October 2007 Archives

The Reverend Jesse Jackson today at an FCC hearing on localism voiced his opinions on the potential competitive harms he feels could come to minorities should the Sirius-XM merger be approved.

"The proposed Sirius-XM merger would eliminate the potential of any meaningful competition in the satellite radio market, which would, in turn, permanently block the potential for diversity of ownership and control by minorities in the only medium capable of nationwide broadcasting," said Jackson.

Jackson continued, "I urge this commission to view this proposed transaction - as it is currently structured - not in the public interest. It will eliminate diversity of content and meaningful opportunities for minority partnership in media ownership. This cannot happen. This commission must uphold the statutes and regulations that promote content diversity and opportunities for media ownership by minorities."

"The commission should seize the opportunity presented by this transaction to make a difference that serves the best interests of all concerned: Sirius and XM in their objectives, the marketplace and diversified ownership and competition, and the public's right of access to benefit from varied programming that is appropriate and feasible," Jackson continued.

"The proposed transaction would result in the business combination of the two most significant and largest companies in satellite communications. In effect, this creates a monopoly, virtually making competition impossible and programming dangerously subject to the combined entity's self-interests and whim. This puts the public at a disadvantage. It has the potential of serious economic havoc on any business attempting to be a part of this marketplace and to the communities of which these businesses serve," said Jackson.

This is in direct opposition to the opinion of the NAACP, which came out in favor of the merger earlier this year, stating that a merged satellite radio company would "strengthen its commitment to diversity."

As we near the final stretch of this high profile merger, it looks like things are really starting to heat up.

[Radio Ink]

Looks like XM reserved some key OEM announcements for SEMA 2007 this year. First we had the Hyundai announcement this morning, and now the word is out that Toyota's first factory-equipped XM vehicles are set to available this upcoming spring.

The all-new 2009 Toyota Corolla and Matrix (pictured) will be the first Toyota cars to offer XM as factory-installed equipment. The popular models will also offer XM NavTraffic as an option when equipped with a navigation system... another first from Toyota. XM and XM NavTraffic are already available as factory installed features on the Lexus LS 460 and 600h models, and will be available factory installed on the upcoming 2008 LX 570.

XM will be a standard feature on all 2009 Corolla and Matrix vehicles that come with the JBL premium audio system. These will of course include the standard 3-month free trial subscription.

Toyota announced earlier this year that they've extended their partnership with XM through 2017. They've also stated that the annual factory production of XM-equipped vehicles is expected to exceed one million by 2010.

[Photo courtesy of Jalopnik]

Enter the MusicPal by Freecom. It's a wireless internet radio that doesn't require a computer to tune into individual stations. It's also an MP3 player. And an RSS reader. Oh, and an alarm clock.

Using a WiFi connection, the MusicPal will stream internet radio - with support to over 5.000 radio stations - plus it will stream any MP3 music from your computer or home network. The RSS reader will display your feeds right on the unit - hardly useful if you want to be knee deep into your Orbitcast feed. But think more along the lines of RSS feeds of stocks, sports scores, local weather, etc.

And it's available for $149.

[Product Page via GeekAlerts]
Thanks Bearing Drift Ohio!

Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck issued a client note this morning stating that growth of Sirius remains strong, and they still expect the merger to be approved by year-end.

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) stock dropped roughly 9% yesterday amid concerns that the DOJ process would be extended. But its Bear Stearns' view that the merger remains on-track and will close by year-end. Peck reiterated his Outperform rating, adding "Sirius could be worth about $5.50/share at YE'08."

Peck was also impressed with Sirius' results announced yesterday, with the company having had beat out many of Bear Stearns' estimates (sans total revenue which was impacted by higher than expected OEM gross adds).

Sirius' stock is up 3.65% this morning,

Hyundai has expanded its rollout of XM as a factory-installed, standard feature across several new vehicles in its lineup.

For the 2008 model year, Hyundai will add the Tiburon, Accent and Tucson as new vehicles with XM Satellite Radio as a standard feature. On top of that, XM will also be standard on the new 2009 Elantra Touring - the concept vehicle (pictured above) was revealed today at the 2007 SEMA Show.

Hyundai's rollout of XM as a standard feature the U.S. started with the 2007 model year. Since then XM is a standard feature on the Azera, Elantra, Santa Fe, Sonata and Veracruz.

All Hyundais with XM installed include a 3-month free subscription.

The new Elantra Touring is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. in 2008 and is taking advantage of the strong resurgence in small hatchbacks. The photo above shows the unveiling of the Elantra Touring "Beach Cruiser" Concept, a pimped-out, customized version by K-Daddyz Kustomz of Bakersfield, CA.

Glass, Lewis & Co., a leading independent proxy advisory firms, has recommended that stockholders of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) vote "FOR" the companies' merger proposals.

According to Glass Lewis's analysis, "the transaction is fairly priced and will yield substantial cost synergies for shareholders of both companies." As a result, Glass Lewis believes that the "proposed merger is in the interests of shareholders of both companies."

I'm not a shareholder of either company (never have been, never will be), but I know a lot of you are. So I'm curious, how will you vote?

This might very well be the last quarter that we will be comparing XM and Sirius subscriber numbers, as two separate companies at least. So, let's get to it before time runs out and we're forced to hold hands and sing Kumbaya together.

And because pictures are much easier to look at than a matrix of mind-numbing digits, here's some charts to help us along.

Total Satellite Radio Subscribers

• Sirius Satellite Radio: 7,667,476
• XM Satellite Radio: 8,570,000

In other words, Sirius is currently where XM was in 4Q06 (~7.6M). In the 2nd-quarter of this year, Sirius was where XM was in 3Q06 (~7.1M).

Remember, there's a seasonality in retail which historically sees a spike in Q4. So this may not be a fair comparison. The killer question is whether either company has the momentum to have a stellar holiday season this year to make a difference. So far, the signs have not been encouraging.

Quarterly Net Subscribers

• Sirius Satellite Radio: 524,938
• XM Satellite Radio: 315,000

Quarterly Gross Subscribers

• Sirius Satellite Radio: 999,284
• XM Satellite Radio: 952,000

Since gross subscribers scrubs out the effects of churn, and evens out other factors like including together promotional/non-promotional subscribers, here we can gather a better sense of market penetration. So I really do like to look at gross subscribers over net subscribers when looking at how both are performing.

Again, we see that in 4Q06, there was a tipping point where Sirius now leads XM consistently in gross subscriber additions.

XM and MySpace have announced the grand prize winner of their “Show Us What Ya Got!” contest: Tanya Morgan.

Selected from among the three finalists chosen by the MySpace community, Tanya Morgan (pictured below) won the chance to appear live at the Power Summit last week. They performed their original song, “Walk My Way,” at the Las Vegas event which also featured performances from artists Chamillionaire and Talib Kweli.

A re-broadcast of the industry-packed event will premiere tomorrow, October 31st at 6pm ET on RAW (ch 66).

Over 6,000 original song entries were reviewed and considered by a panel of judges which was comprised of music editors and industry artists who narrowed the submissions down to five finalists. The final three, Tanya Morgan, Metafore and Mitch Gunz, were then selected by the MySpace community to perform at The Power Summit.

The competition was hosted by Mz. Kitti from XM’s RAW. The performances were judged by XM’s DJ Xclusive of The City (ch 67) and Leo G of RAW and Dion Summers of The Heat (ch 68).

As the grand prize winner, Tanya Morgan will receive a mixtape created with a high profile DJ; the opportunity to appear as the opening act on the MySpace Secret Show; a local grassroots sniping promotional campaign; and all expense paid trip to be a guest on XM Satellite Radio and two weeks XM airplay; and a MySpace Music Feature.

Check out myspace.com/xm to view Tanya Morgan’s winning song, “Walk My Way” as well as view the other finalists' songs. Or follow the jump to see a ridiculous amount of photos from the event...

While the subscriber and revenue growth of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. looks pretty darn impressive, some analysts aren't quite swooning over the numbers, particularly none other than Bank of America's Jonathan Jacoby.

In a client note issued this morning, Jacoby warns investors "don't be fooled."

His reason? SAC and Cash EBITDA were worse than expected, despite higher net subscriber additions and a lower churn rate. Jacoby adds that the higher ramp up of OEM subscriber additions will catch up on the churn rate over time.

Jacoby points out that OEM additions for the quarter are understating churn, as those many automotive subscribers carry an estimated 6-month contract period. So by default, no churn can occur.

Sirius Satellite Radio continues its march of amazing growth with the release of its 3Q07 results.

Sirius saw a 45% increase in revenue from 3Q06 to $241.8 million, and subscriber growth of 524,938 net additions during the quarter, driving ending subscribers up 50% year over year.

Sirius ended third quarter 2007 with 7,667,476 subscribers.

Growth came from 64,101 net subscribers from the retail/aftermarket channels and 460,837 from the OEM channel.

Advertising revenue was $8.5 million and ARPU was $10.71. SAC per gross subscriber addition was $103 compared to $114 for the year-ago third quarter. The monthly average all-in customer churn rate was 2.1%.

(I'm stuck on the train right now, so more coverage to come shortly)

UPDATE: I'm back now. No live-blogging of the conference call (sorry) but I'll have a recap of what was discussed soon.

See the full financials after the jump...

Here comes another round of public support from Capitol Hill, this time from Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Jim DeMint (R-SC).

The Senators have both praised Sirius and XM for the programming packages and a la carte pricing plans. DeMint stated that "these options will give American consumers more control over the programming they pay for.”

I'm still curious to know why there's this increased support from politicians who have previously remained silent. But for merger advocates, the political pressure is obviously quite welcome.

"Sirius and XM have responded to the market’s desire for more choice, and we applaud them for voluntarily offering subscribers new and innovative listening options. We are particularly pleased that they will offer family-friendly options that allow subscribers to block adult programming,” added DeMint.

"This is a great example of how private industry can and will respond to the demands of consumers without the need for government intervention," said Ensign. "We hope that other entertainment providers will follow XM-Sirius’ lead and offer Americans increased choices and customization."

[XMmerger.com]

Sirius is handing over the reins of Prime Country (ch 61) - Sirius' 80s and 90s country music channel - to country music superstar Garth Brooks.

Garth Brooks will takeover Sirius channel 61 for two week and feature Garth Brooks' music with intros by the artist himself. Brooks will also play some of his favorite tunes and discuss what each means to him.

It's all in celebration of the release of Brooks' new 3-disc set, The Ultimate Hits. The 3-disk pack features 30 Garth classics, 3 new songs and a bonus track on 2 CDs, plus a DVD with 33 videos including new and never-seen-before footage.

Garth Brooks Radio will air from November 5th through November 18th. Hear a few samples from Garth Brooks Radio here.

In honor of Porter Wagoner, XM will be airing special programming this week as a tribute and celebration to Wagoner’s life and work.

He died from lung cancer yesterday at the age of 80.

Porter Wagoner was a legend in country music, with a string of hit songs in the '60s, appearances at the Grand Ole Opry, and is known for launching the career of none other than Dolly Parton.

Below are several features that XM will be airing in remembrance of this music legend...

XM will air a special Porter Wagoner memorial show tomorrow, October 30th, at 6am and 8pm ET on XM's classic country channel America (ch 10). The special will feature a retrospective of his songs, as well as interview and performance highlights from Wagoner's prolific career in country music.

A rebroadcast of country legend and Hall of Famer Bill Anderson’s interview with Porter Wagoner from the regular series "Bill Anderson Visits with the Legends" will air all day tomorrow on XMX (ch 2), featuring Wagoner’s first-person accounts of some of the most definitive moments in country music history.

A special encore of Bob Edwards' conversation with Porter Wagoner, originally broadcast in June, will air on Friday, November 2nd, at 7am ET on America (XM 10). Fans will hear Wagoner discuss his life in country music as well as his final project, "Wagonmaster," which was produced by country artist and XM host Marty Stuart and earned Wagoner some of the best reviews of his 50-plus year career.

These are currently the only confirmed airdates, but given XM’s relationship with the Grand Ole Opry it’s safe to say that XM will have additional Porter Wagoner tribute programming throughout the week.

Eleven members of Congress voiced their support for the Sirius-XM merger, in a letter addressed to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

The letter was signed by:
Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL), Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX), Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), and Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY).

"...the merger of Sirius and XM will create new opportunities for this type of diverse programming that has been overlooked by terrestrial-radio broadcasters. This merger will allow the companies to offer even more diverse content by consolidating programming and better utilizing capacity to offer even more unique and diverse programming to currently underserved populations."

The timing of this is interesting.

The NAB came out with their own Congress-backing letter to the FCC many months ago. Meanwhile, Sirius-XM lately have seen momentum build on Capitol Hill with support from various lawmakers. Is this a calculated "killing blow" tactic? Or did it just take them this long to garner this level of support?

[Read the letter here (PDF)]

Sirius will be airing an exclusive performance by Alicia Keys at Sirius' New York City studios on November 9th at 5 pm ET.

"Up Close and Personal with Alicia Keys" will air live on Heart & Soul (ch 51) in celebration of the release of her third studio album, As I Am.

During the one hour special, Alicia Keys will perform songs from As I Am and share stories from the album's two year journey.

As I Am, which debuts worldwide on November 13th, features collaborations with John Mayer, Marsha Ambrosius, Linda Perry, Harold Lilly and many other artists.

Alicia Keys began playing the piano at the age of 7 and writing her own music by the age of 14. She made her debut in 2001 with the release of Songs In A Minor, and subsequently sold over 11 million copies worldwide.

According to the on-air promos, XM Satellite Radio's Holiday Music channels are set to debut on November 19th. Except for Holly, of course... and Radio Hanukkah.

