SatRadio

Is Sirius Betamax?

XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio have been locked in a battle for subscribers for over two years now. Even before Sirius launched its service on February 14th, 2002, the two companies were trying to trump on another's technology.

The question of whether Sirius is just another Betamax comes up more often than Sirius execs would like to admit. A little known fact is that Sirius actually had the jump on XM, but technical problems left them struggling to get the service up and running. Most surveys and consumer feedback tend to suggest that Sirius has superior broadcast quality over XM. But can a better product make up for management mistakes?

cheap hotels in Knokke-HeistI recently had the opportunity to talk with several car dealership general managers about the demand for satellite radio from customers. While they noted there are an increasing number of requests for information about the service, many of these dealerships expressed some concern about Sirius. They noted how there is the perception that their manufacturer has once again gone with the second-rate product.

I have stressed for a long time now the importance of getting satellite radio capable receivers as standard equipment in cars and trucks. This is a process that is finally coming to fruition with several manufacturers, but there now appears to be a major disconnect on the dealership level.

The perception on the dealership level that Sirius is just another Betamax should be very troubling. These general managers also expressed an interest in being able to offer either service, but they realized that this was a decision not in their control. They also commented about the lack of information being pushed down to the dealership level about Sirius' technology or programming. Many salespeople are left in the dark about how to answer customer questions, and to most of them XM or Sirius are indistinguishable.

Tallinn hôtelsSatellite Radio News (1.15.04)

Sweden AlbergoThe following is a summary of today's satellite radio headlines:

XM Satellite Secondary Puts Us on Watch (TheStreet.com, 1.14.04) Investment article discusses XM Satellite Radio's public offering of 18 million common shares. 30 day free trial registration is available to view this article. (Read more)

XM Satellite sets 18 million share offering (Reuters, 1.13.04) News article notes that satellite radio provider XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. on Tuesday announced the beginning of a public offering of 18 million common shares. The offering includes the sale of 11 million shares by certain shareholders and a offer of 7 million new shares by the company. (Read more)

Sirius sees no need for FCC okay on video service (Reuters, 1.13.04) News article notes that Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. believes that it does not need permission from federal regulators to add video programming to its product line next year, a company spokesman said on Tuesday. After Sirius announced last week that it plans to offer video programming, the Federal Communications Commission said on Monday it had initiated talks to learn more and determine if the licenses assigned to the company permitted such service or if the FCC needed to authorize it. "Our licenses from the FCC permits us to offer satellite radio and other ancillary services over the radio spectrum that has been licensed to us," said Sirius spokesman Jim Collins. "Our offering of the video will be ancillary to our satellite radio service and doesn't require any other licenses, approval or other actions by the FCC," he said. The company has said it plans to offer three to four channels of nationwide video programming in vehicles, which increasingly are being outfitted with video screens as a way to entertain passengers on long trips. (Read more)

Satellite Radio News (1.13.04)

The following is a summary of today's satellite radio headlines:

Sirius' hopes on video may detour through U.S. FCC (Reuters, 1.12.04) News article notes Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s plan to add video to its service in American vehicles may have to take a detour past regulators at the Federal Communications Commission before getting out on the open road. The FCC has asked the company for more details about proposals to pipe a handful of nationwide video channels to those cars that have television screens by mid-2005, an agency spokesman said on Monday. "The FCC has initiated discussions about whether Sirius' planned video programming is permitted under our current rules and their current authorization or whether it would require a formal request from Sirius and a regulatory decision from the commission," said FCC spokesman David Fiske. (Read more)

Gap between Sirius,XM shares should close-Barron's (Reuters, 1.11.04) News article notes that a large gap in the valuations of rival satellite broadcasters XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio should start to close, as demand for satellite radio service soars, said Barron's in its Jan. 12 issue. Both broadcasters -- which beam music, talk and sports programming via satellite -- sell receivers to consumers who then must activate the service. XM Radio costs $9.95 a month, while Sirius costs $12.95 a month. XM has a valuation of $7 billion, which works out to about $5,100 per subscriber, according to the newspaper. Given its price of $9.95 a month, or roughly $120 a year in revenue per subscriber, XM's current valuation is equal to about 48 years worth of service, Barron's said. (Read more)

Lynyrd Skynyrd and SIRIUS Bring Consumer Electronics Show to a Halt With Live Concert (Sirius Satellite Radio, 1.09.03) Press release notes that Sirius Satellite Radio today brought the Consumer Electronics Show to a halt with a live performance by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The concert, broadcast live in surround sound on SIRIUS, was attended by huge numbers of convention attendees and packed the aisles and neighboring booths. The exclusive SIRIUS concert was threatened with shut down by convention authorities, and was cited for noise violations and overcrowding. SIRIUS has been the entertainment hub during the four day show. Live, exclusive performances from LeAnn Rimes, 3 Doors Down, Buddy Guy, Buddy Jewell, Trace Adkins Jonny Lang, Ricky Skaggs, have rocked CES. The Bangles, Ziggy Marley, Joe Jackson and Ray Herndon are scheduled to appear at the SIRIUS booth on Saturday. (Read more)

