We’ll all be dead before XM and Sirius merge, but the two companies would like the whole wide world (or whoever reads PR Newswire) to know how they think they’ll end up financially once they’re one company. (What an awfully constructed sentence.) The headline here is the combined company will have positive cash flow in 2009. They did re-state that, technically, Sirius will be taking over the assets of XM. So, pretty boring financials that might please Wall Street, but we couldn’t really give a toss about. I’d like to know what sort of “clerical error” led to XM not paying Opie & Anthony for the past two months. → Read More
It looks like Kevin Martin of the FCC is now supporting the XM-Sirius merger. I think my brain just exploded a little bit. Yes, 16 months after initially proposing the merger (and three months after the Justice Department gave the green light), the FCC’s chairman has given it a thumbs-up. Said the chairman: I am recommending that, with the voluntary commitments they’ve offered, on balance, this transaction would be in the public interest What soaring prose from Mr. Martin! As you might expect, there are some conditions that both XM and Sirius will have to meet for the merger, which will now need to be endorsed by at least two of the remaining four FCC commissioners, to go through. → Read More
We’re all waiting on this guy The FCC “will hopefully be able to do something on it soon.” “It” is the proposed XM-Sirius merger, while “soon” means whatever you want it to mean. Yup, the FCC chair, Kevin Martin, said today that the deal has taken as long as it has because of all the different regulatory matters involved. Or, maybe, because the likes of the NAB have been hounding everyone since Day One, claiming that the merger will ruin radio blah blah get an iPod. The news comes nearly three months after the Justice Department said “sure, why not?” to the merger. And, for the zillionth time, I’m pro-merger in as much as I don’t see anything particularly wrong with it; I think those running around saying “but it’ll be a monopoly in the satellite radio industry” are being disingenuous. It’s not like satrad is a necessity and you’re forced to buy it. That, and for $10 you can buy a tape deck to connect your portable media player (iPod) to your car stereo. → Read More
[photopress:xmsir0325.jpg,full,right] The Justice Department gave its blessing to the XM-Sirius merger yesterday. Now we wait for the FCC to weigh in, most likely siding with Justice in giving the merger the OK. Maybe they’ll throw up a few last minute hurdles—please demonstrate how this merger helps the consumer and not just your bottom line, for example—but most analysts I’ve heard and read said they expect the FCC to ultimately give its OK. Not everyone’s happy with the decision, as you may have guessed. → Read More
[photopress:arlenxm.jpg,full,center] A decision, one way or the other, on the proposed XM-Sirus merger should be reached by the end of the month. So says Sen. Arlen Spector, the ranking [Republican] member on the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Pat Leahy is the chairman of the committee, it should be noted.) He made an appearance on the Howard Stern Show earlier today and tried to explain why no decision has been made just yet, well over a year since the merger was first announced. → Read More
Meet StreamSmart. Hard info is a little, shall we say, non-existant, but the teaser video (and Orbitcast) suggest that it’s a service that will stream satellite radio to all sorts of portables devices and platforms. There’s iPhone, WiMo, OSX, Windows, Linux, Xbox 360 and others. In visiting its Web site, you’re greeted with a little “Don’t Panic” alien jpg (and the video itself). Hardly inspiring. StreamSmart via Orbitcast → Read More
[photopress:client9radio.jpg,full,center] Classy, Sirius. Real classy. Sirius Satellite Radio today will launch Client 9 Radio, channel 126, a talk radio-format channel that will “explore the breaking news, facts, fallout, psychology, and implications of the scandal.” Surely you know to what Client 9 refers? Orbitcast reports that, in addition to covering the Spitzer scandal, the channel will also feature the likes of Rachael Marsden and Judith Regan, presumably talking about why men are evil. Thank goodness for Sirius. What would we do without it? Client 9 Radio [Sirius] → Read More
[photopress:melk.jpg,full,center] It’s been more than a year since the proposed XM-Sirius merger was announced and we’re no closer now to a combined company than we were then. But there’s hope… maybe! Actually, XM and Sirius just extended the deadline by two months for the deal to go through (or not). Now the satellite radio companies have given the Feds till May 1 for the thumbs up or thumbs down. So only two more months of teasing to go. Unless they extend the deadline again. All this futzing around must please the shareholders. XM and Sirius extend merger deadline by 2 months [Reuters via Drudge Report] → Read More
