March 2006 Archives

XM Satellite Radio has launched XM HD Surround powered by Neural Audio. This is the first surround sound technology to be offered by any radio company.

Listeners can hear music in XM HD Surround on the free-form music channel Fine Tuning (XM Channel 76) and the classical pops music channel XM Pops (XM Channel 113). XM will also broadcast a variety of upcoming shows and live music performances at the XM studios in 5.1 surround sound. XM HD Surround promises to enrich the listener’s experience with full envelopment and image detail never before available in traditional broadcast.

The first wave of home audio systems capable of playing XM HD Surround are now arriving at retailers. XM HD Surround manufacturing partners include Yamaha, Pioneer, Onkyo, and Denon.  These systems will carry the XM-Ready and Neural Surround logos. 

XM subscribers can connect an XM Connect-and-Play antenna or the upcoming XM Passport cartridge/homedock to the unit to receive the XM signal. 

Check out this very long and in-depth interview with Howard Stern in this week's issue of Entertainment Weekly.

Definitely a worthwhile read, where Stern talks about everything from Howard 100 News, to the Howard TV VOD service and the general evolution of the show since it's moved to SIRIUS.

Even if you're not a Howard fan, it's worth checking out just for the photos.

[Entertainment Weekly]

Thanks Tim! 

Bob Dylan's show on XM Satellite Radio was first annouced to debut in March, but with the month nearly at a close it doesn't look likely that the original deadline will be made.

The folks over at the LA Times picked up this little bit as well. They learned that Dylan's show has been delayed because Bob wants to have certain things in a specific way.

"It's definitely going to happen, but it's taking a little longer than originally planned," said XM spokeswoman Anne-Taylor Griffith. "Bob is super involved in the show, and, like with everything he does, he wants it be just a certain way, and it's taking some time…. We've already received several episodes of the show, and they're absolutely fantastic."

Apparently next month XM will be announcing the show's title and schedule and also release some sample playlists with an expected premiere in early May.

[LA Times Calendar Live] 

SIRIUS Satellite Radio will feature Barry Williams - aka Greg Brady - on Wednesday, April 5th at 10pm ET, the TV Land series Living in TV Land. Not only will he be hosting his daily regular program (Barry hosts The Brady Brunch with Barry Williams on SIRIUS' Totally '70s - Ch 7), but he'll also be throwing pitches at Dodgers Stadium, showing off his singing talents, and meeting with his some of his many fans. (Living in TV Land has previously profiled William Shatner, Adam West, Davey Jones and others.)

Barry will also be on FOX's That 70s Show on Thursday, April 27th at 8pm ET, with his Brady Bunch little brother, actor Chris Knight - portraying a gay couple who move in next door.

XM Satellite Radio begins their coverage of the 2006 MLB season this Sunday, April 2nd, with Opening Night in Chicago, as the defending World Series champions Chicago White Sox go against the Cleveland Indians at 8:05 pm ET on XM Channel 180.

Veteran radio announcer and former All-Star pitcher Ed Farmer will deliver play-by-play, with former White sox outfielder Chris Singleton providing commentary. And of course, XM's MLB Home Plate (XM 175) will also be on site at U.S. Cellular Field with pre and post-game coverage.

A full slate of Opening Day games follows on April 3rd, starting with the New York Mets hosting the Washington Nationals at Shea Stadium at 1:10 pm ET (XM 183). MLB games are carried live on XM channels 176 through 189, with Spanish play-by-play and call-in shows on MLB En Espanol (XM channel 190). Get the lineup of XM's MLB game broadcasts on XM's website.

The newest member of XM's broadcast family is Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz. "Big Papi" will make regular, weekly appearances on both MLB Home Plate and MLB En Espanol on XM starting the week of April 2nd.

Gary M. Parsons, XM Satellite Radio's Chairman of the Board, just said at the Bank of America Media, Telecom and Entertainment Conference that the Pionner Inno and Samsung Helix next-gen XM2go players will be on retail shelves in April.

This contradicts earlier reports that the release has been pushed back to May.

UPDATE: From the Q&A session of the BofA webcast - Gary Parsons said he would like to have 100,000 Helix/Inno units shipped by mid-April. He said that XM is currently in the manufacturing stage in multiple factories and wants to have signficant quantities available in the "Dads and Grads" timeframe - ie, Father Day. Manufacturing should not be an inhibitor in getting these to market either. Very encouraging to hear.

One thing to note is that it was brought up that many of the units coming out in April have already been spoken for (many of which by current XM subscribers), so while they'll be hitting the shelves in April - if you haven't preordered one, it may be a bit difficult to get a Helix or Inno right away.

BREAKING
According to theflyonthewall:

09:59 EDT XMSR theflyonthewall.com: XM Satellite Radio-XMSR trading higher on take-over speculation-Rumor :theflyonthewall.com

09:57 XMSR XM Satellite: rumor of CBS for XMSR; price talk said to be $27 (21.92 +0.12)

More on this as news develops.
Note: this should be considered a rumor until we find out more.

UPDATE: This from Briefing.com: 

Hearing CBS-for-XMSR chatter making rounds

UPDATE 2: More from Briefing.com:

by: ubscibc

BRF 10:33 XMSR: XM Satellite: Color on takeover chatter [UPDATE]

[Live In Play]

XMSR: XM Satellite: Color on takeover chatter (22.20 +0.40)
[Update]
Following takeover rumors in XMSR today (with CBS cited as a potential buyer... see 9:58 comment), we listened to yesterday's CBS conference call for any possible insight. During the call, CBS was asked directly about Univision (UVN), and their response was "I think Univision is a great company but there are two major issues for us. One is valuation and the other is regulation... other than that it is a wonderful asset." Co stated that they did not think they could clear the first hurdle... Approx 5 minutes later co was asked what they would do with their free cash. Co stated that they want to pay dividend; thinks that it is a higher threshold of confidence and best use of cash; says they would like to keep increasing the dividend. Co also stated that they are not interested in a large acquisition -- say in the $12-13 bln range -- but could be interested in a smaller acquisition in the $300 mln range (i.e. College Sports TV) that would be fairly valued and would fill a void for the co. Says acquisition has to be attractive and be able to grow... Briefing.com
Note: Given yesterday's comments by CBS, with a market cap of approx $5 bln it would not appear that XMSR would fall into the acquisition profile that CBS is interested in.

Briefing.com, Inc.

UPDATE 3: Gary Parsons at the BofA MET Conference stated that he "certainly" wouldn't comment on this rumor.

NTT DoCoMo will debut on April 8th their first mobile phone with a built-in satellite radio receiver entitled the Music Porter X. This is the latest example of cellphones from DoCoMo that attempts to better integrate portable music functionality into a mobile phone.

The new cellphone from Mitsubishi is compatible with Mobile Broadcasting (MBCO), a struggling satellite radio service that's been available in Japan since late 2004, but to date it's attracted a pretty small number of subscribers.

Users will be able to load MP3/ATRAC format files into the phone's 1Gb memory and tune into FM radio in addition to accessing the satellite radio service. A 15-channel package of programming will be offered to users independent of cellphone service for ¥980 ($8.30) per month. That's a under half the content available from MBCO's full 37-channel audio service and while MBCO also offers a multichannel video service - the cellphone can't receive that content.

The Music Porter X will cost between ¥40,000 and ¥45,000, measures 109 x 50 x 24mm and weighs in at 136g. Talk-time is 170 minutes and the battery should provide about 20 hours of music playback or six hours of satellite radio reception.

[Digital World Tokyo] 

Edward Weber, Jr., SIRIUS' Vice President, Controller and Principal Accounting Officer, resigned on March 27th, 2006.

Mr. Weber has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Major League Baseball Advanced Media. For being in his mid-30s, that's not a bad opportunity.

David J. Frear, SIRIUS' Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will serve as the principal accounting officer on an interim basis.  

[SIRIUS Form 8-K] 

Network LIVE, the joint venture between XM Satellite Radio, AOL and AEG, will multicast country music's 'Redneck Woman' Gretchen Wilson on Wednesday, April 5th at 9:30pm EST. Part of her first headline tour - entitled "Redneck Revolution" - the concert will be broadcast live on AOL Music and XM Satellite Radio's Highway 16 Channel.

If you miss it, no worries, because the performance will air on DirecTV later, or available on demand at AOLMusic.com.

[Press Release] 

It looks like Sprint is expanding their offering with SIRIUS, which debuted back in September allowing users to get 20 Sirius radio channels on their cellphones. Spring is now looking to give customers the option of buying songs that they hear on the satellite radio channels later this year. Essentially, adding a "buy button" - similar functionality to what Mel Karmazin highlighted as a feature for the upcoming SIRIUS portable.

Sprint is now looking to offer heavier music users a monthly subscription to music, rather than a one-time fee of $2.50 to download each song from a virtual store, under its current service. These advanced services (music, text messaging, games and video) represent about 10 percent of Sprint's revenue.

"We'd like to have the capability later this year that the customer listens to a song and says, 'I want to buy that song,'" Sprint COOr Len Lauer told the audience during his keynote speech at the World Congress of Sports conference.

One big question about SIRIUS' "buy button" (or Push-to-Purchase - whatever you want to call it) is who will fulfill the music.  I wonder if this Sirius/Sprint partnership hints towards that.

[Reuters] 

Thanks Tim! 