Satellite Radio News (1.09.04)

The following is a summary of today's satellite radio headlines:

XM Radio plans controversial traffic service (Reuters, 1.08.04) News article notes XM Satellite Radio said on Thursday it will launch an instant traffic and weather service on March 1, prompting established U.S. radio broadcasters to denounce the move as a "back-door attempt" to skirt regulations. On its Web site, XM said its new service would offer subscribers in-depth, up-to-date information about road and weather conditions in 21 major metropolitan markets plus several interstate corridors nationwide. XM said its service would provide greater detail and more frequent updates than available elsewhere on the radio. In a statement on the National Association of Broadcasters' Web site, Edward Fritts, the trade group's chief executive officer and president, said the association questioned the legality of the program. (Read more)

SIRIUS Adds ECLIPSE to Its Premier Retail Brands (Sirius Satellite Radio, 1.08.03) Press release notes that Sirius Satellite Radio announced a partnership with ECLIPSE by FUJITSU TEN, the premier independent retail specialist brand. ECLIPSE in-dash headunits will be SIRIUS compatible in 2004, and the company will also manufacture a SIRIUS receiver that will combine with these units to offer consumers SIRIUS' combination of 100% commercial-free music, news, sports and original programming. (Read more)

SIRIUS Teams With Tivoli Audio to Develop Home-Based Satellite Radios (Sirius Satellite Radio, 1.08.03) Press release notes that Sirius Satellite Radio announced a partnership with Tivoli Audio to manufacture and market specialty SIRIUS satellite radios for the home market. SIRIUS and Tivoli Audio have joined forces to bring to market elegantly simple, yet technologically sophisticated, satellite radios for home use, based on the popular, award-winning Model One, Two and Three Radios, designed by Audio Hall of Fame member Henry Kloss. (Read more)

SIRIUS and Niles Partner to Offer Home-Based Satellite Radio Products for the Custom Installer (Sirius Satellite Radio, 1.08.03) Press release notes that Sirius Satellite Radio and Niles Audio Corporation, a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of audio/video custom installation products, today announced a partnership to manufacture and market custom installation products that will include SIRIUS tuners. Niles plans to begin incorporating SIRIUS technology into both its next generation of keypad-controlled multi-zone receivers and preamplifiers. New Niles models with satellite radio tuner capabilities are scheduled to become available as early as the second quarter of 2004. (Read more)

SIRIUS and Crestron Team to Offer Sirius-Ready Home Audio Products (Sirius Satellite Radio, 1.08.03) Press release notes that Sirius Satellite Radio and Crestron, a worldwide leading manufacturer of advanced control technology, today announced a partnership to incorporate SIRIUS Satellite Radio capabilities into home-based audio products manufactured by Crestron. Crestron will bring SIRIUS' nationwide service of commercial-free music and premium sports and entertainment programming, including live play-by-play of the NFL, NBA and NHL, to the growing number of customized homes being built in the United States. The products will be marketed by Crestron, with a focus on the customized installer market. (Read more)

Keep on Truckin' to Tunes Anytime, Anywhere with the SIRIUS Satellite Radio Boombox from Pana-Pacific (Sirius Satellite Radio, 1.08.03) Press release notes that Sirius Satellite Radio and Pana-Pacific, a division of the The Brix Group, today announced that a boombox for the popular SIRIUS STREAMER from Pana-Pacific will be available this month at commercial truck dealers and truck stops across the country. The portable boombox is designed to operate with the STREAMER, the transportable SIRIUS receiver from Pana-Pacific, which connects with any existing in-dash radio or home stereo. Truckers can now take SIRIUS' 60 commercial-free music streams and more than 40 streams of news, entertainment and sports, including NFL, NBA and NHL play-by-pay, everywhere they go. (Read more)

SIRIUS and Blaupunkt to Provide Consumers With More Choices for Satellite Radio Hardware (Sirius Satellite Radio, 1.08.03) Press release notes that Sirius Satellite Radio and Blaupunkt announced that consumers will be able to purchase SIRIUS Plug & Play receivers and SIRIUS-ready satellite radios, the first-ever produced by Blaupunkt, at retail in the spring of 2004. At CES, Blaupunkt will preview two products designed to add SIRIUS Satellite Radio reception capabilities to the company's in-car audio/video entertainment systems and conventional in-dash car stereo receivers. The first is a SIRIUS tuner module with a dedicated connection to Blaupunkt's top-of-the-line audio/video entertainment system, and a separate composite video connection for use with any Blaupunkt in-car audio/video system. The second device is a portable Plug & Play SIRIUS receiver that provides satellite radio reception capability with a wireless interface that can be moved from home to car and back. (Read more)