Here's the quick breakdown:

• Holiday Traditions (ch 104 / XMRO 79) - Traditional recordings from the '40s through the '60s will keep you swinging through the holidays. Crooners like Bing Crosby, Andy Wlliams, Ray Conniff, and Nat "King" Cole welcome the season with grand style.
• Music City Holiday (ch 105 / XMRO 17 / DirecTV ch 809) - Country's biggest superstars sing contemporary and traditional holiday hits. Selections from Faith Hill, Alabama, George Strait, and Reba McEntire will keep your Christmas country. (US Country will be on hiatus during this time)
• Classical Christmas (ch 106 / XMRO 113 / DirecTV ch 866) - Traditional carols sung by the greatest classical musicians of all-time like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Luciano Pavarotti, and Leontyne Price grace the XM airwaves through Christmas day. (XM Pops will be on hiatus too)
• Special X-Mas (ch 107 / XMRO 154 / DirecTV ch 848) - This is the soundtrack to your dysfunctional family holiday. Comedy routines, parodies, seasonal insanity, and just plain bad music help turn your "Bah-Humbug" into a "Ho, Ho, Ho."
• ...and Radio Hanukkah (ch 108 / XMRO 108) - on air from December 4th through December 12th - Classic and off-the-wall renditions of traditional Hanukkah songs, such as "I Have a Little Dreidel" and "Maoz Tzur," will be showcased along with nightly broadcasts of the traditional Hanukkah candlelight blessings attended by some of the nation's most prominent Jews from the worlds of music, entertainment, politics, and comedy.

See more details and schedules on XM's Holiday Music page.

Thanks Karl!

Acclaimed country singer and Grand Ole Opry regular Elizabeth Cook will kick off a new weekly show, "Apron Strings," on Sirius Satellite Radio starting this Friday.

Cook, who released Balls - her fourth album, produced by Rodney Crowell - earlier this year, will host the five hour show direct from Music City U.S.A.

"Apron Strings" will premiere on Friday, November 2nd at 6am ET on Sirius Outlaw Country (ch 63).

They're not done yet.

The Carmel Group, commissioned by the NAB, has released yet another "ping-pong" chart to show that Sirius and XM directly compete with each other.

A follow-up to an earlier study by The Carmel Group, this features a more in-depth "ping-pong" chart than before with a huge list of competitive actions and reactions between the two companies.

The study asserts that "without this continued competition, consumers will not be able to obtain substitutable competition from competitors within the all-important vehicle; and importantly, choice, competitive pricing restraints and service will undoubtedly - and significantly - suffer."

And of course, NAB spokesperson Dennis Wharton had his pom-poms in hand with this to say:

"Contrasting XM and SIRIUS's history of competitive behavior with their track record of abusing FCC rules, the central question remains: Should two fierce competitors with a demonstrable record of FCC rule-breaking be rewarded with monopoly power? We -- along with consumer groups, minority organizations, antitrust experts and more than 80 members of Congress -- think the answer is no."

Following the April study release, I discovered an earlier article written by The Carmel Group that was not commissioned by the NAB which stated that satellite radio's "competition comes in the form of traditional analog AM & FM radio, as well as burgeoning services like MP3 players, terrestrial radio, and video- and Internet-to-the-vehicle." This was, in my opinion, a completely opposing position from the NAB-commissioned study. A point that caught the attention of the New York Post.

Now The Carmel Group is back with an extended "ping-pong" chart to prove that Sirius and XM did indeed compete with each other.

But, so what?

Proving that Sirius and XM compete(d) with each other has little to do with disproving that they are part of a broader relevant market. If two radio stations in a single market compete with each other, does that mean that they don't compete with other radio stations in the same market? Of course not.

Further, observing the competitive responses between those two radio stations won't give us any insight into the "continuing proliferation of outlets and rapid pace of technological change in the media marketplace" that the NAB is so worried about.

So all the "ping-pong" charts in the world are simply just exercises in futility.

[The Carmel Group Study (PDF) via AllAccess]
Thanks Derek!

I'm busy taking apart the Arbitron ratings from earlier this week for another post I'm preparing, and found this to be interesting so figured it should be its own separate post.

Before we get into it, I want to highlight that I feel the Arbitron ratings are way off. Meaning that the cume and AQH absolute numbers are selling the satellite radio industry way too short. The full reasoning for this will be explained in this separate post I'm working on, but it's important to bring that to light here.

But if we ignore the numbers, I think we can find a level of accuracy in the proportions from the Arbitron satellite radio ratings. Meaning that the listener trends are probably more or less what Sirius and XM are seeing internally. I don't think it's a stretch of the imagination (regardless what side of the fence you're on) to get that Howard Stern leads in listenership.

And that's actually the interesting part...

Below you'll see a visualization of the cume listeners of both Sirius and XM. Note that both graphs are on the same scale for a nice clean comparison. But again, it's not the numbers I'm talking about, it's the behavior of one set of listener to another.

The spikes on the left represent two main channels for each respective service, Howard 100 (cume: 1,225,100) and Top 20 on 20 (cume: 1,055,300). After that, the drop off occurs very rapidly - Sirius Hits 1 is about 50% of Stern's cume; and Flight 26 is about 70% of Top 20 on 20.

Here we see a very interesting distribution between the two services.

Sirius' scale is very heavily weighted on Stern, while XM's is more evenly distributed throughout the channels. Pay attention to the fact that Arbitron's numbers measure across 171 channels for XM and 132 channels for Sirius, which actually amplifies XM's spread because it has a longer "tail" than Sirius.

"Howard is why Sirius is where it is today," says Tom Taylor, editor of radio-info.com told David Hinckley. These graphs exemplify that.

A few things can be inferred from looking at this:

1. Stern has done a great job at attracting listeners to Sirius, because that's their main point of interest.
2. There's a large number of Sirius subscribers that only listen to Stern (and only Stern)
3. XM's broad appeal among its subscribers is heavily weighted on its music

There's also some dangers associated with this info, for both services:

1. If Howard gets hit by a truck, or loses his voice, Sirius will have a very big problem.
2. XM faces very heavy competition from iPods and other music sources

Again, I'm not focusing on the raw numbers, because I feel Arbitron's methodology for gathering this info is flawed. But, much like Alexa numbers, the overall trending or proportions of the numbers might be accurate enough to give a level of insight we have not seen before.

What's your take on it?

Sirius has partnered with the World Championship Sports Network (WCSN) to cover the international alpine skiing events during the 2007-08 FIS World Cup ski season.

The 2007-08 FIS World Cup season starts tomorrow, October 27th and Sunday, October 28 with the Men's and Women's Giant Slalom competition at Soelden, Austria.

Race coverage of Saturday's Women's Giant Slalom will air on Sirius channel 110 (CourtTV) starting at noon ET, while Sunday's Men's Giant Slalom will air on Sirius channel 151 (Chicago/St. Louis), also starting at noon ET.

The FIS World Cup features world-class American skiers ranging from Bode Miller and Julia Mancuso; to Ted Ligety and Lindsey Kildow. International men's and women's ski racing champions include Benjamin Raich (Austria), Didier Cuche (Switzerland), Aksel Svindal (Norway), and many more.

Sirius will provide coverage from top FIS World Cup stops in Kitzbuehel, Austria; Aspen, Colorado; Val d'Isere, France; Vancouver, Canada and St. Moritz, and Switzerland. Sirius will also cover the Men's and Women's Alpine World Cup Finals from Bormio, Italy in March.

XM Satellite Radio's fan-favorite holiday hits channel, Holly, will be making its triumphant return in less than a week.

According to a recent blog post on MySpace, XM Holly will begin airing on November 1st at Midnight (ET) and will broadcast through New Year's Day.

The channel features contemporary holiday hits sprinkled in with traditional favorites. Listen for selections by Mannheim Steamroller, Bruce Springsteen, and the Carpenters.

Holly will air on channel 103.

[Holly's MySpace]

In what seemed like minutes apart from each other, Sirius yesterday sent out a promotion offering a $20 reward check for referring a friend to the service.

This is actually part of the Sirius Friends promotion which was launched in early September. Sirius one-ups the XM promotion by offering a 15% discount on radios for your friends. Sirius referrals also need to stay active for 60-days.

Regardless of the subtle details between the two, they're both good promotions.

But I'd still like to see something more targeted (say an MLB or NASCAR themed promotion). Take it maybe one step further and create widgets with the associated referral code that people can embed into their MySpace pages. Doesn't have to be anything crazy, just make it a "pull" rather than a "push" promotion.

[sirius.com/friends]
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

According to various online sources, Apple has launched its first employee bus lines from San Francisco to the company’s corporate headquarters - a 44 mile one-way journey.

And supposedly... the shuttle has XM installed.

MacUser reports that the silver bus has black tinted windows and runs on bio-diesel (and why not?). There’s also WiFi coverage available the entire trip (probably via a high-speed wireless modem), and power plugs at every seat. The leather seats feature flaps so sleepy-heads can lean to one side without invading the personal space of fellow co-workers.

There's "an airplane-style audio entertainment setup" built-in as well, which according to MacUser's source, includes XM Satellite Radio.

Now what would Apple employees need with XM for their ride up to Cupertino?

[MacUser]

XM has kicked off a pretty aggressive referral program today with a "Pass it ON" promotion sent out to its list.

The way it works is (surprisingly) simple: refer a friend to XM and earn a $20 Visa debit card. For each friend you refer, you get another $20 card.

Sure, there's the to-be-expected terms and conditions, and the friends you refer need to subscribe for a minimum of 3-months. But aside from that, it's actually a very straight forward process.

So why do I call it an "aggressive" referral program? Because most referral programs give you "points" or "credits" towards the service - while this is, for all intents and purposes, cold hard cash (in electronic form).

And the $20 referral amounts to over 50% of XM's minimum revenue per subscriber. That's pretty aggressive to me.

[friends.experiencexm.com]

The Wiggles, the highly successful Australian childrens-music band, will be guest hosting their own show on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Kids Stuff (ch 116) tomorrow.

The multi-colored quartet will be spending an hour picking music, playing their old favorites, and of course, will be including songs from their new album and DVD Getting Strong.

The Wiggles were reportedly Australia's "richest entertainers" for 2005... earning more than AC/DC and Nicole Kidman combined.

Tune in tomorrow, October 26th, at 9am, 3pm and 6pm ET for the Wiggles' show. Encore broadcasts will air on October 27th at 12pm ET and October 28th at 5pm ET.

Can't listen to the webcast of XM's 3Q07 earnings call? Have no fear, because I'm live blogging it for you right here. Just keep hitting that refresh button to see the updates...

10:01am: Still in a holding pattern....

10:04am: I guess we're late? Still on hold.

10:05am: And we're good to go. Valarie is giving us the intro..

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) announced their 3Q07 earnings results. Revenue increased roughly 20% year over year to $287 million compared to $240 million in the 3Q06.

XM ended the quarter with approximately 8.57 million subscribers compared to approximately 7.19 million subscribers in the prior year period.

XM recorded gross subscriber additions of 952,000 and net subscriber additions of 315,000 - that's compared to 868,000 gross additions and 286,000 net subscriber additions in the same period last year.

"XM achieved year-over-year gains in both gross and net subscriber additions, despite weakness at retail, driven primarily by a record number of new automotive subscribers," said Nate Davis, XM President and CEO.

"We're already seeing the early results of the ramp in production of XM-equipped vehicles, which will provide XM with sustained subscriber growth for 2008 and beyond."

SAC rose to $70 compared to $59 in the same period last year - this includes ~$10 related to increased factory installations by new automotive partners. CPGA was $116 compared to $94 in 3Q06.

Adjusted operating loss (formerly adjusted EBITDA) was $47 million compared to a loss of $2 million in the same period of 2006. The 2007 third quarter adjusted operating loss includes $9 million in expenses related to the company's pending merger with Sirius Satellite Radio Inc..

XM's net loss was $145 million for 3Q07 - compared to a 3Q06 net loss of $84 million. XM's net loss is at $0.47 per share. On average, 25 analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected the company to report a loss of $0.44 per share.

Full financial report after the jump. Conference call kicks off at 10am ET today.

Valerie Plame Wilson, the former covert CIA officer whose leaked identity resulted in a national political scandal, will appear on “The Bob Edwards Show” on XM Public Radio (ch 133) on Thursday, October 25, at 8:00 am ET.

Wilson also appeared this afternoon on the XM show “1600” hosted by Rebecca Roberts on POTUS ’08 (ch 130).

Wilson’s autobiography Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House, was published on Tuesday.

Encore airings of Bob Edwards' interview with Wilson will air Thursday at 9am, 10am, and 8pm, plus Friday at 7am (all times ET).

It's almost not worth posting about retail sales anymore. It's just badnews over and over again. NPD Group's September 2007 data shows satellite radio retail sales fell 30% when compared year-over-year.

The sad part is that last year was actually an easy comparison. In September 2006, year-over-year retail sales were down 16% from 2005. So that just throws salt on the wound for an additional 30% decline last month.

The Quick Glance:

• Sirius September 2007 Retail Sales:
  Down 25% YoY
• XM September 2007 Retail Sales:
  Down 38% YoY

Marketshare:

• Sirius September '07 Retail Marketshare: 65%
• XM September '07 Retail Marketshare: 35%

It's the same story again: Sirius pummels XM in terms of retail sales. Only this time, Sirius really pummeled, as XM has reached its lowest point in retail marketshare for the entire year. But there shouldn't champaign popping over in the McGraw Hill building, because being the big fish in a shrinking pond this isn't cause for celebration.

Something really needs to be done to reinvigorate retail. I know, I know, OEM is the future, but that doesn't mean that retail needs to be ignored.

After seeing continued landslide in July's NPD data, I mentioned that three obstacles lie in the way of retail sales growth: Installation, Perceived Complexity, and Value Proposition. These obstacles still exist, and there needs to be a concerted effort to bring satellite radio retail sales out of its doldrums. Because to just sit and watch this decline continue is simply ridiculous.

Five organizations representing rural Americans from across the country voiced their support for the merger of Sirius and XM in a joint letter sent to FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein.

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/LAF and League of Rural Voters (who had previously filed comments with the FCC in support of the merger) were joined by three new groups: National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association, Intertribal Agriculture Council and Oklahoma Black Historical Research Society Project, Inc.

In their letter to Commissioner Adelstein, who himself is a South Dakota native, the groups list a number of consumer benefits for rural America that would result from a merger of the two companies:

"This merger is clearly in the best interest of rural consumers because it would allow a combined company to expand upon its existing services with increased efficiencies, and at the same time provide rural listeners with more diverse programming and lower pricing."

"A merger of Sirius and XM will make satellite radio a more viable option for rural consumers... even in the most remote areas," they added.

It's interesting to see Adelstein being the focus in this letter, being the only other Democrat on the FCC next to Copps. Commissioner Copps has expressed his doubts about the Sirius-XM merger, as well as about media consolidation in general. Adelstein historically has joined Copps in his opposition to media consolidation as well, a point he made very clear in his statements (PDF) regarding the FCC's 2003 review of Broadcast Ownership Rules.

