September 2006 Archives

Or at least that's what people are being told by Crutchfield.

Several Orbitcast readers have received confirmation that their pre-ordered Sirius Stilettos are on their way. One keen reader points out that the Stiletto Boombox though is still back-ordered.

Sirius' own website is expecting orders that are placed now to arrive the week of October 9th.

I myself am holding off on getting one until I get a better sense of what the live Sirius signal reception will be like. Plus at $350, it's still a bit too rich for my blood.

The Copyright Modernization Act (HR 6052), which seeked to change the rules on the licensing and delivery of digital music, has died. XM Satellite Radio ran a grassroots campaign earlier this week, in a mass email sent to all subscribers, urging readers to oppose this legislation.

In the email, XM claimed that HR 6052 would "drive up our costs and stop us from offering radios that allow you to record XM channels for your later listening - in the same way that TiVo allows you to record TV for later viewing."

Well, it's dead. When the bill's sponsor, Senator Lamar Smith, said he'd like to delay HR 6052 until next year, "a collective sigh of relief was let out from a few rows of audience, comprised of consumer device manufacturers and some service providers," according to Public Knowledge.

[Public Knowledge via About The Image] 

Put down those Curling brooms kids, because Sirius Canada has finally started streaming online. Online streaming was never available to Sirius Canada subscribers before, but now that has changed.

Another interesting thing to note, Sirius Canada offers a 7-day free trial period as opposed to the 3-day trial from their southern counterpart. News to me. 

Thanks Mitch! 

Recently the topic of Sirius' "Car Lot Subscribers" seems to have been picking up steam with terrestrial radio. The source of this frenzy is based on comments by Sirius CFO David Frear at the Merrill Lynch Media & Entertainment Conference.

At the conference, Frear was asked exactly how many subscribers are "cars just sitting on the lot" - of which Frear responded that in Q4 2005 the number was about 10% of subscribers, and this past quarter it was in the 8% range.

Listen to the Audio here.

Now, the terrestrial radio has taken this and ran with it. David Rehr's keynote at the NAB Radio Show, specifically highlighted "those 500,000 subscribers in empty car lots." Inside Radio (which sometimes seems like a good resource, while at other times is just a megaphone for the NAB) was actually the first publication I could find that threw out the solid 500,000 number after Frear's speech. Even Jacob's Media has gone so far as to compare Sirius' "half million unsold vehicles on car dealer lots" to Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. (wha?! Apples... meet Oranges.) UPDATE: Check out this PDF by Inside Radio (pictured) to see how this propaganda is being pushed (page 26 - or you can read the full thing and see a photo of Mancow in a monkey suit)

But let's break this down for a minute. Is the number really 500k? In 2Q 2006, Sirius reported something like 4,678,000 subscribers. At 8% that's around 374,000 "car lot" subscribers. And as Frear pointed out, the average days these vehicles spend on the lots is around 90 days (culmatively... Bimmer's have a tendency to fly off the lots whereas Fords and Chryslers stick around longer).

Now, just for the record, I'm not criticizing Siruis' policy for reporting unsold cars as subscribers - I'm actually disputing the NAB's propaganda of a "half million subscribers" that they seem to be enjoying. The practive is almost understandable from an accounting standpoint since Sirius gets paid at the time of production. The only thing it does is make it difficult to compare Sirius net subscribers with XM's net subscribers - which is a comparison that only Wall Street does (and those who are running the numbers should be factoring in that percentage anyway). Other than that, why does it matter? As if Arbitron reports exact numbers.

OK, so the burning question, what about the year's to come? Frear said that the percentage of car lot subscribers is shrinking. That makes sense when you consider that Sirius' subscriber count continues to grow. According to Bank of America estimates: in 2007 the percentage will drop to 6%, with car lot subs equaling 542,000. By 2010? Maintaining the 6% rate, you're looking at a total of 964,000 car lots subscribers.

[more on TheStreet] 

There were signs that this would happen a few months back, but as many Sirius listeners know from the channel update a couple days ago - PRI (Public Radio International - ch 136) is no longer available on Sirius.

With no official announcement, the only "reason" we have to go by is what is stated on PRI's website:

Note: As of September 26, PRI programs will no longer be available on Sirius Satellite Radio. If you have questions and/or would like to provide feedback to Sirius, go to the contact page of the Sirius website.

I listened to PRI everyonce in a while, but judging from the numerous complaints in my inbox, there's a few more out there who are upset over this.

Starting tomorrow at 6am ET, SIRIUS Satellite Radio is devoting Prime Country (ch 61) to the music of George Strait.

You'll hear all George Strait music all the time, including his upcoming new album, It Just Comes Natural, which is being released this Tuesday, October 3rd.

"Strait Up" will broadcast music from Strait's entire career, along with excerpts from a recent interview, for five-days straight through midnight Tuesday night.

XM Satellite Radio will be broadcasting the Farm Aid 2006 concert live this Saturday, September 30th on XM's Americana channel X Country (ch 12).

The Farm Aid concert lineup will feature Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews, as well as musicians Jerry Lee Lewis with Roy Head; Los Lonely Boys; Gov't Mule; Steve Earle; Steel Pulse; Shelby Lynne; and others.

XM's Ray Knight, Jessie Scott and others will co-host XM's coverage of concert starting at 3:30pm ET with artist interviews and live performances from the Farm Aid 2006 stage.

Just a quick bit of Howard talking about the Stiletto. Takes a couple shots at terrestrial radio as well. A good listen.

XM Satellite Radio in a recent SEC filing reported that they have lost their arbitration claim to recover  the remaining 20% of the value of the two Boeing 702 class satellites put in orbit (XM-1 and XM-2).

In July 2004, XM reached agreement with insurers that covered 80% of the amount insured. The problem lies with a progressive solar array power degradation issue that is common to the first six Boeing 702 class satellites put in orbit. XM-1 and XM-2 just happen to be the fifth and sixth Boeing 702s launched. XM walked away with about$142 million from the insurers thanks to this.

In August 2004, XM filed for arbitration to get the remaining 20% of the insured amount. It's this claim was rejected, and no further proceeds will be given.

Oh well. You win some, you lose some.

You know a message is just too complicated when the Local News simply cannot describe it to their audience.

Enter Minneapolis NBC affliliate KARE 11. They broadcast in HDTV, so it would make sense that they run a segment on HD Radio. The funny thing about this video is that in the middle of trying to explain what it is, the viewer undoubtedly will get completely confused. They couldn't have done a better job at driving people away from HD Radio.

Watch the video until the very end. That's where the anchor tries to sum it all up, yet she goes on so long that she has to make a joke about it (with her co-anchor and the weather girl chiming in as well). Unfortunately, the online clip doesn't show the end: where the male anchor crumples up his script and throws it away. Perfect.

Here's the problem. When you create a product based on the need of the company, and not on the need of the market, you're going to have an overly complicated message. The only people who need HD Radio and the companies who are pushing it. 

[KARE 11]
Thanks to lil' conner for sending this in!

So we all know that the Sirius Stiletto borrows its WiFi infrastructure from the Zing Player, so the next burning question is how the two stack up next to each other. Well, the folks at Gizmodo got an exclusive tour of the Zing player at yesterday's DEMO conference.

The verdict? It actually seems like they liked the Zing better. Granted, it doesn't have live satellite radio reception like it's bigger brother, but they gave the Zing the thumbs up for a better interface.