According to this Reuter's article, SIRIUS CEO Mel Karmazin said, at the Sports Business Journal's annual World Congress of Sports event, that he met with Howard Stern on Monday to try to get him to extend his term with similar pay structure.

Howard wasn't interested.

"He'll take his chances when the contract is up," said Mel Karmazin.

The only reason why I could see Howard turning down an extension of the contract would be either:

1. He's considering retirement.
2. He's waiting to see how much advertising revenue he can bring in within the 5 years.

I can't really blame him if you think about it. At the current rate of growth, why would lock in the current salary when it could be much bigger in 5 years?

Thanks Cranky Media Guy! 

[Reuters] 

There's been some growing anger among Sirius S50 owners about the lack of a firmware update for nearly 4 months now. While the December S50 update fixed some stability problems, it didn't address lockup problems and certain UI issues subscribers have been complaining about.

Over at SIRIUS Backstage, a thread was created compiling a Master Bug & Issue List that people have reported with the Sirius S50. In fact the entire S50 Section of SBS seems to be riddled with complaints and a growing anger in the lack of support experienced.

To add fuel to the fire, recently a dedicated S50 owner was able to get an email forwarded containing a shortlist of issues to SIRIUS' Firmware dept, and the response wasn't too encouraging. For you lazy clickers, here's a paraphrase of the requests and the actual responses received:

1. Playback Sorting. The sorting of the My Sirius Shows content is reversed. For instance, if The Howard Stern Show is recorded in three 2 hour blocks, first block is followed by the third block because it plays the newest content first.
   
   Response: We will look into feasibility and determine if this is a possible change.
   
   
2. Lack of Bookmarking. There is no way to save the playback location when the S50 unit is shut down.
   
   Response: We have looked into this, however the current architecture does not lend itself to such a feature.
   
   
3. Deleting Shows. This is a general UI complaint that the delete shows screen is very difficult to find because the date and time isn't displayed and due to the sorting it's not inuitive to locate the content you want to delete.
   
   Response: This will be discussed and a solution proposed that could address this issue.
   
   
4. Fast-forward and Rewind Speeds. FF and RWD speeds are slow for moving inside longer recordings. Can the speeds be made faster?
   
   Response: The current speeds were selected for the average user (Speeding up was considered, however the current speeds were determined to be optimal).
   
   
5. Two Hour Limit. Users want to be able to record at the four hour duration as originally specified.
   
   Response: Unfortunately this is also a limitation of the current architecture and it is being investigated to open this up to four hours.

Compound all that with a recent post on Get Sirius Info that the Sirius S50 will be discontinued due to the upcoming release of a live portable Sirius receiver, and you've got yourself some very upset customers.

Why am I posting about this? Because several Sirius S50 owners have contacted me asking for help over this. Subscribers are feeling frustrated and ignored, and are hoping that by making issues like these more public, we can get some answers. I know SIRIUS is plenty busy back there, what with settlements to pay royalties to music companies for every S50 sold, but considering the price of the unit - you really can't blame people for being upset.

I also know that some of you will chalk this up as the whining complaints of a "Message Board Mob" but this is also a community of people who have provided extended support for the Sirius S50 - such as incredible documents like the "3 Finger Salute" (PDF) and indepth FAQs like this one being written. These are people who love the S50 and simply want it to work the way it was intended. And sometimes going public with these problems is the only way to make these issues a priority.

So what can be done? The only real thing to do is to increase the number of open ticket complaints submited to Sirius S50 Product Support. If you too are an S50 owner and are experiencing problems, do not remain silent about it - the only way to get results is by letting Sirius know you have a problem. Contact SIRIUS S50 Customer Service at (800) 869-5364 and notify them of what problems you're having.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

[Digg It] 

So yeah, The Scott Ferrall Show aired last night and will be a live weeknight talk show - Monday through Friday from 8pm – 12am ET - on SIRIUS Howard 101. Ferrall will wrap up the day’s events on both of Howard Stern’s SIRIUS channels along with throwin in some sports talk and more.

Ferrall has hosted numerous radio shows on a wide variety of stations in both local and national markets, including WNEW-FM, ESPN Radio, and WFAN 66 in New York, WMAX-FM in Atlanta, WQAM-AM in Miami, and the nationally syndicated Sportsfan Radio Network.

"I've finally arrived at the holy grail of broadcasting. I meet my maker, Howard Stern. It's absolutely sick being on SIRIUS - I've joined the revolution and my fans will follow,” said Scott Ferrall.

Now that he's officially on Howard 101, can he do something to fix his website? Please?

The Smiths, who have been referred to as “the definitive British indie rock band of the ‘80s,” and allegedly turned down a $5 million offer to reunite, will the premiere of the new album by Smiths leader Morrissey on Saturday, April 1st, starting at 12am ET on SIRIUS Satellite Radio channel 22, First Wave.

The Smiths-Morrissey music weekend will be the first time that the First Wave has devoted itself to the music of a single artist, and the first time it has world-premiered a new album before it’s available on April 4th.

Audiographics is quickly becoming one of my favorite Radio-related sites. Ken really does call it like he sees it. His latest article, Radio Industry's Use of Words About Howard Stern, features a perfectly snide and accurate look at how terrestrial twists things to be artifically positive.

Let me place two sentences side by side that describe Howard Stern and his move to Sirius. See if you react differently to each:

•  New Jacobs Study Says 70% Of Stern Listeners Stayed With Terrestrial Radio
•  New Jacobs Study Says 30% of Stern Listeners Moved To Sirius

[...] 

Perhaps, if the radio trades followed the same style word usage for Arbitron's RADAR national audience measurement service, instead of seeing the headline "Arbitron: Radio Reaches More Than 230 Million People," we'd have been witness to "Arbitron: 63 Million Persons Not Listening to Radio." 

Of course, as Get Sirius Info points out, Jacobs Media (the company who did the survey) is regularly contracted by major terrestrial radio companies... like CBS Radio.

You know, since posting this whole rumored Stern/SEC subpoena thingy, I've been flooded with a ton of "love letters" from many extremely crazed and unstable happy and chipper investor-types. I've been so taken by the crazyness joy that I really haven't had the chance to post anything today. Madness!

Now here I am, stuck wondering how to reply to all these email - having tried so hard to reply to them on a one-on-one basis. And suddenly it occurs to me. Goddamnit, I'm a blogger, and blogging is all about transparency. It's what I do. So what a better way to get all this off my chest then to post some of the best emails I've gotten over the past 18 hours.

So, if you've got some time to burn, follow the jump and be prepared for some very long, and somewhat insane reading. After which, we will resume our regularly scheduled entries about the satellite radio industry and I'm going to stop wasting my time responding to lunatics lovely people. Sound like fun?

Considering the sensitivity of this information, I really need to stress that this is currently speculation and based on 2nd hand information. But according to sources, there is a strong rumor that Howard Stern was served a subpoena by the SEC last Wednesday (March 22nd). The grounds for the subpoena are unknown.

Several attempts to contact SIRIUS regarding this went unanswered. The only feedback I received was to forward me to Patrick Reilly, SVP of Corporate Communications at SIRIUS, but then further communications stalled. I had really hoped that SIRIUS could at least confirm or debunk this rumor before posting, but after multiple attempts I've still heard nothing. I'm no lawyer, so I don't know if they're even allowed to make a statement at this point anyway.

So there it is. As I find out more information, I'll post it. If you yourself have more information you can email me here.

Thanks Jonathan! 

USA Today has an interesting article about XM's latest commercial by Mullen Advertising featuring Snoop walking around the XM Studios looking for his chain. If you need a refresher you can watch the commercial spots here: Low Quality | High Quality.

The interesting thing about the article isn't really because it's about the commercial - because many of us have probably seen it at least a couple times. Instead, it's the AdTrack featurette that USA Today displays on the right that sparked my interest.

Of those surveyed, 17% "liked the ad a lot" - that's versus the 21% AdTrack average. Females tended to like it much more than males (23% vs 10% respectively) and only 12% thought the ad was effective (as opposed to the 20% AdTrack average).

I have my own personal opinion about the spot (verdit: boring) but I'm curious about everyone elses. Do you like this XM commercial, better or worse than say this one?

(And on a side note, there's this spoof Sirius commercial that would never make the air.) 

XM Satellite Radio has just officially unveiled its new channel lineup, with the addition of 10 new music channels and 7 regional news/talk channels, bringing the total number of channels to 170.

The bump in music channels brings the number of commercial-free channels to 69. As we know, both XM Chill and Big Tracks were added earlier this month, and here's the official lineup of the new music channels being added during April and May:

U.S. Country (XM Channel 17): Country Superstars of the 80s & 90s
Flight 26 (XM Channel 26): Modern Hits of the 90's & Now
XM Hitlist (XM Channel 30): Today's Hit Music
enLighten (XM Channel 34): Southern Gospel
XM Liquid Metal (XM Channel 42): Heavy Metal
The Heat (XM Channel 68): Rhythmic Top 40
Escape (XM Channel 78): Easy Listening
Viva (XM Channel 91): Latin Pop Hits

XM will also introduce six more regional news/talk channels in late spring/early summer. These will individually be announced when they're ready, but they'll be similar to the WLW addition we saw earlier this month. These seven regional news and talk channels are provided by Clear Channel Communications will be part of a new category on the channel guide called "Regional News, Talk & Music Channels."

