December 2005 Archives

Sirius Satellite Radio's OutQ (Sirius channel 106) will count down the 100 "hottest" songs of the year from GLBT artists in the Sirius OutQ's Hot 100, hosted by Jeremy Hovies, airing on New Year’s Eve at 11am ET.

If you miss the excitement on New Year's Eve, no worries, OutQ's Hot 100 will be repeated on New Year’s Day at 11am ET. OMG!

(Anyone suggestions on how to change the headline of this post?)

Here it is - the beginning of the end of 2005. And as always with year-end celebrations, predictions for what's to come in the following year are in order. Who knows if any of these will ever come true, but one thing we do know is that in the kooky and crazy world of satellite radio, 2006 will prove to be one hella ride. So let's pass the peace-pipe around and conjour up ideas for what may or may not be.

Here are my top ten predictions for the satellite radio industry for 2006. Feel free to add your $0.02 (or more) and we can build the perfect predictions list together. Then we can hold hands, do some pushups and maybe a round of yoga together (like Ricky).

Anyway, enough of this palaver! On with the list! Check out my useless satellite radio predictions after the jump...

XM Satellite Radio's XM Advanced Services vehicle (a concept car featuring all their bells & whistles like in-car video, voice command, weather alerts, parking space locator, and more) will be unveiled next week at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show.

The XM Advanced Services vehicle, a hopped up 2006 Lexus LX 470, will be a satellite swiss-army knife on wheels. With in-car satellite video technology developed with XM's partner On2 Technologies, as well as a vast array of other new technologies like their Voice Command technology, XM ParkingLink (which we heard about a lil' while back), XM WeatherLink (developed with WxWorx using satellite technology based on XM WX) all of which can be delivered directly to the automobile by XM's network of satellites and ground repeaters.

Damn.

[Press Release] 

XM Satellite Radio and VoiceBox Technologies (a company that makes a "conversational" voice search technology) have teamed up to create a voice-search-enabled platform. In other words, just "say it and get it" - and ta-da, it's on your radio.

The platform's speech recognition algorithms are designed to determine the context and intent from conversational speech, letting you speak in free-form language and it will obey your command. I wonder if we'll be able to give our radios names? I will call mine, Ramone.

Expect this to be available to automakers and the aftermarket in mid-2006, and for it to be displayed at CES.

[Billboard Radio Monitor] 

SIRIUS Satellite Radio will ring in 2006 with broadcasts of exclusive performances New Year's Eve by Jimmy Buffett, G. Love & Special Sauce, Patti Smith & Her Band, Sheryl Crow, and of course... Elvis Presley.

Check out full concert details after the jump...

XM Satellite Radio and Neural Audio have teamed up to broadcast select XM satellite radio channels in 5.1 Surround Sound. The 5.1 Surround ability will begin in March 2006, and will be available on XM's Fine Tuning (free-form music) and XM Pops (classical greatest hits) music channels. XM will also broadcast a variety of specials and live music performances at the XM studios in XM HD Surround.

XM Satellite Radio will demonstrate XM HD Surround broadcasts at CES 2006 (January 5th-8th) in the XM booth #4606 in the North Hall of the LVCC. Manufacturers like Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer and Yamaha will introduce home audio systems capable of playing XM HD Surround in 2006.

This is the first time that a radio company has broadcast in 5.1 Surround Sound 24 hours a day.

[Press Release]

We finally get our first glimpse at the DirecTV's portable video device we've been hearing about, which of course, will be officially announced at CES as well as the "special partnership" for their new mobile content initiative.

Between the Digital License filed by XM and DirecTV, the Network LIVE partnership, and all the other signs - it really smells like XM Satellite Radio is this super-special partner. But hey, that's all just speculation -- just gotta wait till next week to find out.

[Zatz Not Funny via Engadget] 

That's what BoA's Jonathan Jacoby is saying. Compare that to the 3,900 subscribers a day in Q3. Not too shabby. :)

[Inside Radio]

UPDATE: If you're waiting on XM Satellite Radio's subscriber announcement, you'll have to wait until January 4th [via Business Week] 

SIRIUS Satellite Radio has just announced that they've surpased 3 million subscribers and expect "a strong year end."

Details are limited right now, but as soon as more info comes in, you'll be sure to see it here. 

UPDATE: Bear Sterns analyst Robert S. Peck expects that SIRIUS hit the 3 million mark on December 20th, bringing the total subscriber count for this quarter to 930,000. He also expects that XM will hit 6 million on December 26th, bringing the total net adds for this quarter to 1.02 million. [New Ratings]

UPDATE 2: The lack of information in the press release has left a lot of room for speculation (genius) - with chatter of 3.5 million by January 31st being whispered about. If you're looking for more media coverage, MSNBC has a slightly more colorful take on the whole thing.

Now that I'm back from my extended vacation away from any geekery (a whole 3 days without a keyboard -- good lord!), I'm curious about what you got for the Holidays? and of course, what did you give? ...in terms of satellite radio of course, no one cares about your new Roomba.

While I spent my time devoid of a keyboard, that sure as hell wasn't case when it came to discussions about satrad around the ol' yule log. It was a Q&A session all weekend long as people wanted to learn all about this "new" technology. It seems this year is the breakout year when we've really hit the general masses. Anyone else experience the same thing?

The battery supplied with XM2go units has been recalled, and XM Satellite Radio is voluntarily replacing the old battery with a new one. Apparently the problem is that the old battery can overheat (creating the risk for melting or a burn hazard) - though I haven't heard of anyone experiencing this problem.

New purchasers of XM2go units will have the new battery included within their package (so your Xmas presents are most likely OK). Subscribers are being sent a new battery free of charge in the coming weeks. There's really not any call for concern, this has been a fairly common thing happening in the CE world (Dell just recently did a big recall on their own batteries). Also note that this is a voluntary recall so show your thanks by hugging a XM (or Delphi, or Giant, or Pioneer) employee.