However the rural groups don't ignore this point, concluding their letter with:

"Furthermore, the rapidly increasing homogenization of programming on terrestrial radio is leaving rural listeners at a disadvantage. Terrestrial radio broadcasters once provided rural listeners with a variety of local programming options that were tailored to individual communities. A merger of SIRIUS and XM will make satellite radio a more viable option for rural consumers by drastically increasing programming options, even in the most remote areas."

Read the full letter here (PDF).

The Arbitron ratings have really caused a stir, which is not surprising since this is the first time we've seen any public ratings of any kind for Sirius and XM.

And of course, usual suspects are jumping all over it. This from Inside Radio:

Howard Stern then: 20 million listeners. Today: 1,225,100.
That's Stern's weekly cume according to Arbitron's first-ever report detailing listening to XM and Sirius. It shows his $500 million contract with Sirius buys the company an average 96,700 listeners in any given quarter hour. While his audience is just a fraction of what it once was, his "Howard 100" channel is satellite radio's top-rated, delivering more listeners than any other channel.

Now I'm not going to say it's "unfair" to compare satellite radio ratings with terrestrial ratings, but I am going to say that the comparison is useless. It's not about listeners, it's about subscribers.

That's part of the benefit of satellite radio. Not being dependent on ratings and constantly trying to boost your cume/AQH/TSL gives broadcasters artistic freedom and allows them to drop the gimmicks. That's part of the reason why the best broadcasters from terrestrial have made the jump to satellite.

And that's part of reason why we all subscribe, because the B.S. of regular radio - which is ultimately meant to drive ratings - is not prevalent on satellite radio.

Now that we have the Arbitron ratings for Sirius and XM, I wanted to put together some channel comparisons so we can see how the audiences for either service differs in behavior.

So here's the Top 10 channels, based on total cume, for Arbitron's Spring 2007 book

For XM Satellite Radio:

1. Top 20 On 20
2. Flight 26
3. The 70s On 7
4. The 80s On 8
5. The 60s On 6
6. Top Tracks
7. Highway 16
8. The Blend
9. The Heart
10. Fox News

For Sirius Satellite Radio:

1. Howard Stern 100
2. Sirius Hits 1
3. Howard Stern 101
4. New Country
5. The Pulse
6. Octane
7. Hair Nation
8. Classic Vinyl
9. Blue Collar Comedy
10. Sirius Gold

Now when we combine the two...

Here's the Top 10 channels on satellite radio:

1. Howard Stern 100 - Cume: 1,225,100
2. Top 20 On 20 - Cume: 1,055,300
3. Flight 26 - Cume: 713,700
4. The 70s On 7 - Cume: 654,100
5. Sirius Hits 1 - Cume: 653,200
6. The 80s On 8 - Cume: 648,900
7. The 60s On 6 - Cume: 619,600
8. Top Tracks - Cume: 607,600
9. Highway 16 - Cume: 554,100
10. The Blend - Cume: 548,000

California wildfires are forcing over 500,000 residents to evacuate their homes, and XM Satellite Radio is doing its part by broadcasting news updates and public safety information on Emergency Alert (ch 247) for free.

So far, over 400 square miles in 7 California counties had been consumed by fire. The wildfires' flames were fueled by high desert winds and hot temperatures that remained largely impervious to air attacks, garden hoses, fire retardant or prayers.

XM's Emergency Alert channel is broadcasting the latest information about the wildfires from Southern California, including live reports from news radio stations KOGO-AM San Diego and KFI-AM Los Angeles, information from the Red Cross and AP Radio, and eyewitness accounts from people across the region.

At the time of posting this, the fires have destroyed well over 1,000 homes and commercial structures, and authorities are reporting that 68,500 homes remain threatened. At least 500,000 people were estimated to have evacuated and thousands more had been ordered to move, making the evacuation effort about half the size of that from the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina.

XM is also providing its 24-hour traffic and weather channels for Los Angeles (ch 222) and San Diego (ch 223) for free to all XM radios, and will continue to do so until the wildfires are contained. These two channels offer round-the-clock information about traffic, evacuation routes, and weather conditions for each metropolitan area.

Arbitron has released the Spring 2007 ratings for both XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio.

The report breaks out each service's channel by channel data of both cume (short for "cumulative audience" - essentially the unduplicated persons or households listening during a specific period) and AQH (Average Quarter Hour - the average number of persons listening to a station for at least five minutes during a 15-minute period).

XM led significantly with a cume of 10.33 million listeners versus the 6.6 million listeners at Sirius.

But Howard Stern owned the top spot as the most-listened to satellite radio channel with over five times as many listeners as Opie & Anthony:

• Sirius' Howard 100 (ch 100) had a cume of 1.22 million listeners and an AQH of 96,700
• XM's The Virus (ch 202) had a cume of 216,800 listeners and an AQH of 20,800

While Howard 100 was the #1 most listened to satellite radio channel, XM's Top 20 on 20 (ch 20) ranked as #2, with 1.05 million cume listeners and an AQH of 21,800 listeners.

XM's listening is more evenly distributed, while Sirius is more Howard Stern-biased (Howard 101 even had a cume of 502,000 and AQH of 30,700).

Check out the full Arbitron ratings report here (PDF).

[via Radio-Info]

The NAB has been curiously quiet as of late. First they take down the XM-Sirius banner, then a pro-merger piece in Roll Call goes unchallenged... an interesting change in direction considering the vehement opposition we've seen throughout the year (or the past 17 years depending on how you look at it).

Last week, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin expressed his desire to relax media consolidation rules, something that the NAB would very much want. Martin even wants to expedite the agency's review, hoping to conclude the proceeding in November and schedule a vote on December 18th.

Then yesterday, the NAB filed comments with the FCC over a series of research studies regarding media ownership for the Commission's pending quadrennial broadcast ownership review. Unsurprisingly, they urged the FCC to reform media ownership rules, stating that doing so would serve the public interest in light of competition.

"This continuing proliferation of outlets and rapid pace of technological change in the media marketplace further underscores the need for Commission action to update its ownership rules," the NAB wrote in the filing. "Only competitively viable broadcast stations sustained by adequate advertising revenues can serve the public interest effectively and provide a significant local presence." (emphasis added)

The argument that the NAB is using here is nearly identical to the argument that justifies the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc with XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. If in fact the fragmentation of media, and the increasing technological choices that enable further fragmentation, were a reason for relaxed media consolidation rules - then the same rules would apply for a merger of Sirius and XM. And vice versa.

But time is running out... and fast.

Martin wants to fast-track the media consolidation decision, a point that has brought on the ire of big names like Barack Obama not to mention the bi-partisan opposition of Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Trent Lott (R-MS).

The NAB doesn't need any further opposition, nor do they need the sword of "hypocrite" hanging over their heads during this important juncture. Time is running out, and battles must be chosen. If David Rehr has to pick one to lose, it might as well be to cede to the Sirius-XM merger in order to gain in relaxed media consolidation rules (which do you think its members want more?). A satellite radio merger, in the grand scheme of things, really has little effect on terrestrial radio considering that only 4.1% of total listenership is attributed to Sirius or XM. While relaxed media consolidation rules changes everything for the NAB's members.

As suggested in the Orbitcast Forums, a brilliant move would be if Sirius and XM both filed comments with the FCC in support of the NAB's comments. It would further solidify their arguments to merge, not to mention be a wonderful twist of the dagger in Rehr's side. As the old adage says, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

And this is afterall, politics.

Tony Hawk, superstar-skater and host of his own show on Sirius, will preview his favorite tunes off of the soundtrack of his new game Proving Ground on "Tony Hawk’s Demolition Radio."

Among the songs on the soundtrack - which includes tracks ranging from "Sympathy of the Devil" by the Rolling Stones; to "Children's Story" by Slick Rick - is a previously unreleased song by Sayvinyl featuring fellow skater Jesse Fritsch.

Tune in today, October 23rd at 7pm ET to hear Tony Hawk on Sirius Faction (cd 28). If you miss it, you can catch the encore broadcast on October 24th at 12am ET.

Sirius was named the fastest growing technology company in North America, topping the 2007 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 ranking of the fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications and life sciences companies in North America.

The award is based on percentage revenue growth over five years (fiscal years 2002-2006) during which time Sirius reported a revenue growth rate of an incredible 79,060 percent.

The top five Fast 500 winners include:

1. Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. - 79,060% growth
2. SkyBitz Inc. - 40,314% growth
3. iTech US Inc. - 39,392% growth
4. First Solar Inc. - 27,446% growth
5. ISTS Worldwide Inc. - 19,254% growth

Ford Motor Co. has started installing its Ford SYNC in-car entertainment system into vehicles late last month and, by a recent count, there are now over 10,000 SYNC-equipped vehicles in Ford's dealer system and more than 1,000 in customer hands.

In an informal canvassing of early buyers, Ford has said they are "hearing good news," with the system meeting high expectations.

Ford has also kicked off a significant marketing push, rolling out SYNC advertising in an online, print and television effort. See below for a video of one of their latest ads:

When I asked about the company's estimated penetration rate, a Ford representative said that they expect to build half of all Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles with SYNC.

"This will be a significant feature for us," he added.

XM Satellite Radio will be airing four different broadcasts of each and every World Series game, starting with Game 1 this Wednesday, October 24th, at 8pm ET (5pm PT).

XM will dedicate an entire channel to each broadcast of the home team, visiting team, national radio, and the Spanish-language feed.

When the Boston Red Sox host the Colorado Rockies, the Red Sox broadcast will air nationwide on XM channel 176 while the Rockies broadcast airs on XM channel 183. The national radio feed can be heard on XM channel 189, and the Spanish feed will air on XM channel 174.

In addition to the live game coverage, tune into news and analysis on the 24-hour baseball talk radio channel MLB Home Plate (ch 175). MLB Home Plate will provide pre-game and post-game coverage from the stadium with a full roster of XM talent - Mark Patrick, Charley Steiner, Ronnie Lane, Joe Castellano and Holden Kushner - plus those who played the game: Buck Martinez, Rob Dibble, Kevin Kennedy, Bill Ripken and Mark Sweeney.

For a full schedule of all the World Series broadcasts on XM, check out xmradio.com/mlb.

AT&T is making Napster’s entire music library of over five million songs available for wireless over-the-air download starting early next month.

This represents an important shift in AT&T's stance on over-the-air mobile music downloads versus sideloading music (such as using the iPhone). Speaking of the iPhone, Napster will not work with Apple's uber-phone which is tied to iTunes.

Songs will still be ridiculously expensive - costing $1.99 each - or $7.49 for five songs per month. Unfortunately, until mobile carriers begin to competitively price individual tracks with other digital music providers (i.e., $0.99/song), sideloading will continue to dominate mobile audio. There just isn't a significant enough value proposition to spend twice as much to buy songs over-the-air (note, I'm talking about downloading and not streaming).

When you download a song directly to your phone, you'll automatically get an e-mail message which lets you put a second copy on your computer. Customers who already have songs through Napster will be able to transfer them to their phones as well.

AT&T plans to roll out several new phones next month that will include the Napster service.
The company also will focus more on exclusivity, making more music available only from AT&T through direct deals with artists.

Napster recently introduced a web-based service replacing the separate client download. Napster songs are still - unfortunately - laden with DRM restrictions. AT&T earlier this year partnered with eMusic, which caters more to the indie scene and offers its songs free of any DRM. And in fact the industry in general is moving more towards DRM-free waters. While the additional access to AT&T customers is always a benefit, Napster needs to competitively price their per-song downloads, and drop the DRM, if they want to stay ahead of the curve. Unfortunately, Napster has been playing a game of "me-too" rather than innovating in the space.

For now, it's just another option in an increasingly competitive digital download market.

[New York Times via Switched]

Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA) wrote a detailed op-ed piece that was published in Roll Call this morning.

Roll Call, which is published Monday to Thursday while Congress is in session, provides readers with news of the legislative and political maneuvers that occur on Capitol Hill.

In his piece, Rep. Boucher voices his support for the Sirius-XM merger, and points to his reasons as to why the merger would be in the public interest and why the relevant market should be considered in the broader sense.

"In the radio marketplace of both satellite and terrestrially delivered radio services, XM and Sirius occupy less than a 4 percent share of listeners. The balance is held by AM and FM stations. In the broader audio entertainment market of radio and Internet-based news and entertainment, XM and Sirius have an even smaller share. When one concludes that the broader market is the proper measure, it is clear that the merger would not hinder competition."

Now the real interesting part isn't just that Rep. Boucher is lending his support behind the merger. It's not even his arguments that are the point of interest here.

It's the lack of an opposing argument in this issue of Roll Call.

This op-ed piece was featured in the "Communications and Intellectual Property Policy Briefing" section of today's issue. Five subjects were covered in a similar format, and each had a point/counter-point argument.

Only the section on satellite radio ran without a counterpoint.

Apparently Roll Call couldn't get a counterpoint for this piece? Given the NAB's supposed influence on the Hill, this is very surprising.

Read Rep. Boucher's Op-Ed piece here (PDF).

Bob Dylan will appear in a 30-second TV spot for the 2008 Cadillac Escalade that integrates his XM show, "Theme Time Radio Hour," into the multi-platform marketing campaign.

The Cadillac commercial, seen below, features Dylan himself driving a black 2008 Escalade across California's Antelope Valley. He says one line in the entire commercial:

"What's life without the occasional detour?"

Coinciding with the marketing campaign's launch, which kicks off today, Dylan's "Theme Time Radio Hour" will include a "Cadillac"-themed episode, premiering October 24th on XM Satellite Radio.

The campaign highlights XM as a standard feature in the Escalade through TV, online and print outlets. An online video vignette as well as a 30-minute sample preview of the "Cadillac" episode of Dylan's XM show are available today at xmradio.com/dylan-cadillac, and starting October 24 at mycadillacstory.com and cadillac.com.

Print and online advertising will begin running in November.

I'd highly recommend checking out the Video Vignette, it's great to listen/watch. Favorite line: "You know what's even better than a great road tune? Not having some DJ talkin all over it... unless, of course, that DJ is me."

UPDATE: Watch the 2 minute version below:

I just received a report that the NAB has taken down the banner opposing the Sirius-XM merger from their Washington D.C. building.

Interesting...

Starting on Monday, October 29th at 9pm ET and running until Thursday, November 1st at 6am ET, XM Live will be anything but living as it will undergo the transformation into Igor (ch 120).