This new category will also include Clear Channel-programmed music channels KISS, MIX, Nashville, and Sunny, plus the launch of WSIX, with country personality Gerry House live from Nashville. As we all know, Clear Channel will start carrying commercials on these music channels in May, so they are grouped separately from XM's lineup of 69 commercial-free music channels on the new channel guide. (Very good move by XM in my opinion.)

Other changes include some renaming of channels:

XM 32 The Fish -> The Message
XM 52 Unsigned -> The Verge
XM 90 Alegria -> Fuego
XM 165 Ask -> Talk Radio
XM 172 Franc Parler -> SportPlus (Broadcast in French)

The Torch, Music Lab, The Flow, and Luna will be making the move to XM Radio Online, DirecTV and AOL.

Download the entire new XM Channel Lineup here (PDF) or visit the XM Radio New Lineup page to read more.

Fred Jacobs ran a 25,000-person web-based study from 79 rock stations in late February and learned that 70% of listeners decided not to do the jump to satellite radio. In the study he states that "the biggest winners appear to be many of Stern's former FM competitors," though he backpedals a bit and says that there's no doubt that Howard has been a "big plus to Sirius."

Let's see, because today the Phase II Arbitrends are due, and I don't see David Lee Roth or Adam Carolla doing so well. 

Apparently XM Radio has started running promos as of late last night for new XM channels coming down the pipe. At this point, the only date that's been heard is April 17th, so we can only assume that all the channels will be added at this date. As suspected, several of these will be "clones" of the Clear Channel content.

Here's the list that people have heard so far:

Flight 26 - clone of CC channel
XM Hit List - clone of CC channel
US Country XM 17 - clone of CC channel
Vibra - Latin Rock
EnLIGHTen - Southern Gospel
The Heat - Hip-hop and R&B.

And of course don't forget to add XMLM to this mix. The pad data shows lineup.xmradio.com being displayed, but currently that's the old page still.

Thanks Brian and Daniel! 

According to comScore Media Metrix, it looks like Howard Stern hasn't lost his edge in terms of traffic even after moving over to SIRIUS Satellite Radio. His site even beats out Rush Limbaugh.

Here's the comScore chart showing a year's worth of traffic details: 

Interestingly enough, these don't correlate with Alexa's traffic numbers, here's Howard Stern vs Rush Limbaugh's Alexa numbers:

Now, of course statistics are only as good as the data they're derived from - so it can be argued that more "adware friendly" people will visit Rush's website and thus are more likely to skew the numbers for Alexa. But more than anything, I'd look at these charts in terms of trending. Don't look at the hard numbers (and be wary of them), but instead compare the two in terms of the peaks and valleys. Comscore doesn't seem to be registering the spikes on Dec 16th, 2005 and on Jan 9th, 2006 - so I'd assume they're doing a rolling average of some sort.

Either way, it's neat stuff to look at and to help decide whether the "Long Tail" of Howard actually exists or not. Read more on The Back of the Napkin.

Speaking of Long Tail, there's a free, anonynous survey targeted to Howard Stern fans to help determine whether the Stern Effect was actually limited to Dec-Jan. It's completely free and anonymous - so go fill it out here.

Thanks Jim and Mike! 

Slow news day, so let's look at trademarks. Could this be related to Sirius' FLW deal?

FISHTALK

FISHTALK
Word Mark FISHTALK
Goods and Services IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Entertainment services, namely, providing audio programs featuring music, sports, talk, news and data via satellite and via a global communications network
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Design Search Code
Serial Number 78663542
Filing Date July 5, 2005
Current Filing Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Published for Opposition March 21, 2006
Owner (APPLICANT) Sirius Satellite Radio
New York, NY 10002
Attorney of Record Cynthia Greer
Type of Mark SERVICE MARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

Uhmmm... thanks candlebougie. :)

XM Satellite Radio is kicking off the second year of their partnership with the IndyCar Series this Sunday (March 26th) with the 2006 season opener for Indy - the Toyota Indy 300 Presented by XM Satellite Radio at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Not only will you hear the whine of 3-liter engines hitting blistering RPMs, but this weekend will also feature the high-energy sounds of Shinedown, performing for free for race fans at 1:30pm on Sunday. On April 2nd, XM Satellite Radio will present Hoobastank following the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Catch the entire 2006 IndyCar season (including the 90th Indy 500 on May 28th) on XM Channel 145.

[Press Release] 

SIRIUS Satellite Radio has signed a multiyear agreement to sponsor all 12 of the FLW Outdoors tournament trails, including the new Wal-Mart FLW Series and Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series.

SIRIUS will also field a team of professional anglers who will compete on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and the Wal- Mart FLW Redfish Series in sponsor-customized boats.

Jim Meyer, president of operations and sales for SIRIUS Satellite Radio, said: "Our sponsorship allows us to tap into the boating segment of satellite radio users, which has tremendous potential. Satellite radio goes everywhere you go; it gives you the freedom to listen to whatever you want. I believe anglers will find it to be useful as well as enjoyable."

[Press Release] 

Reports are coming in from all over the place that the Samsung Helix and Pioneer Inno release date has be pushed back to early May. The initial word was that Helix/Inno would be hitting the shelves in late-March / early-April, but if these reports are true it looks like we'll all have to wait a little longer.

theflyonthewall is apparently also reporting this:

March 23, 2006
08:07 EDT XMSR theflyonthewall.com: XM Satellite Radio-XMSR target lowered to $38 from $44.16-Buy@OPCO
The firm checks indicate that it's unclear whether XMSR's new MP3 players will be at retail by April as expected. OPCO feels a delay could reflect a either a technical glitch or the company's negotiations with music labels. :theflyonthewall.com

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

UPDATE: The only official word I have on this is:

"The products will be shipping soon with significant quantities available for the second quarter."

It's just been confirmed on the air the XM's Liquid Metal (XMLM) will in fact be returning to broadcasting via XM's satellites.

XMLM previously was pulled from the birds and exclusive only to XM Radio Online back in early 2005.

XMLM - Channel 42 - will be returning "this spring" officially. It's rumored that on April 1st XM will be adding "several" more music channel additions, some of which may compete with the Clear Channel channels.

Bank of America has been running an on-going survey of Satellite Acquisition Trends (SAT) containing data collected by a 3rd party. I like this survey because as somewhat of a research geek myself, I like to see a 'clean' sampling, meaning those surveyed must be as demographically and geographically balanced as possible. BofA does a very good job at keeping this important balance, and I would highly recommend getting their full survey reports (they're being released on a monthly basis).

Anyway, below are some highlights from the BofA SAT III survey released earlier this month...

Little surprise here as we all pretty much expected SIRIUS to dominate the retail share in Dec/Jan. Retail was an important channel in last year's quarter, as well as in the beginning of this year, but the question on everyone's minds is whether this momentum will maintain. It's hard to say for sure, with the Helix/Inno/Nexus hitting the market very soon, XM may see a bump in retail activity. But then Sirius has their own portable satellite radio coming in summer, with rumors of the S50 being discontinued soon - so the retail channel has the strong possibilty of being very volatile between the two. Anyone else find it interesting that 8% don't even know which satellite radio service they have? And these are people who actually HAVE satellite radio. Shows how much brand confusion is still a factor.

Another interesting point in the BofA SAT III Survey is the reasons why people signed up for either  satellite radio provider:

Note that Stern was actually the #2 reason why people subscribed to Sirius, where the number #2 for XM was price. Let's see how these change in the quarters to follow. XM's next-gen XM2go models won't necessarily be cheap (and I'd expect the magazine reviews to point that out incessantly like they did with the S50). And the question of "The Long Tail of Stern" is still up in the air. Yes, SIRIUS has been adding subscribers at a rate of 8,760 a day, but how many of those were grabbed at the beginning of the year?

Personally I like to see the "recommended by friend or neighbor" as the readers of this site probably represent a good number of influencers in this area. (How many times did YOU recommend Sirius or XM for the Holidays?) With anomalous factors like Stern (or any other celebrity) or deep discounting taken out of the equation, you're going to be left with the tried and true three: Service, Convenience, and Word of Mouth. It'll be interesting to see what both XM and SIRIUS do to keep the momentum of these going.

According to recent report by April Horace, analyst for Hoefer & Arnett Inc, Cablevision reported over 5,000 people signed up at $9.95/month in the first two days of launching Howard Stern’s VOD service.

Even though SIRIUS won’t be enjoying any of the revenue associated with these fees, Horace believes it still shows the power of Stern is running strong, at least in the Northeast.

Thanks Brian! 

Let's leave this chalked up as a rumor, but apparently Eric Logan just teased on the air that
a channel rhyming with "kettle" will be announced on Thursday... which could only mean one channel in my mind: XM Liquid Metal!

Remember that in the beginning of the month, I was told that a "legendary" channel will be making a return to the XM Satellites. Sources have also mentioned that Special X will most likely not be part of the return. Also note that a bulletin was sent out earlier this month stating that new XM music channels will be coming in April, so that might give us a hint into timing.

Let's see what we hear on Thursday. 

Thanks Rev! 

• ADI to distribute XM for Businesses
  XM for Business will offer the content, ADI will fill in the gaps for business installations.
• Radio exec discusses Satellite Radio
  And still is saying that terrestrial has nothing to worry about.
• XM: From Handshake to Stores in Nine Months
  The article is really just about getting to market quickly, but the message is lost with the rabid commenters. Gotta love this industry.
  