Check out the write-up for youself. They have a bunch of pics too.

[Gizmodo]
Thanks Zatz!

California First Lady Maria Shriver will host special coverage of today's 2006 California Governor and First’s Lady’s Conference on Women for SIRIUS Satellite Radio, set to be broadcast multiple times throughout the weekend of October 13-15, 2006 on SIRIUS Stars (ch 102).

Selling out in a record 72 hours, the California Governor and First Lady’s Conference on Women hosted over 13,000 women to experience the theme "Connect Today, Seize Tomorrow."

California First Lady Maria Shriver will conduct exclusive interviews with featured guests and speakers. SIRIUS will also broadcast portions of select speeches from the main stage including Shriver, Martha Stewart, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, Suze Orman, Anna Quindlen, Maureen Dowd, Tyra Banks, Tim Russert, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the first ever address to a women’s conference by his Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Martha Stewart’s speech was broadcast live today on Martha Stewart Living Radio (ch 112). Judith Regan also will tape a special edition of her SIRIUS show set to be broadcast at a later date on SIRIUS Stars (ch 102).

The launch of the Oprah & Friends channel, accompanied by frenzied blogging by your's truly, was also billed as the most successful channel launch in XM's five-year history in terms of ad sales, according to a report by AdAge.

Normally fellow listeners are accustomed to hearing ad spots by the likes of StubHub and BoDog.net - all fine establishments mind you - but not necessarily "A-List" in the world of advertising. So when big names avertisers like Acuvue, Dove, GE, Iams, JC Penney, SlimFast, Splenda, Target, Warners TrueFit, AirTran, Honda and Rinnai all buy into Oprah's XM radio show, one has to be impressed.

While XM is mum over the terms and length of the advertisers' contracts, they have categorized many of the deals as investments worth millions of dollars. Harpo and XM split the ad revenue between each other.

[AdAge]

UPDATE: The photo is of Oprah and Friends all pressing the on-air light together at a breakfast at the Rainbow Room in NYC.

Well, this is the day we've been waiting for. SIRIUS Satellite Radio has officially announced the Stiletto 100 featuring WiFi, Yahoo! Music Jukebox, the ability to save music, and more notably this is Sriius' first live portable radio.

The Stiletto is pretty much the worst kept secret in satellite radio, and if you're an avid reader you already know the features of this device and know that we've beaten this thing to death over the recent months.

One thing to highlight is the "official" inclusion of Yahoo! Music Jukebox with the Stiletto (suprise surprise). Any bookmarked song on the Stiletto 100 is moved to a favorites list, which is accessed when connected to PC. Yahoo! Music Jukebox then lets you purchase songs, full albums, or explore other artist offerings through the software or "other compatible online music download or subscription services."

Oh, and the MSRP is set at $349.99.

Read the full press release after the jump... 

The Sirius Stiletto is now listed in the SIRIUS online store for $379. Clicking the "Buy Now" button only results in a refresh to the store's homepage.

Sirius Direct also has the Stiletto listed for $349 which also indicated that shipping will begin on October 4th.

I'm also getting reports that SIRIUS' Behind the Mic newsletter has the same October 4th date listed, though the version that I received doesn't have this anywhere.

Behind the Mic did link to some great Stiletto information pages including a demo video (which we've seen before) and a full Stiletto mini-site.

Sirius Backstage has a good discussion thread on this.

Thanks to Tim, Steven and Nelson! 

Jane Pratt, founder and former editor-in-chief of both Sassy and Jane magazines, will host "Jane Radio," a live, weekly three hour show on SIRIUS Stars (ch 102).

Jane's show will feature several segments: from the "Jane rant" of each week to short segments produced "on the street," and "Jane Needs Help" (where listeners help Jane with her problems) and "Songs We Love."

"Just as 'Jane' magazine always maintained a 15% male readership, I am sure 'Jane Radio' will inevitably get some men to listen in and learn," said Jane Pratt.
 

Hugh Panero, CEO of XM Satellite Radio, and Oprah Winfrey rang the NASDAQ Opening Bell this morning to celebrate the debut of the "Oprah & Friends" channel on XM Satellite Radio.

Joining them were Oprah's "friends" who host shows on the new XM channel: Dr. Maya Angelou, Nate Berkus, Jean Chatzky, Bob Greene, Gayle King, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Robin Smith and Marianne Williamson.

Check out photos from the NASDAQ opening bell after the jump...

The highly anticipated "Oprah & Friends" channel (ch 156) launched today at 11:00am ET on XM Satellite Radio, with a special appearance from Oprah herself as she sat in with Gayle King for the debut broadcast.

"Oprah & Friends" will feature a mix of celebrities and everyday people in conversation with the shows' hosts, as well as caller-driven programming. Names such as Donald Trump, Julia Louis- Dreyfus, Annette Bening, Jon Bon Jovi, Nora Ephron, Carnie Wilson, Norman Lear, The New York Times' columnist Thomas Friedman, former presidential candidate Sen. Dennis Kucinich, and others are scheduled to appear on the channel during the first few weeks of broadcast.

Check out the original shows in the lineup for the "Oprah & Friends" channel on XM after the jump...

SIRIUS Internet Radio (or SIR) has officially launched today, and the pricing learned unofficially has turned out to be true. $12.95/month gets you an online-only account for non-subscribers. If you are a SIRIUS subscriber, you get two options:

1. An additional SIRIUS Internet Radio subscription for $6.99 a month. This includes a separate username/password plus the high-bandwidth streaming.
2. Upgrade your current free SIR account to high-bandwidth (CD-quality) streaming for $2.99/month. This uses your current username/password.

So what do you get? Improved sound quality plus and 75+ music & talk channels. View the sign-up page here.

Thanks Eric, Branford and Ryan! 

A recent article in AdAge highlights the fact that Howard Stern's ad rates have dropped to $5,000 - $6,000 per spot - with live reads maxing out at $10,000. That's about 1/2 of what Sirius was originally asking, and back in his terrestrial days Stern was commanding a live-read upwards of around $30,000.

But that's not really the interesting part of the article, because well it's not really much of a surprise. The interesting part is the listener number data coming from Sirius.

While XM does offer some audience data from a custom Arbitron report, Scott Greenstein, president-entertainment and sports at Sirius, said Sirius has hired a third-party research company to get audience data on "certain things our advertisers would need." The third-party data, culled from the unnamed research company, shows that 58% of subscribers listen to Howard Stern during the week.

That means there's about 5 million Stern listeners according to this data. Take 4.7 million Sirius subscribers multiplied by an estimated 2 listeners per subscription, equals 9.4 million total Sirius listeners. Multiplied by 58% and you've got Stern's audience of about 5 million people.

"Given the state of terrestrial, there are a lot of shows and hosts that would like to have that [many listeners]," Mr. Greenstein said.

[AdAge]

Howard Stern's former sidekick, Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling, is rumored to be getting his own show on SIRIUS Satellite Radio.

Insiders say Stern will announce on his show next week that Martling will have his own program on Sirius, which "will debut mid-October," says a New York Daily News source.

Martling said through his rep he has "no news" about a new radio show just yet. If this were to be true, it would be a great move in my opinion. Jackie rules. 

[New York Daily News via Wizbang Pop]

Oprah Tracker: Oprah will be on Good Morning America today (Monday) before the NASDAQ opening bell.