The non-stop Halloween frightfest guarantees the greatest ghoulish grooves, grafted with spooky spoken word stories and sewed together by frightful audio of ghastly proportions.

Check out Igor's page for a listing of what you might hear... if you survive.

Sprint has launched its own network of original programming, and is the only U.S. wireless carrier to product its own exclusive content.

We know the mantra "content is king" but need to remember that creating content is not an exclusionary practice. Here we have a situation where a wireless provider, the 3rd largest in the U.S., is now a content creator. It's merging distribution, with programming.

Welcome to Sprint Exclusive Entertainment (SEE). SEE features brief on-demand programs that average around 2-minutes in length and focus on three major areas – sports, music and entertainment news.

SEE is provided at no extra charge to customers with any Power Vision data plan. Now I need to mention that since it's targeted towards Power Vision subscribers, the content is video. But that doesn't detract from the point that the lines of "programming" and "distribution" are blurring.

Sprint's programs are shot at various on-site locations and at a brand-new studio managed by Sprint's production partner Intersport. The studio is equipped with state-of-art technology including satellites, fiber, lighting grids, multiple flat-screen LCDs, several editing suites, top-of-the-line studio cameras and high-powered graphics computers. Sprint said they'll continue to build their content offerings in the months ahead.

SEE is creating over 150 programs each week, each hosted by personalities ranging from the semi-famous to the well-known.

Sports
Providing analysis throughout the day before and after sporting events, hosts include:

• Marshall Faulk (former NFL MVP running back, current NFL Network analyst)
• Drew Rosenhaus (popular sports agent)
• Trev Alberts (former ESPN Game Day anchor, College Football All-American)
• Tom Waddle (former NFL wide receiver, ESPN Radio host, NFL Network talent)
• Joe Girardi (three-time World Series Champion, FOX and YES Network broadcaster)
• Jenn Sterger (former SI.com commentator)
• Hub Arkush (ProFootballWeekly.com managing editor)
• Dave Revsine (former ESPN Sports Center anchor, Big Ten Network broadcaster)
• Dorsey Levens (Super Bowl Champion)

In addition to general sports commentary, specific SEE sports programs focus on NASCAR, golf, fantasy sports and football, including the NFL Center program with highlights from every NFL game throughout the season. Sprint will also provide full coverage from an on-site studio at events such as Super Bowl XLII and the men's college basketball tournament.

Music
Hosted by former VH1 VJ Rachel Perry, Sprint is offering an expanding variety of music content from several genres, including:

• music news about artists, album releases and upcoming tours
• a weekly "Top 10 Videos" segment
• exclusive artist interviews
• exclusive concerts

As news breaks, SEE music programs are released throughout the day. SEE delivers exclusive content from big names in the music biz like Hurricane Chris, Juanes, Rihanna, Soulja Boy, Sum 41, T.I. and T-Pain.

Entertainment News
SEE is also the exclusive mobile provider of CelebTV.com, which delivers the latest celebrity and entertainment news from host Kelli Zink, who is also a frequent commentator on shows from FOX, CNN, MSNBC and others. CelebTV.com provides 10-12 updates everyday.

XM and Sirius are unique companies in that they blend both technology and programming. They provide both content as well as the enabler of the content - distribution - into a simple neat package in your dashboard. But when you have wireless companies with a massive subscriber base to market to (Sprint has around 55 million subscribers) who is now in the content-creation business, bells should start ringing in both satcasters' offices.

[Sprint SEE]

The Sirius Stiletto 2 product page has landed on Sirius' website. Sadly, there's no "BUY NOW" button yet, which means that it's not available... just yet. But the product page is an indication that she'll be coming any day now.

Unofficially I've heard the ship date is sometime "in October" but that shouldn't be considered set in stone. The goal is to have it available and well stocked "definitely" by Black Friday. UPDATE: Ah, well, apparently thanks to several commenters the Stiletto 2 is already available at select big box retailers.

[Sirius]
Thanks mberk!

The Women's Conference 2007, hosted by California First Lady Maria Shriver and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, will be getting an entire channel on Sirius aptly named: Sirius' Women's Conference (ch 119).

Taking place on Tuesday, October 23rd at the Long Beach Convention Center, the Women's Conference 2007 will air its two-day special broadcast event all day Thursday, October 25th and Friday, October 26th.

After that, Sirius will kick off its Halloween channel in the same channel slot.

The Women's Conference Channel will provide audio of the conference to listeners nationwide, including key speeches and panels in their entirety, as well as interviews with speakers and attendees, plus introductions and perspectives from Shriver.

In addition to Shriver and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, this year's speakers come include Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Laila Ali, Joan Baez, Willow Bay, Tony Blair, Jamie Lee Curtis, Elizabeth Edwards, Linda Ellerbee, Nora Ephron, Thomas Friedman, Diane Von Furstenberg, Susan Saint James, Cindy Hensley McCain, Dee Dee Myers, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Deborah Norville, Michelle Obama, Raven-Symone, Deborah Roberts, Ann Romney, Christine Todd Whitman, Vanessa Williams and others.

This year's conference will also feature a "dynamic conversation" between the 2008 presidential candidates' spouses featuring Elizabeth Edwards, Cindy Hensley McCain, Michelle Obama, Ann Romney and Jeri Thompson, moderated by Shriver.

Last year, Sirius covered the 2006 California Governor and First’s Lady’s Conference on Women, which is quite the mouthful. As far as I can tell, it looks like it was renamed to the Women's Conference 2007, thankfully.

Sirius Satellite Radio will be devoting an entire channel to blood-curdling Halloween sound effects, as well as broadcasting other creative programming dedicated to the All Hallows' Eve.

Sirius' Scream (ch 119) will be an uninterrupted channel dedicated to all things spooky, eerie and darn-tootin' creepy.

From October 27th to October 31st, Scream 119 will feature favorite Halloween stories from Sirius personalities such as Martha Stewart, Dee Snider, Jay Thomas, Mary O and Cousin Brucie, as well as Halloween-themed interviews, features and more.

Then on October 31st, Scream takes on a transformation.

For 24 hours on October 31st, Sirius Scream will broadcast chilling Halloween sound effects, perfect for Halloween parties at work or at home, to listen to in the car driving around the neighborhood trick-or-treating and to play in the house and front yard as trick-or-treaters come over.

Kid-friendly spooky noises include creaking doors, wolves baying, footsteps, bubbling potions, a fog horn, breaking glass, the sounds of being chased through the woods, eerie screams, the echo of dripping water, a heart beat, a slow walk and thunder (get the idea?).

Other fun Halloween programming spanning multiple channels and days includes: Martha Stewart Living Radio’s tips for everything from delicious orange and black meals to having the most innovative costumes and parties on the block; Sirius’ psychic host Mary O takes scary calls and sheds light on why things go bump in the night; and RadioClassics will broadcast the original War of the Worlds during its original 1938 date and timeslot, as well as other classic radio dramas starring such Hollywood horror legends as Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre.

Check out Sirius' full lineup of Halloween-themed programming for more info.

I just got back from the Starbucks I frequent here in New York City, and for the first time was given a free song as part of their massive iTunes giveaway.

Over the course of the past several months I've been watching this Starbucks and observing how their signage has been changing. First tip off to check for something was when Hear Music and XM Cafe "merged" (for lack of a better term)... I was curious to see what would change in-store. And indeed, the Starbucks XM Cafe logo began to pop up on some of the point of sale displays, but there definitely wasn't a major XM presence at all.

But when Apple and Starbucks announced their partnership, and the ability to buy songs you hear at Starbucks via WiFi, the signage changed instantly.

Now consumers see "Hear It. Love It. Download It." plastered everywhere. A slogan that sounds oddly similar to XM's slogan used for the Inno. iTunes is mentioned everywhere - not to mention on everyone's laptops in the store - and you know for sure that Apple and Starbucks are going full steam ahead.

XM, sadly, is no where to be seen. At least from what I could find. There's little chance of hoping on and riding the brand-recognition wave of being associated with Starbucks (and, let's admit it, a tertiary association with Apple).

Now, I'm not living in some satrad-fanboy delusion of grandeur here. Of course I understand that the iPod is far more ubiquitous than XM. The iPhone/iPod Touch sells to affluents. The same type of affluents that are willing to drop $4 on a Orange Mocha Frappuccino with Splenda and soy milk. And as such, Starbucks wants to relate deeper with this crowd of affluents, and increase the return rate (which is sick by the way: Starbucks pulls in 50 million customers a week, with the most loyal returning 18 times per month).

But I can't help but to think that there's a missed opportunity somewhere in there.

Sure, XM promoted Hear Music heavily within its own service - and even gave it a massive spotlight during XM's feature on The Apprentice (back when people actually watched that show) - but there was little being done to promote XM from Starbucks' side. At least from what I saw. Co-producing albums is one thing, but expanding the reach of XM just never seemed to be the focus of the deal.

The problem being that XM always wanted to be associated to Starbucks, but Starbucks didn't want to be associated with XM. Starbucks now wants to be associated with Apple. And they're not just associated, they're integrated.

I'm not sure if it's too late, but it sure is discouraging.

Matchbox 20 will be celebrating the release of "Exile On Mainstream" with a live performance at Sirius' NYC studios (aka "the 1221").

The album, released on October 2nd, is the band's fourth album and features their greatest hits with six additional new tracks. Matchbox 20 will perform songs from the album as well as chit-chat with Sirius host Kim Ashley.

Tune in to the performance on October 24th at 9am on The Pulse (ch 9). Encore broadcasts will air October 24th at 8pm ET, October 25th at 3am and 12pm ET, and October 26th at 11am ET.

Sirius Satellite Radio Cosmo Radio welcomed Cosmo's 50 Hottest Bachelors of 2007 to its New York City studios this morning for a live radio segment.

Grrr...

Tonight Cosmo Radio (ch 111) is broadcasting live from "Cosmo's 50 Bachelors of 2007" event from NYC hotspot Marquee where the 50 bachelors will gather at Cosmo's "Bachelor Party" for the final announcement of who will be this year's "Bachelor of the Year."

For this annual event and magazine feature, Cosmo has selected 50 single and sexy guys from around the country, and Cosmo readers voted for their favorites online. Then a panel of (lucky) Cosmo editors reviews the top six vote-getters and selected this year's "Bachelor of the Year" - and Cosmo Radio will be one of the first to talk to him.

Cosmo Radio's morning show host Taylor Strecker will be the event emcee. While Cosmo's Editor-in-Chief Kate White, Cosmo editors and some of the bachelors themselves will appear live on the air to dish on the party, the bachelors, and more.

Click the jump to see more photos taken today of the bachelors in action...

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has circulated a proposal to the other four commissioners that would relax long standing media-ownership regulations, including ease the limitation on the number of newspapers, TV and radio stations that companies are allowed to control in a particular market.

Martin wants to expedite the agency's review of media-ownership rules, hoping to conclude the long-running proceeding in November and a vote to be scheduled on December 18, FCC officials said today.

In the past, Martin has said he is in favor of scrapping a rule that prohibits one company from owning a television station and newspaper in the same market.

“We’ve had six hearings around the country already; we’ve done numerous studies; we’ve been collecting data for the last 18 months; and the issues have been pending for years,” Martin told the New York Times. “I think it is an appropriate time to begin a discussion to complete this rule-making and complete these media ownership issues.”

Martin's predecessor as FCC chairman, Michael Powell, previously attempted to radically loosen the limits on media ownership in 2003. And failed. It was halted by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals which ruled the FCC hadn't justified its attempt at reform sufficiently.

Martin may take a more drastic approach.

Blair Levin, a telecommunications analyst at Stifel Nicolaus told Bloomberg that Martin will likely be willing to reach a compromise with the two Democratic FCC panel members, who have expressed strong concerns over the issue of media ownership.

Commissioner Michael J. Copps, as we know, is adamantly opposed to loosening media consolidation rules. Jonathan S. Adelstein, the other Democrat on the FCC, has said that the agency first needs to address other media issues, including encouraging improved coverage of local events and greater ownership of stations by companies controlled by women and minorities.

Levin feels that some action on trying to facilitate greater access to the airwaves by minority groups and women could form part of Martin's compromise.

As advertising dollars shift from print newspapers to the Internet, the newspaper industry has undergone a wave of upheaval and consolidation (and, let's face it, a loss of jobs). Especially since online advertising dollars don't nearly produce the same amount of revenue as print ads did (and the level of accountability to deliver a return on investment is increased as well... always a challenge to ad sales folks). This has put new pressure on regulators to loosen ownership rules.

The same sort of logic can be applied to satellite radio and the "audio entertainment" market.

As our eyes and ears increasingly are faced with a widening array of alternatives (fragmentation), the old rules simply don't apply anymore. Technology companies are no longer simply technology companies. They're "media" now. Media companies are no longer confined to the old eco-system either, they need to find your ears and eyes through other distribution channels. Telecom companies look to capitalize on convergence as they provide audio/video services (and content) to mobile phones. Meanwhile the behemoth in the room is the Internet, poised to provide the ultimate distribution platform with little-to-no barrier to entry. And so on.

Distribution is increasing becoming less of a differentiator in the market. And that's at the basis of this debate.

The fact that Martin wants to get this through by mid-December, coincidentally around the time that the Sirius-XM 180-day window is expected to close, might very well say something about Martin's overall intentions.

[New York Times, Bloomberg]
Thanks Karl!

Think you're a pro when it comes to Sirius or XM? Are you obsessed with the pending merger? (or quite possibly, sick of it entirely?)

Well test your Sirius-XM merger prowess with this handy-dandy Merger Mania crossword puzzle (PDF). And check your answers against the key, available here in PDF form, or just view them after the jump...

My personal favorite (well, aside from #25) is #49. They must have had fun putting this together.

Thanks RoadRunner!

Howard Stern still tops the most popular talk radio personalities, based on Internet searches, for the 7th straight year. But coming in at number three, are Opie & Anthony, generating four times more search interest than this time last year.

...that is, according to Lycos.

And apparently some people still do use the aging search engine because, Lycos has just come out with the The Lycos 50 which is used to formulate the "The Lycos Top Talk Radio Hosts of 2007" (a list, that for the life of me, I simply cannot find... which might be a clue as to why Lycos isn't popular anymore? Anyway, I guess we can depend on the press release for this one).