• New Delphi Heavy Duty Satellite Radios
  Truckers rejoice! Delphi's coming out with XM or SIRIUS receivers with iPod/MP3 support, NOAA weather band and even an alarm clock function.
  

XM Satellite Radio's PGA TOUR Network will air live coverage of The Players Championship, starting this Thursday through Sunday (March 23rd-26th) from 12pm to 8pm ET. Coverage of the event will keep the listener up-to-date on the latest leaderboard and on-course action, and will give a behind-the-scenes look into the PGA TOUR, tournaments and players through compelling interviews and features.

The Players Championship will feature 49 of the top 50 players in the world (who's the one-guy missing?) including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, and defending champion Fred Funk, among others.

MyFis will be made available at the golf course for rent or purchase so fans can hear live coverage throughout the course of the The Players Championship.

[Press Release] 

XM Satellite Radio has inked a deal with Concord Music Group to release a series of branded compilation CDs. Co-produced by XM and Concord, the concepts behind each CD is derived from XM Satellite Radio programming, including specific XM channels and original XM music shows combined with Concord’s remarkable collection of music.

The first CD, "Watercolors Series," which should hit shelves in early summer, will highlight songs by contemporary jazz artists, including those featured on XM's Watercolors contemporary jazz channel.

The second series, "Blistering Licks," will cover jazz and jazz performers who have influenced other genres of music from blues to progressive rock.

[Press Release] 

PC Magazine's Jim Louderback had a few scathing remarks about the Sirius S50. Follow this link to watch the review video.

Bottom line? He pretty much snubbed the S50 and instead getting the Sportster instead. If you really want to take the content with you, his suggestion was to buy a separate MP3 player to save the songs to.

Youch.

While VH1 was broadcasting his band the Sex Pistols' no-show induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, John Lydon was talking to SIRIUS Faction channel 28.

Check out today's (March 21st) interview at 5pm ET on SIRIUS Faction when Lydon calls fellow Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Debbie Harry a "fat bag," gives his take on hip-hop and US politics, talks about why he can't get a record deal these days and, of course, why Mozart was a plagiarist.

If you miss it, no worries, catch the replay tomorrow March 22nd at 4am ET.

XM Satellite Radio's hip hop channel Raw (XM 66) will be broadcasting live from the XM Hot Import Nights (HIN) car show this Saturday, March 25th from 9pm-11pm CT, with XM's Mz. Kitti and Leo G. on the air live from the XM stage.

Guests include Twista and Lupe Fiasco, as well as UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski and FHM model and ESPN2 host Jessica Barton.

The XM booth at Hot Import Nights will have a hands-on displays of the upcoming Pioneer Inno XM2go radios and the Honda Civic Si Extreme concept car.

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported that Sirius Satellite Radio was still in talks with Sony BMG and EMI Group over the Sirius S50 dispute.

Today the New York Times reports that Sirius has settled with Sony BMG Music Entertainment, a joint venture of Sony and Bertelsmann, according to a statement from Sirius spokesman Patrick Reilly.

No further details were learned about the cost of the agreement.

[New York Times] 

• New Deals Could Nearly Triple Sirius' OEM Base
  Thanks in part to the VW deal, Sirius' OEM base of 824,000 could almost triple by the end of 2007.
• Sony's new XM-Ready units
  Sony's new HTiB systems will have the Connect-and-Play technology... but sans an XM Passport. Too bad.
• Sirius adding more repeaters this year
  A "significant number" even. Nice.

While perusing through my XM trademark search I stumbled upon this filing by XM for "XM4Home". Judging by the date, this has been in the works for sometime now, but as usual, the listing provides little details of what this thing actually does. Anyway, here's the info:

Registered Trademark (Link)

Word Mark XM4HOME
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: digital audio radio receivers, antennas and components
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Design Search Code
Serial Number 78691500
Filing Date August 12, 2005
Current Filing Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Owner (APPLICANT) XM Satellite Radio Inc. CORPORATION DELAWARE 1500 Eckington Place NE Washington D.C. 20002
Attorney of Record Cynthia Greer
Prior Registrations 2547677;2902875;3016015;AND OTHERS
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

So sparking my curiosity, I dig back into a Bear Stearns report outlining the analysts tour of XM R&D facility in Florida from earlier this month and find this nugget on upcoming XM devices:

Next generation home-based receivers likely would also support wireless networks and solutions that are becoming increasingly popular.

So the XM4HOME receiver could be a wirelessly connected device that streams satellite radio content to other devices, possible through 108.11b/g WiFi. But then the "solutions that are becoming increasingly popular" still leaves room for more speculation.

Turning to Bank of America's report of the same XM analyst tour, we may find a bit more clues:

Other new services/products include weather, voice controls, and ability to transmit data to devices (ie podcast, audio books).

Now, we know about weather and voice controls. So what about the ability to transmit data like podcasts and audio books? Note in the trademark filing that it says "digital audio radio receivers" and not "satellite radio receivers" as normally listed.

I could speculate like crazy about what the final functionality of this device is, but I'll leave that up to you guys. If the XM2go is any indication, XM4Home would be a more "revolutionary" concept in how satellite radio is looked at as a home entertainment category.

(Note: That's the Polk XRT-1 pictured above just to give a visual reinforcement.)

XM Satellite Radio will launch a dedicated World Cup Soccer channel - FIFA World Cup 2006 (XM 148) - and a new XM show "World Cup This Week" as part of it's FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 Soccer coverage, starting on March 24th.

Featuring big names in soccer from the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and El Salvador. Jeff Agoos, Thomas Dooley, Carlos Hermosillo, Bora Milutinovic, Phil Schoen, Carlos Valderrama, Luis Alves "Zague" and others will provide commentary, analysis and play-by-play coverage live from Germany on XM channel 148 and XM's 24-hour Spanish-language sports channel: XM Deportivo (XM 147).

And coming on June 5th, Andres Cantor, will be joined on XM Deportivo by Carlos Hermosillo, Bora Milutinovic, Carlos Valderrama and Luis Alves "Zague," among others, with commentary, play-by-play coverage and the latest World Cup Soccer News from around the world through July 10.

[Press Release] 

A reader sent in this interesting trademark recently filed for by XM Satellite Radio and it raises a ton of questions - none of which I think can be answered right now. But here's the filing anyway:

(Link)

XM PIX

Word Mark XM PIX
Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: satellite radio receiver
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Design Search Code
Serial Number 78832261
Filing Date March 8, 2006
Current Filing Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Owner (APPLICANT) XM Satellite Radio Inc. CORPORATION DELAWARE 1500 Eckington Place, N.E. Washington D.C. 20002
Attorney of Record Cynthia D. Greer
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

Now, the first thing that comes to mind is the upcoming XM Video Player - but then again, why would you use a term that almost certainly is short for pictures? The next thought is that this is a service that shows popular music - like "XM Picks" but with a funny "X" spelling. Only, the filing certainly says it's a satellite radio receiver. So the next thought is.... well, I have no next thought. Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks candlebougie! 

Howard Stern is pissed and he's not going down quietly. In an interview with the NY Daily News, Stern said CBS Radio attorneys sent him a letter asking him not to speak publically about their legal battle.

"I don't think they expected me to talk about it," Stern told The News. "Obviously not - why are they sending me a letter to say shut the f--- up?"

A CBS spokesman confirmed the network sent the letter after a lawsuit was filed last month. Stern also alleged that CBS threatened to pull advertising from the trade paper Daily Variety unless its editors killed a favorable piece about him.

"As for Variety," the CBS spokesman said, "we have never threatened to pull any advertising from that publication, ever." Daily Variety editor Tim Gray called the claim that pressure had been placed on the paper "ridiculous."

Separately, but just as entertaining, according to the NY Post - Stern isn't too happy about CBS Radio releasing his salary history in the 43-page lawsuit. According to the article:

Stern was first signed by CBS Radio in 1985 for a now-modest $705,000. According to the CBS filing, by 1996, when his show was in all the top markets, he was making $39.1 million over five years with another $8.85 million in annual bonuses and stock options. When Stern's contract was extended in 2001, "the base compenation increased to over $58.8 million over the five-year term." 

[New York Daily News]
[New York Post]

WorldSpace Satellite Radio has launched two new commercial-free Arab music channels - Ranin and Min Zaman - offering contemporary and classic Arab hits to over 12 countries in the Middle-East and Northern Africa.

[Press Release]

The Wall Street Journal reports some more details on the dispute over the Sirius S50 with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. If you're not caught up on it, essentially four major music companies have a bit of a problem with the Sirius S50 and it's ability to "disaggregate" and manage individual songs from satellite radio broadcasts. As a result, these companies felt that Sirius should pay a higher broadcast licensing fee.

Sirius has reached an agreement with both Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Sirius will pay both UMG and Warner a fee for each device sold (though the exact fee was never disclosed). In addition, the manufacturing run of the Sirius S50 is to be capped at a number that also was not disclosed.

Sirius is in still talks with EMI Group and Sony BMG, according to sources familiar with the matter, but it is unclear how close they are to an agreement.

The good news is, this is only limited to the Sirius S50 - the agreement does not apply to future devices (like the live Sirius portable receiver coming this summer).