Satellite Radio News (1.08.04)

The following is a summary of today's satellite radio headlines:

Sirius to beam video to cars by mid-2005 (Reuters, 1.07.04) News article notes that Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. said it expects to deliver up to four channels of video programming to TV screen equipped cars by mid-2005. Sirius said it expects to deliver 3-to-4 channels of video, and will likely focus on children's content, such as cartoons. The company, which charges about $10 a month for its music and talk radio service, said the shows may aggregate video from several providers, and added that it had not determined how much it would charge in addition for video. (Read more)

XM says surpassed 1.36 million subscribers in 2003 (Reuters, 1.07.04) News article notes that XM Satellite Radio said on Wednesday it surpassed 1.36 million subscribers in 2003 after adding 430,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter alone. Earlier in the day, rival Sirius Satellite Radio reported it reached 260,000 subscribers by year-end, with more than 100,000 additions in the fourth quarter. XM Radio launched its service almost a year ahead of Sirius. Both satellite broadcasters were bouyed by brisk activations of service after a strong Christmas selling season. XM Radio said it had 23,000 service activations on Christmas Day alone. (Read more)

XM Exceeds 1,360,000 Subscribers At Year-End 2003 (Dow Jones Business News, 1.07.04) News article notes that XM Satellite Radio reported about 1.4 million subscribers for its satellite radio service at the end of 2003, up about 1 million from a year-ago tally of 360,000 subscribers. XM, a radio broadcasting company, said it enrolled about 430,000 subscribers during the fourth quarter. In a press release Wednesday, XM said more than 23,000 people signed up for its service on Christmas Day -- a single-day enrollment record for the company. By the end of 2004, the Washington, D.C.-based company expects to increase its customer base by 1.4 million to 2.8 million subscribers. (Read more)

XM Exceeds 1,360,000 Subscribers at Year-End 2003 (XM Satellite Radio, 1.07.03) Press release notes that announced XM Satellite Radio signed up more than 1,360,000 subscribers, representing 1 million net additional subscribers in the year 2003, extending its market dominance in satellite radio. "XM delivered an outstanding performance in 2003 with more than 1 million new customers choosing our service this year for a total of more than 1.36 million subscribers overall," said Hugh Panero, XM President and CEO. "During the fourth quarter of 2003, XM added more than 430,000 customers - our best quarter ever. Equally exciting is the more than 23,000 subscribers who signed up on Christmas Day, the biggest single day in the history of the company. By the end of 2004 we expect to have 2.8 million subscribers, reflecting an increase of more than 1.4 million subscribers during 2004." (Read more)

Sirius Subscribers: Had 30,000 Subscriptions At '02 End (Dow Jones Business News, 1.07.04) News article notes that Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. ended 2003 with 261, 061 subscribers, more than eight times the roughly 30,000 subscribers it had at the end of 2002. The satellite radio broadcaster said in a press release Wednesday a surge in retail holiday sales led to more than 100,000 subscriber additions in the fourth quarter alone. Sirius announced in early December it had surpassed 200,000 subscribers to its network, which provides commercial-free streams of music, news and sports. (Read more)

JetBlue adds XM radio, Fox TV to in-flight service (Reuters, 1.07.04) News article notes that low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways Corp. (NasdaqNM:JBLU - News) said on Wednesday it will add XM satellite radio, Fox TV programs such as "The Simpsons" and pay movies to its in-flight entertainment. The move comes as Delta Air Lines' rival lower-cost unit Song outlined plans in November to roll out live television -- which JetBlue already has -- as well as interactive video games and music programming in its airplanes. (Read more)

Delphi Introduces Industry's First All-In-One Satellite Audio System (Delphi, 1.07.03) Press release notes that Delphi has introduced the Delphi CD Audio System, the industry's first "all-in-one" audio package that allows listeners to experience the benefits of the Delphi XM SKYFi satellite radio, AM/FM radio stations and CD/MP3 player capabilities. The Delphi CD Audio System will be available for $199 (MSRP) at consumer electronics retailers later this month. (Read more)

Delirious for Sirius (The Motley Fool, 1.05.03) Investment article notes that Sirius Satellite Radio has jumped nearly 60% with the turn of the New Year. Sure, Sirius recently inked some good-looking deals with pro sports, and they hit the 200,000-subscriber mark in early December. But take a peek beneath the hood and you'll find a company that is still losing $100 million per quarter and trading at an absurd-looking premium. (Read more)