UPDATE:
Go watch the video of Oprah and Gayle's appearance on Good Morning America, where Oprah told Diane Sawyer that she looks forward to relaxing and chatting on the channel.

It took a couple days, but finally I was able to get video of the XM plug on The Oprah Winfrey Show. See it after the jump...

Oprah Winfrey and XM Satellite Radio CEO Hugh Panero will be ringing the NASDAQ opening bell on Monday, September 25th, to celebrate the launch of the "Oprah & Friends" channel on XM.

Oprah’s fellow on-air hosts from "Oprah & Friends" will also be there. Remember, later that night Oprah and her friends will also appear on Larry King Live on CNN at 9pm ET.

Sounds like it's going to be a big day.

NAB President and CEO David Rehr wrote a letter (PDF via SSG) to Sirius and XM, that coincided with his opening speech at yesterday's NAB Radio Show, where he called on the satellite radio industry to "voluntarily withdraw and replace all noncompliant satellite radio devices in circulation."

"...now that the FCC has approved the resumed manufacture of newly compliant satellite radio receivers, NAB urges XM and Sirius to take the next logical step of voluntarily withdrawing and replacing all noncompliant receivers already in circulation, to resolve existing interference to terrestrial radio service," Rehr wrote in his letter.

In his speech, he didn't just "urge" XM and Sirius to recall all non-compliant satellite radios, but he also went on to say that the interfering FM modulators are making satellite radio "both a subscription and a free service," and that satellite radio as a result "cannot have it both ways" when it comes to being beyond FCC indecency regulations.

Oh but David Rehr didn't stop there. He goes on to claim that the NAB isn't afraid of the competition because "satellite radio says it has at most 10 million subscribers, notwithstanding those 500,000 subscribers in empty car lots. But 260 million people listened to broadcast radio last week alone!"

You can read the full speech here. Feel free to email David Rehr, at drehr@nab.org and let him know what you think.

John Mainelli, the New York Post reporter who helped spread the rumor (twice) that Howard Stern is returning to terrestrial radio, has left the paper after receiving an ultimatum from editor in chief Col Allan.

Mainelli was told that he had to choose between his freelance job covering the radio industry for the Post and his consulting for terrestrial radio stations and owners. Something that was not disclosed in his articles, magnifying a possible conflict of interest.

Though Mainelli was pretty much regurgitating a report from Inside Radio, he did spice up his story a bit saying that Stern was having trouble booking celebrity guests (something that Gary quickly squashed).

Howard 100 News called attention to Mainelli's terrestrial radio consulting ties on air, which was quickly picked up by Jeff Jarvis' Buzzmachine.com. The information then made its way to the New York Post's Editor in Chief.

"I'm very disappointed, and I'm really pissed at Howard Stern," Mainelli said. "From now on, anything I write about him will have to have a disclaimer: John Mainelli has an ax to grind against this man."

[Radar Online] 

UPDATE: Listen to the Howard 100 News report below:

;

I wasn't able to grab video of Oprah talking about her upcoming Oprah & Friends channel debuting on XM Satellite Radio this Monday. But I do have the next best thing... audio!

So if you missed Oprah today and really really really need to hear what was said, g'head and feast your ears on this.

Audio: XM on Oprah 

Oprah is running a segment talking about her upcoming XM channel on The Oprah Winfrey Show this afternoon from 4pm to 5pm ET.

I'm working to get video of this, but if someone else is able to grab it please email me and I'll put it up for everyone to see.

The historic Ryder Cup golf tournament will air live from the K Club in Kildare, Ireland, on XM Satellite Radio September 22-24 on XM's PGA Tour Network (ch 146).

The biannual Ryder Cup pits the best golfers of the United States against the best players of Europe.   The U.S. Ryder team will be led by the world’s top ranked players - Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk - and team captain Tom Lehman.

This will mark the first time that the Ryder Cup will be carried on satellite radio. 

Remember when SIRIUS and the Archdiocese of New York announced that they were teaming up to create a new channel? Well, that channel - The Catholic Channel - is going to debut next week on September 26th, on SIRIUS channel 159. Can't wait right?

His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York, will be a contributor and a regular guest of the various programs on The Catholic Channel, as well as a regular celebrant and homilist for the Masses broadcast from Saint Patrick's Cathedral.

Check out programming highlights after the jump... 

SIRIUS Satellite Radio and Zing Systems will be presenting at the DEMOfall '06 Conference, September 25 - 27th, at the Sheraton San Diego.

The DEMO conference is generally used as a launch pad for new products offerings from leading tech companies. Previous DEMO events saw the introductions of TiVo, the Palm Pilot, the Danger hiptop, and Ask Jeeves, to name just a few.

Anyone want to take a guess about what will be debuted by Sirius/Zing? C'mon... take a guess.

SIRIUS Satellite Radio has teamed up with the Metropolitan Opera to create a new channel for opera lovers, appropriately named Metropolitan Opera Radio, set to debut on Monday, September 25th.

The debut airing will feature a live broadcast of the Met's opening night gala performance of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, conducted by Music Director James Levine and directed by Anthony Minghella.

Metropolitan Opera Radio (ch 85) will feature an average of four live broadcasts each week throughout the Met's 2006-07 performance season, as well as Saturday matinee performances with live interviews and intermission programming. The channel will also feature hundreds of re-mastered historic broadcasts from the Met's 75-year history.

The boys over at XM411 have the first hands-on look at the upcoming SkyFi 3, along with a nice quick review of the unit. Some of the features described are what we saw earlier, but there's a few additional things that we didn't know about.

Here's the rundown:

• This is Delphi's first unit since the release of the Inno/Helix.
• The 2.8" screen the largest of any plug-and-play satellite radio receiver.
• Screen display flips between horizontal and vertical with press of a button.
• The SkyFi3 allows for 30-minutes of pause/replay functionality. The 30-minutes of replay gets saved even with the power turned off (sweet!), so you can just power up and keep listening.
• The 10-hours of XM recording is separate from the 2Gb microSD storage - where you store your own digital music collection. (No doubt this is to appease the RIAA)
• You can create hybrid-playlists between the XM content and the microSD content, but you can't copy the XM content to the microSD card.
• No internal antenna, but it does have an internal battery. With the optional Standard Wearable Kit, you get a live-wearable unit but with 90-minutes of listening.
  
• The optional Premium Live Wearable Kit gives 7-hours of XM listening (longer than the Inno/Helix) and 40-hours (!) of pre-recorded playback time.

Very impressive, and a great review (plus a ton of pics).

[XM411] 

HD Radio, the new digital radio format, for those of you keeping score at home, is now available from about 1,000 stations who are simulcasting in HD and in traditional formats -- which is still less than 10 percent of all American radio. Furthermore, the price of a new HD radio still remains significantly higher than a pocket or tabletop analog radio. How much higher? Well, this newest offering will set you back $300 when it becomes available in November -- and that little $20 "transistor" radio your Mom gave you in 1987 still works great, doesn't it? So yes, we're still listening to National Public Radio and baseball games in analog, thank you very much.

Looks like the pre-order pages on SIRIUS Authorized Retailers websites like Crutchfield and TSS-Radio are now back online.

This news comes following information that Wistron NeWeb, the manufacturer of the Stiletto, has received FCC certification today for Stiletto and its car kit.

Meanwhile sources have indicated that the arrival date for the Stiletto is September 27th. This is not confirmed and may vary for different retailers, so let's just say "the end of the month or early October" to play it safe.