[Wall Street Journal] 

SIRIUS Satellite Radio just announced that they have surpassed 4 million subscribers! Sirius had ended 2005 with 3.3 million subscribers - bringing this year's average additions to 8,860.76 subscribers a day.

From what we know, SIRIUS still expects to end 2006 with 6 million subscribers.

There's an interesting tidbit of information in SIRIUS' Form 10-k filed this week.

We signed an agreement with XM Radio, the holder of the other FCC license to provide a satellite-based digital audio radio service, to develop a unified standard for satellite radios to enable consumers to purchase one radio capable of receiving both SIRIUS' and XM Radio’s services. We expect the unified standard to detail the technology to be employed by manufacturers of such dual-mode radios, although we have no assurances that any manufacturer will build, or that a market will develop, for such dual-mode radios. The technology relating to this unified standard is being developed, funded and will be owned jointly by the two companies. This unified standard is also intended to meet FCC rules that require interoperability of both licensed satellite radio systems. In 2005, we substantially completed the design of a radio capable of receiving both services.

It goes on to read:

Our FCC license is conditioned on us certifying that our system includes a receiver design that will permit end users to access XM Radio's system. We have signed an agreement with XM Radio to develop jointly a unified standard for satellite radios to facilitate the ability of consumers to purchase one radio capable of receiving both our and XM Radio's services. We believe that this agreement, and our efforts with XM Radio to develop this unified standard for satellite radios, satisfies the interoperability condition contained in our FCC license.

Now, the only manufacturer that I currently am aware of that makes a true dual satellite radio receiver is Visteon. Utilizing both the Agere Gen2.5, Northstar (SIRIUS) and Maxim ZIF, ST HCMOS9 (XM) tuner/baseband chipsets, Visteon's Satellite Radio System can receive both SIRIUS and XM signals. Keep in mind that Visteon also recently won the deal to supply the Hyundai Sonata with XM Satellite Radio.

We may want to keep an eye on this company for further developments. If satellite radio interoperability will ever actually become a reality, I'm willing to bet that Visteon would be involved.

Thanks Rich! 

• Google's Form 10-k
  "Broader Range of Media. [...] With the acquisition of dMarc in February 2006, Google plans to unite our network of advertisers with dMarc’s innovative radio ad distribution product. [...] our goal is to provide targeted advertisements with measurable performance." (Could this be why the NAB is pushing for anti-satellite radio legislation? a perceived advertising threat? Push-to-purchase might also fall right with Google's advertising strategy.)
  
• Podtech gets $5.5M in Funding
  To launch Podcasting News Service.
• The Decline of Hit Albums
  The hits are getting smaller as digital music adoption increases.
  
• Verizon adds Indie music to V Cast
  V Cast subscribers can now hear music from artists affiliated with CD Baby, IODA, Digital Rights Agency and The Orchard.
• CBS Radio signs on for Cell Phone Research
  Joining Radio One and Cox Radio - the new "smart cell phone" would be the competitor to Arbitrons PPM.
  

SIRIUS Satellite Radio has come to an agreement with Universal Music Group over the ability to save individual songs to the Sirius S50. Warner Music Group says they have a similar deal in place. The dispute came about over the S50's ability to save individual songs from the satellite radio stream. UMB eLabs president Larry Kenswil even went as far as to call similar devices "cannibalization machines," at an event in New York.

Labels and publishers threatened to sue Sirius for copyright infringement last year over the S50, according to sources.

Sources say Sirius Satellite Radio has agreed to compensate UMG for the service and to avert a potential legal showdown. Consumer charges will not be affected. Warner Music Group's recorded music division has reportedly come to a similar agreement.

The deals are expected to act as a template for the other two major labels, similarly concerned with the timeshifting issue, with whom sources say Sirius is also in active negotiations. These deals put added pressure on XM who will be releasing the Samsung Nexus - which will have similar abilities as the Sirius S50 - as well as the Helix and Inno which also will have the ability to save songs from a satellite stream.

[Billboard.biz] 

SIRIUS Satellite Radio's new show Court TV Morning Radio launches on SIRIUS channel 110 this Monday, March 20th.

The call-in radio news program, airing weekdays from 6am - 9am ET, focuses on the biggest legal headlines, providing commentary on interesting, and sometimes scandalous trials. Politan and his guests reveal the latest developments and topics related to crime, justice and the legal system.

The debut show this Monday will feature investigative reporter Diane Dimond and well-known attorney Gloria Allred talking about the latest Michael Jackson news and the problems he is having with Neverland Ranch. In addition, Politan will lead a discussion about Sunday night’s episode of the HBO series “The Sopranos.” (Cazzata Melenga!)

There's been some question about why Volkswagen would opt from offering both satellite radio providers to offering only one. It would seem the best thing for VW would be to provide the choice to the consumer.

An article in Reuters today shines a bit more light on the background of deal now. XM spokesman Chance Patterson told Reuters the expense of pursuing deals with these automakers was not worth the return.

"XM has long-term agreements with Toyota, General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Hyundai Corp. We evaluated the VW-Audi deal and determined the significant cost didn't justify the limited volume of vehicles produced," he said.

Interesting fact: Germany's Volkswagen is Europe's biggest automaker, but in 2005 it produced only 1.8 percent of the automobiles sold in the United States.

But even more importantly I think Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett has a great point. The number of cars being produced with satellite radio will now signficantly be increased. Craig Moffett said that while the total number of cars involved in this new deal is relatively small, the pact may ultimately be positive for both XM and Sirius, because of the high percentage of units that will install the radios.

"This signals that Volkswagen believes that there is enough demand for satellite radio...for it to put satellite radio in a very high proportion of its cars," he said in a note to clients. "It is yet another data point that indicates that ultimately the percentage of new cars that will have satellite radio installed is higher than consensus expects.."

So overall it's a good move for the awareness of the satellite radio industry in general.

[Reuters] 

SIRIUS Satellite Radio has inked a deal with Volkswagen of America to offer SIRIUS as VW's sole satellite radio provider for vehicles sold in this country through 2012. Volkswagen will exclusively offer SIRIUS beginning with the introduction of its 2007 model year vehicles, and expects to equip approximately 80% with SIRIUS satellite radio receivers. Additionally, Volkswagen will offer three months of complimentary service.

Volkswagen is a key auto manufacturer with several brands under it's umbrella. As part of this deal, Audi of America will offer SIRIUS as its exclusive satellite radio provider for Audi's model year 2007 - 2012 vehicles. Today, the installation rate of satellite radio in Audi models is approximately 50%.

Volkswagen owns Audi, Bentley, Bugati, Lamborghini, and several others (SEAT, Skoda, etc - but they're not so common in the States). Previously they had a joint deal with both XM Satellite Radio and SIRIUS Satellite Radio.

[Press Release (Volkswagen)]
[Press Release (Audi)]

President Bill Clinton is appearing on XM Satellite Radio’s new sports talk show “60/20,” hosted by James Carville and Luke Russert, which debuts today (March 17) at 8am - 9am ET on XM Live (XM channel 200). President Clinton, an ardent college basketball fan, talks college basketball with Carville and Russert for the XM debut.

When asked which teams he thought had the best chance of making the Final Four, Clinton predicted Connecticut (go UCONN!) and Villanova, “assuming their injured players are in good shape,” he said.  As for the remaining slots, he said it was a tossup between Duke and Memphis or Texas and Kansas.

Russert asked Clinton if Arkansas and his alma mater Georgetown wound up playing against each other for the national championship, which team would he cheer for.

“If that happened, I’d cheer for Arkansas,” he said. “I owe Georgetown a lot, but you know, I spent a lifetime cheering for Arkansas. We only won [the championship] once, so I hope we have another chance.”

Be sure to catch today's show, which airs weekly on XM Satellite Radio on Fridays at 8:00 am, with replays at 9:00 am and 10:00 am and Saturdays at 9:00 am, 10:00 am and 11:00 am (all times ET).

(OK, so maybe this should renamed to semi-daily links)

• FMQB features a detailed article on the Howard Stern / O&A Gag Order.
  The battle between these two is undoubtedly heating up.
• Howard Stern and FOX kiss and make up.
  Interesting how your friends become your enemies and your enemies your friends.
• Motley Fool puts WorldSpace on their radar.
  Hacky headline or not, its nice to see WorldSpace getting some recognition.
• Satellite Radio shares - up or down?
  Bear Stearns, BofA and Gold Sachs Analysts all give their take.
• About.com Visitors Comment on XM and SIRIUS Satellite Radio Plus Howard Stern
  A semi-interesting read.
• High-def, satellite radio set for battle of the airwaves
  Funny, even the press can't quite grasp that "HD" Radio doesn't mean "High Definition"
• Stern-Moonves Kerfuffle Continues
  CBS Radio feels Stern's appearance on Letterman was a "desperate attempt to distract attention from the facts of the case."
• Ford's Kaline to Radio: Consumer Is First
  Mark Kaline, global media manager for Ford, offers some wise words of wisdom, urged broadcasters to not "lose sight of the listener" and to consider alliances never dreamed of before. “Maybe you need to reach out to online, to mobile, even to satellite.”
  