What was I saying? Oh right. Stern's search activity increased 44% since making the move from terrestrial radio to Sirius in 2006, while Tom Joyner takes the number two spot on this year's list, more than doubling in search popularity over the past year.

But shock jocks Opie & Anthony, rank as #3 and are the biggest movers and shakers with web users in 2007, generating four times more search interest than this time last year.

See Lycos' full ranking of all talkers for 2007 after the jump...

Now, ignoring what Lycos is telling us in a fluffy PR, let's see what Google says about online popularity and rankings for talkers:

Here's the Top 4 from Lycos' list, according to Google Trends. Howard Stern remains as the leader, followed by Rush Limbaugh, Opie & Anthony, and then Tom Joyner.

But wait... wasn't there a big stink about a certain talker who scandalously mentioned the words "nappy headed hoes" on the air? Oh right, Imus. So let's add him to the chart:

According to Google Trends, Howard Stern remains in the number one slot, followed by Rush Limbaugh, then Imus (narrowly), Opie & Anthony and finally, Tom Joyner.

Oddly, according to the Lycos press release, "the controversy and subsequent firing of Don Imus failed to boost significant online interest for Imus in 2007, with his search numbers cut in half."

Funny, that's not what a real search engine is showing... ah well, long live fluffy PR.

General Motors has expanded its penetration of XM Satellite Radio as a standard factory-installed feature, across its 2008 model year vehicles.

Now all Buicks, Hummers and Saabs will have XM as a standard feature for the 2008 model year.

In addition, XM is also now widely standard on the all-new 2008 Chevrolet Malibu, Silverado, Tahoe, Cobalt, Corvette and Impala; Saturn Vue, Outlook, Aura and Sky; GMC Acadia, Yukon, and Sierra; and Pontiac G5 and Solstice models among others.

To date, GM has produced over 6 million vehicles with XM, and XM is available today on more than 50 model year 2008 GM vehicles.

Every new General Motors vehicle with factory-installed XM comes with a free 3-month trial subscription.

If you thought Citigroup putting the chances of the Sirius-XM merger at 69% was being optimistic, wait till you see what Tom Watts of Cowen & Company wrote in a recent note issued to clients.

Watts finds that there's a “70%-plus chance” that the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. wins government approval.

The Cowen & Company analyst says the Department of Justice decision should come “relatively soon,” with both companies in full compliance with the DoJ’s information requests. He says a ruling from the FCC should follow soon after. About a month ago, Watts said that approval of the deal could come as early as October.

Watts has Outperform ratings on both stocks, “even without M&A potential.” He thinks both companies can beat the market on free cash flow potential alone. Watts also feels that XM and Sirius set conservative subscriber growth estimates for 2007, “setting the stage for out-performance in the second half.”

[Barrons]

Engadget has uncovered, in some vigorous FCC digging, that a new MyFi has come across the desk at the Commission.

Unfortunately little is known about the device because XM has requested short-term confidentiality on such goodies like internal/external photos, manuals and technical info regarding the "coupling device." Other items like schematics and parts lists that may contain "trade secrets" are wrapped in the veil of long-term confidentially. Thankfully, the short-term confidentiality only lasts for 45-days, so we should know more about this badboy by December-ish.

Now, judging from the fact that its the same part number as the 1st gen MyFi (SA10113), I'm willing to guess that this is just an updated version. More than likely to have something to do with FM transmitters or something boring like that.

Then again, XM could be updating the beloved device with beefier internals (such as a more powerful Inno-like antenna) and preparing the MyFi as its low-end (read: affordable) handheld receiver. All the while prepping a badass uber-handheld complete with a sweet touchscreen interface for us to fawn over in the year ahead. Mr. Nate Davis did afterall drop some hints about a new portable coming next year. Oh the speculation!

[FCC Documents via Engadget]
Thanks TV Genius!

The first annual "Stewie Awards," honoring the best, boldest and funniest moments of the 2007 NASCAR season will be awarded during a special live broadcast of Tony Stewart Live on Sirius NASCAR Radio (ch 128).

Tony Stewart, who the "Stewies" obviously borrows its namesake from, will present the awards during his weekly talk show at Sirius' New York City studios on Thursday, November 29th (6pm - 8pm ET) during 2007 NASCAR Champions Week.

Stewart and co-host Matt Yocum will announce the nominees in the 12 award categories on a future edition of Tony Stewart Live. Following the announcement of the nominees, fans can decide the winners by casting their votes online.

The 12 "Stewie Award" categories include:

• Golden Stewie Award - Chosen by Stewart and Yocum and honoring a legendary driver from the Golden Era of racing (1960-85)
• Best Duet - Honoring outstanding teamwork by a driver and crew chief
• Best Original Drama - Honoring the year's most exciting race moment
• New Kid on the Track Award - Honoring the year's most outstanding performance by a rookie
• Best Stunt Sequence (Hal Needham Award) - Acknowledging the year's most spectacular crash
• Best Original Comedy - Honoring the year's most entertaining on track "incident" or occurrence
• Best Vocal Performance - Honoring the year's most memorable quote or sound bite
• Best Engineering and Special Effects (aka the "Smokey Yunick Award") - Acknowledging the year's most creative - and ultimately illegal - modifications to a race car
• Bonehead Move of the Year Award
• 'I Got Dumped' Award - Acknowledging the year's most memorable on-track bumping
• Best Driver2Crew Chatter Exchange - Acknowledging the year's most memorable driver-to-pit crew communication
• Stewie Special Achievement Award

Tony Stewart signed with Sirius back in May 2006.

Right on cue, Sirius Satellite Radio has scheduled its third quarter 2007 earnings call for Tuesday, October 30th at 8am ET.

You can listen to a live webcast of the call online, or by tuning to Sirius channel 126.

Bob Weir, legendary guitarist for the Grateful Dead, is celebrating his 60th birthday today and Sirius is dedicating an entire day of programming on the Grateful Dead Channel in honor of this celebration, including a new one-hour radio special hosted by Bob himself.

The channel’s special tribute to "Bobby" will also include performances from the Dead and RatDog recorded on Bob’s Birthday over the years.

Other features will include an interview conducted by Grateful Dead expert David Gans (at 6pm ET today) plus music from Bob Weir’s solo albums and his many side projects including RatDog, Kingfish, and Bobby & The Midnights.

A new episode of Bob Weir’s radio show on the Grateful Dead Channel (ch 32) will air today at 5pm ET. The show premiered in September with the channel’s launch.

Weir celebrates his birthday alongside other luminaries including Angela Lansbury, Tim Robbins, Suzanne Somers, and of course your's truly. Even "let them eat cake" Marie Antoinette lays claim to this day in history, though in far less celebratory fashion, as it was the day she met her fate with the guillotine.

XM Satellite Radio's third quarter 2007 earnings call to discuss their financial results has been scheduled for next Thursday, October 25th, at 10am ET.

Here's the dial-in info:

Call-in number: (877) 265-5808
Local call-in number: (706) 679-7931
Conference ID#: 20811705

You can also listen in to a live webcast of the conference call online.

Historically, Sirius announces their earnings call date/timing after XM does, so we can fully expect one to come across the wires shortly.

Would the proposed Sirius-XM pricing packages reduce the average revenue per subscriber? Some industry observers, myself included, have mulled over this question. But Bob Peck, analyst at Bear Stearns, details an entirely different scenario in a client note issued this morning.

"While many investors think a la carte would obliterate the ARPU of the combined entity (due to the $6.99 option), applying a normal distribution curve to the potential pricing options actually shows minimal impact," wrote Peck.

Further, while Peck believes ARPU would be largely unaffected, he finds that gross subscriber additions should increase, while churn should decrease thanks to the added choice and lower available pricing structure.

In addition, Peck estimates that merger-specific synergies could be valued at roughly $5 billion. Bear Stearns' analysis suggests that a combined Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. "could generate an incremental ~$850 million in pre-tax synergies by 2013." This would result in a tax-adjusted net present value of synergies at ~$5 billion. Yes, that's a revised estimate, down from $6.7B, made prior to the merger being announced.

Long-term net subscriber growth even gets a bump in Bear Stearns' model.

On a combined basis, the firm expects a total of about 33 million net subscribers by 2013, or about 10% more than current estimates. The model includes a 10% reduction in churn, and an increase in gross subscribers by 16% at retail and 7% in OEM (phased in to allow for OEM ramp up time).

"We think upon deal approval and new pricing implementation, that the DARS business model in fact improves," added the Bear Stearns analyst.

Indeed.

Integrating directly with your sat-ready car stereo meant the need for both a tuner-box and a smart adapter/cable. If you upgraded your car stereo, chances are you needed to get a new adapter.

That is, until now.

Introducing the XM Direct 2. Shipping now and available for an MSRP price of $129.99, the XM Direct 2 is a fully upgradeable (“flashable”) solution. In other words, it'll never become obsolete.

The XM Direct 2 supports more than 100 car stereos just by flashing the software via the USB port. Simply download and update to the latest software. And as the latest head unit technology continuously evolves and new manufacturers add XM capability to their radios, you'll be good to go.

Now most people generally aren't up to flashing, wiring and installing tuners, which is why professional install is recommended. But the reality nowadays is that many people are opting for professional installs anyway. For folks who want to have a clean XM installation with the most flexibility, this is truly the way to go.

The XM Direct 2 also has an expansion port, allowing you to connect other devices like CD Changers or iPod adapters right into it.

Oh and one more thing, it's not a static built-in tuner anymore either. The XM Direct 2 rocks out now with the XM Mini-Tuner cartridge (about the size of a 9-volt battery). Pop it out, and your XM subscription can go with you from your car to your pocket instantly.

For most people car stereos should be heard, not seen. If you want a clean install, with absolute flexibility and portability, your wait is over.

Gary Parsons, Chairman of XM Satellite Radio, last week took the time to talk with Orbitcast to discuss the pending merger with Sirius, and the state of satellite radio today. If regulators approve the deal, Parsons is slated to become the Chairman of the combined XM-Sirius, not to mention boss of Sirius' current CEO, Mel Karmazin (whom I interviewed in August).

So without any further palaver, onto the interview...

Given the passionate opposition of the merger by the NAB, do you fear that the political influence of the organization will somehow prevent the merger from going through? They do have significant clout up in Capitol Hill.

First, let's first go with your characterization of "passionate opposition." There is a lot of "huffing and puffing, blow your house down" running around that's going on. I actually have to tell you that their opposition is actually helping our case more than it is hurting it. I think particularly so when more of their deceptive practices have emerged. Such as misrepresenting the views of Congressmen or companies like Toyota, and funding shell organizations so that it appears they have raw support. Those elements I think certainly damage the credibility and strength that they have built up over the years.

While certainly they are a formidable lobby in Congress, the analysis of this effort right now is going on at the FCC and the DOJ.

And one of the most compelling prima facie evidences of being positive for competition and positive for the consumer, is the apoplectic response of the dominant provider. That is exactly what anti-trust specialists look for, and that is being played out in grand fashion.

...and here is just one of the many examples why.

Below is a video featuring a hands-on look at the upcoming Sirius Stiletto 2. As always, if you're viewing via Email or RSS Reader, you may need to click-through to view the video...

Yes, this was taken when I visited Sirius headquarters and featured some hands-on photos of the Stiletto 2. I just got around to editing the video now. Sorry for the uber-delay.

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox was at the XM Satellite Radio studios yesterday afternoon taping an interview with Bob Edwards promoting his new book, "Revolution of Hope."

During the interview, Fox said the 700-mile wall that Congress authorized to be built between the two countries "is not up to the democratic standards of this great nation. It's not up to the ideals of the Founding Fathers." He encouraged the US government to use the billions of dollars that would go into the wall, which in his opinion would end up being built by Mexicans, and put it into programs that would invest in Mexico and its people.

The Fox interview is scheduled to run on "The Bob Edwards Show" next Tuesday, October 16th (which just happens to be my birthday) from 8-9am ET on XM Public Radio (ch 133).

In "Revolution of Hope," President Fox outlines a new vision of hope for the future of the Americas. He speaks out forcefully on hot global topics like immigration, the war in Iraq, racism, globalization, the role of the United Nations, free trade, religion, gender equity, indigenous rights and the moral imperative to heal the global divide between rich and poor nations.

More photos from his appearance after the jump...

Charlie Rose, acclaimed interviewer and broadcast journalist, spent an hour with Sirius Satellite Radio Inc CEO Mel Karmazin. It's a fascinating interview and well worth the watch when you have a little time.

Check out the video below (Email/RSS readers may need to click-through to view):

While much of the media focus revolves around super phones like the iPhone or the Voyager, the reality remains that most consumers just want cheap (or free) phones and cheap service. So Motorola has come out with a fresh crop of decidedly low-end phones to appease the critical masses.

Enter Motorola's new "W series" phones.
And the W160, W180, W213 and W377 (pictured above) all feature integrated FM radios.

Motorola said the phones, which would sell at an affordable price point, are meant for people who just want to talk and send text messages on easy-to-use phones or who are looking to upgrade their basic cell phones.

For many future W series owners, this will be the first - and only - handheld FM radio they own. Sure, some people might have a handheld FM radio to listen to the game - but most people don't see the value at carrying around a radio with them. Radios aren't something you buy, they just happen to be there. But with an integrated radio in a common everyday phone, now it's just automatically in their pocket.

Satellite Radio needs to get into cell phones just as much as they need to get into vehicles. I'm not talking about piggy-backing on the carrier's networks, but integrating the chipset into phones so people can experience the full service. Integration is the key. The problem with satellite radio - and it's a big one - is the lack of reception indoors. In order to be integrated into people's lives, and into their pockets, you need to be available to them everywhere.

[Motorola]

Cesar Millan, also known as the "Dog Whisperer," will be joining Deepak Chopra live on his Sirius Satellite Radio show tomorrow.

The world renowned dog behavior specialist will discuss his new book, Be The Pack Leader, as well as share his principles of dog psychology focusing on improving both the dog and the owner’s life. Millan is best known for his television series, "Dog Whisperer," which just started its fourth season on the National Geographic Channel.

Deepak Chopra's "Wellness Radio" airs on Sirius Stars (ch 102) on Saturdays from 10am-1pm ET. The Millan interview will air tomorrow, at 10am ET.