[Satellite Radio TechWorld & Satellite Standard Group]

WorldSpace Satellite Radio will be broadcasting from the Virgin Festival at Pimlico Racetrack in Baltimore on WorldSpace's UPop channel. Live reports from the festival as well as exclusive backstage interviews will be broadcast all day Saturday, September 23rd.

The one-day festival will feature over 20 acts on 3 stages (2 outdoor performance stages and 1 within a tent) featuring artists such as The Raconteurs, Wolfmother, Gnarls Barkley, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, DJ Tiesto and a few more.

WorldSpace will also carry the Virgin Festival via "U-Podcasts" on their website, and will feature replays throughout the month on Bob (WorldSpace ch 177), Spin (WorldSpace ch 44), and Voyager (WorldSpace ch 11).

XM Satellite Radio subscribers also get UPop (ch 29), as well as DirecTV subscribers (ch 824) and if that doesn't cut it, its also available on AOL Radio.

[WorldSpace Presents: The Virgin Festival]

XM Satellite Radio's Chairman of the Board Gary Parsons will participate in a question and answer session at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XV 2006 in New York City, Wednesday, September 20th, 2006, at 8:10 am ET.

A live webcast of the session will be available online.

An article by the New York Post's John Mainelli set off Howard this morning on his show. Citing Inside Radio's claim (which incidently Orbitcast cited as well) that Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin was in talks with Citadel's CEO Farid Suleman, John Mainelli expanded on the rumor hinting that WPLJ or WABC were possible outlets.

Howard Stern explicitely stated on his show that he has absolutely no intentions of returning to terrestrial radio. He's quite happy on satellite radio.

You all called bravo-sierra on this one, and obviously were right (did anyone believe this rumor?) but just in case there was any doubt... there should be no more.

[New York Post] 

Side Note: A post on SeekingAlpha seems to think that a good way for Stern to boost his popularity, and Sirius subscribers, is by... uhm, podcasting. Pure genius.

SIRIUS Satellite Radio, who has been broadcasting Barclays English Premier League Soccer since November 2004, has inked a deal with the Chelsea Football Club, who just happen to be the two-time defending champions of the EPL.

With the start of this season, SIRIUS will broadcast every Chelsea Premier League game live, starting this Saturday, September 23rd with the Chelsea v. Fulham match at 10:00 am ET on channel 125.

Soccer gurus Giorgio Chinaglia and Charlie Stillitano will provide an expert view of the Club on the new Chelsea True Blue show, a 60-minute pre-game show dedicated to all things Chelsea. Chinaglia and Stillitano will host a weekly soccer talk show entitled "The Football Show" which will air weekly starting on Wednesday September 27th (from 5-8 pm ET) throughout the year also on SIRIUS channel 125.
 

Larry King will be welcoming Oprah and the stars of the upcoming Oprah & Friends channel on XM Satellite Radio (ch 156), next Monday, September 25th at 9pm ET. The episode of Larry King Live coincides, oddly, with the debut of Oprah & Friends on XM.

Larry King apparently took out a full page ad in People magazine this week and they are heavily promoting the episode on CNN as well.

[Larry King Live]
Thanks William!

At least that's according to radio industry publication Inside Radio. Apparently there is word that a "mega-deal" is brewing between Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin, Howard Stern, and Chairman & CEO of Citadel Broadcasting Farid Suleman. Links to Inside Radio tend to have a short lifespan, so here's a snippet for your reading pleasure:

What’s with all the speculation about Howard Stern back on “the radio”?

The gossip continues to be that some sort of mega-deal’s brewing among Sirius chief Mel Karmazin, Stern, and Mel’s longtime associate Farid Suleman — who’s running Citadel and about to take over the ABC properties.

No other details are available regarding this, but Audio Graphics is thinking that Stern is destined to return to terrestrial airwaves.

[Inside Radio]

UPDATE: And yes, and the 60 Minutes profile of Stern last night was a rerun.

A recent report by Bank of America analyst Jonathan Jacoby states their belief that the satellite radio industry's annual retail gross adds could be nearing its peak.

Citing that the "early adoption phase appears to have passed," BofA now estimates that gross subscriber additions from the retail channel will flatten out from 2006 to 2007. What's worse, they project retail adds to begin to decline after that point.

What this does is put a greater dependency for subscriber additions on the OEM channel. Greater reliance on auto manufacturers puts both XM and SIRIUS in a weaker position when distribution agreements are up for renewal.

But while the early adoption phase may be ending - for today's receivers - I wonder if innovation in technology can combat this looming peak? The wearable receivers are evolving, and with a total of nearly 59 million iPod sold, there's obviously a market for personal music - and the possibility for satellite radio to engage even a fraction of this audience.

Then there's the home. With innovations like SiriusConnect Home and the XM Mini-Tuner, satellite radio has the potential of being embedded now into many home entertainment systems. This type of convergence that integrates satellite into home electronics exposes the technology to a whole new market. I think there's a massive potential to this market. The key? Give away free trial subscriptions with the purchase of these satellite-ready devices.

So let's open the floor to some discussion. What areas of potential growth in retail do feel are untapped? What devices do you believe will help spur a surge in retail?

Hear 2.0 is featuring a look at the FM radio included in Microsoft's new Zune player.

No this isn't the first MP3 player to include FM radio, but it is by far the highest profile one. The iPod's FM tuner add-on doesn't count in my book. The whole concept of integrating a radio into a digital audio player is to allow for effortless listening to music, and discovery of music (essential for the continued success of MP3 players). It also provides the sense of "choice" to the consumer.

Satellite radio provides the same thing. Only better. It's just a matter of time before Microsoft and/or Apple come to this realization.

[Hear 2.0]

XM Satellite Radio is providing VIP coverage of Austin City Limits 2006, on XMU (ch 43), this Saturday and Sunday beginning at 9am West and 12-Noon East.

The Austin City Limits 2006 concert features 130 Bands, with 3 Days of music, on 8 Stages.

Artist performing at Austin City Limits include: The Flaming Lips, The Raconteurs, Massive Attack, The Shins, Iron & Wine, Ween, The New Pornograhpers, Sparklehorse, Thievery Corporatin, Gnarls Barkley, Stars, Guster, Wolf Parade, Gomez, The Dears, Phoenix, The Secret Machines, Marah, Galactic, The Stills, Muse, Husky Rescue, Nada Surf, Ben Kweller, Calexico and more.

During installation [of My Sirius Studio Software] you will be given the opportunity to install Yahoo! Music Engine™ software. The Yahoo! Music Engine software will recognize the Stiletto and enable you to manage playlists and download music files. Yahoo! Music Engine will also allow you to view the songs and artist saved by you as “Favorites”. By using the Yahoo! Music Engine software, it may be possible to purchase or download this content.

Howard responded yesterday against the claim that his popularity is waning, based on traffic to Stern's website, stating that "I've got more enemies now than I ever have. We are so successful here at Sirius Satellite Radio. I have the entire radio industry fucking with me, hiring publicists to plant whatever shit they can say in the paper to make it seem like we're losers.

"My enemies are way worse than the government. Big business is my enemy, business people desperate for money. And let me tell you, they are way worse than the government," Stern continued.

Now while I find the comparison to website traffic to one's celebrity status a bit... useless. I also have to openly disagree that this would be a conspiracy of some sort put together by terrestrial radio. The publishing of the Hitwise numbers was simply a bait for media attention, in my opinion, and it is obviously working. But a smear campaign?