Earlier today a commenter asked whether I had asked XM for their take on the Senate bill meant to block localized satellite radio content. I pinged both XM and SIRIUS on this, and here's what XM spokesperson Chance Patterson had to say:

XM's 6 million subscribers expect the most from their satellite radio provider.  XM will continue to deliver information like Amber Alerts, reports of severe weather, traffic jams, and play-by-play sports as long as the law and our FCC license continues to allow such programming.  We trust that the majority of policymakers agree that the availability of more information is good for consumers.

At the time of writing this, a spokesperson from SIRIUS hadn't gotten back to me.

I think that it's important that we express our concern over this bill. First thing's first, you can contact the Senators who proposed the bill by clicking next to their names: Sen Olympia Snowe - Maine (contact form), Max Baucus - Montana (contact form), and Trent Lott - Mississippi (contact form).

Then go here and contact your own state's Senator and let them know exactly how you feel about the "Local Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act of 2006" (S. 2418). I just cannot see a way that this is a "benefit" to the general community. There is a value to satellite radio providing localized content, and the only people this bill serves to benefit are members of the NAB.

Atlanta-based rap star T.I. will preview his upcoming album King and talk about each track with Shade 45 channel host DJ Drama (of the Atlanta DJ crew The Aphilliates).

King, T.I.'s fourth album will be released on March 28th, but you can hear it exclusively on Sirius during Personal Preview Special on Shade 45 before it hits the streets.

Bridge Ratings President Dave Van Dyke said, "HD growth is slower than previously thought due to conservative estimates related to the automotive market component and slow adoption by the majority of consumers. It is difficult to project how quickly the auto industry will embrace the technology."

Bridge is also projecting a possible 100 million satellite radio subscribers by 2020, though it needs to be said that forecasts that deep into the future should be looked at with caution.

[Radio World Online]

XM Satellite Radio will broadcast every Major League Baseball game for every team, all season long when the season begins with Opening Day (April 2nd) as the World Series champion Chicago White Sox host the Cleveland Indians. Baseball fans across the country can listen to their favorite teams all season long on XM, which airs.

Listen to live play-by-play coverage of games for every MLB team throughout the season on XM channels 176 through 189, with Spanish play-by-play on MLB En Espanol (XM 190) plus MLB coverage on MLB Home Plate (XM 175).

Also, Orestes Destrade will co-host MLB Home Plate's morning program "Baseball This Morning" with Mark Patrick and Buck Martinez. Destrade debuted on XM Satellite Radio in 2005 as an on-air host for MLB En Espanol. Destrade recently joined ESPN as an analyst for "Baseball Tonight."

Senators Olympia Snowe, Max Baucus, and Trent Lott, introduced yesterday the "Local Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act of 2006." This lovely bill is pushing to prevent satellite radio from developing receiver technology that lets satellite radio broadcasters offer "localized content" intermixed with national content, "or that would be selected based on the listener’s location."

The bill also requires the FCC to decide whether satellite radio broadcasters can continue to offer "locally oriented services on nationally distributed channels" - meaning the traffic and weather services offered.

Rep Chip Pickering, introduced a similar House version of the bill, H.R. 998, in March 2005. It now has 110 cosponsors.

Last year, SIRIUS Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin reportedly floated the idea that his satellite service might offer local feeds of Howard Stern's show featuring local contests in order to lure national advertising.

In essence, the bill would prevent satellite radio broadcasters from inserting any form of “locally differentiated” content on their ground-based repeaters.

What I don't understand is exactly how having SIRIUS and XM offering localized content is such a harmful thing? During the Hurricane Katrina disastor, local terrestrial radio was disabled in areas affected. But with satellite radio, the "localized content" could have easily reached those in need.

Regardless, the NAB is relishing this move. NAB President/CEO David Rehr said, "It is crystal clear that both XM and Sirius - with nearly $1 billion in combined losses last year and having failed as a national programming service - are skirting the intent of their original FCC licenses."

Ridiculous. 

[more on Billboard Radio Monitor and on Radio World Online]

I don't really know what to think about this. It's obviously meant to capitalize on the CBS Radio vs Howard Stern lawsuit hype - what with a press release even being sent out - but it also attacks terrestrial radio, and that can't be a bad thing.

Whatever the motivation, go ahead and check out Les Is My Bitch and maybe you'll find something for yourself... or your dog.

Audiographics recently featured an article about trying to find a sampling of HD Radio online. Try as he may, but Ken was not able to even get a snippet of an audio sample that would show him how 'superior' HD Radio is to traditional radio (or even to satellite).

This got me thinking about the understanding of online consumer behavior and how these industries  - Terrestrial Radio vs Satellite Radio that is - differ from each other in their approach to engage the potential customer.

Terrestrial Radio is using the "old media" concept of impression branding. Keep repeating your message enough times, building impressions over and over again; until people buy into it. The benefit to this approach is that it's easy to do - terrestrial radio has the ability to repeat their message to their listener base over and over again. But none of their marketing effort is done online.

Satellite Radio on the other hand is utilizing a "new media" approach based on The Experience Economy. Where engaging the customer at a deeper, more visceral level, will capture and ultimately convert the audience. People who listen to satellite radio, love satellite radio. So what a better way to engage these potential customers than through a free trial. 3-days even. That's one hell of a test drive when you consider it. Instead of telling you that satellite radio is a great product, both XM and SIRIUS are showing you.

This goes back to the understanding of the online consumer. Both SIRIUS and XM concentrate a lot on the online consumer, because while the awareness of satellite radio is growing (through "old media" forms I probably should add) the actual "selling" of the service is most likely done online. People will do their research on the internet and either execute the order immediately or run off to Best Buy to buy that receiver they've been eyeing. A practice known as ROPO to some - "Research Online, Purchase Offline" (more here on that).

But considering how easily HD ignores the online influence, it's no surprise that the adoption will only be 10 million listeners by 2010.

Many people have doubted the 'consipiracy theory' that Howard Stern issued a gag order against Opie and Anthony during both their terms with Infinity Broadcasting (now CBS Radio). Well, Howard admitted to the gag order on Hannity's show last night. Listen to the audio here.

I often wondered about the supposed gag order where O&A were not allowed to bring up Howard on their show. You can understand, especially after hearing this audio, why they're so obsessed with him. They actually weren't really competing with each other at the time - with Howard in the morning and O&A on a separate station in the afternoons - and even moreso in that they worked for the same company.

While I totally understand the thought that Stern is brand and he wanted to protect that brand (honestly, I can appreciate that), it's just sad that statements like "I'm a strong supporter of MY free speech," would actually be made - let alone enacted upon. If you want to know why this war between the two is going on, listen here.

Thanks OneWithDog! 

Billboard Radio Monitor is reporting that SIRIUS Satellite Radio has settled the shareholder suit for $8 Million in cash. The 2001 class action lawsuit involved alleged "materially false and misleading statements and press releases concerning when our service would be commercially available."

Those statements were supposedly what caused Sirius' stock price to be "artifically inflated" and to drop from the $50-to-$60 range in February/March of 2000, to close in April 1st at $11.75 per share.

According to the 10-k filing, the only outstanding legal proceedings against them now is the CBS Radio lawsuit. 

While I doubt that a huge majority of readers here actually fall into the Cosmo Radio demographic, it should be brought up that Cosmopolitan Radio (along with other new SIRIUS channels) launched today.

So if you're into it, check out the schedule of shows on Cosmo Radio after the jump...

You know, these goddamn O&A fans are really just a bunch of pests. Yesterday these silly geese got together and decided to "greet" Howard Stern outside of the Late Night with David Letterman studio. Lots of yelling, screaming and downright stupidity ensued. I personally like the limo speeding away and the fat dude running after it.

One thing you have to admit though. You don't see this kind of passion and following with terrestrial 'jocks' anymore. Where's the Mancow army? Exactly.

[via Foundry Music]

Thanks Rev!

While the headline to this NY Post article is enough to drive your attention elsewhere, the content of the article has some gems of information I didn't realize before.

Such as the fact that SIRIUS isn't getting a rev-share out the Howard's InDemand VOD deal:

Though Howard TV, which will be shown exclusively on In Demand through 2009, will be carved out of his Sirius show, the satellite radio company won't be getting a financial cut - revenue will be divided between In Demand, the cable operators and Stern.

That's a bit surprising. Also that supposedly there's an estimated 250,000 subscribers for Howard TV. That's surprising as well (I would've thought less).

Thanks Tim!

As speculation abounds, today's show did nothing but to fuel the frenzy of questions. Apparently allaccess.com is reporting (via XM411 - thanks Barry!):

CBS: O&A "Not Returning"
So, are OPIE AND ANTHONY going back to CBS RADIO? A spokesperson for CBS tells ALL ACCESS flatly that "O&A are not returning to CBS RADIO," responding to OPIE's prankish reference to rumors at the NEW YORK RADIO MESSAGE BOARD that "the rumors are true ... ALLEN (NYRMB operator SNIFFEN) got it right."

That's the only "official" word from CBS Radio that I've heard. My own attempts to contact CBS Radio have been fruitless, but normally as the NY Daily News reports, CBS Radio does not comment on rumors.

So what from the XM camp? The official word from XM Satellite Radio is:

"There’s no present plan to have O & A syndicated."

Take that anyway you want, Allan Sniffen is still sticking to his guns on this one.

Below is a television ad spot for Howard Stern's InDemand show. I can think of a couple sequels to this commercial (cat, donkey/mule, etc.. you get the idea). More than anything though, the music rocks.

