SATELLITE RADIO HAS ARRIVED, AND IT'S CALLING OUT AROUND THE WORLD.

Byline: Fred Shuster Staff Writer

Remember the first stirrings of cable? The general feeling was nobody would pay for television.

Or consider the compact disc, before those costly little silver Frisbees dumped your vinyl dreams in La Brea Tar Pits? Oh, how we laughed in the days before the revolution.

That's how satellite radio might appear today. The fledgling digital service, which delivers vast numbers of channels of often commercial-free music and talk to subscribers throughout the country, offers programming with far more imagination than usual.

Anyone up for a channel devoted solely to NASCAR? Reggae? The Firesign Theatre? Phish? Satellite is either the next generation of radio or the Betamax of 2002.

``TV was free for decades and now some of us willingly pay $90 a month for it,'' says Richard Neer, author of the just-published ``FM: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio'' (Villard, $24.95), a history of the format. ``And like cable TV, satellite gives you choices you didn't have before. If it supersedes FM the way FM superseded AM, then it will be very important.''

For long-distance motorists and committed music fans, extra-terrestrial radio is sent from the heavens. For instance, among XM Satellite Radio's 71 music channels are adventurous alt-country, bluegrass, Christian, classic soul, blues and jazz stations.

``I'm a real radio fanatic,'' said TV assignment editor and XM subscriber Hans Laetz, 44, who drives two hours a day to and from work. ``And the ability to have all these music channels plus 30 news stations including the BBC World Service is overwhelming. For radio and music fans, this is the equivalent of going from 12 channels on over-the-air TV to 400 channels on cable.''

Laetz said he particularly enjoys XM's '60s station, which he likens to a genuine full-service Los Angeles Top 40 station of the era, ``complete with obnoxious disc jockeys, jingles and a terrific playlist. (Oldies) KRTH-FM plays 400 songs, the '60s station plays something like 2,000 songs - and that's just one XM station.''

Among XM's unusual offerings is the excellently named ``Fred,'' a classic-alternative outlet that airs U2 and R.E.M. alongside obscure cuts from the likes of the Smiths, Echo & the Bunnymen, and Elvis Costello.

Nearby on the XM dial, fans of '70s troubadours get their own channel. ``The Loft'' goes in for the Van Morrison, James Taylor and Jackson Browne singer-songwriter axis, but veers towards lesser-known material and even one-hit wonders.

There are two satellite radio companies. XM, with its flashy, surreal TV commercials (``Radio to the power of X'') launched in November, charging $9.99 a month. Its lone competitor, Sirius, rolls out Feb. 14 and costs $12.95 per month.

``Satellite is not going to be hugely popular everywhere immediately,'' says Lee Abrams, XM's chief programmer. ``It would be foolish to think it'll happen in a year. But our reach is incredible and what we have to offer is just fantastic. Look, we'll never put FM out of business. But I think we have a very formidable alternative that a lot of people will want.''

Both XM and Sirius - which won't divulge how many subscribers they've got although analysts say the combined tally is under 100,000 - have worked hard to fast-forward their profile, lining up partners in the auto and electronics industries and utilizing extensive advertising budgets.

For example, the latest Cadillac Seville and DeVille models offer factory-installed XM receivers, expanding to more than 20 GM models in 2002. Sirius, meanwhile, has snagged Mercedes, BMW, Ford, Volvo, Jeep and Jaguar.

But you don't have to buy a car to get a satellite receiver. All the major radio manufacturers offer selnstalled units for around $450 to replace current dashboard radios. XM and Sirius, incidentally, are not compatible.

``The technology is worth waiting for,'' said Joe Capobianco, senior vice president of programming for Sirius. ``It's radio with the subscriber in mind. You'll hear things you don't expect and you'll be able to scratch whatever listening itch you may have at any point in time.''

Money for nothing

The potential for profit is great. After all, nearly 219 million Americans - or 96 percent of those 12 and over - tune into 13,000 stations for news, sports, weather, traffic and music, averaging 20 hours of radio listening a week, according to Arbitron, the marketing research company.

But while radio is big business, it's never been less independent, the result of deregulation which allowed a handful of broadcasting companies to own the majority of stations. Consequently, programming decisions for huge national chains are often made by one office.

``We can go deeper in an artist's catalog than anyone would ever even dream on terrestrial radio,'' Abrams said. ``And we can offer formats that would never sell on regular radio. The only people that would buy ads on a heavy metal-only channel on commercial radio would be tattoo parlors.''

Despite satellite's clear potential and commercial radio's dire state, it may be a battle to get us to pay for something we already get free. But the general feeling is your car radio is so dull and predictable that XM and Sirius may just catch on in the same way many viewers now gladly shell out for HBO.

XM, which is based in Washington, D.C., and Sirius, which has its studios in New York, both target Los Angeles as their biggest potential market, saying the sprawling city boasts the most striking need for dramatic dial choice.

``Unlike a lot of other places, L.A. is a car town where people spend multiple hours a week commuting,'' says Doug Wilsterman, senior vice president of marketing and distribution at Sirius. ``And our focus groups tell us people are sick and tired of all the commercials, which can amount to 16 to 22 minutes an hour. That's the biggest complaint.''

As with cable TV, which eventually developed its own award-winning programming, satellite has the potential to create its own stars.

``Oh, definitely,'' Capobianco said. ``There will be a day when a satellite Howard Stern or Don Imus emerges. And that will be another reason for people to subscribe to the service. There will be a 'Sopranos' of satellite radio. And when that happens, people will really see what this is all about.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Driving force

For a small fee, satellite radio- with its array of channels- is offering commuters a choice

(2) This XM Satellite Radio studio looks indistinguishable from any studio in a modern radio station.

(3) no caption (dashboard)

(4) no caption (Satellite Radio dish)