Stern later promised to release numbers contrary to the report by Tancer that will show traffic on his website has not dropped since joining Sirius.

[via FMQB] 

With XM Satellite Radio being a sponsor of Danica Patrick and her new Andretti Green Racing Indy car, the grand unveiling to the media took place in Chicago.

Below are some photos from the event here:

Note the Pink Inno:

Overhead shot during a media photo shoot. Note the logo placement on the car:

Thanks Michael! 

Though I wouldn't call it a "delay" since it hasn't been officially announced by Sirius, but according to Sirius' CFO David Frear at this week's Merril Lynch conference, the Sirius Stiletto is currently awaiting an FCC ID#.

Satellite Radio TechWorld late last week pointed out that Part 15, Subpart A, prohibits the marketing of devices that are not in the good graces of the FCC, so probably explains why retailers were asked to take down their pre-order pages.

Arrival time? According to sources.... soon. How frustrating.

[SSG] 

No doubt today the marketing folks at XM are talking about this article (every internet marketing professional reads ClickZ). They do a simple test of grabbing two people who are theoretically in the market for satellite radio, and get their input for surfing on XM's website.

The result is none-too-pleasing and worse... it's dead on.

XM's user interface leaves a bit to be desired as we figured out earlier this year, and not to mention that the look-and-feel has largely been unchanged since launch. But what the ClickZ article didn't touch on is Sirius' website (I suspect that'll be "Part 2"). I'd like dive a bit deeper into XM's homepage, and take a poke at Sirius' while we're at it.

First, while I think the big Flash banner on XM's homepage was a step in the right direction from the previous design, it takes up too much real estate to deliver too small of a message. Yes, the slides automatically rotate but there's too little information.

I much prefer Sirius' approach (below) where the promotional slideshow, the music neighborhoods, and a receiver spotlight are all above the fold and readily available. XM wastes a lot of real estate there, even the navbar is a bit wasteful.

Sirius also has two simply calls-to-action: "Get SIRIUS Now" and "Listen for Free." Done. Simple. XM's call-to-action are a bit all over the place: "Shop XM Radio," "Listen Now," "Get An XM Radio," "Sign up for a free trial" ... too much stuff.

Another thing that Sirius does is show their key content offerings right in the upper-left corner. Guess what everyone talks about when they talk about Sirius' content? You got it: Howard Stern, NFL, Martha Stewart. Sirius reinforces this. XM instead makes you scroll down to see their key offerings (or wait for the slideshow to rotate).

Speaking from a subscriber's point of view, XM also has a big glaring problem. It's hard to figure out where to manage your account. If I want to update my profile, the LAST thing I'll think of is to go to Customer Service - that's left for when I'm having problems with my account. Sirius puts the Manage Account link exactly where you expect it. On the flip side, I much prefer XM Radio Online to SIRIUS Internet Radio.

Honestly, I much prefer Sirius' website overall to XM's, though I have to say the flashy animations get annoying. Give us a way to turn that off easily please Sirius?

(Oh, and just so I'm not such a negative-Nancy, I'm quite impressed with XM's Exclusive Music section. It's a better look. Simple and clean.)

I could go on and on about this, but I'd rather hear what you all have to say. What was your impression before you subscribed to either service about their websites? What about as a subscriber what problems/benefits do you encounter?

[ClickZ]

Artie Lange's Beer League debuts today in a limited opening (160+ theaters) and word has it the nationwide opening is set for October 6th. Check here for a list of theaters premiering the movie today.

Staring Artie Langue (of course), as well as Ralph Maccio, Anthony De Sando, Cara Buono, Jimmy Palumbo, Joe Lo Truglio , Jerry Minor, Seymour Cassel, Michael Deeg, and Laurie Metcalf.

Variety has an interesting review on the movie if you want to check it out, or watch the trailer after the jump...

While XM Satellite Radio hasn't officially announced the new Delphi SkyFi3 it seems that the peeps over at JJI Electronics have a pre-order page up already with some very juicy info and pics. Here's the info that we know so far:

The XM SkyFi3 mates a plug-and-play receiver with an integrated tuner. So think of it like a next generation PnP with advanced storage capabilities. It features a big ol' 2.8" screen with a horizontal or a vertical mount.

Here's the real cool part. The SkyFi3 allows for 30-minutes of replay functionality, storage of up to 10 hours of XM programming (with the built-in memory) and up to 500 songs on an optional 2Gb microSD card (!).

With the internal battery, the SkyFi3 provides 5 hours of fun in portable-playback mode. And just like the Pioneer Inno, you can "tag" songs you hear on XM for purchase later with XM+Napster.

There's some optional accessories that we don't know much about just yet... such as a wearable live kit. The microSD card compatability especially is of interest to me as this would be the first satellite radio receiver to include removable storage.

Price? Oh right. JJI has it listed for $199.99 and is expecting their first SkyFi3 shipment in late October.

UPDATE: Got ahold of the photos without the watermark and updated the images to reflect this. 

UPDATE2: JJI Electronics apparently has taken the page offline. I think I may have gotten somebody in trouble...

Check out more pics after the jump... 

The fall season of XM Satellite Radio's original programming - "Artist Confidential," "Offstage," and "Then...Again...Live" - will be kicking off this month. Tune in this fall to hear interviews and exclusive live performances of artists from a wide range of genres including Sting, Tony Bennett, Ludacris, Chicago, Amy Grant and yes - even Pink

Artist Confidential, hosted by XM's George Taylor Morris, features celebrated artists live before an audience of fans at the XM Performance Theater in Washington, DC and XM studios in New York City.

The Then...Again...Live! series takes classic albums, and gives the artist an opportunity to reinterpret it, in sequence, in front of a live audience.

Offstage puts XM's music library into the hands of a well-known artist to play and talk about the music they love.

Check out more information on upcoming guests after the jump...
 

SIRIUS Satellite Radio is launching a new music channel dedicated soley to The Who entitled... wait for it... "The Who Channel." The Who Channel will debut on SIRIUS next Thursday, September 21st on SIRIUS channel 10 (confirmed by SIRIUS).

The limited-run channel will feature five decades of music by The Who and exclusive interviews with band members. Tune in also for nightly broadcasts of concerts from The Who's tour of the US and Canada, including backstage reports hosted by musician Rachel Fuller.

SIRIUS will also broadcast shows from The Who's archives, including some never before-heard shows and backstage conversations with the band, some with the late Keith Moon and John Entwistle.

Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey will produce the channel.

The Zune, which comes in three colors (black, brown and white) will pack a 30Gb hard drive, a built-in FM tuner, 3.0-inch screen, and 802.11 WiFi.

Rather than rehash everything, you might as well check out Gizmodo and Engadget because those guys have more than enough photos and info to keep you entertained for a while.

Unfortunately, because of the FM-support, Zune will now be filed away into "The Competition" category until something changes. Accessories are also available that solidify this position, just as the Zune Car Pack, which is a FM-tuner with AutoSeek and a Zune Car Charger.

Check out a couple big ol' close-up shots of the Zune for you lazy clickers after the jump...

Beyonce will be a special guest on The Morning Mash-Up radio show on SIRIUS Hits 1 (ch 1), this Monday, September 18th from 7am to 8am ET. She'll be hanging out at the SIRIUS Studios talking about her new album B-Day, what it's like being in the studio with boyfriend Jay-Z, why she doesn’t like the Destiny’s Child song Bugaboo, and much more mind blowing chit-chat.