In a follow up to the note issued earlier this week, Citigroup analyst Eileen Furukawa suggests in a report issued this morning that there is a 69% chance that the XM-Sirius merger gets approved by either the FCC and/or the DOJ by December 5th.

Furukawa estimates the current Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. stock price reflects a 41% chance of approval, "which is too bearish" while the XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. price reflects an even lower 29% chance of approval.

"Based on our view of a 69% probability that the deal is approved around December 5, and the associated stock moves based on the ruling, we conclude that XMSR calls are cheap, " write the Citigroup analyst.

While the analyst maintains a "Buy" position on both SIRI and XMSR, Furukawa feels that buying XMSR January '08 calls can be an attractive alternative strategy for investors looking to gain exposure to the XMSR/SIRI M&A event.

If the deal is rejected, Furukawa anticipates that XMSR will trade down 26% while SIRI will trade down 25% from the intraday price used.

"However, if the deal is accepted, to which we attribute a 69% probability, then we sense that both stocks will move higher in response," adding that the the speed of the move depends on how much investors believe the speed and magnitude of synergies can be achieved.

Dedicated to all those songs throughout the years that have "it," XM is bringing back "IT: The History of Pop."

An explosive five-week chronological journey through eight decades of the greatest pop hits of all time, "IT: History of Pop" starts off on Thursday, October 18th, at noon ET, The '40s (ch 4).

"IT" covers every song that hit the top 40 in every decade, beginning with the '30s all the way until Y2K, which airs on XM Hit List (ch 30) during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Broadcast Schedule:

• The '30s & The '40s on 4 (ch 4) | Thursday 10/18 | Noon ET
• The '50s on 5 (ch 5) | Monday 10/22 | Noon ET
• The '60s on 6 (ch 6) | Thursday 10/25 | 6PM ET
• The '70s on 7 (ch 7) | Thursday 11/1 | 6AM ET
• The '80s on 8 (ch 8) | Wednesday 11/7 | 6PM ET
• The '90s on 9 (ch 9) | Wednesday 11/14 | 6AM ET
• Y2K | XM Hit List (ch 30) | Monday 11/19 | Midnight ET

[IT: History of Pop]
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

The NAB is darn tootin' mad about Sirius-XM's recent response about the group's request for the FCC to stop the clock. And they're laying down the tough choices for the satcasters.

First, here's what Sirius-XM had to say about the NAB's request to stop the clock:

“The NAB opposes the merger of XM and SIRIUS to protect AM/FM radio from competition, not to protect consumers. As more and more consumers voice their support for the merger, the more fearful of increased competition the NAB becomes and the more desperate their actions in response.

"The NAB's allegations are unfounded and their recent filing is just an attempt to stall the process. We look forward to continuing to work with the FCC and are confident they will weigh the transaction on its merits, recognize that it is in the public interest and approve the merger by the end of the year."

In response to the... err... response, NAB Executive VP Dennis Wharton issued the following statement:

"There is nothing 'unfounded' about NAB's so-called 'allegations.' XM and Sirius have disclosed in public documents that they knowingly and willfully violated interference and terrestrial repeater rules. The central question now is whether XM and Sirius are rewarded for this demonstrable lack of candor with tough penalties or a government-sanctioned monopoly."

Well, given the choice Dennis... I think I'd choose government-sanctioned monopoly, don't you think?

AT&T announced earlier this week that the company is buying the wireless licenses of privately held Aloha Partners for about $2.5 billion. The licenses for the largest U.S. mobile service will allow coverage for a potential 196 million customers in 281 markets, including 72 of the top 100 U.S. markets.

The question remains, what will AT&T to do with this 700-megahertz chunk of spectrum?

AT&T spokesman Michael Coe told Reuters that AT&T had yet to determine what services it would run over the airwaves.

"We'll look at which option makes sense for AT&T and our customers," he said. "We'll either use the spectrum for broadcast video or two-way communication like voice, data or on-demand content."

My guess is the latter seems like the most likely use. Silicon Alley Insider has a similar theory:

"Carriers, which need to sell more data and entertainment services to make up for declining phone-call revenue, often tout broadcast-quality mobile TV as one of the next big things."

But Scott Wills, senior executive at Aloha and president and chief executive of its HiWire broadcast mobile-TV subsidiary, said the company initially bought the licenses thinking that wireless broadband would be the best use for the spectrum, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Consumers don't just want to watch YouTube on their phones. While fun and a novelty, it's the convenience of having a mini-computer in your pocket that really serves value. Check your email, surf the web, and access some streaming content (be it video or audio).

I guarantee that it's not just "access" that the wireless companies are looking at. Eventually all the carriers will provide nationwide broadband wireless access, and we're reaching saturation in the wireless U.S. market. So they need differentiation. And the best differentiator would be providing exclusive on-demand content through these high-speed services. People already pay $40+ a month for high-speed internet at home, they will want more if they want to pay for that capability in their pocket.

As Sirius and XM can attest to, spectrum is only half of the equation.

Sirius Canada has surpassed more than 500,000 paying subscribers, adding more than 200,000 since February. The company was the first to surpass the key 500,000 subscriber milestone in the 22 months since the category was first introduced.

Sirius Canada captured 82% of retail sales year-to-date according to figures released by The NPD Group. During the Father’s Day buying period Sirius bagged an incredible 88% market share of satellite radios sold.

The company’s automotive partners also, by their claim, make up nearly 60% of vehicle sales in Canada and since January 2007 have built more than 100,000 vehicles with factory-installed Sirius.

[Press Release]

U.S. Electronics has formally asked the FCC to stop the Commission's informal clock in order to bring attention to new and unaddressed issues.

The company, who previously filed a lawsuit against Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., voiced concerns over various issues including monopolistic equipment access, rule violations, interoperable requirements, the handling of ex parte communications, the scheduling of agenda items and (last but not least) delays in access to "decision-makers."

Of note, U.S. Electronics (USE) brings up what they call "Vertical Monopoly/Network Access." USE feels that while the Commission focuses on ensuring price regulations on subscription rates, the merged company would be able to "price equipment to subsidize lower subscription rates."

Not a bad thought. Well, except that the "Vertical Monopoly/Network Access" situation exists in the current setup of two companies. Sirius is still the only place where you can get Howard Stern, for instance, so if there was to be a price hike in devices to subsidize revenue, it would have happened already. It's not like Sirius-XM can start charging $800 at retail, and still expect sales to grow. The same applies for the OEM channel. It's that whole "free market" thing, and if the relevant market is defined to inclue competition against HD Radio, MP3 players, and Streaming/Mobile Audio, then the point is moot.

USE brings up several additional points that they call "complex and novel issues, unanswered questions, and the irregularities in the process." As a result, they want the FCC to stop the process.

It was disclosed in March that U.S. Electronics filed suit against Sirius Satellite Radio, seeking $48 million in damages.

[View FCC Filing (PDF) via Orbitcast Forums]

The UAW reached a tentative four-year agreement with Chrysler yesterday after only a six-hour walkout. Word of the deal came just after the UAW announced that GM workers had ratified their four-year agreement with the company.

Now it's Ford's turn.

Ford Motor Co. could be the toughest bargainer yet because of its weakened financial position, thanks to a whopping $12.6 billion loss last year. It's expected that Ford probably will look for a different deal than Chrysler and GM, perhaps with deeper concessions.

Ford generally is seen as the weakest of the Big Three automakers. It has mortgaged its factories to secure a $23.4 billion line of credit to cover losses and fund its restructuring plan, which calls for closing 16 facilities by 2012. Ford has identified 10 of the closures but has yet to announce the remaining 6 factories to close.

[AP]

Thousands of Chrysler autoworkers walked off the job today after talks with the United Auto Workers (UAW) failed to reach an agreement. This is the first UAW strike against Chrysler since 1997.

The UAW is not striking at all plants though. Apparently the union kept five plants outside the strike action because Chrysler already had idled them because of sagging sales of some models, according to an AP source.

Reuters is reporting that the 5 plants were avoided because it is a tactical move, meant to protect income for workers at those plants and make the action more costly for the automaker.

Recall that the UAW struck GM for two days before tentatively settling with the automaker. They must reach new four-year agreements with all three Detroit automakers, and has yet to come to an agreement with Ford.

A short strike likely will have little effect on Chrysler, which had a 71-day supply of cars and trucks on dealer lots at the end of August, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. A walkout longer than a month would start to cut into sales, said Paul Taylor, chief economist with the National Automobile Dealers Association.

[AP, Reuters]

In a press release that just went over the wires, Sirius and XM are making sure that folks know of the recent public support for their pending merger.

From members of Congress like Rep. Engel (D - NY), Rep. Boucher (D - VA), Rep. Weiner (D - NY) and Rep. Sessions (R - TX); to automaker (and Sirius partner) Kia Motors; to consumer advocate groups that most people here have never heard of; to unlikely bedfellows Charlie Daniels, Cousin Brucie and Deepak Chopra - the satcasters are beating the PR drum as we get down to the final hour.

Here's some of the better quotes in my opinion (the rest are viewable after the jump):

"The proposed merger should be considered in the context of a broad market definition, which includes the entire marketplace for audio entertainment. Under such an appropriate definition, the merger would combine only a small percentage of the market, but would lead to significant pro-consumer benefits. I, therefore, believe the merger is in the public interest and urge that the Commission approve it." (Rep. Rick Boucher, September 4, 2007)

"There is no doubt that the merger would be good for consumers of this service. A merger will allow the two companies to pool their resources, cut costs through economies of scale, boost innovation by bringing together their best and brightest talent, and ultimately make more programming available to subscribers." (Rep. Anthony Weiner, September 12, 2007)

"IWF is also interested in the increased efficiencies of a combined company and greater competition from other audio providers that would increase the speed to market of new and advanced technologies in satellite radio and audio entertainment. These are exactly the kinds of byproducts fueled by a free market that would simply not be possible without a merger of the two companies." (Michelle D. Bernard, Independent Women's Forum, October 1, 2007)

"The merger between SIRIUS and XM will further enhance Kia's goal of providing our customers with high-quality, high-value products. We believe that it is in our customer's interest and the public interest to allow SIRIUS and XM to merger." (Kia Motors, August 21, 2007)

"Truckers were among the first satellite radio customers and many continue to be very loyal listeners. They also will have a lot to gain from this proposed merger. Once this deal is approved, truckers and others who spend many hours on the road will have a greater range of programming choices and packages available to them." (Charlie Daniels, October 2, 2007)

More after the jump...

Today, Radiohead released its new album, In Rainbows, in its digital form to consumers. Buyers were given the option to pay whatever they wanted to receive a 48Mb ZIP file containing ten 160kbps DRM-free MP3 songs (and yes, the "album" is pretty killer). But this is just the beginning of the inevitable Rise of the Artist...

Earlier this week, Trent Reznor posted on the Nine Inch Nails website that they're finally free of a record label (Interscope): "...as of right now Nine Inch Nails is a totally free agent, free of any recording contract with any label," wrote Reznor.

"It gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a direct relationship with the audience," he added.

While we don't know for sure what NIN will be doing, it's largely expected that they'll be doing something similar to Radiohead. Rather than hiding from the digital music storm, they'll be running towards it.

Gizmodo puts it perfectly: "If two of the biggest acts in the industry can see the digital writing on the wall and totally embrace it — that the old way of doing business is broken — why can't the labels?"

Earlier this year a remix version of Year Zero was announced but with no release info, presumably it'l be the final release from NIN under contract with Interscope. And Reznor has been increasingly vocal about his frustrations with the handling of Year Zero.

Reznor told the Australian Herald Sun, "It's a very odd time to be a musician on a major label, because there's so much resentment towards the record industry that it's hard to position yourself in a place with the fans where you don't look like a greedy asshole."

"I will never be seen in a situation like this [with Interscope] again. If I could do what I want right now, I would put out my next album, you could download it from my site at as high a bit-rate as you want, pay $4 through PayPal. Come see the show and buy a T-shirt if you like it. I would put out a nicely packaged merchandise piece, if you want to own a physical thing. And it would come out the day that it's done in the studio, not this 'Let's wait three months' bulls---," added Reznor.

To add salt on the wound, it's now rumored that Oasis will be doing the same thing. And The Charlatans (big in the UK). And Jamiroquai.

Domino effect anyone?

See, that's what happens in a world of increasingly fragmented media. When the latest in music isn't discovered on the radio, but rather on MySpace. When labels discount the intelligence of their audience, and sue them instead. It's that whole Long Tail theory again (essentially the aggregation of niches), which empowers the individual and disregards the middle-man. What's more, artists are no longer constrained by the arduous timelines set by music labels. As soon as the songs are recorded, they can be heard by the masses. Turnaround time is immediate, and the artists can be as prolific as they choose.

The caveat of course is that all these bands have massive fanbases. Ones who's foundations were built using the methods of the big labels and mainstream media. They can eliminate the middle-man. But those with less of a fanbase still need to get heard. And once the digital novelty wears off, even the established artists will also need to be heard.

But whatever, this sort of model is far more enabling than the current model. Perhaps soon we can break out of this musical lull where the "hits" only see the light of day, and actually get back to music selling based on merits as opposed to marketing.

"Exciting times, indeed" concludes Reznor on his website.

Indeed. Time for those pigs to start marching...

Gizmodo was given the hot tip that the much anticipated Slacker Portable player will be coming sometime between October and December.

That's quite the spread. It's pretty much anyone's guess that the Portable would be coming out sometime before the Holidays, especially since they originally expected it to be out in the summer. But hey, that's how it works. At least we know it's coming.

To keep the juices flowing, Slacker support gave slightly more deets to the boys over at Giz: "The portable player is scheduled to be released within the next month or two. At this time it is the final steps of production."

Hope you've been saving your lunch money kids.

[Gizmodo]
Thanks Luke!

TiVo and RealNetworks have partnered together to allow TiVo subscribers to listen to songs and streaming radio from the Rhapsody digital music service on their televisions.

For TiVo, it's a way to differentiate itself from the growing competition from Cable/Satellite TV providers. For Rhapsody, it's yet another way to penetrate into people's homes.

Consumers using the service will be able to search for music directly on their TV, browse charts of Rhapsody's most popular artist or tunes, or listen to thousands of radio channels. The difference here is that TiVo customers are used to paying a subscription fee (although they will receive a free one-month trial of Rhapsody) - so there's less of a learning curve than with "traditional" consumers.