The new batteries are white with black lettering (pictured right). If you have any questions about this, give them a call at 800-261-7628.

[XM Satellite Radio's MyFi Page] (scroll to the bottom)
[Upgrade Battery Website]

Sometimes it's amazing how little these people get it when it comes to the future of radio. Jeff Smulyan, chairman and CEO of Emmis Communications, was quoted in Hollywood Reporter: "No one has ever made a penny, anywhere in the world, on subscription-based radio."

Spare me your poisonous barbs! Please, it's not that XM and SIRIUS aren't making money, they just haven't reached CFBE yet. No biggy, wait a year there Jeff.

He goes on to say, "This doesn't mean that Sirius and XM won't make it. ... But even if you take the most wildly enthusiastic estimations of their penetration, they will reach 30 million Americans in the next five years, 40 million. Radio ... will probably still reach 275 million people a week."

I love the spin, as those numbers are not nearly as wildly enthusiastic as he makes them out to be (55 million according to Jupiter Research). But whatever, play your game. If terrestrial radio is truly reaching the 275 million people a week - which, ahem, is based upon Arbitron's wildly enthusiastic "extrapolation" numbers - then realize they're not as captive an audience as satellite radio. Soon, advertisers won't care about your big numbers.

See, advertisers want a captive audience - not necessarily a huge audience - because throwing money at the wall just doesn't cut it anymore. The numbers game is dying, and it will be all about verticals very soon. The world of media is changing: DVRs and VoD are threatening the 30-second spot, blogs and consumer media are threatening mainstream media, and yes satellite radio is threatening the radio landscape.

Come talk to us in five years, see how much you're laughing then.

[PaidContent] 

WorldSpace and Raytheon test-launched their global Disaster Warning, Response, and Recovery (also lovingly known as DWRR) broadcast system. The new system combines commercial satellites, and 24/7/365 network operations.

The system is a real-time emergency alert and recovery tool for use in disasters such as tsunamis and hurricanes. DWRR reaches into remote areas, and to mobile users such as emergency response vehicles. DWRR dispatches audio alerts to warn people that a disaster is imminent and, during disaster recovery, delivers vital information to governments and relief agencies in the affected areas.

This appears to be part of the MESA (Mobile Enhanced Situational Awareness) program that XM Satellite Radio, Raytheon and WorldSpace we heard about back in May.

I've gotten a dozen or so emails about XM covering the college bowl games (and another dozen asking about the USC cheerleader). Sorry I didn't get to it, it's been mayhem the past few days.

Anyway, enough crying. XM's coverage began yesterday (that's December 21st) at 8pm ET on XM Channel 193 when the University of Texas at El Paso took on the University of Toledo (Toledo won) and will continue through the January 4 BCS National Championship contest between the University of Texas Longhorns (hook em horns!) and the defending national champion University of Southern California Trojans in The Rose Bowl at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN Radio (XM Channel 140).

XM will carry all four of the 2006 BCS games from January 2 through January 4 -- the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Nokia Sugar Bowl, FedEx Orange Bowl, and Rose Bowl -- on ESPN Radio.

Get the whole schedule after the jump... 

[Press Release] 

According to Hitwise, interest in satellite radio has increased as the holidays approached. Searches containing the word “sirius” surged 78% when comparing the week ending December 17, 2005 to the week before Thanksgiving, while the share of searches containing “xm” were up 13% in the same period.

Hitwise also reports that the market share of visits to Sirius Satellite Radio increased 99% and share of visits to XM Satellite Radio increased 62% for the same period.

[Tekrati] 

Some very impressive numbers here - Yahoo! announced that over 4.4 Million video streams of Howard Stern's Farewell Celebration were streamed on the day of the event. More than 214,000 users stuck around to watch the 4.5 hour party after his final terrestrial broadcast.

Yahoo! promoted the crap out of the event, and it definitely paid off. More than 10,000 new Yahoo! Group members, more than 1,100 photos were shared via Flickr (which were viewed half a million times) and over 122,000 Yahoo! Podcast streams in association with the HowardNation community.

[Press Release] 

SIRIUS Satellite Radio will broadcast 12 live college football bowl games during the 2005-06 post-season, including all four games of the Bowl Championship Series

SIRIUS’ coverage will begin tomorrow, December 22nd, when Colorado State plays Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl at 10:30pm ET on SIRIUS’ Channel 125 and continues through Wednesday, January 4th, when the top two teams in the nation: the defending national champion USC Trojans (led by Heisman-winning running back Reggie Bush... and cheerleaders) and the Texas Longhorns (QB'd by Heisman runner-up Vince Young) face off in The Rose Bowl at 8:00pm ET on SIRIUS’ Channel 123.

From January 2 – 4, SIRIUS will broadcast all four of the Bowl Championship Series games: The Rose Bowl, FedEx Orange Bowl, Nokia Sugar Bowl and Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Check out the full schedule after the jump...

[Press Release]
[Link to Photo Source]

UPDATE: A reader pointed out that XM is covering all BCS games (Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta) on ESPN Radio at their respective times and dates.

SIRIUS Satellite Radio broadcast live the Christmas Midnight Mass and the Christmas Day Mass from the historic Cathedral of Saint Patrick in New York City on Sunday, December 25th.

Tune into the Christmas Midnight Mass live on Sunday at 12am ET on SIRIUS Channel 86, or catch the re-broadcast at 12am PT (3am ET). Tickets to attend this popular mass are no longer available to the public.

Then, later that Sunday, listen to the Christmas Day Mass live at 10:15am ET also on SIRIUS Channel 86 with the re-broadcast on Channel 85 at 10:15 am PT (1:15 pm ET).