[photopress:hdhdhdradio.jpg,full,center] The basic problem with HD Radio is that, no matter how crystal clear you make radio sound, it’s still radio. Commercial radio, on the whole, is absolute garbage. Maybe iBiquity needs to come to terms with that before it starts accusing XM and Sirius of unfair business tactics. IBiquity, the main force behind HD Radio, says sales increased some 700 percent last year compared to 2006. That’s what it told the National Association of Broadcasters at any rate, which is no friend of the satellite radio companies. Compare that with what it told the FCC, claiming that that both XM and Sirius have coerced their partners—car companies and the like—to “discourage proliferation” of HD Radio. IBuiquity is telling one party last year was great, and telling another party they’re being screwed by the satrad companies. Well-paid analysts call that “having your cake and eating it too.” Again, I have no interest in listening to wild shock jock antics like dropping bra bombs on top of TV stations while trying to coin funny catchphrases like “mother hucker” and “brotherman” no matter how high-quality the signal is. HD Radio: Which hype should you believe? [Orbitcast] → Read More
[photopress:ft11.jpg,full,center] FlyTunes sounds good. It’s a new service for cellphone and other Wi-Fi devices that tunes into Internet radio stations, turning your staid iPhone into a wherever-you-go-radio. In that sense it’s sorta like satellite radio, though I’d be wary of calling it a “satellite radio killer.” In any event, the company insists that caching 30 minutes of audio takes only one minute. Shots of the interface, ahoy. → Read More
[photopress:xm_sound_system.jpg,full,center] XM Satellite Radio is showing off new sound systems for the first time in quite a while at Le CES this week. Two, to be exact: the $100 XM Sound System (pictured above) and the $150 XM Compact Sound System (after the jump). More like an iPod speaker+dock than a stand-alone radio, both the Sound System and the Compact Sound System work a variety of XM radios, including the RoadyXT, Xpress and SKYFi2 (and any device with an audio-out jack); they’ll work the Inno and Helix, but you’ll have to buy a separate adapter for those. No release dates yet. → Read More
What happened to the XM-Sirius merger? Announced last February, the merger appears to have hit a snag. We sat through all of December with little hints here and there—sources say an announcement will be made later today, sources say the FCC is just crossing T’s and dotting I’s—but now we’re left wondering what’s going on. Some attribute the delay to the merger’s complexity. Others contend that the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission, both of whose approval is required for the merger to go through, are facing resistance from some of its staffers who oppose the merger. There’s also the continued lobbying by terrestrial radio, primarily in the form of the NAB and its silly ads, that may influencing the regulatory bodies. For the record, so long as Opie and Anthony aren’t kicked off the air, I say merge ‘em. As a person living in he year 2008, I that whole “it’ll be a satellite radio monopoly” doesn’t really fly. You have an iPod. Use it. Suspense grows over XM-Sirius antitrust review [Reuters] → Read More
Announced back in September, iTunes Tagging is a way for listeners of HD Radio to take a song they’ve heard on the radio, mark it with the appropriate metadata (that’s then synced to your iPod), then download the song from the iTunes Store after connecting their iPod to their computer. I’ve completely make a mess of that sentence, but you know what I mean to say. Now we’re hearing word that Apple will be making a big push at January’s MacWorld for stereos and boomboxes that work with iTunes Tagging. Apple says it’s a way for non-satellite radio stations to get into the digital music age. Because, you know, I always wanted to hear radio ads for the local car dealership in the highest quality possible. So far, manufacturers committed to building iTunes Tagging-compatible radios include Sony, Griffin and Cambridge Soundworks. Apple readying HD Radio push for Macworld [iLounge] → Read More