"The big thrust for us is to try to expand the pie, bring digital music to more consumers," Michael Bloom, Rhapsody's general manager, told Reuters. "CD sales have been in rapid decline. This is one of the ways that we are going to help in that regard."

The takeaway here is that TiVo will continue to look for ways to differentiate itself from competing DVRs, and the best way to do this is through content. Being service agnostic, TiVo is open to anything. And Sirius and XM, like all media companies, need to be heard everywhere. It's a natural fit.

[Reuters]

The National Association of Broadcasters has asked the FCC to stop the informal 180-day "clock," in a filing with the Commission today.

The NAB's "Petition to Defer Action" requests that the FCC formally stop the clock, so that the NAB can "review and supplement the record with certain documents related to the serious apparent wrongdoing by XM and Sirius 'executive and senior-level employees' regarding the operation of FM modulators/transmitters and/or terrestrial repeaters."

In other words, the NAB wants the clock stopped so they can review the documents released from a previous FOIA request that the Enforcement Bureau felt were fit for public inspection.

The documents haven't been released yet, because they're still under review by various parties (largely consisting of Sirius and XM). The NAB feels these documents are important to the merger proceedings because of the DirecTV-EchoStar merger proceedings. During the DirecTV-EchoStar case, the FCC felt that EchoStar's compliance record "suggests a resistance to taking steps to serve the public interest that do not serve the company's view of its own private economic interest."

So the NAB wants the time-clock stopped, so as to allow for enough time for them to review the documents whenever they're actually released.

They insist that waiting for these released documents will "shed further light on the nature and scope of [Sirius and XM's] malfeasance and the role of senior management."

"Simply put, the Commission cannot in this proceeding rely on information produced in the enforcement proceedings without the parties to this proceeding having an opportunity to review and comment on that evidence," writes the NAB in the filing.

[FCC Filing (PDF) via Orbitcast Forums]

Former President Jimmy Carter visited XM Satellite Radio earlier this afternoon for an on-air interview with Bob Edwards.

President Carter appeared on the Bob Edwards Show, on XM Public Radio (ch 133) to talk about his new book Beyond The White House: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope. The interview is scheduled to air on Thursday, October 11th.

Follow the jump to see several more photos, including one with XM Chairman Gary Parsons...

Sirius Satellite Radio has signed Mark Thompson: an African-American talk show host, human rights visionary, and community leader.

Thompson's show, "Make it Plain," will launch this fall on Sirius though it is unclear on which channel. "Make it Plain," is a daily 3-hour show where Thompson speaks about political, social and economic issues from an African-American perspective, and welcomes listener call-in and a variety of guests.

Mark Thompson's career as a Washington, DC-based radio host spans 20 years. Thompson is nationally known as a longtime NAACP activist, emcee of the Million Man March, founder of the Umoja Party, and an ordained minister. Mark Thompson is also known by his African name, Matsimela Mapfumo.

"Make it Plain" used to be on XM's The Power, but was replaced due to lineup changes.

Citigroup analyst Eileen Furukawa issued a highly bullish report this morning, who feels that SIRI and XMSR stocks are currently undervalued and that the pending XM-Sirius merger has a “high 60%” probability of success.

Furukawa says that a “detailed, item line analysis” of a merger of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. with Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., found that the satellite radio marriage could create “present value” cost savings of $7 billion - with 10%-20% savings across customer service, programming, R&D, sales and marketing and other areas.

In addition, although she does not specifically factor this into her model, Furukawa says that the combination “could drive higher ad revenues given larger combined reach.” Furukawa's model also doesn't include savings on capital expenditure from shifting to a single system, which she feels could be worth $750 million long term.

Furukawa says that XM's stock price at last night’s close reflects a 24% chance that the pending merger of the two companies succeed, a view which she says is too bearish. The Citigroup analyst thinks the deal has a “high 60%” probability of success.

She gives the stock a “probability weighted” target price to $19.50, up from her previous target of $15, but she also says that the company could be worth $23 a share if all of the synergies she sees are realized.

Both XMSR and SIRI were up significantly this morning on the news.

[via Barrons]
Thanks Gary!

XM today is firing up a new studio in New York City at the soon-to-be unveiled “NHL Powered by Reebok” flagship store in midtown Manhattan.

Located at 6th Avenue and West 47th Street on the ground floor of the NHL’s new World Headquarters, the "NHL Powered by Reebok" store will serve as a year-round showcase for the sport of hockey.

XM's new studios will overlook the retail space of the store, and will be host the XM show “NHL Live” which broadcasts weekdays from 12-noon to 2pm ET.

NHL and Reebok will host a grand opening for the store this Friday, October 12th.

“NHL Live” airs on the hockey talk radio channel NHL Home Ice (ch 204). The show is hosted by Don LaGreca and E.J. Hradek (who previously hosted “NHL Live” on Sirius).

Other NHL Home Ice shows will broadcast from the new studio at various times, and some XM music channels will broadcast special programs from the new space.

[NHL/Reebok Press Release]

In regular radio, executives tend to depend on research, studies and focus groups (even ones with really creepy names) to determine what they should be programming. They hold meetings, whip up presentations, and put the decisions to a vote. All in the effort to ensure the broadest possible appeal. To be "all things to everybody."

So what happens when everything is left to single person? When one man has absolute control? When corporate has no hand in the decision making? When complete artistic freedom is handed over to someone with absolutely no radio "training" whatsoever?

You get entire articles written about it.

And you get quotes likes this...

"With this show, Dylan is tapping into his deep love -- and I would say his belief in -- a musical world without borders," author Peter Guralnick writes in an e-mail. "I feel like the commentary often reflects the same surrealistic appreciation for the human comedy that suffuses his music." Guralnick has written several books about music, including biographies of Elvis Presley and Sam Cooke.

Keen listener Elvis Costello says Dylan's shows "are a bit like those films of Picasso painting on glass. They don't pretend to explain anything about the host but they offer just a little glimpse of the musical -- and literary -- taste of a great singer and songwriter without obliging him to confess every dark secret."

'Theme Time' is a "surreal hour of radio," comedian Richard Lewis writes in an email.

"I don't mean in any way to diminish the importance of the quality music he plays," says magician and loyal listener Penn Jillette, "but Dylan's heart is so in this show that you hear Dylan even in other people's music."

Oh heavens forbid regular radio actually relinquishes control to artists. Creativity afterall isn't measurable. There's no metrics behind talent. And how could the AEs sell ad spots without metrics?!

The suits at XM have literally nothing to do with the production of Bob Dylan's show. It's part of his contract. Bob Dylan is given complete artistic freedom. They trust him (wow!). The show is delivered, pretty much as a done deal, to the XM studio in New York. "Doing something that would be illegal or filthy is not in his repertoire," says Lee Abrams, XM's chief creative officer.

"The actual recording of it is a big mystery," says Abrams, who usually hears it for the first time when it airs.

And as a result, nearly 2 million listeners tune in to Dylan's show. Not bad for someone who's not a radio-guy. Kind of makes the design-by-committee approach of mass-appeal and pop-tart dynamics seem silly doesn't it?

When try to be "all things to everybody," you end up being "nothing to nobody."

[Washington Post]
(...well worth the read)

XM Satellite Radio President and (interim) CEO Nate Davis has given Reuters some interesting details on what's to come in XM's future from a business strategy standpoint.

The company plans to introduce new portable radios next year and expects car buyers to account for more than 65% of new subscribers by the end of 2007, Davis told Reuters in an interview.

"Our strategy will be that we need to partner with more people (such as) portable navigation devices and cell phone providers," Davis told Reuters late Friday. "Sirius is not the center of my world if there is not a merger."

This is great news because being integrated into everything is what will help mass market adoption. Remember, people don't buy radios. And if satellite radio is one of those "hidden treasures" where you need to experience it to fall in-love with it, then integration is key. GPS devices are flying off the shelves, we should be riding that wave. So just to read that one statement from Davis gets the thumbs up... now, how it's executed is a different matter.

But wait, there's more... on the inevitable topic of the Sirius-XM merger, Davis had this to say:

"This is not a slam dunk merger," Davis said. "This is one of those that will be controversial. But we think on the merits, it will be approved in the end."

(Hey, at least he's being realistic about it.)

"Bill Gates ... has now come back to push the Zune media player," Davis told Reuters. "Apple and Clear Channel are partnering on HD Radio products for the holidays, and now the iPod has gone into the cell phone business. The market is getting more and more audio entertainment, and we are just one."

Nice to show different companies "crossing over" into the audio/media market. It's all blending together now. I only wish more references were being made to over-the-air audio on mobile phones, but hey, you never know which snippets Reuters chose to run with.

But forgetting about the merger for a bit, Davis touched upon OEM and the ramping up of installations...

Davis said XM expects more than 65 percent of its gross subscriber additions to come from OEM by the end of 2007, compared to the 50 percent range at the beginning of the year.

"We are in the middle of a ramp right now -- we just started some of the manufacturers this year," he said. "By the time we get to the end of the year, there will be a lot more manufacturers' cars with satellite radios in them."

[Reuters]

Just freshly launched last week, iHeard is a new Internet Radio search engine. And the scary part is that it makes finding and listening to any Internet Radio station very very (very) easy.

Too easy.

Seattle-based Fusa Capital Corp. unleashed iHeard last Tuesday, allowing users to find free Internet radio stations from around the globe - and hear them - within a single destination website.

Organized by genre, country and language, the iHeard engine even indexes online simulcasts offered by AM/FM radio stations, and plays the streams right inside the original window. Unlike Radio-Locator, you're not just shunted off to another website - it all plays seamlessly within your browser. A choice of streaming formats depending on the station you're listening to is provided, including RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, Winamp and iTunes.

Iheard is the latest addition to Fusa Capital's network of search sites: which includes podanza.com (Podcasts), newstowatch.com (News Aggregator) and searchforvideo.com (self-explanatory).

The question is, can you access it from your smartphone and then listen in your car? (The answer is yes, I just did it.)

[iHeard via WebWare]

Kawasaki will be offering motorcycles with satellite radio, for the first time, this fall through a partnership with XM.

Kawasaki will begin with including XM, as an option, in its new Premium Audio System on its Vulcan 1600 Nomad touring model.

True to its name, the Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Nomad is a travel ready touring-cruiser motorcycle with a 95-cubic inch V-Twin and excellent riding dynamics.

"This Premium Audio System is a high-quality system built to Kawasaki's specifications designed to greatly enhance our customers' ownership experience. As the pioneer in satellite radio, XM represents a terrific value-added feature to the system," said Jim Williams, Kawasaki's senior manager of accessories.

Back in mid-2005, XM announced a partnership with Harley-Davidson, and a year later offered an aftermarket solution: the Road Tech AL20.

Sony recently unveiled their newest eBook Reader, and it got me thinking about Sirius and XM's marketing efforts.

Overall, the Sony Reader is a nice evolutionary product with a sleek design. But it's not the device itself that I'm looking at - it's who they're selling it to. Now before we continue, I have to say I don't think this thing will sell like hotcakes at all. It's too expensive at $300. It also targets a niche market, but to that niche, this thing could be just what they're waiting for.

That niche is namely folks who like to read books, but who also travel a lot and can't/don't want to lug around heavy, bulky paper. Distance commuters. (The mass market audience would just be "folks who read books" but again, the Reader is still too expensive for them.)

If you've been in an airport recently, or even a train station, you've likely seen Sony's ads for the eBook Reader. And that's the interesting thing. This is a device that is (currently) targeted specifically for commuters who take the train or plane. Not drivers.

Sirius and XM target drivers. OEM is an integral part of the business. With good reason, because most radio listening is done in the car. But maybe there's a segment of the market they've been missing? What about train/plane commuters? Of which, there are millions (and they're affluent). Maybe we don't see any data of radio listenership on trains/planes because... well, because there is none.

I smell opportunity.

Talk to anyone who has a satellite radio in their car, and they'll say "It's made my commute so much shorter!" But yet folks who fly often, or schlep around the train terminal, are stuck with... iPods. They're stuck with limited playlists and limited access.

Huge opportunity, the message just needs to be written.

Now, I know what you're thinking. XM has deals with airlines like JetBlue, and AirTran. But these are value-added offerings to the airlines, and only brand/engagement vehicles for XM. They do little to move product, and there's no accompanying message to go along with it ("Psst, hey Mr. Commuter! Buy an Inno and hear this stuff all day long!").

I think the limited channel offerings on airlines is great, but there's no follow-through. Think about it... when you're stuck on a flight, staring at the screen in front of you, when else are you more of a captive (literally) audience?

Just a thought.

Internet radio streaming to your car isn't a pipe dream for years away. It's available right now, and using the new Ford SYNC, it's available this Fall using voice command.

See this video for a demo...

Mark Ramsey calls it "geekcasting" - a lovable word, but only given because there's a lot of steps involved in getting it to work. Funny, the same could be said about satellite radio.

Welcome to the not so distant future...

[via Hear 2.0]

...or as an alternate headline, the "Service Model vs. Product Model" (far less exciting).

The music industry is at an important paradigm shift right now, and there's a heated debate within the blogosphere about the economics behind the distribution of music. Mind you, this is far different than the value of music, but easily confused. In the end though - it's inevitable in my opinion - music will eventually turn away from its current product model, and into a service model.

In short, music will be "free."

It's not that people will stop paying for music, but it's how they pay for music that is the key.

DRM is falling apart, and we all knew it was going to happen. iTunes is selling DRM-free music. Amazon has opened up a DRM-free MP3 music store. Even Microsoft and its new Zune 2 is using DRM-free as a differentiator. The technical restrictions on owning and using music are disappearing.

And the reproduction costs (separate from the creative costs) are disappearing, if not already gone. As Mike Arrington from TechCrunch puts it:

"...like software, it doesn’t cost anything to produce another digital copy [of music] that is just as good as the original as soon as the first copy exists, and anyone can create those copies (meaning there is perfect competition and zero barriers to entry)."

Breaking it down even further, TechDirt (one of my favorite blogs) brings in the analogy of the software, and the film entertainment industry:

"For software and filmed entertainment, the inevitable shift is to a service model rather than a product model (which is the same as music). A services model recognizes that the creation (not the distribution) of content is where the marginal costs are. In reality, they've always been services models -- just disguised as product models."

What will happen, regardless of the moral implications, is that music will eventually become free. And the reality is, for many people, it already is... and has been for years.