[Press Release] 

Delphi released a teaser today that they will be unveiling a major announcement about their satellite radio business at a special media event on January 4th. Speculation abounds about what this could be about and the only clues we have available are what's in the release. Here's a couple juicey tidbits to nibble on:

"Delphi's CES announcement will outline how the company plans to make the satellite radio experience available to even more people."

and... 

"Multimedia Radio - Delphi will introduce a new multimedia radio receiver that is packed with features including MP3, Secure Digital Card (compatible) voice notes and more."

Now, this makes my lil' blogger fingers get all itchy with excitement. "Make the satellite radio experience available to even more people" makes me think there will be a new service somehow integrated into vehicles or their devices. But I think the key here is that this will be about their satellite radio business and not necessarily a device. The Multimedia Radio may only be part of the equation.

So, since we're speculating here, I'm just gonna throw this out there: I have a funny feeling this has something to do with the XM/Fox/DirecTV love-fest we've been hearing so much about. My guess is that XM and DirecTV will make an announcement at CES 2006 that unveils a portable video/satellite radio device - produced by Delphi - and that outlines a deeper partnership for the future. Pure speculation, but hey, you never know.

[Press Release] 

Hockey legend Mark Messier has signed a marketing agreement with XM Satellite Radio to promote XM broadcasts of NHL games and XM's hockey talk radio channel Home Ice.

XM will also be the sole presenting sponsor of the New York Rangers' ceremony to retire Messier's #11 jersey on January 12th.

the 16-time NHL All-Star will promote XM in a variety of print, broadcast, online, and in-store marketing campaigns aimed at sports fans� He will make regular appearances on Home Ice (XM Channel 204), including an exclusive, in-depth interview to air in January

A group called Morality In Media, who sound like the life at the party, issued today what appears to be the worst press release ever written. Regardless of the writing style, or to the brevity of its headline, these people are calling for Broadcast Indecency Laws to apply for satellite radio.

Citing that since Howard Stern will be on SIRIUS, his show will be "even filthier than it already is." They go on to point out a slew of reasons why Satellite Radio should be subject to FCC regulation, including:

1. The FCC defines 'broadcasting' as an 'intent for public distribution' and whether programming was 'of interest to the general... audience.' (what about the Internet?)
   
2. In the early 1990s, two federal courts upheld a law that prohibited indecent communications for commercial purposes by means of telephone. (Telephone = Satellite Radio?)
3. Even though Satellite Radio is not 'pervasive' - in 1927, when Congress acted the broadcast indecency law, traditional radio wasn't 'pervasive' either. (80 year old arguement)
   
4. Even though parents can block channels, they may not understand English, have a physical or mental disability, or are even just naive. (so the government must do the work for them!)
   
5. ...and more
   

Agree or disagree? Feel free to voice your comments here, or if you're so inclined - give a call to Robert Peters of Morality In Media at 212-870-3210 - and let him know what you think! While you're at it, let him know how much I appreciate the headline to his release.

[Whether Broadcast From a Tower or a Satellite, It is Still the Public Airwaves, and The Howard Stern Show Should Still Be Subject to Broadcast Indecency Law, Says Morality In Media]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged two individuals - accountant Gary Herwitz and former SIRIUS executive Tracey Stanyer - with insider trading ahead of news in 2004 that Howard Stern was moving to SIRIUS Satellite Radio.

The SEC stated in court that Herwitz allegedly bought SIRI stock on Sept 30th 2004, after learning in confidence from a colleague at Mahoney Cohen that Stern had received an offer from Sirius and that the parties were negotiating. The SEC also alleged that Tracey Stanyer bought SIRI stock on October 5th 2004, after learning in confidence from a senior Sirius executive that Sirius had signed an agreement with Stern.

Herwitz, a CPA and former president of the accounting firm Mahoney Cohen & Co., agreed to pay $52,000, while former SIRIUS Vice President, DaimlerChrysler Alliance Stanyer agreed to pay $35,000.

The judgment against Stanyer also bars him from acting as an officer or director of a public company.

[Reuters]

[Google Cache of Stanyer's bio page on SIRIUS]

I really just don't know what to make of this. First the Alexa debauchery and now this from Bridge Ratings:

“It would appear now that Sirius satellite radio will not exceed our projections first published in September. After interviewing Stern listeners who actually subscribed to Sirius in October, we are projecting an improving subscriber base of over 800,000 in the fourth quarter, but this number is lower than previously expected. Though pacing is strong for both satellite companies, this quarter will see Sirius surpass XM in quarterly subscriber count!”

Originally, Bridge stated one-million new SIRIUS subscribers in Q4, but it's not the revised projections that's odd, it's the competitive statement. The SIRIUS subscriber predictions are no surprise, with SIRIUS themselves stating a similar number (3+ Million by EOY, up from 2,173,920 subscribers).

What's odd is that Bridge is essentially saying that XM will have under 800,000 subscribers in Q4. Yet XM has reaffirmed continuously that they will break 6 million subscribers (up from 5,034,642 subscribers). What gives? How can a survey of Stern listeners determine the subscriber count for a competing satellite radio service? Where's the data for that? Also, why the survey in cities other than New York (where the Stern following is the greatest)?

It just doesn't add up. 

[Bridge Ratings via R&R]

MSNBC columnist Gary Krawkow strikes again, this time with the incredible statement that "Howard Stern might be leaving terrestrial radio at the wrong time." Ugh. The entire article, seemingly a commercial for iBiquity and their technological breakthrough - HD Radio, talks about how every inch of the Boston Acoustics’ Recepter HD Radio is a modern marvel. And, hold on to your hats kids, that "satellite radio may have some real competition to worry about."

Ugh.

