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April 11, 2005
AOL, XM Join Forces to Stream Satellite Radio Online
XM Satellite Radio and AOL have teamed up to add XM satellite feeds to AOL's Radio@AOL internet radio service. Users will be able to access 20 XM channels on AOL's radio section, in addition to AOL's current lineup of about 130 stations - for free.
A new version of AOL's "premium" radio service will have 70 XM channels and be available for a monthly fee at a rumored $5/month.
AOL will own the task of building the radio service which is probably will the current Radio@AOL infrastructure based on Ultravox and the AACPlus streaming audio format. AOL expects to begin rolling out the new internet radio service with XM streams this summer, in conjunction with the new AOL.com portal.
Yes, there will be commercials on the AOL channels, but the XM channels will remain ad-free.
XM also plans to replace its current XM Radio Online service (which now is free to subscribers as of last week) with this new AOL-powered service when it launches this summer.
Read more here and here and here.
April 11, 2005 07:26 AM
Comments
What about Opie & Anthony? Will they be offered online still?
Posted by: Joe at April 11, 2005 08:47 AM
From a business standpoint, I see this as a good thing, but as an XM subscriber, I'm a little wary of XM replacing XM online with anything "AOL-powered". Will XM subscribers now have access to the AOL channels? Has anyone used the AOL radio service?
Posted by: Doug C. at April 11, 2005 09:09 AM
I really don't know much about the changes to XM Radio Online. Here's my guesses tho:
1. XM really seems to consider their Online offering as a standalone product. So they'll keep providing the same stuff as before, just using a different infrastucture. So yeah, O&A aren't going anywhere.
2. AOL ads in the XM online interface? I hope not. I doubt XM would do that, but who knows the terms of the deal.
3. AOL music available through XM? Doubt it. XM's programming is far superior anyway (hence why AOL is using it to add value to their Radio@AOL service).
4. XM will most likely still offer their online service as a separate subscription. Dont see why they would eliminate another revenue stream.
All in all, this really is a huge promotional opportunity for XM - exposing their service to something like 20 million AOL users, it's great exposure to convert people to satellite radio.
Posted by: Ryan at April 11, 2005 01:27 PM
There is a great business "meaning" article on this deal at smartmoney.com. Or look up SIRI in Yahoo Finance and you will see a link to the article. The article's author's take was essentially that this will most likely be a bad alignment for XM. AOL just isn't the best ISP to be involved with. I do see the potential for exposure to 20 million AOL subscribers. However, I agree with the author. This could end up being a bad thing for XM. What educated internet user out there likes any AOL product or service??
Posted by: Peterman25 at April 12, 2005 01:48 AM