B-Day is Beyonce's second solo album and she performed a song from it during the VMAs. If 7am is too early for you, not to worry, because you can catch the replay later that day at 10am ET.

PICTURED: Beyond with SIRIUS Director of R&B Programming BJ Stone. 

A video from Opie and Anthony's Traveling Virus is currently being featuring on MySpace's homepage.

The video features exclusive footage from the Virus Tour, which features Jimmy Shubert, Bob Saget, Tracey Morgan, Jim Norton, Robert Kelly, Ralphie May, Bill Burr, Rich Vos, and Dom Irrera.

MySpace pulls in an incredible amount of traffic, reaching 38.4 million unique U.S. visitors last April, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Even more amazing, MySpace's page views totaled 19 billion in April, surpassing Google (11.9 billion pages), MSN (11.5 billion pages) and AOL (6.8 billion pages). Granted, not all of this traffic is directed to the homepage (at the time of writing this, the video had over 23,000 views) but it puts this kind of exposure in perspective.

[MySpace: Opie & Anthony Virus Tour]

Sony has unveiled two new ES ("Elevated Standard") A/V receivers, which support 1080p displays and sources and both come XM-ready.

First up is the badass 5200ES which rocks a 1080p upscaling 7.1 channel receiver with 120 watts of power per channel. It supports HDMI active intelligence switching and HDMI up conversion from composite, S-video and component sources. The 5200ES also features a slick icon-based interface which allows for easy navigation and control, while HD content can play in the background. Expect the 5200ES out this October and running for a mere $1,500.

The smaller cousin of the 5200ES, the 3200ES, which is also a 7.1 channel receiver has 120 watts of system power per channel. Sadly, the 3200ES is sans the iconic interface, but the damage is signficantly less at $900.

Both receivers support XM Connect-and-Play satellite radio as well as XM HD Surround 5.1.

[via Engadget]

A spin-filled article on Radio World Online by Guy Wire (ugh) entitled Satellite in Trouble as HD Grows left me scratching my head by the end of the piece. It starts out by painting Sirius and XM as a fool's investment, stating that both are seeing "subscriber growth rates slow and begin to level off." Level off? I don't know about that.

He then goes on to build a doomsday scenario of how both companies are hemoraging money, facing regulatory troubles, and lumps satellite radio in with "any other high-tech venture that over-promises and under-delivers." Yet, all his points stem from events spanning the past 9 months. Nine months there "Guy."

At this point I'm waiting for the HD Radio speech. So far it's just been a satellite bash-fest... where's the meat? He instead goes on to talk about how terrestrial radio is the most logical savior of satellite should the auto manufacturers decide to cut their losses. In fact, terrestrial having controlling ownership would be the best thing for satellite! So the article now has turned from a satellite bash-fest, to a terrestrial love-in. Riveting.

But where's the point about HD? Oh wait, here it is at the end. Instead of filing HD Radio away with FM Quad and AM Stereo, which many are doing, he instead compares HD Radio to FM. FM started in 1961 yet needed 10 years to take hold, and another 10 years before becoming the "dominant choice for consumers," which he pridicts will be "the same pattern is likely to be charted by HD Radio."

So... in 20 years HD Radio will become popular? Hallelujah! Yet, the occurances of the past 9 months spell complete failure for satellite radio? Amazing insight! Do yourself a favor, keep your smoke blowing propaganda to internal emails there "Guy" - your rant just fell apart.

[Radio World Online]

A new Omnitel/American Media Services (AMS) study finds that 27% of Americans are listening to the radio less than they did five years ago. Meanwhile 51% of those surveyed say their listening hasn't changed in the past five years while 21% say they listen more.

A majority of respondents (74%) expect to be listening to about the same amount of radio in another five years, while 11% said they they'll be listening less and 13% expect to listen more.

What about discovery of new music? 63% said they find new music from the radio, with 43% saying they hear about it from friends, 41% from TV, 24% from print, and 16% from the Internet.

So if 63% say they turn to radio to discover new music, yet terrestrial has lost its appeal in over 1/4 of those surveyed... what exactly does that tell you?

"New" music isn't necessarily "just released" music. "New to me" music is just as interesting.

[via FMQB] 

SIRIUS Satellite Radio has discontinued broadcasting WSM and the Grand Ole Opry (ch 117) effective today.

WSM has been broadcasting country music since 1925 and can still be heard online at wsmonline.com.

[Opry.com]
.

Renowned poet, author, actress and activist Dr. Maya Angelou has signed on to host a weekly show for XM's "Oprah & Friends" channel.

According to The Mercury News, Angelou will host an hourlong show that she hopes will be called "Maya Angelou's America," although the title hasn't been decided. She plans to interview ordinary people, along with the "famous and infamous," asking them what they think it means to be an American.

Dr. Maya Angelou's works include her autobiography," I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," and a collection of poetry, "Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie" which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

She also received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in the movie "Roots" in 1977.

"Oprah & Friends" debuts on XM channel 156 in less than 2 weeks.

Acura is making XM Satellite Radio available as standard equipment in their entire 2007 model line.

Acura will also now offer XM NavTraffic as part of the AcuraLink system which will be expanded to four of its top-selling models: the 2007 Acura RL and TL luxury performance sedans as well as the all-new MDX and RDX luxury SUVs. Acura was the first automotive brand to offer XM NavTraffic when it was introduced in the 2005 Acura RL.

"Our partnership with XM Satellite Radio means that every Acura offers buyers a class-leading array of sophisticated satellite-delivered technologies - all designed to work together seamlessly while keeping passengers informed, entertained and in touch" said John Mendel, Senior VP of automobile operations for Acura.

With all 2007 Acuras, a three-month complimentary subscription to XM Satellite Radio will be included. Three months of XM NavTraffic is also included with properly equipped vehicles.

XM Satellite Radio has signed a multi-year deal with Andretti Green Racing to be an associate sponsor of by IndyCar Series superstar Danica Patrick. In a sport dominated by men, the 24-year-old was voted the Indy Racing League's 2005 Rookie of the Year at her first Indianapolis 500.

Under the agreement with Andretti Green Racing, the XM logo will appear on Patrick’s race car and fire suit, and XM has marketing rights for Patrick’s image and likeness.

Motorola, who is her primary sponsor, is joining with XM and other team sponsors today in Chicago for the grand unveiling of Patrick’s new race car. XM, which broadcasts every IndyCar Series race live, will be announcing further details of their plans with AGR in the coming weeks.

With Howard Stern's move from terrestrial to satellite radio, and his show gone from E! to OnDemand, visits to Stern's website and search queries are down - at least according to Hitwise (via Media Buyer Planner). This sparked my curiousity, because some people are using this data to say that his move to satellite hurt his celebrity.

So first, let's work backwards and take a look at search queries data. First, the Hitwise numbers:

Now, let's contrast these numbers with what Google Trends shows us:

Strange, the trend lines don't seem to match up... even if you just look at the same date ranges (Hitwise starts from March 2005 - right around the "D" mark on Google Trends).

OK, so let's look at overall website traffic:
 

Now, aside from the "siriusradio.com" thing - which redirects to sirius.com anyway - I wanted to see how this matches up with Alexa traffic results:

(Note that I'm only able to overlay sirius.com and howardstern.com on the Alexa chart.) These tend to be tracking with each other, as opposed to opposite each other as the Hitwise numbers seem to be.