This isn't the first time Mr. Krakow has taken a crack (ho ho!) at satrad. I went off on rant earlier this year when Krakow flip-flopped his story about satellite radio sound quality. And here we go again. Only this time, Gary's comparison does not directly pit satellite radio to HD radio on sound quality, but instead on price. The article eludes to satellite vs HD, but doesn't really do anything but to plug the terrestrial tabletop. Oh sure, the Recepter HD is a mere $500, but heck HD Radio is free man! With XM and SIRIUS you need to pay the obscene price of $13/month! And you don't get the commericals!

[MSNBC] 

Circuit City released their 3Q05 results and saw a total sales increase of 14.7%. The Audio sector alone produced a double-digit comparable sales increase, with a double-digit comparable stores sales increase in mobile audio products - much thanks to growth in their satellite radio products. Hell yeah!

[Press Release]

Thanks gary! 

XM Satellite Radio and VICI Racing have extended their partnership to continue throughout 2006.

The partnership between the two started earlier in 2005 with XM sponsoring the VICI Porsche GT3 Cup racer in the inaugural North American IMSA GT3 Challenge Cup.

XM has given a high level of marketing concentration in the auto-racing arena with sponsorship deals like Indy and Hot Import Nights. This shows a lot about XM's strategy in the auto industry. People who follow auto events like GT3, Indy, and HIN are not only enthusiasts but are influencers when it comes to other people seeking automotive advice. Appeal to the influencers and you gain WoM advertising through trusted sources.

Losing NASCAR to Sirius is a blow to this approach, but it looks like they're trying to make up for it.

[VICI Racing]

Yesterday on Don & Mike's show, it was revealed that they won't be making the jump to satellite radio as previously suspected. They confirmed that they did infact have discussions with Mel Karmazin, but they won't be joining SIRIUS anytime soon - at least while they under contract with Infinity/CBS Radio.

[DCRTV vs Get Sirius Info] 

For you Opie & Anthony fans, there were a some 'protests' of the Sirius / Stern Farewell Rally at the entrances of the event. I'm sure you 'pests' will enjoy these pics.

Here's photos from the Howard Stern / SIRIUS Farewell Rally.

Tomorrow is the Howard Stern Ceremonial Walk, and while there's a possibility I might not be able to make it (it's down to the wire and I still don't know) I still want Orbitcast readers to see the action from the frontlines. So I'm asking that anyone who attends the event to please help out!

Here's how: upload your photos to Flickr.com (if you don't have an account - why not? it's free) and simply tag them with the term "Orbitcast" and you're all set!

That's it, it's really that simple. The photos will be displayed automatically right here on Orbitcast.com. Hopefully with everyone's help we can have a great collection of photos to share.

XM Satellite Radio is launching "The Good Morning America Radio Show" which will be broadcast beginning on January 23rd. The four-hour radio program will air Mondays through Saturdays, combining content from Good Morning America, plus other original content that expands upon segments and topics discussed on the morning news program.

The launch was announced today on Good Morning America with Hugh Panero appearing live on the show. "The Good Morning America Radio Show," will feature Diane Sawyer, Charles Gibson and Robin Roberts along with radio personality Hilarie Barsky.

The Good Morning America Radio Show will be on Take Five between 8am - 12pm ET.

[Press Release] 

The XM Satellite Radio & DirecTV love-match now is a threesome with Network LIVE (which is, as you'll recall, the joint venture between XM, AOL and AEG). Viewers now have a choice between AOL's online video and a TV (including HD) experience. Network Live's programs will be available at no extra charge to subscribers of DirecTV Total Choice or DirecTV Seleccion

It's interesting how reciprocal this XM/DirecTV partnership is getting.

[PaidContent] 

Yahoo just issued a press release for the online coverage of the Howard Stern Celemonial Walk this Friday. We get a the 'official'information about what's expected to go down (though it's the unexpected stuff we really want to see):

Beginning at 9am (EST). Stern will be escorted on a Yahoo!-branded double-decker bus after his show and brought to an exclusive special event at the Hard Rock Cafe, all of which will be webcast LIVE from Yahoo!.

To access the webcast, consumers can go to yahoo.com and search for "Howard Stern." Simple enough.

[Press Release]

The NY Times has a nice piece on Bob Dylan joining up with XM Satellite Radio. The graphic to the right make it even more interesting with the NY Times visually pitting Dylan against Stern. Bizarre to someone like myself who's never really been into Dylan, but apparently this is big news - who'da thunk it.

But really, the key compenent noted in the article, is how this shows the similar strategies of both XM and SIRIUS. All the good talent is going to Satellite Radio, and terrestrial radio is just getting the leftovers.

[NY Times] 

Sirius Satellite Radio and the NBA have expanded their contract (which was already extended nearly a year ago) to include making SIRIUS an official NBA marketing partner. SIRIUS and the NBA have also launched NBA Radio, the first 24/7, year-round radio channel devoted to the NBA, on SIRIUS' channel 127.

NBA Radio features content from NBA TV -- including news, highlights and features on the league, its teams and players -- and will showcase specialized programming that will be heard exclusively on SIRIUS.

As the Official Satellite Radio Marketing Partner of the NBA, SIRIUS will conduct NBA-themed advertising and promotions with the NBA logo, NBA Radio on SIRIUS logo and 30 team logos through NBA media assets and at the NBA Store.

[Press Release] 

UPDATE: A commenter pointed out that I didn't mention whether this is exclusive or not. SIRIUS is the only official satellite radio provider of the NBA (though XM has some coverage through ESPN Radio). The press release says it all: SIRIUS is the exclusive satellite radio provider of an extensive programming package that features more than 1,000 regular season games, plus every game of the NBA Playoffs and The Finals.

XM Satellite Radio has signed on Bob Dylan to host a new music show exclusively for XM, set to debut in March 2006 on Deep Tracks.

