wheels turns old rusty motorscooters or motorcycles into brand-new shiny vehicles. They also make many receivers for aftermarket installs as well, including the Sportster Replay, Starmate Replay, Sirius S50 with built in 1GB MP3 player, and the Sirius One. MTV Italy also features a different version of Pimp My Ride, called Pimp My Wheels. Starting in 2006, all Rolls-Royce vehicles sold in the United States will come with a Sirius radio and lifetime subscription as standard equipment. Both shows are located in Hamburg.
The original US Pimp My Ride is shown in English language with German subtitles. As of 2005, Sirius receivers are available for various new Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mercury, Mini, Nissan, Scion, Toyota, Porsche, Volkswagen, and Volvo vehicles, and the service plans on adding availability for portable use. Pimp My Whatever is hosted by MTV's presenter Patrice Bouédibéla.

Sirius also offers an adapter that allows conventional car radios to receive satellite signals. In Pimp My Whatever [2] ElbCoast Psycles return once more to pimp anything from a bathroom and a doghouse to a Birthday Party or even someone's brother. The chipset converts the signals from 2.3 gigahertz (GHz) to a lower intermediate frequency. It is hosted by German actor Oliver Korittke. Inside the receiver module is a chipset consisting of eight chips. While the show could be seen as a parody of the American original, it is also a loving tribute, using all the elements of the American show with a bicycle twist. The signal is then passed on to the receiver module. On Pimp My Fahrrad [1], the bike shop Elbcoast Psycles redoes almost the entire bicycle, usually leaving only the frame intact.

The antenna module picks up signals from the ground repeaters or the satellite, amplifies the signal and filters out any interference. The German-language MTV Central Europe has two adaptions of the show called Pimp My Fahrrad (English: "Pimp My Bicycle") and Pimp My Whatever. The Sirius receiver includes two parts -- the antenna module and the receiver module. Carisma Automotive are the customisers for the UK version. Sirius offers car radios and home entertainment systems, as well as car and home kits for portable use. A UK version of the show launched on 26 June 2005, presented by the DJ Tim Westwood. Signals are also beamed to ground repeaters for listeners in urban areas where the satellite signal can be interrupted. Pimp My Ride is one of MTV's most popular shows in nearly all of its worldwide subsidiaries (numbering nearly 100), the only exception being the U.S., where it is second place to The Real World (which is generally much less known outside of the United States).

Programs are beamed to one of the three Sirius satellites, which then transmit the signal to the ground, where your radio receiver picks up one of the channels within the signal. . The Sirius system is similar to that of its competitor. The series should begin early 2006. A fourth satellite will remain on the ground, ready to be launched if any of the three active satellites encounter transmission problems. Discovery Channel will be showing a new series (unamed) that features WCC's car built in the garage more than, as Ryan Haus says "over-the-top cars". Sirius completed its three-satellite constellation on November 30, 2000. The producers of the show will continue new episodes with another garage to be announced in early 2006.

Sirius says the elliptical path of its satellite constellation ensures that each satellite spends about 16 hours a day over the continental United States, with at least one satellite over the country at all times. Ryan, the WCC manager has moved his shop to Corona, CA and is worried about his ability to both do the show and have another shop. Instead, its three SS/L-1300 satellites fly in geosynchronous (24-hour orbital period) inclined elliptical orbits. MTV has announced that Pimp My Ride will no longer be with WCC. Sirius does not use Geostationary satellites. In December 2004 the shop was fined $16,000 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (along with fellow shop Unique Autosports) for removing airbags from cars and replacing them with DVD monitors, although this modification was not done on the TV show. The Sirius uplink facility is located in Vernon, Sussex County, New Jersey. WCC has faced problems with some of their modifications.

Sirius' satellites are called Radiosat (instead of after the company name), due to there already being a previous fleet of satellites launched also named SIRIUS, launched by Sweden's NSAB (Nordiska Satellitaktiebolaget, or Nordic Satellite AB) and used for general telecommunications and satellite tv throughout Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia. Ryan Haus, the owner of WCC, has been featured in season 3 as the "lead" for discussions on what customizing will be done on the incoming cars. The series of satellites from which they come, the SS/Loral LS-1300, is known to have problems with their solar array cells — a similar but more severe issue affects the Boeing satellites belonging to competitor XM Radio. Louis, Missouri. Radiosat 4 is a ground spare, in storage at SS/Loral’s facility in Palo Alto, California. He cited a desire to expand the company's business with a customs shop in St. The first three of the series were orbited in 2000 by Proton-K Block-DM3 launch vehicles. After the second season however, WCC manager "Q" announced that he would not be willing to take a role in the show anymore.