Now wait, didn't comScore do something like this earlier this year? Oh yeah, that's right, they did. Let's take a look at their numbers as well:

Interesting.

Now... really all this proves is that each service's varying methodology has the ability to create different results. Interesting to say the least, but not nearly the law-of-the-land.

So that leads me back to the question of using this to measure the amount of celebrity. Does the decline in traffic and search queries (according to Hitwise) indicate a reduction in the 'celebrity' of Howard Stern?

Well... yes actually. He's talking to a lot less people now, so what? The thing I really don't like about both posts is that they are indicating that being on satellite radio is a step down in "status." But this form of media is still very much in it's infancy, yet the rate of adoption is faster than cell phones, cable and the Internet. Sure, right now the audience is relatively small... but what about in 2010?

Lionel Richie will perform songs from his new album in front of a live SIRIUS studio audience in the special live SIRIUS broadcast. Up Close & Personal with Lionel Richie which will be hosted by fellow R&B artist James “D-Train” Williams, will air on September 18th from 6-7 pm ET on SIRIUS Heart & Soul (ch 51).

The album, Coming Home, featuring nine songs written or co-written by Richie, is being released today. The first single “I Call It Love” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Adult R&B Chart, marking Richie's first #1 song on this chart. 

Niles Audio's new ANT-SAT satellite radio antenna, geared toward custom installers, improves satellite radio reception for both XM and Sirius services. The artfully named ANT-SAT comes packaged with... an antenna... as well as other goodies like a mounting bracket, hardware, and 30-feet of cable.

The ANT-SAT is part of Niles Audio's new satelite solutions line that features a variety of installation kits, 2- and 4-way satellite radio splitters, transformers, amplifiers, cables and couplers.

[via Electronic House] 

Listening to Howard this morning was an eerie and solemn tribute to the 5-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks. At 8:58am this morning, Howard replayed the original 9/11 show from that day.

I say it was eerie because I was listening to Stern on that morning half a decade ago. I can recall exactly where I was at each moment of that show and it brought me back to every minute. There was a lot of anger, confusion and yes a bit of levity in between (because no one knew exactly what was going on yet) - it was real.

From the second that the towers were hit, until we arrived at our office less than 2 miles away, I was glued to my radio listening to Howard. Hearing him again today was an incredible reminder of how the feeling was on that day. It's important to relive it and experience that feeling... because we should never forget.

Thanks Howard. 

This page on TSS-Radio has indicated that SIRIUS has asked their Authorized Retailers to suspend pre-order of the anticipated SIRIUS Stiletto. Further investigation shows that Crutchfield has also pulled down their Stiletto pre-order page (after going online only a week ago) after being asked to remove it by SIRIUS, Orbitcast has learned.

Initial source checks indicate that this is not a supply issue, though the exact reason as to why SIRIUS Authorized Retailers are being asked to do this is unknown at this time. If I had to take a guess? I'd say a certain four letter organization comes to mind, but there's a dozen or so other possibilities as well.

As more details come in, I'll be sure to make them known.

Well the official word is out from XM Satellite Radio just as we suspected - "National Lampoon Comedy Radio" a 24-hour comedy channel debuting on XM’s programming lineup in October.

With a stable of "comedy jocks" hosting the channel, National Lampoon Comedy Radio (ch 154) will include original programming spanning from stand-up and satirical news and sports segments to parody songs and prank phone calls. The channel also will include character sketches and regular interview features with comedians and celebrities.

According to a blog post on National Lampoon Radio's MySpace page, October 1st will be the launch date.  

In celebration of the release of Jackass 2, SIRIUS Satellite Radio is letting Bam Margera and his fellow Jackass 2 cohorts host Hostile Takeover on SIRIUS Faction (ch 28).

Jackass mainstay Bam Margera has hosted his own weekly show, Bam Radio, on Faction since August 2004. But on September 8th, Hostile Takeover will be hosted by Jackass 2 cast members Jason “Wee Man” Acuña (pictured above next to his lil' friend) and then by Steve-O on September 15th. 

On September 22nd, the day Jackass 2 opens in theatres, the entire cast will host the show: Bam Margera, Johnny Knoxville, Wee Man, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy, Ryan Dunn, Ehren “Danger” McGhehey and Dave England. Tasers not included.

Clear Channel Radio's Total Traffic Network has inked a multi-year deal with BMW to provide traffic data to navigation systems offered in select 2007 BMW models, including the X5, M5, M6 and the 3, 5 and 6 Series models.

BMW's nav system, equipped with Clear Channel's traffic service, will become available as early as mid-September, and Total Traffic Network's data will be included with no monthly fees. This makes BMW of North America the first US auto manufacturer to offer real-time traffic as a standard service on navigation-equipped vehicles.

In my opinion deals like this pose a signficant threat to the satellite radio industry. Extended satellite services like XM NavTraffic and SIRIUS Traffic (and others like the upcoming XM ParkingLink) are flagship products that introduce consumers - especially luxury-oriented ones - to the core satellite radio offering. As nav systems become more ubiquitous in vehicles, consumers will be attracted to services that extend the capabilities of these systems. When presented with the choice between free and a pay service, it doesn't take a genius to figure out which one they'll go for.

This also marks the second time that BMW has opted to include a terrestrial radio backed technology - being the first automaker to include HD Radio as an option (albeit, an expensive one). And don't forget that they spearheaded the iPod integration option as well.

The question remains as to whether the service is even worthwhile, considering that Clear Channel's Total Traffic Network uses its own network of reporters, traffic cameras, helicopters and airplanes to provide traffic updates (as opposed to XM and SIRIUS who both use NAVTEQ). But with more than 125 metropolitan markets covered - versus XM's 44 markets and SIRIUS' 30 markets - the numbers comparison by itself isn't very positive.

UPDATE: Apparently the Total Traffic Network covers 125 markets in three countries (US-of-A, Mexico and... New Zealand). As for the number of US markets specifically it's the same as XM: 44.

[via FMQB] 

XM Canada has reached the 120,000 subscriber mark in its ninth full month of operation and
the completion of its first fiscal year (ending August 31, 2006).

Fourth Quarter subscriber results increased by 50 per cent over Third Quarter results. Want to figure out the YoY figures? Too bad. Canadian Satellite Radio launched XM Canada only in November of 2005, so there are no corresponding prior year figures for CSR's fourth-quarter and full-year 2005 results.

The growth of satellite radio up yonder definitely appears to be positive - we like that.

Question is, what are SIRIUS Canada's numbers looking like? Especially since a survey done earlier this year showed SIRIUS Canada was leading in market awareness (on the flip side, another survey said XM Canada was leading in awareness, so there ya go).

[Broadcaster Magazine]
 

A page up on GM's website (found by the sleuths over at XMFan) has provided the world with a preemptive glimpse into a new comedy channel coming this fall to XM Satellite Radio - National Lampoon Radio.

Way back in May of 2005 National Lampoon announced their 24/7 radio network, and their plans to partner with a satellite radio service - and while no specific service was announced, I took a wild guess that it would be XM - simply based off of the previous relationship between the two.

Well, on the GM mini-site they have an updated channel guide (not sure how long this will stay alive) listing National Lampoon Radio (ch 154) as "coming Fall 2006." There's also a channel description guide (again, link may die soon) which is far less interesting.