The hour-long weekly music show will feature music hand-selected by Dylan as well as regular commentary, special guest interviews, and Dylan will take emails from XM subscribers.

[Press Release] 

Phillips today announced the launch of its Mobile TV DVB-H (aka "Digital Video Broadcast – Handheld") technology. The device gives live access to digital TV via cell phones, portable media players and similar products. 

Now, Phillips worked with Crown Castle Mobile Media to get this to market. And this is what the Crown Castle president, Michael Schueppert, had to say:

"We believe Crown Castle Mobile Media's… ownership of nationwide spectrum will make our planned deployment of a… DVB-H network possible in the United States. Working with companies like Philips, Crown Castle Mobile Media anticipates delivering a…live video and audio programming experience…with digital television and satellite radio—anytime, anywhere—to consumers' handsets, laptops and portable media players in major U.S. markets." 

Huh? Wha? Cat out of bag?

[PC Magazine] 

Bubba the Love Sponge told the St. Petersberg Times that starting on January 9th, he'll be taking over the afternoon drive spot on Howard 100. He'll be broadcasting out of his home in Tampa, where he built for himself a $250,000 studio.

"Howard and I are on the ground level of the next big thing in radio. When [satellite radio] does blow up - we'll be the pioneers. And Howard was the only person who has given us an opportunity," said Bubba.

[FMQB] 

Special guests from the worlds of action sports, television and music will be taking over SIRIUS Satellite Radio's Faction channel 28 on a weekly basis, when the new Faction program Hostile Takeover launches on Friday, December 16.

Scheduled to host the first four weeks of Hostile Takeover are skater-turned-actor Jason Lee and business partner Chris Pastras, BMX bike rider Dave Mirra, socal punk icons Pennywise, and multi-platinum kickass band Korn.

Future guest hosts include Bad Religion, Offspring's Dexter Holland, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, Taking Back Sunday, Spike TV's UFC light heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell, pro skater Mike V, and the voices behind the characters of Cartoon Network's Aqua Teen Hunger Force series.

First Alan Colmes, and now Tony Snow has announced that after Friday December 16th, he will no longer be heard on SIRIUS Satellite Radio.

Also, from Tony Snow's website:

*As of January 1st, Sirius Radio will also no longer air any FOX News programming. Please let Sirius know how you feel about this change.*

I really have a funny feeling that there's more to this XM/Fox stuff. I guess we'll have to wait for the beginning of next year to find out... 

[The Tony Snow Show]

...between Opie & Anthony and Howard Stern. I have a funny feeling that a lot will go down on December 16th when Howard does his ceremonial walk from the K-Rock studios to Sirius Satellite Radio HQ. If you can't make it in person, watch it on Yahoo, because it's sure to be a spectacle.

To add fuel to the fire, this clip (MP3) from the 12/09/05 O&A Show sure has fired up a lot of peeps from both camps. It's even made it's way to Digg. Whether you're a fan of either show or not, listening to that clip will surely be of interest. (Match.com? hmm...)

[Foundry Music] 

UPDATE: We have a new free XM activation code that has been tested and is working! The "XMFREEWEB" promotion code/activation code shown below is no longer functional, but if you want to get free activation for XM satellite radio and save yourself the activation charge, just use this promo code: XMSCION03

XM Satellite Radio is running a promotion from Dec 11th to Dec 31st where you can get free activation of any satellite radio receiver if you use this coupon code. Just buy an XM receiver and activate your radio online.

Go to: activate.xmradio.com
Enter in this XM Coupon Code: XMFREEWEB UPDATED, use this XM promotion code instead to get free activation: XMSCION03 (Tested and working!)

Ta-da! You just saved about 10 bucks or so in activation fees.

[Download PDF]

Looking for the Howard Stern / Sirius "Dessert" Commercial? Well, look no further. According to Sirius Backstage, this spot first aired on CBS Sunday during the NFL game, and again on Survivor.

This is just the beginning of Sirius' own marketing campaign for Howard's move to satellite. I love this spot and hopefully it sets the tone for things to come.

Watch the commercial after the jump (Flash 8 required). 

And the promotion begins on Yahoo! for the Howard Stern event on December 16th. RadioShack, Crutchfield, Best Buy and Circuit City are all getting major plugs for this. All of which (with the exception of BB) have the S50 prominently displayed on their destination pages.

[Yahoo! Music] 

Bridge Ratings just released a traffic analysis pitting XM vs SIRUS in a head-to-head competition, using Alexa - the purpose is to show the interest in each satellite radio provider. Alexa, for those who don't know, has a toolbar installed on about 10 million browsers that reports surfing behavior, so it's a pretty reliable stastical sampling.

Unfortunately, Bridge Ratings got it wrong. (Yes, that's right, I'm calling them out.)

Here's a quote from the study:

"Data show that XM reaches 35 users for every million while Sirius attracts 660 for every million users - over 18x XM's reach."

Now, does that raise any eyebrows for anyone? 18 times the reach? Isn't that shockingly excessive? Upon further analysis of the analysis (goddamn I'm funny), you'll notice that the Alexa numbers are comparing xm.com against sirius.com. And the problem there is... xm.com is just spam site. The real website, as we all know, is xmradio.com.

So let's take an accurate look at the traffic between the two websites shall we? Below are live stats straight from Alexa comparing xmradio.com to sirius.com: 

I think I'm done here. Sorry Dave.

[Bridge Ratings] 

UPDATE: Wow, that was fast. Bridge Ratings literally just updated the report to reflect the accurate numbers. Wonder if they're reading this? (hi guys!)

Some interesting stuff out from Citigroup today as analyst Eileen Furukawa said in a report to clients (Linkage: PDF, 500k) that "satellite radio is one of the few growth stories in media."