Sirius’ spacecraft Radiosat 1 through Radiosat 4 were manufactured by Space Systems/Loral. Both he and WCC have experienced boosts in business due to the show: Xzibit has gained wider attention for his music career (as well as hosting and movie gigs), and WCC had to expand their facilities, due to the international exposure Pimp My Ride gave their work. Iceberg Radio is programmed by Standard Broadcasting, which also provides a number of additional channels exclusive to Canada; the other four come from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Xzibit, the show's host, has found a new audience of fans, who appreciate his sense of humor and obvious love of his job. With the launch of Sirius Canada in December 2005, American listeners gained five Canadian-produced stations including CBC Radio One, CBC Radio Three and Iceberg Radio in English, and Première Plus and Bandeapart in French. The WCC employees are an eclectic mix of outgoing personalities, such as:. The deal with NPR was the first high-profile deal entered into by Sirius. Much of the appeal of the show comes from the personalities involved.

Sirius also has exclusive satellite radio rights to National Public Radio, carrying two separate streams. In both instances, the "Pimpees" were given brand new cars, with extensive WCC modifications to customize the new car for the owner. In June 2005, Sirius signed an agreement with BBC Radio 1 in the UK to rebroadcast the station to an American audience. In the second instance (Episode 8 of Year 2) the "Pimpee" was studying to be an auto mechanic, and WCC decided to let him "pimp" his car as a study project. Sirius has also been aggressive in creating its own in-house produced studio sports radio content. In the first instance (the last episode of Year 1), the car-to-be-pimped was actually two Ford Escorts welded together, and was considered unsafe. In August 2004, Sirius launched NFL Radio, a 24-hour radio stream dedicated exclusively to covering the NFL. On only two occasions did WCC not "pimp" the automobile.

Beginning in 2005 Sirius also has exclusive radio rights to cover the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. However, WCC is well-known for putting their own whimsical touches in their work, such as the aforementioned dryer, or an electric fireplace in the trunk of another vehicle. Sirius also has rights to a number of major college sports conferences, including the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference as well as schools like Notre Dame. Customization and extra gifts usually total around US$20,000 (though the show usually doesn't put much emphasis on costs). Starting in 2007, Sirius will have full NASCAR coverage. Work usually includes new paint, accessories, chrome, tires and rims, and internal electronics (even, and especially, DVD players, video games, TFT screens of excessive size and other top notch gadgets). NHL games will be shared with XM for the 2005–2006 season, after which XM will have exclusive broadcast rights. For example, a Need for Speed: Underground 2 fan had his car painted to look like one in the game, while a bowler had a ball washer installed in his trunk, and a surfer got a full-size dryer (or at least one that fit) in the back of his Volkswagen van.

The agreement also creates a 24-hour NBA Radio Channel, located on channel 127. Each car is a custom "pimp", tailored to the personalities and interests of the owners. Sirius also announced in December 2005 a multi-year deal with the NBA, which makes the satellite radio company the broadcaster of more live NBA games than any other radio outlet. The show features rapper Xzibit, who takes the cars to the custom body shop of West Coast Customs (WCC), where the WCC team generally replaces most of the components and rebuilds the interior and exterior from scratch. Currently, Sirius has exclusive satellite radio broadcasting rights to all NFL and NBA games. The show picks young car owners (requirements limit participants to their early 20's) living in the Los Angeles/Southern California area. Another cornerstone of Sirius’ business strategy has been to pursue exclusive sports content. The concept is simple — one takes a car that is old, thought to be unfashionable, falling apart, or some combination thereof, and "pimps" it (i.e., the car is restored and customized).

On October 25, 2005 Sirius announced that "E Street Radio", the exclusive channel of legendary artist Bruce Springsteen, would air from November 1, 2005 to January 31, 2006 on the Bridge - Channel 10. Pimp My Ride is a TV show originally shown on MTV, with the first episode airing on March 4, 2004. It was Karmazin who fiercely protected Stern in the wake of the Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime Show (produced by MTV and aired by CBS, both co-owned with Infinity) and the FCC crackdown on shock jocks and obscenity, in general. Hackney Carriage (1986). Stern worked under Karmazin at Infinity Radio and the two men have always had a great deal of mutual respect for each other. Ford Capri (1986). On November 18, 2004 the former COO and President of Viacom, Mel Karmazin, was named the CEO of Sirius. Fiat Panda (1987).

Generally the personalities act as DJs hosting shows with music they personally like. Ford Granada (1983). These shows are hosted by personalities including skateboard legend Tony Hawk, seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, The B-52's lead singer Fred Schneider, NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton and longtime New York City DJ “Cousin Brucie”, who was dropped by WCBS-FM after the station changed to its format from an oldies station to a “Jack” format. Volkswagen Golf (1989). In addition to the channel-programming deals, Sirius has also programmed a number of more conventional shows with well known personalities in a number of fields. Morris Minor (1961). In Howard Stern's first major hire for Sirius, Stern brought on board Tampa, FL based Bubba the Love Sponge, fired by Clear Channel due to a $750,000 fine proposed by the FCC Reuters, to do a show on Sirius. This car was "pimped" for The Tonight Show announcer John Melendez.

Beginning with the announcement of his imminent departure, Stern began to complain of one of his employers, Infinity Broadcasting, as trying to impede the success of his departure. Jeep Wrangler