An XM Programming Bulletin was sent recently stating that four new channels will be added beginning in April, that will match the format of Nashville, Mix, Kiss, and Sunny. Very interesting.

[XM Fan] 

Thanks Brian! 

SIRIUS Canada just announced that they're adding FOX News, Cosmo Radio, and Blue Collar Comedy - all part of the new SIRIUS channel additions.

They're also adding SIRIUS Disorder to the music channel lineup, bringing the number of music channels offered in Canada to 62. The addition of SIRIUS Disorder effectively makes SIRIUS Canada the Canadian satellite radio provider with the most commercial free music.

[Press Release] 

Rumor has it that Opie and Anthony are possibly replacing David Lee Roth in "multiple markets." While this definitely should be considered just a rumor I would like to point out that this is not the first time O&A would be syndicated to terrestrial radio. They did so for a short amount of time, replacing Howard Stern I might add, over a year ago.

Very interesting. This on the heals of Roth's little rant this morning about his CBS Radio bosses.

Thanks Brian! 

Back in December, SIRIUS Satellite Radio CFO David Frear mentioned that Sirius will be power optimizing the S50 chip to receive live satellite radio while on-the-go. The release date was expected mid-2006 at the time. And remember last month when Mel Karmazin gave some highlights of the upcoming Satellite Radio/MP3 device? There we learned again that the release is still on track for Summer 2006, as well as having their own "Buy Button" capabilities.

Now according to anonymous sources, the rumored release date is in the month of July. The device will also supposedly come with more storage capacity than the Inno or Helix. Since the S50 is 1Gb, the logical progression would be for 2Gb (especially since both the Helix/Inno are increasing capacity later this year as well).

So could we be seeing a live portable Sirius S100 this July?

Since there is no official word on this, let's be clear that this is still unconfirmed information and until I know further I will treat it as such. Still, a live wearable receiver + Buy Button + 2Gb storage capacity, shows that Sirius might be making serious headway on the technology front. Exciting news.

Still the question remains - with the "Buy Button" functionality, who will they partner with to fulfill the songs?

(Sirius S50 pictured above) 

SIRIUS Satellite Radio will be providing uninterrupted coverage of every match-up from the opening tip of the opening round game on March 14th, through the final buzzer of the championship game on April 3rd, of the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

All games will be offered in their entirety, on channels 121, 123, 125 and 181, with no blackouts and at no extra charge to subscribers. 

You'll be able to get full SIRIUS tournament brackets, with match-ups and channel assignments on Sirius.com after Selection Sunday, March 12th.

Read the full lawsuit, courtesy of The Smoking Gun.

1. That Sirius Satellite Radio demonstrated a "high degree of moral culpability so flagrant as to transcend simple carelessness" AND
2. That Sirius caused a "public interest harm" in that the general public (not just CBS Radio) was somehow harmed by Sirius’ actions.

Rick Stacy has been hired as the Program Director for XM Satellite Radio's The 80s on 8. Stacy most recently handled the morning show at Hot AC WNEW/New York is perhaps best-known for his PD/morning host stint at WAPW (Power 99)/Atlanta, which is now WNNX (99X).

Rick Stacy starts work from XM's DC headquarters on March 20th.

[Radio and Records via Beyond XM]

SIRIUS just announced their new channel lineup - set to go into effect on Tuesday, March 14th. Here's the official breakdown:

New additions: 

Cosmo Radio - channel 111
Playboy Radio - channel 198 (this is an opt-in channel but is available at no additional charge)
FOX News - channel 131
FOX News Talk - channel 145
Blue Collar Comedy - channel 103

Channels moving:

CNBC - Moving from channel 130 to channel 129
Bloomberg Radio - from channel 131 to channel 130
WSM Radio/Grand Ole Opry - channel 111 to channel 117
SIRIUS Stars - channel 103 to channel 102
SIRIUS Trucker (channel 147) will be re-named Road Dog Trucking

All this goes into effect on March 14th. 

In a twist of irony, it seems that Howard Stern will be making an appearance on David Letterman on Monday, March 13th. The Washington Post is reporting that the appearance was scheduled back in January - meant for Stern to talk up his In Demand show. This serves as TV gold though as everyone will tune in to see how much talk about the CBS lawsuit will make its way onto the show.

"This is a booking that has been planned by the show since January," said CBS Entertainment spokesman Chris Ender.

"Obviously issues have arisen since then, but we respect the show's editorial independence and don't intend to censor their programming decisions."

XM Satellite Radio's website now has a letter to subscribers about the arbitration agreement to include commercials on Clear Channel programming. To add insult to injury, apparently Clear Channel has one more channel coming down the pipe with a fifth music channel in currently development. It's nice to see that XM has an official response to this news, but I can't help to shake off the solemn feeling over it. While us as subscribers may not give a hoot about "only" 4-5 channels, the potentially damaging effects from the public relations standpoint is definitely there.

On a related note, it appears that SIRIUS has taken down their 100% Commercial Free banner that was on their website earlier. 

UPDATE: For clarification's sake, Sirius.com still says "100% Commercial Free Music" in the Flash topbar, but earlier they had a graphic added in addition to the Flash.

UPDATE 2: The graphic is back.
"100% Commercial Free Music Guaranteed. SIRIUS is the original and only home of 100 percent Commercial-free Music Channels in Satellite Radio."

Sarah McBride at the Wall Street Journal gives us a little more insight into the commercials returning to 4 XM channels.

The dispute arose in early 2004, when XM decided to make its music channels commercial free. Previously, XM had run small amounts of advertising. Clear Channel, which provides XM with talk programming as well as music programming, wanted to stick with the commercials. The companies entered arbitration, with a panel ultimately deciding in favor of Clear Channel regarding its right to provide commercials on Clear Channel-programmed stations.

 (My advice to XM: add some wacky DJs to the channels and call it an "Entertainment" insead.)

• Air America tuned out?
  Considering the source.... I wouldn't hold my breathe. AAR says no.
  
• TowerPod
  To be unveiled at SXSW - Tower Records will podcasters use a library of 6,000 songs for free. Interesting. Look to a new Indie movement in digital audio.
  
• CBS Radio trying to gain 'Altitude'
  CBS Radio has renamed its integrated marketing department - formerly Infinity Solutions and Beyond (ISB) - to the "CBS Radio Altitude Group." Got envy?
• XM Satellite Radio's Nightshift 2006 Debuts in San Diego
  The second show in the Hot Import Nights season kicks off. (Press release, and somewhat boring.)
• Solar storms spell doom for satellites?
  I can hear a new ad campaign from terrestrial radio already...
  
• Les Moonves makes his lawyer's job a little harder.
  "I totally understand, if they would have given me that kind of money, I would have left too," said the CBS Radio Chairman. (via GSI)
  

Over the past day or so, the response about Clear Channel imposing commercials on XM has been absolutely incredible. The post made it's way to the front page of Digg, and as a result throughout the blogosphere. Interestingly enough, the anger that people are voicing isn't towards XM - but towards Clear Channel. This says something.

See, Clear Channel doesn't get it. By directly trying to sabotage a growing media like satellite radio, they are in effect fueling the anger of those who hate them the most. CBS Radio is doing it as well with their lawsuit. These two companies - who have enjoyed near monopolies over the years - have decided to launch an assault on satellite radio in hopes to stomp them out.

But when you piss off the little brother, you're going to get beat up when he gets bigger.

We would like nothing better than to completely ignore terrestrial radio. Most satellite radio listeners haven't tuned into terrestrial in months because we could never imagine going back. But by messing with our music, and our talent, terrestrial radio is just going to create 9.3 million little billboards across the country. Little billboards with big mouths, who will tell all their friends exactly how much better satellite radio is than terrestrial.

Welcome to the best Word of Mouth campaign ever. 

Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell will host a show on SIRIUS Satellite Radio called Candace Bushnell’s "Sex, Success and Sensibility."

"Sex, Success and Sensibility," will be debuting this spring on SIRIUS Stars (ch 102) as a four-hour, live, weekly show where women discuss the issues, challenges, triumphs and aspirations they face with men and careers. 

“I’ve seen it all - from the toxic bachelor to the happily betrothed, from the modelizers to Mr. Big. Women today are charting new territory: balancing busy careers with their families and trying to find time for the all the relationships in their lives. My show fits right in with the smart, definitive programming SIRIUS has for women,” said Candace Bushnell.

[NY Daily News via Jossip]

Inside Radio is reporting that both XM and SIRIUS will have to pay a 5% tax as Virginia lawmakers lump them in with cable, DBS TV and mobile phones.

Apparently this "communications and use tax" passed both houses 2-to-1 and Governor Tim Kaine leans toward signing the bill.

Thanks Jason!

• The First Team on Fox with Steve Czaban
• Out of Bounds on Fox with Craig Shemon and James Washington
• The Drive on Fox with Chris Myers
• Fox Game Time Live with Andrew Siciliano and Krystal Fernandez
• Fox Game Time ReACT with JT "The Brick"
• The Third Shift on Fox with Jorge Sedano

• Satellite Radio: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
  About.com's Corey Deitz goes on a lil' rant.
  
• HD Radio crys about not getting the auto deals
  "Detroit is a problem" - hello, exactly!
  
• Digital Radio Gets Fuzzy
  Eventually we'll have interoperable recivers for XM, SIRIUS and... HD Radio?
• A Tale of Two Dials
  A month-in-review over the beating of satellite radio stocks and the satellite TV love-fest.
  