So what can we expect from the channel? It's supposed to be a "comedic hot talk" format - targeting men 21-34 - with morning drive programming, a politically flavored midday show, and an evening drive "guy talk" program.

[GM Minisite via XMFan]
Thanks Matt!

UPDATE: National Lampoon Radio's MySpace page confirms that they're on XM too. Thanks Paul!

Noted financial expert Jean Chatzky will host a new show daily on XM Satellite Radio's "Oprah & Friends" channel (which is debuting September 25th).

Chatzky, featured in last season's popular "debt diet" series on Oprah's show, is an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and motivational speaker. She's the financial editor for NBC's "Today" show, a contributing editor for Money and Travel + Leisure, and a columnist for The New York Daily News.

If that's not keeping her busy enough, Chatzky is also the author of four books, which include bestsellers You Don't Have to Be Rich and Pay it Down! From Debt to Wealth on $10 a Day. Her latest book, Make Money Not Excuses, will be released on September 26th.

"Inclusion of Wi-Fi in the Stiletto puts Sirius at the front of a pack of electronics makers expected to feature the wireless broadband connectivity in devices in coming months. Microsoft (MSFT) is expected to include Wi-Fi in its Zune music player. XM wouldn't comment on plans, but it's portable lineup doesn't currently include Wi-Fi capabilities."

Personally the WiFi functionality is a cool line-item in the list of features, but it's the internal antenna that I really care about. Don't get me wrong, I'm not downplaying the fact that it has WiFi - for in-home use it will prove to be absolutely priceless. Hell, anything that removes the wires associated with satellite radio receivers is a welcome addition to the industry (ultimate wish: cordless satrad antennas).

But at work? I doubt it will be as useful as some are hoping (no admin wants to provide unauthenticated access, with more and more requiring MAC address authentication). Public access like in airports and cafes as BusinessWeek suggests? Probably not reliable. Sure, if there's no landing page required to access the service then you've got free reign - but I doubt (though don't know for sure) that the Stiletto has a built-in browser to support any of these. That might pose to be a problem.

But in places where there's open access, or even just a WEP/WPA key required - such as in your home - the Stiletto will truly shine.

That said, who cares as long as it sells radios? WiFi access is a growing trend in consumer electronics, and Sirius is positioning itself as a technology-leader now. The Zune comes to mind immediately, and of course there's loads of WiFi iPod rumors, and then there's also WiFi Skype phones and hell even WiFi enabled digicams get gadgetheads giddy. So by featuring WiFi, Sirius not only creates a buzz-worthy device that will excite early-adopters, but at the same time they change their image signficantly. And that's a halo effect folks.

[BusinessWeek]

Sit back, relax and enjoy 30-seconds of Sirius Stiletto promotional video goodness complete with soundtrack and cool shiny font. Similar to the Sirius S50 promotional video (WMV) from around this time last year, you can easily see this looping at your local big-box retailer.

Much thanks to the boys at TSS-Radio and Slashgear for digging this up.

The b-b-boys over at Engadget have done a bit of digging only to find out that the Stiletto will, in fact, not be packing Bluetooth in it's repertoire of features.

The mystery feature (that left many a dependable source scratching their heads) originated from Wired News reporter Eliot Van Buskirk, who recently told Engadget that Wired would be soon running a correction.

Eliot further clarifies in Engadget's comments that the Bluetooth mention wasn't completely unfounded, stating that it came from Zing's reference designs which include Bluetooth. So Bluetooth may still be in future versions of the Stiletto - or other Zing-powered devices for that matter. "One possibility is that the Stiletto has Bluetooth, but that Sirius left it unactivated," he concluded.

[Engadget] 

Longtime friend of The Howard Stern Show, Donald Trump, will introduce the all-time top ten uncensored Howard Stern moments, as voted by fans from Stern's classic material of the last 20 years.

The classic Stern moments began airing over the Labor Day weekend, and listeners can vote for their favorite moments until 10:00 am ET on Friday, September 8th.

Howard Stern's All Request Top Ten will be announced in a special broadcast this Friday, September 8th at 12pm ET on SIRIUS Howard 100.

[Vote Now] 

XM Satellite Radio has taken the wraps off of a new version of the Pioneer Inno... a pink one! More than just being a more female-friendly version of regular Inno we've come to know and love, this special Pink Inno also works towards a cause.

For each Pink Inno sold and activated, a donation will be made to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The Komen Foundation has been the largest private funder of breast cancer research for almost 25 years.

The Pink Inno (code name: GEX-INNO-PK) will be available for sale exclusively at Circuit City, or direct on XM's website, starting on September 10th before expanding to additional retailers. Pioneer, XM and Circuit City will make a combined $30 donation to the Komen Foundation for each Pink Inno sold and activated, up to $150,000.

XM Satellite Radio has also committed airtime to the Komen Foundation and its executives to educate its subscribers about breast cancer. 

Gee, who saw this coming? Apparently the elusive music partner that will fulfill song purchases made off of the Sirius Stiletto is... wait for it... Yahoo! Music, according to sources familiar with the matter.

While not much of a surprise to us fanboys tracking this from Day 1, the Yahoo! Music partnership is nice to hear anyway. Back in February, Mel Karmazin mentioned that there will be "buy button" functionality for the Stiletto - since then we've been speculating who the partner will be.

Much like the XM+Napster partnership, Yahoo! Music integrated in the Stiletto will supposedly give the user the ability to "tag" a song heard and then allow them to purchase it (presumably when they get within WiFi range). More on this as information comes in...

SIRIUS' new satellite, a geostationary one as opposed to their current elliptical setup - meant to compliment their satellite constellation - is set to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2008. In preparation for that, SIRIUS has requested authority to launch the new bird... and as a result, we learn something very interesting.

This new satellite - as well as the current satellites - will use a fancy "overlay modulation" technique, which will add an additional 1.35 Mb/s throughput. That's an additional 30% increase in throughput, and that's set to rollout as early as next year.

The reason? Most likely it's the SIRIUS Satellite Video that we've been hearing so much about. Afterall, the ability to download The Backyardigans while driving in your 2008 Jeep definitely will require some additional bandwidth... no doubt we'll see some sound quality improvements from this as well.

[via Satellite Radio TechWorld] 

Oh yes, we've seen the Stiletto's list of features enough times that we can rehash them in our sleep... but still more information is bubbling to the surface. And let's face it, I'm obsessed with this thing.

Check out this Wired News article, where they mention that the Stiletto 100 also features Bluetooth functionality. So not only do we get a live SIRIUS signal, and a WiFi connection - but throw Bluetooth into the mix?

Here's the snippet:

Aside from Wi-Fi and a satellite reciever, the slim Stiletto 100 packs Bluetooth, meaning that might let users link to other Stiletto users without draining much power -- unlike the MusicGremlin and (apparently) the Microsoft Zune, which use power-hungry ad-hoc Wi-Fi connections.

[Wired News]

Crutchfield has released the SIRIUS Stiletto up on their website for pre-orders as of this afternoon. Along with that, we get some incredible photos to drool over.

You can check out the Crutchfield page here.

Hopefully you're not one of the poor schmucks stuck in front of a computer right now before the long weekend. But in case you are... here's some video of Opie & Anthony's appearance on David Letterman last night.

Yes, the video is crappy - once there's a higher-quality version available, I'll update this post. UPDATE: Now a much nicer version is available, so I updated the video. Thanks to The Squeaky Wheel!