hotels in BlackpoolSatellite Radio News (2.18.04)

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

XM Satellite Radio to Be Featured on the 2004 Volkswagen 'Satellite Blue' New Beetle, Plus the 2005 New Beetle and Jetta (XM Satellite Radio, 2.18.04) Press release notes that XM Satellite Radio will be a standard feature on Volkswagen of America's new, limited edition 2004 Volkswagen "Satellite Blue" New Beetle, as well as a factory and dealer installed option on Volkswagen's 2005 New Beetle and Jetta. The 2004 Volkswagen Satellite Blue New Beetle features an XM Satellite Radio receiver with free activation and a one-year subscription to the XM service. XM's 2004 programming lineup offers more than 120 digital radio channels of commercial-free music plus premiere news, sports, talk, and entertainment channels from coast to coast. XM will offer 24-hour traffic and weather channels for major metropolitan areas beginning March 1. (Read more)

Volkswagen New Beetle and Jetta to Feature SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Sirius Satellite Radio, 2.13.04) Press release notes that Sirius Satellite Radio and Volkswagen of America today announced that SIRIUS will soon be available as a factory and dealer installed option on Volkswagen's New Beetle and Jetta. SIRIUS will be offered as a factory and dealer option in the 2005 New Beetle coming in late summer of this year and in the 2005 all-new Jetta coming early in 2005. VW will also announce a limited edition vehicle later this year that will exclusively feature SIRIUS. (Read more)

Let's Get Sirius (The Motley Fool, 2.13.04) Investment article notes thato t's easy to understand the lure of satellite radio. Just as cable television revolutionized the vanilla-swirl programming world of rabbit ears and network broadcasters, Sirius and rival XM Satellite Radio offer the aural equivalent. Name the audio niche and either company's got you covered with round-the-clock servings. The pie is there. It can feed two. But how thick a slice can Sirius carve here? While both companies have made financing moves to doll up their balance sheets, you need a good personality to go with the fiscal makeover. Sirius has a lot of ground to cover if it wants to catch up to XM, and it's got an uphill battle in justifying why its service is worth 30% more than the competition's. So what might work? By the summer of next year, Sirius expects to launch video transmissions. It will initially roll with a few channels of children's programming. The cynical objection is not lost on me. Truckers on cross-country hauls and long-distance lone-wolf commuters have no use for eye candy. Yet the very notion that video programming is available on that next family road trip or that the format will make headway in the cozier home and boombox market may give satellite radio the ability to penetrate the market further as well as provide it with the flexibility to justify a pricing premium. (Read more)

Sirius Slides on Note Sale (TheStreet.com, 2.13.04) News article notes that Sirius Satellite Radio shares slipped 4% Friday after the highflying tech shop sold $250 million of convertible notes. The New York-based company said it sold the five-year notes, which pay 2.5% interest, to an institutional investor in a private placement. The company said the notes effectively convert to Sirius stock at $4.41 each. Convertible note offerings tend to pressure stock prices because they offer the prospect of shareholder dilution. (Read more)

Satellite Radio's Signals Get Stronger (Forbes, 2.13.04)hotel rooms Mikonos News article notes that XM Satellite Radio reported vigorous subscriber growth in the fourth quarter and rival Sirius Satellite Radio announced two marketing alliances that should boost consumer awareness of the technology. But while the news shows that satellite radio's signal is getting stronger, the two mavericks must prove that they can break even before terrestrial radios fight back. So what could spoil the party? Digital radio is a possible answer, though not in the short term. Satellite radio has two main selling points with customers: CD-like sound quality and the quasi-absence of commercials on the airwaves. Should radio stations around the U.S. start converting their analog signal into a digital one, satellite providers may no longer be able to claim that they offer the best acoustics. There should be enough time for XM and Sirius to start making money before digital radio comes out of this impasse. XM has said it would need between 2.5 million and 3 million subscribers to break even. Sirius says it would need 2 million, a target it might achieve in 2005. (Read more)

Sirius Satellite sells $250 mln convertible notes (Reuters, 2.13.04) News article notes that Sirius Satellite Radio on Friday said it privately sold $250 million of five-year convertible notes, one day after increasing its forecasts for 2004 subscriber growth and revenue. The New York-based company, which competes with XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., said the notes carry a 2.5 percent coupon and are convertible into Sirius shares at $4.41, which is 41.8 percent above their Thursday closing price. Sirius said it plans to use proceeds for general corporate purposes, and may sell an additional $50 million of the notes to meet demand. (Read more)