• Oprah loves retards and male-strippers
  Yes, this is called satire folks.
• Dump Mike
  Mike Ferguson (the Congressman who wants to cripple digital radio broadcasts) has a fan site apparently.

Analysts from Bank of America and Bear Stearns have both brought up in recent reports that the next-generation XM2go units (Samsung Helix and Pioneer Inno) might be getting a bump in storage space in the coming future.

These new XM2go units - shipping later this month - will first be coming with 1Gb of storage space. Now, even though XM's compression is 3x as as efficient as Apple's AAC standard, supposedly the flash storage may be seeing an increase to 2Gb or more.

No word on whether a harddrive based Satellite Radio/MP3 device will be seeing the light of day anytime soon. While the timeframe is unknown, Bank of America believes these bigger, badder XM2gos may hit the market for the Holiday Season.

But until something more concrete comes by, let's file this away as a "rumor" just to be safe.

So after this morning's post about Clear Channel requiring XM to add commercials to 4 music channels, I had the chance to talk with the b-b-boys over at XM Satellite Radio about this. While Sunny, KISS, MIX, and Nashville will in fact be taking on commercials (again, thanks to Clear Channel), I'm told that the addition of the new channels last week is meant to offset this. They understand the value of the slogan "most commercial-free music" and are determined to keep it that way.

In fact, I'm told there's a lot more channels coming down the pipe (did we see a glimpse?) and even some surprises... a "legendary" music channel may be making a return to your receivers.

So it's pretty certain now that the "photo" from this weekend's XM Video news is most definitely a Photoshop job (though, I'll stress again, that the information on the Video Device is in fact real). Just observe from below.

Exhibit A. The upcoming Samsung Nexus XMP3 player.

Exhibit B. Someone's weekend Photoshop project for an XM Video device:

Exhibit C. Another "photo" from an "anonymous" source showing exactly how easily it's done...

So let's have a little fun with this shall we?

Announcing the Orbitcast Photoshop Madness contest.
Submit your own Photoshops of what you think the XM Video device would look like. And with any contest, you need to have prizes. So we'll pick 8 lucky winners who will each receive their very own Speck Products Skin-Tight Skins for the Sirius S50 or MyFi that I just happen to have left over from the review I wrote a lil' while back. I have 4 MyFi skins (2 clear, 1 blue, 1 pink) and 4 S50 skins (2 black, 1 grey, 1 blue) that I'll give away in a first come / first serve basis.

What's the rules? Take an existing photo of a satellite radio receiver (no iPods or fake Origamis please) and stretch it, clone it, cut it and paste it to make it look like a plausible video player. Sound good? Deadline to submit is by Friday, March 10th.

Photoshop Fodder:
Samsung Helix
Pioneer Inno
Samsung Nexus
Sirius S50
Xact ReGo

XM Canada just released that they have 44,000 self-paying subscribers as of February 28th, 2006 - which is the end of their first financial quarter.

Neither GM Canada or Subaru Canada have begun contributing self-paying subscribers yet, but CSR says they're on target to reach the guidance of 75,000 subscribers by the end of August and are expecting one million subscribers by August 2010.

Channel updates.
We regularly review and update our channel line up to revise our overall offerings. We will add the Oprah & Friends channel in September 2006. In the first half of 2006, we expect to add certain new channels, including additional commercial-free music channels, to slightly increase our total number of commercial-free music channels. In addition, commercial advertisements will resume on music programming currently provided to us by Clear Channel. Certain of these changes implement a settlement agreement and are in accordance with the preliminary decision of the arbitration panel for a dispute we had with Clear Channel relating to our respective rights and obligations under agreements entered into in connection with Clear Channel’s 1998 investment in us. From time to time, we make certain of the content we produce available for broadcast by others, including traditional AM/FM radio stations.

Now, as I understand it, there are four channels that contain 'music programming' by Clear Channel - Sunny, KISS, MIX, and Nashville - and as this reads, XM will be forced to include commercial advertisements on these channels.

A couple questions come to mind though: The term "resume" was used, which makes me wonder at what point in time there actually were commercials on any of these channels? (Answer: early 2004.) Or does the term "programming" indicate other channels that feature Clear Channel programming? Is the strange addition of WLW to the channel line-up satisfy this arbitration agreement?

Whatever it is, this is cause for concern in my opinion. Clear Channel could very well be trying to sabotage this up-and-coming competitor by eliminating the leading cause for leaving terrestrial.

Thanks Nelson!

UPDATE: More info on the channel change here. 

So now this gets interesting. An anonymous reader sent in this photo of an upcoming portable video device by XM Satellite Radio. I can't attest to the validity of the photo - in a land of fancy Photochop work - who can say for sure. But I now know the device is real.

First there was this post by On2 Technologies President and CEO, Doug McIntyre, describing a truly portable video device using On2 VP7 video technology. This drew a lot of speculation, because I couldn't get a straight answer as to whether this was the Helix/Inno or something new.

But now there's a lot more information courtesy of Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck. In last week's Bear Stearns report, Peck shed some light on this device and what it's capable of.

XM demonstated this "wearable video device" to analysts recently. It has the ablity to receive live video signal in portable mode. In live mode, each channel uses 256kb of capacity using On2's video compression. Should the XM/WCS deal go through, XM will have the bandwidth capabilities to broadcast at least 20 video channels in live mode.

Even without the extra WCS bandwidth, XM could still just send the content to be cached or XM could limit the number of video channels broadcast..

Looking at the photo, this seems to have the same style form-factor as the upcoming Helix/Inno - with similar controls and interface features as the two. The size looks somewhat more like the PSP than a 5G Video iPod. At this angle though, we can't tell the thickness of it.

What's the timeline on this? Not sure, but if a few priviledged people are getting the chance to play with this thing, one can only assume it may hit the streets this year. Before the Holiday Season maybe? Who knows.

Sometimes, it's just nice to see things from a visual standpoint. Check out this post where the author put together a graph that visually shows how both XM and SIRIUS have progressed in gaining their subscribers. This is based on official subscriber numbers and not any estimations.

Note the bump in SIRIUS' graph in 2005. It's interesting to see how the curve changed the way it did. Also note the rapid angel of growth - anyone still doubt that this technology doesn't have potential?

[mad dog in a fog]

• BBC now in India thanks to WorldSpace
  Broadcasts in English, Bengali, Hindi and Urdu
• NAB continues to whine about the XM/WCS deal
  The question is, who really has the "public's interest" in mind?
• Stern made $26 million last year, set to make $125 million this year
  According to a rough calculation by Jonathan Jacoby. Talk about a raise.
• New "real" Video iPod to pack 4-inches
  Rumored for a late-March/early-April release
  

• DOJ goes after record industry for online price-fixing
  Oh darn, my heart bleeds for them.
• Bridge Ratings trending of Q4/Q1 SIRIUS subscribers
  "Programming Variety" has edged out Howard Stern as reason to subscribe.
• Terrestrial Radio stocks face static
  Flat revenue + less listeners = less appeal to investors.
• Origami Project: the Mobile PC running Windows XP
  Made by Samsung and Intel - it looks like Origami is just a super-mobile PC. Probably won't see an "iPod killer" or PVP afterall.
• Satellite Radio used as a PSYOPS device
  Wonder if this is the next step for MESA?
• SIRIUS says the CBS lawsuit has "no merit"
  They also plan to "vigorously defend this action" - phew! That's encouraging.
  
  

XM Satellite Radio's SVP of Music Programming, John Zellner, was interviewed recently by FMQB in a long, but extremely interesting article.

Best snippet from it is right here:

"How many radio stations use the word “best” in their positioning statement? Best variety, best mix, biggest hits, more songs in a row…being remarkable doesn’t mean making false claims. The most exciting part of satellite radio is the fact that our programmers are tasked with one thing…making their product great. Since we don’t run commercials on the music channels, we can totally focus on branding our channels and doing great radio every day.

Think about the passion level for radio now compared with 20 years ago. Back then, you saw people wearing radio station T-shirts, bumper stickers on cars, listeners showing up at remotes, jocks getting mobbed when they introduced a band on stage. Now, ask any high school kid who their favorite night jock is…they may not even listen to the radio at all."

Awesome, well said. Check out the FMQB interview here. 

We've always been hearing about satellite radio over cellphones, but this is the first real time-line I've seen - of course as stated by RBC analyst David Bank written in a client note today:

"In three years there are likely to be three major distribution channels - OEM, aftermarket and cell phone operators."

In three years, cell phones will be a major distribution channel? Interesting.

"Remaining hurdles to cell phone integration involve form factor requirements, chip sets, power drain, battery life, heat dissipation and antenna performance," the analyst said.

"However, these technological hurdles are being rapidly overcome. The antenna on XM's current Helix product gives very acceptable performance."

[Forbes] 

SIRIUS Satellite Radio will devote an entire music channel to the music of David Gilmour and Pink Floyd, starting this Monday, March 6th, at 7am ET.

SIRIUS’ deep classic rock tracks channel The Vault (ch 16), will play the music of the pioneering rock band Pink Floyd and the solo music of one of its members, vocalist and guitarist David Gilmour, for one week.

The Vault channel will also broadcast an exclusive interview with David Gilmour, a Pink Floyd member since 1968.