"In our view, satellite radio is one of the few areas within the media sector that offers attractive secular growth," Furukawa said. "The industry has already experienced robust growth from 4.4 million subscribers at the end of 2004 to our estimate of 9 million by the end of 2005."

Interesting thing to note is that they compared XMSR to AOL back-in-the-day when they were first launching. If you use AOL's peak valuation multiple when it was first ramping up subscribers, XMSR would be valued at $270. Good lord man! (Linkage: XMSR Image - 150k)

[MSN Money] 

(Note: my Acrobat keeps blowing up on me whenever I try to open the PDF, so please let me know if it doesn't work or something.) 

Has anyone seen the recent Consumer Reports article on Satellite Radio? Some interesting stuff in there. They did a survey and discovered that 71% of respondants are highly satisfied with their satellite radio service. And 89% said they would definitely, or probably, renew their subscription - even though most would rather not pay a monthly fee (who would?).

The only thing disappointing was the extremely limited "Sirius vs. XM" chart at the bottom of the article.

[Consumer Reports] 

XM Satellite Radio has named artist Snoop Dogg as executive producer of XM's classic hip-hop channel The Rhyme, current home of Snoop's popular radio show "Welcome to Da Chuuch" on XM Satellite Radio.

As executive producer, Snoop will provide the creative direction for the channel and assist in the development of new exclusive programming for The Rhyme, as well as other channels. Snoop will continue to host "Welcome to Da Chuuch," and beginning in early 2006 the show will return for a new season with new episodes airing each week

[Press Release] 

XM Satellite Radio fans are being treated to a "radio first" with the debut of the "Tissue Time With Beth And Allison" bit. Or so says the press release issued by the "O&A Army." An obvious swipe at Howard Stern's bit "Tissue Time With Heidi Cortez" on Sirius - the press release, craftily put together by some knitters, even made it's way to industry publication FMQB.

Hilarious.

[Press Release] 

(thanks Frank!) 

Looking for the Howard Stern appearance on Bill O'Reilly? Get Sirius Info's got it, so get in there. It's a big ol' download (118Mb) but watching Stern and O'Reilly go tit-for-tat is entertaining at the very least. Over the next three nights The Factor will give a "no spin" look at Howard Stern... should be interesting.

[Get Sirius Info] 

Apparently there's some chatter that United Airlines will be adding XM Satellite Radio to their Fleet, with the 737s being first. Jetfuel was added to the fire when XM's Chairman Gary Parsons said yesterday, "We are in the seatbacks of AirTran and Jetblue and I think you´ll see increasing penetrations of that through other airliners as we go forward."

A formal announcement is expected soon, and while all fine and dandy, something that raises eyebrows in my book is that there's talk of about 50 channels being made available internationally.

Now, as we all know, both SIRIUS and XM can only cover North America, but me thinks that the XM / WorldSpace partnership from a few months back, and the rumors of XM hell-bent on world domination, are starting to come to fruition.

Currently this should be considered a rumor, though the source links states it as a "very LOUD rumor."

[Airliners.net] 

Check out more exclusive video from the 60-Minutes interview with Stern, with footage including Beth O talking about Howard on-and-off the radio show, and why Howard runs his own soundboard.

Watch the video here. 

[CBS News] 

There's no doubt the Sirius S50 is a huge leap forward in satellite radio receivers offered by Sirius, but one big request that many people are asking is: when can we have true portable live Satellite Radio?

The answer was given at the Global Media Conference yesterday, by David Freer CFO of Sirius Satellite Radio.

(drumroll please)

Expect to see true LIVE portable Sirius S50 by mid-2006! Here's the exact quote for you nitpickers:

"This product [Sirius S50] will get incrementally better as we go into next year. Our chip development plans so far have been been optimized to reduce costs, as well as the form factor of the product. We'll take the same chip that sits in the S50 and power optimize it in the course of the next six months.

So mid-year next year you should expect to see an S50 product that is also a live radio when you're walking around with it.

And power optimizing the chip, in essence, gives you a smaller battery size, and so it keeps a very nice form factor for consumers." 

Two words: kick ass.

We heard that XM was adding an online content blocking feature to their website, and now it's live. All you need to do is enter your Radio ID and Zip code, and you can block all explict (XL) content.

[XM Radio] 

WorldSpace, you know that "other" satellite radio provider, recently announced that they've reached 100,000 subscribers. WorldSpace has been doing a major push in India recently, ensuring they've grabbed hold of that market while it's booming, and I believe the growth potential behind this company is huge. Great news, and it's a definite that we'll see more good news from this company in the future.

[Press Release] 

Heidi Cortez takes you on an exclusive tour of Howard Stern's new Sirius Satellite Radio studio. It's still under construction and you're getting the first look.

[howardsternstudio.com]

For those of you who aren't familiar with this, Opie and Anthony have been holding an ongoing Assault on the Media competition where fans attempt to interupt live reporters to promote the show. The rules are simple: get on camera and try to yell "Opie and Anthony, XM Satellite Radio!" with a sign if at all possible. It's perfectly legal as long as you don't touch the reporter.

Unfortunately, an O&A fan took it a bit too far and blew an airhorn into the ear of a WABC reporter. This could be considered Assault (literally) if damage was done. WABC still hasn't pressed charges and we still don't know whether any real damage was done (he's being checked by a doctor) but the beginnings of a press frenzy are already firing up. Why? Because the media hates this stuff, especially anything that exploits their hacky reporting techniques. NJ Governor Richard Cody even issued a statement about this.

Am I condoning blowing the airhorn? No of course not, but I just hope this isn't going to get twisted by the media into something it's not. Still this is great publicity for Opie and Anthony while Howard is on his media blitz. Pushing the limit is something both Stern and O&A are great at doing.

[1010Wins] 

I/P Update has a very interesting post about the Copyright Royalty Board announcing proceedings regarding the terms of recording digital audio channels through satellite television. Very curious indeed.