If you’ve been thinking about making the satellite radio plunge (and have your heart set on Sirius), today’s the day to whip out your credit card. Today (and today only, according to an e-mail I received a little while ago) you can grab a Stiletto 10 for $50, a full $100 off the regular price, with the purchase of a subscription. The portable Stiletto 10 doesn’t have some of the whiz-bang features as the Stiletto 2, most notably MP3 storage and radio-over-Wi-Fi streaming, but it’ll make a fine Baby’s First Satellite Radio. As for the merger, it’s now expected that the Department of Justice will make a decision by the end of the year, followed by the FCC’s decision in February. Excited yet? Stilleto 10 [Sirius] Report: DOJ decision by year end, FCC in February [Orbitcast] → Read More
I completely forgot to mention this the other day: now that XM is in the podcast business, it has started a promotion that gives away two weeks of streaming XM Satellite Radio. Yes, two free weeks of XM, complete with specialty channels like The Virus and that Oprah one. I hear XM is thinking about changing the name of the MLB channel to “Steroids: Everyone uses ‘em.” So yeah, two weeks of free XM. If you’ve ever signed up for one of these free promotions in the past, you may have to register with a diferent e-mail address than you did last time. Free XM Trial [XM Satellite Radio] → Read More
I’m gonna be paying closer attention to satellite radio from now on, not just because the bosses told me to, but because the proposed merger is the defining moment of our times. It’s like the moon landing. XM is now in the podcasting game. The satellite radio company has created several podcasts, many of which are exclusives. Right now, you’ll find podcasts ranging from sports talk like that James Carville show, XM Artist Confidential and, my personal favorite, animated clips from the Opie & Anthony show. Basically, someone takes stories told on the air and animates them. It’s funnier than it sounds, believe me. The podcasts are free for now, so be sure to check ‘em out of you have the time. And to the O&A fans in the house, I didn’t like Roland’s favorite movie of the year, “Once“… I loved it! (That’s not a joke, by the way.) XM is Podcasting: Select shows now on iTunes [Orbitcast] XM Podcasts [XM] → Read More
The XM-Sirius merger, yet another story that refuses to go away. Whoops—it might go away today, actually. A recent Bear Sterns report suggests that the Department of Justice may give the merger its blessing as early as today. Once the DoJ gives the go-ahead, it’s largely expected that the FCC will do the same. So break out the popcorn and keep your eyes and ears open for any merger news that might break today. Now that there’s really no opposition to the merger (the National Association of Broadcasters, aka “regular radio,” was recently exposed as a bunch of tricksters), it’s completely up to the feds as to whether or not it will happen. So long as the merger doesn’t mean the end of Opie & Anthony I’m fine with it. Is today the day? [Orbitcast] → Read More
These are interesting times to be a satellite radio fan. Yeah, there’s that merger hanging over the industry’s head (let them merge, I say), but Sirius and XM are now experimenting with artist-specific channels. XM LED, which launches today and lasts through next May, is a Led Zeppelin-only channel that will features every damn thing the band has ever released. OK, maybe not all those bootlegs you can find online, so maybe I should say damn near everything. The surviving members are really getting the Led out. I’m listening to Mothership right now and you’ll soon be able to buy the band’s complete discography from iTunes. A fun time to be a fan of “that crazy white boy band,” as my mom described them some years ago. XM LED [XM Satellite Radio via Orbitcast.com] → Read More
Polk Audio’s miDock Portfolio has been relatively successful as an iPod accessory — pretty good sound, pretty good value, pretty good looking — so Sirius Stiletto owners may be happy to hear that they’ll be able to get their own version in October for around $130. → Read More
Sonos, makers of everybody’s favorite way to stream music throughout your house, has announced a partnership with Sirius. The deal: Beginning today, if you’ve got Sonos’ Zoneplayer hardware, you can download software that lets you stream 80 channels of the satellite stuff–including Howard Stern and the NFL. It’ll be free for 30 days, after which point it’ll ring up to $12.95 per month for new Sirius customers, or $2.99 if you’re already a subscriber. Of course, Sonos already streams content from Rhapsody and Pandora, meaning that this is just one more step in their every-increasing web of alliances that could make them the daddy of streaming services. Not bad for a company that doesn’t even approach the name recognition or size of the CE giants. And still no telling what effect, if any, an XM-Sirius merger would have on this deal. On the same note: Sirius is set to announce a bunch of new recievers later today, so stay tuned for what’s in store. [via BusinessWeek] → Read More
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