Looking through the sections, I can't help but to think of XM+Napster - are they trying to apply it to DirecTV? It could also just be that they're ironing out the details for the RIAA so that only XM needs to pay for the licensing fees and not DirecTV. If anyone can decypher the legal talk, feel free to comment about it to clear things up.

[Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings and Ephemeral Recordings for a New Subscription Service]
[17 U.S.C. 114 and 17 U.S.C. 112]
[via I/P Update]

XM Satellite Radio has signed on Time Inc's Real Simple, the hugely popular female-oriented magazine-turn-brand. The show entitled "Real Simple Solutions" will air this month on Take Five, XM's woman's channel.

Two to four original "Real Simple Solutions" episodes will air each weekday, each one being re-broadcast throughout the day on Take Five, as well as on other XM talk and news channels.

Topics range from fashion to food to holidays to cleaning to friends and family -- all focusing on solutions to make life easier. 

[Press Release] 

Canadian Satellite Radio (aka XM Canada) has set it's IPO at C$16/share, putting the company value at C$800 million (that's $690 million American).

CSR will use the proceeds to fund operating expenses and all that other jazz related to rolling out a satellite radio service.

[Reuters] 

Can't get enough of Howard Stern in the media? Of course not! As part of Howard's media tour, he stopped on by the set of the Today Show for an interview with Katie. We get a glimpse inside the new Sirius studios and a nice interview (better than 60 Minutes in my opinion).

A few interesting points: the apology for "sub-par radio" over the past 10 years. Definitely a nice touch on Howards part (to fall on his sword) in an attempt to generate interest in listeners he may have lost over the past decade. He's really hitting up all angles here, and it's great to see.

Today was part one of a two-part interview, catch the 2nd part tomorrow as Howard gives Katie a tour of the Sirius headquarters.

Watch the video here (6:55)

[MSNBC: Today Show via Get Sirius Info]

HD Radio is commercial radio's big gun when it comes to war against satellite radio, and today it was announced that Bonneville, Citadel, Clear Channel, Cumulus, Emmis, Entercom, Greater Media and Infinity will band together to form the new "HD Digital Radio Alliance" (cue Starwars music)

Together, this brave band of crusaders will battle the evil of satrad as one! They have agreed on HD Radio "standards" such as what to name multicasted stations ("HD-2") and how much money to spend against the cruel satellite radio empire ($200 Million). And they also have named a fearless leader: Peter Ferrara will be President/CEO of the Alliance.

[Inside Radio] 

Baseball veteran and XM Satellite Radio on-air host Buck Martinez has been chosen to manage the U.S. team, one of 16 teams competing in the first-ever World Baseball Classic international tournament. Martinez is the co-anchor of the XM Satellite Radio program “Baseball This Morning,” heard every weekday morning on MLB Home Plate (XM Channel 175).  

The World Baseball Classic starts on March 3rd in Japan's Tokyo Dome, and its champion will be crowned on March 20th in San Diego's PETCO Park. Martinez will continue to co-anchor XM’s “Baseball This Morning” as he takes on his new manager’s position for the World Baseball Classic.

Last night, Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" featured XM Satellite Radio Chairman Gary Parsons on the show in a direct retort to the Nov 30th show featuring Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin [Video]. Some interesting things were mentioned including the much argued subscriber numbers between SIRIUS vs XM, and outright stating that XM would be CFBE before SIRIUS.

Rivelry aside, I do like the ending comments about how awful terrestrial is. "People like commercials, don't they?"

[Video Link]

According to this super-long article in New York magazine (and I do mean that - it's a long one) Hugh Panero admitted that XM Satellite Radio was willing to pay $30 Million a year for Howard Stern's contract. Infinity even was willing to pay out $35 Million a year but Howard never gave them the chance (oh darn).

At the time of the signing of the deal, Howard was pulling in a "meager" $13 Million.

Have time to burn? Go read this thing here:
[New York Magazine]

SIRIUS Satellite Radio will present Lennon Live - an exclusive simulcast on SIRIUS Satellite Radio in the U.S. and BBC Radio 2 in the U.K. - on SIRIUS The Spectrum this Thursday, December 8th from 2pm - 6pm ET. Lennon Live will include an hour-long documentary, which includes an interview with Yoko Ono, and will be followed by live performances from Abbey Road Studios in London and SIRIUS studios in New York in a tribute to John Lennon on the 25th anniversary of his death.

Dave Matthews, Jamie Cullum, Dr. John, Lulu, Paul Weller, Daryl Hall, Stereo MCs and are among the many who will perform Lennon's music live from New York and London.

Nearly 1.4 million votes were cast by XM Satellite Radio music fans nationwide for nominated artists and categories selected by XM's programming staff in categories ranging from "Best Pop Sing-Along" to "Dream Duet" to "Artist Most Overlooked By FM Radio."

And the winners are... [link]

With such a high level of participation from both XM subscribers and dedicated music fans, XM plans to host the awards annually. 

SkyBox USA is holding a sweepstakes to win a trip to New York City to see Sirius Satellite Radio studios and celebrate Howard Stern's arrival to satellite radio.

The sweepstakes gives a chance to win airfare for two, plus two nights hotel accommodations "in a trendy hotel" for an organized tour of the Sirius Satellite Radio Studios. Also, $500 spending cash will be provided.

The trip is scheduled for January 12th, 13th, and 14th 2006.

[Press Release]

Howard Stern's feature in Newsweek (Dec 12th issue) is available online. The entire article is pretty much a huge advertisement for Sirius, which is awesome. Why not? With the media so anxious to get a sitdown with Stern, plugging Sirius is expected and - best of all - is free. Someone with the celebrity clout like Howard should definitely use this power to bring as much exposure as possible. That's what he did for Private Parts, and that's what he's doing now. Perfect.

Interesting tidbit to mention, Newsweek mentions that Stern "seems to" have brought on 1.6 Million new subscribers already. The Daily News wrote a whole article on this even.

[Newsweek]

Reports that Yahoo! will be streaming live video of Howard Stern's final ceremonial walk have been confirmed true on Howard's show this morning.

On Friday December 16th, Howard's last day of commercial-radio broadcasting, Stern will walk out of his building on 57th between 5th & 6th and greet his fans. He'll then pack up his stuff and walk up to Sirius Satellite Radio headquarters at the McGraw Hill building a few blocks away. Stern also said on-air that there may be a "surprise" for fans at the event.

[Broadcasting and Cable]

Did you miss Howard Stern on 60 Minutes last night? Well, thanks to the beauty of the interweb you're able to watch it on your own time. And in different video formats too!

Howard Stern on 60 Minutes Video:
[Windows Media]
[Real Player] 

It's a humanizing piece, and while it's providing the "Softer Side" of Stern in talking about his background, it's also the first time I've seen a mention of Howard in the media without talking about the "raunchy" and "shocking" material. They never represented the Howard Stern Show from that angle at all and it's almost... disappointing?

Not a big deal really, the 60 Minutes demographic is definitely not the same as the average Stern listener, so it's understandable.

[CBS News] 

In an effort to create the world's most confusing headline, New York City's Gay Men’s Chorus will perform its first concert featuring its first female member exclusively on SIRIUS Satellite Radio. That's right, a Gay Men's chorus featuring their first woman, you can't make this stuff up. Catch the special holiday performance and the interview with NYC Gay Men’s Chorus on SIRIUS OutQ at 10am ET on Friday, Dec 9th. 

Joan Garry, the former executive director of GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), recently joined the 225-voice NYC Gay Men’s Chorus as its first female singer. But before she gets to Carnegie Hall to sing in the chorus’s 26th annual holiday concert on December 14th, her first public appearance and performance with the chorus will be for SIRIUS.

The NYC Gay Men’s Chorus will also record customized holiday jingles for SIRIUS OutQ. 

Yep, looks like the free Sirius Radio from DISH offer is in fact real. Check out these two pieces:

Go here to see the free Sirius promotion page.

I have no idea what to think about this. First, because any site ending with a .pt is suspect in my book, second because this is just crazy talk. Follow the link below, or for you lazy-clickers here's the exciting stuff:

"A source from PT Multimedia said today that PT Multimedia will launch a takeover to Sirius Satellite Radio Inc

PT Multimedia, will notifie next friday the Portuguese National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) that it was willing to waive the condition of a 75% minimum acceptance level to which its public offer for the acquisition of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc shares was subject, taking into consideration that the response received will be sufficient to develop the business project pursued through the takeover bid.

PT Multimedia will launch a takeover bid for Sirius Satellite Radio Inc with the payment of $12.75 USD for each of the that responded to the tender offer, this initial offer could reach the limit of price of $13.15 USD for each share of the company."

I'm filing this under "rumors" for now because there's no way to tell if this is fact or fiction.

[Jornal de Neg?cios]
[Google Translate Link]

Hertz is trying to boost it's brand positioning in the rental car market with the unveiling of it's Hertz Fun Collection. Based on their own research, they learned that we consumers aren't happy with econoshitboxes when we're on vacation and want to have something with a lil' more zing. So with the Fun Collection, you can rent cars like the Mustang, a Miata, the Chevy HHR, Nissan 350Z or hell even a Hummer H3.

And guess what? Every single one of these are equipped with Sirius Satellite Radio. NICE!

[Press Release]
 

You'll recall back in the beginning of November, XM Satellite Radio started broadcasting it's Highway 16 country music channel on NYC's terrestrial station WNYE 91.5FM. Well, now they're expanding this project through December 14th.

Each day, WNYE will play programming from a different XM Satellite Radio channel including XM's Oldies, Country and Modern Rock programming. NYC currently has no oldies, country or modern rock stations.

I wonder what this is all about?

[FMQB] 

CBS News gives us a preview of what's to come on 60 Minutes this Sunday when Howard Stern sits down with Ed Bradley for an interview. Stern is generally media shy, but with the jump to Sirius Satellite Radio about a month away, he's been making the rounds in media appearances.

A good strategy because the cost for media coverage is essentially nothing, and his elusiveness makes him all that more desirable for the press. Why spend the money if you can get exposure for free?

[CBS News] 

Mazda is now offering Sirius Satellite Radio at their port facility, so buyers can now have Sirius as soon as the car arrives at the dealer. Sirus is a port-installed option on the following 2006 model year vehicles:

• MAZDA3
  
• MAZDA6
  
• Mazda RX-8
  
• MPV
  
• Tribute
  
• MAZDA5
  
• Mazda MX-5 Miata

(It's too quiet today. There must be something brewing soon.)

[Press Release] 

So you wanna hear how Terrestrial Radio is trying to duke it out with Satellite Radio? Just listen to the ad spots yourself:

• Baseball :30
• Heavy Metal :30
• Leading Man :30
• Lewd Act :30
• Steroids :30
• Traffic :30
• Weather :30

I love these! Perfectly highlighting that satellite radio has compelling sports, music, news, traffic and weather advisories. Great stuff, thanks.

[NAB]

Clear Channel said at the Reuters Advertising and Media Summit that they're planning on offering local radio services, like traffic and weather data, to cellphones as early as 2006.

John Hogan, Chief Executive of Clear Channel Radio, they're in talks with all the top U.S. mobile services and might run tests for local cellular radio services with the goal to begin offering the service next year.

This is the first good idea from them that I've seen in a long time. HD Radio sure isn't going to cut it, regardless of whatever big announcement is coming next week. 

[Reuters]