At the root of the debate over music business models is Radiohead. If you're in the industry, or follow it, you've likely heard about Radiohead's "museum model" move. The quick take is that Radiohead, free of a record label, has decided to release their newest album at any price you want to pay. No really, any price (see the picture above). Watch the video below for the breakdown from Reuters:

Now sure, this isn't something that every band can pull off (just like every band can't pull off the Grateful Dead/Phish model of touring non-stop)... yet. But asking fans to pay whatever they want allows the hardcore fans to help support the group, and the less-than-hardcore fans to be exposed to the music at a minimal cost. "Performance" and "distribution" all wrapped up in one pretty little package.

This shift from a product model to a service model hasn't escaped the music industry. Please, don't discount these guys as fools... when it comes to making money, they're pros. And that's what SoundExchange is all about. They're making sure that all forms of distribution are going to be adding to the revenue stream. They're shifting from product to service. The nice thing is that at least the artists get paid for the airplay.

But even with the commodization of music, there's still another need for any artist/label to make money: Getting heard.

Having your music heard (or "discovery" - whatever you want to call it) is still at the essence of any revenue model for the artists. Terrestrial radio, when they lose their "performance tax" case (and they will), will no longer rest on the laurels of being contributors to the antiquated Product Model. And with future CD sales predicted to drop at an accelerated rate, there's little terrestrial can do to prove its effectiveness (especially at moving product). Terrestrial radio will move to a pure Talk Radio format before you know it.

That's right, radio is going to drop music from its airwaves eventually... and probably in the not-so-distant future. They're already talking about it, and once SoundExchange wins, that consensus will spread like wildfire.

What will be left for music discovery will be Internet Radio, Mobile Audio (which includes cellphones and digital audio players) and Satellite Radio. All of which do a phenomenal job at helping their listeners discover music.

The value that XM and Sirius bring to the table though - the single differentiating factor - isn't the just the songs, or the "depth" of the playlist. It's the brilliance behind the programmers. Many of the programmers who adorn the halls of The Eck, or the 1221, are former terrestrial radio programmers. They possess the intangible creative ability to be in-tune with the audience. To anticipate future "hits" and to paint an aural mood. Where terrestrial has ignored them, they've flourished on satellite.

So yes, music will be free, which will open up many doors. Many different and more creative streams of revenue, and among those will be commercial-free "pay radio" leading the way.

[TechDirt, TechCrunch]

Here is Part 2 of audio from the BTLS suicide caller. Read the full story about the incident here.

Again, please note that this audio contains explicit language and may be considered disturbing to some.

As was brought up in Part one of the audio, this has happened before to Bubba in mid-90s when he was a DJ on WFLZ/Tampa.

On a personal note, this audio is pretty f'ing intense and the "protection" doesn't help but to make it even freakier.

Orbitcast has just obtained the audio from the Bubba suicide incident, so you can hear it for yourself.

Please note that the audio contains explicit language and may be disturbing to some.

Please understand that this was determined not to be a hoax, as verified by the police. This is not "a bit," it's real.

Sirius host Bubba the Love Sponge received a call on Wednesday, October 3rd, at 3:15pm ET from a man who said that he "needed Bubba" because was ready to commit suicide.

The man provided a fake name, asked that his voice be masked to avoid detection, and requested that no attempts be made to trace his call. Nine minutes into the call, the caller revealed that he had a gun in his possession, and had made his teenage daughter leave his premises.

Listen to audio of this incident: [Part 1] [Part 2]

At that point, engineer David Rice contacted the phone service who was unable to trace the call, and local police. Forty minutes later, the man was calmed down sufficiently by Bubba, Brent Hatley and SpiceBoy (Matt Loyd). They were able to get his real name and phone number off the air, and alert authorities, who rushed to his Charlotte County, Florida home.

Yesterday, the Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. show received an emailed accolade from the Charlotte County, Florida Sheriff's Office for their ability to keep the caller on the line, calm him down, and provide the sheriff's office with an audio copy of the call.

The email also confirmed that the caller had a gun, and had been in a legitimate suicidal state.

"The DJs did an outstanding job of talking to the gentleman and keeping him calm," wrote the officer. "I can't go into details about the outcome of the call due to confidentiality concerns, but he is safe and sound."

Gin & Tonic Lounge has an incredible recount of what happened...

"As I drove, the story unfolded. The caller had lost his job, his wife and his daughter. He had large debts and little money. He was overweight, drunk and had a gun on his lap.

Of all the people to call, this nut called Bubba.

Now usually, when I tune in, I expect to hear an interview with a UFC fighter, a porn star, or Bubba using a tazer to "shock the puss." This however, was something different.

...For nearly an hour and a half, without the assistance of caller ID to alert the police, Bubba and his crew pleaded, cajoled, and bargained with the man to put the gun down.

It was a struggle, and the man made several despondent declarations along the way. He was determined. He wanted only to get drunk and then blow his brains out on Bubba's show. He had been planning it for 8 days.

Could the whole thing have been a hoax? Sure, the thought crossed my mind. However the sense of urgency, and barely-contained panic indicated that this was real.

They tried everything, but eventually, after a great deal of time, Bubba's argument that a suicide on his show would cause him a great deal of pain and misery finally carried the day. The man, whose daughter was a teenager, didn't care that his death might hurt her. He didn't care about the rest of his family or his friends. However, the thought of hurting Bubba, in the end, saved his life."

As much as talk-radio talent tends to joke around and be crazy on the air, there's a social responsibility that each have. It comes with the territory. When someone calls in, desperate for help like this man, it's their "duty" (so to speak) to respond. And Bubba and crew did a phenomenal job. Not too many people can say they have had the direct involvement in saving someone's life... Bubba and everyone on his team, can.

Special thanks to the entire BTLS staff for not only doing what is right, but for getting the job done.

The RIAA won a lawsuit yesterday against single mother Jammie Thomas, in the first trial held for peer-to-peer file sharing. This is not good news.

Twelve jurors in Minnesota decided unanimously that Thomas is liable for 24 recordings she shared over Kazaa, with the verdict totaling a ridiculous $222,000.

That's $9,250 per recording.

Six labels sued for infringement of 24 recordings, a sample of the 1,702 audio files they claimed Thomas shared over Kazaa just after 11pm Eastern time on Feb. 21, 2005. The recordings included titles by Janet Jackson, Richard Marx, Journey, No Doubt, Green Day, Sarah McLachlan and Godsmack.

On that night, SafeNet (the RIAA's electronic bloodhound) detected an individual using a specific IP address and the username tereastarr@kazaa to distribute 1,702 audio files in their "shared" folder. Charter Communications was identified as the ISP associated with the IP address.

After the labels filed a "John Doe" lawsuit for copyright infringement, Charter responded to a subpoena, identifying Thomas as the subscriber on that day in February. The labels claimed that Thomas also used the tereastarr username for multiple purposes for many years.

While Thomas denied that she was involved in any file sharing, the jury didn't buy it and awarded the verdict to the RIAA, finding that Thomas willfully infringed the labels' recordings.

Who wants to bet this isn't going to end any time soon?

[Billboard.biz]

Sirius is taking fans to the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) World of Bluegrass festival in Nashville Tennessee for three days of coverage, starting today through Sunday, October 7th.

Sirius Bluegrass (ch 35) hosts Joey Black, Ned Luberecki and Chris Jones will dispatch special reports from the Nashville Convention Center throughout the day and bring exclusive backstage interviews with the winners and nominees from the IBMA Awards at the Grand Ole Opry.

The IBMA World of Bluegrass is a three day festival where Bluegrass fans and musicians gather to celebrate the genre. The festival includes a two day fan festival that features performances by the industry’s top acts. World of Music also includes the annual IBMA Awards, honoring the achievements of artists in the Bluegrass genre.

And congratulations to Chris Jones and Ned Luberecki for their nominations in the IBMA Broadcaster of the Year category!

On the heals of the XpressRC hitting the streets, word comes in that the Sirius Sportster 5 is now shipping to retailers. The age of color radios is (finally) upon us.

So check your favorite local online reseller for availability...

UPDATE: It appears that there was some faulty info coming from the distributor and that the Sportster 5 is not shipping now. I apologize for the confusion...

XM Satellite Radio and Chevrolet are unveiling a live mobile broadcast studio at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega Speedway during coverage of the UAW Ford 500 weekend.

Claire B. Lang will be using the vehicle - a pimped out 2008 Chevrolet Suburban LTZ - as her studio on wheels as she travels the racing circuit to broadcast her daily weekday show “Dialed In,” on XM Sports Nation (ch 144).

The XM/Chevrolet Mobile Studio is outfitted with the latest mobile broadcast technology, allowing Claire to research, produce and broadcast a complete show... literally anywhere.

The Suburban LTZ rocks the latest state-of-the-art audio and video technology, including a Broadband Global Area Network satellite uplink, a 12-channel audio mixer, and a handheld Access Portable unit capable of effectively sending mono, stereo or dual mono audio over satellite. Claire can easily host up to five on-air guests with headsets and microphones for each. The vehicle also has a PA system built-in so fans can experience the show live, from any location.

Check out the XM/Chevrolet Mobile Studio and meet Claire B. Lang when the vehicle makes its first appearance outside the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (3198 Speedway Blvd) during the UAW Ford 500 weekend in front of the Talladega Speedway in Talladega, Ala. Claire will be broadcasting “Dialed In” from this location live, today and tomorrow, from 4pm - 7pm ET.

The mobile studio is also scheduled to make appearances at other races and events this year, check out a list of them, plus a couple more shots of the XM/Chevrolet Mobile Studio, after the jump...

Sirius and XM shareholders are slated to cast their vote on the proposed merger on November 13th, according to a recent SEC filing.

Structured to give existing XM and Sirius shareholders roughly 50/50 ownership, the deal sets up XM shareholders to receive 4.6 SIRI shares for each XMSR share. Based on Sirius' closing price as of yesterday, the deal values XMSR at $15.92 a share.

A vote in favor of the merger is required only from XM shareholders, though Sirius investors must approve issuance of shares and other matters related to the deal.

Sirius investors who held shares as of Tuesday and XM shareholders as of Monday are eligible to vote on the deal.

Set to hold their meeting on the same day, Sirius' meeting is scheduled for 9am ET, and XM's meeting is scheduled for 3pm ET. Sirius' stockholder meeting will be held in The Auditorium at The Equitable Center, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019 and XM's shareholder meeting will be held at The Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036.

The end is near...

[SEC Filing via CNN Money]

Mel Karmazin said the Department of Justice is seeking more details on the proposed merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

"They continue to ask for information," Karmazin said in an interview following a taping of "The Charlie Rose Show" on Tuesday.

"We still think the timetable will be in the fourth quarter," Karmazin added, though didn't specify what type of data is being sought.

The head of the DOJ's antitrust division, Thomas Barnett, told a congressional hearing last week he needed to know more before making a decision on the proposed combination of the only two satellite companies. He declined to give a timeframe, though said that DOJ wants to move "as quickly as possible."

On September 5th, Sirius and XM they had complied with DOJ requests for more information, causing analysts to predict that a decision on the merger could come as soon as October.

[New York Post]

College football heats up on XM this Saturday with 25 games, including two of the most anticipated games of the season: Undefeated LSU hosts the defending BCS champion Florida Gators; while Texas and Oklahoma face off in Dallas for the annual Red River Shootout, long considered one the greatest rivalries in American sports.

And some of XM's on-air hosts are on the road especially for these two games.

First we've got former Oklahoma coach and XM football analyst Barry Switzer, who will be in Dallas this Friday and Saturday to preview the Oklahoma-Texas game on "XM Sports Nation This Morning" on XMSN (ch 144). Switzer is joined by XM sports anchor T.J. Rives at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas with live coverage before the game (which kicks off Saturday at 3:30pm ET on XM channel 241).

Meanwhile, James Carville - political guru, LSU alum, and host of XM sports show "60/20" - will be in Baton Rouge with co-host Luke Russert for a preview of the Florida-LSU game on XM Sports Nation from 6pm to 7:30pm ET. The game starts at 8pm ET on XM 144.

Sirius will air a special interview with Bruce Springsteen on E Street Radio hosted by noted journalist, author, Springsteen biographer (and Sirius Stars host) Dave Marsh on Thursday, October 4th at 4pm ET.

In the interview, Springsteen talks about his new album, Magic, and discusses many of the songs with Marsh. Marsh wrote "Born to Run" and "Glory Days" which were both New York Times bestsellers.

Marsh currently hosts a weekly show, Kick Out The Jams With Dave Marsh, on Sirius Stars (ch 102) and contributes to E Street Radio (ch 10).

Remember when I said it was all going to change? Well, here's just the beginning. Verizon Wireless unveiled its new fall lineup today for the holiday season, and included is a high-end handset named Voyager that will compete with the iPhone.

The Voyager does it all, with a full screen touchscreen on the exterior (a nod to the iPhone), but it opens up clamshell-style to reveal a second screen on the interior, complete with a monstrous QWERTY keyboard.

Voyager includes high-speed wireless access though, something the iPhone is lacking. And that high-speed access means the V CAST streaming video and music service is part of the package. It also includes a microSD slot - which now maxes out at 8Gb of storage (and growing) - so you can store your own MP3s.

"We think it'll be the best phone ... this year. It will kill the iPhone," Verizon Wireless Chief Marketing Officer Mike Lanman said in an interview with Reuters.

Remember, the iPhone was released just over 3-months ago, and already we're seeing other wireless carriers responding with their own sleek convergence phones. Imagine what will happen two-years from now?

[Reuters and Engadget]

Check out another picture of the Verizon Voyager after the jump...

Slacker and Spin Magazine have partnered up to bring together a free Slacker Spotlight Station called "Spin Punk."

The "Spin Punk" Slacker Spotlight Station coincides with what Spin called its "ultimate punk issue." Entitled "1977: The Year Punk Exploded!" the October edition of Spin (on newstands right now) includes an article chronicling the rise of punk, interviews with the Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten and the Clash's Mick Jones, a definitive timeline of punk in 1977, and much more.

The Slacker Spotlight Station features the most influential punk music spanning over 30 years handpicked by editors at Spin. It also lets listeners view cover art and read profiles of each artist and album to further enhance the punk music experience.

"Spin has always been about giving our readers a new perspective on music," said Malcolm Campbell, publisher of Spin. "By partnering with Slacker, our '30 Years of Punk' issue provides a new take on the evolution of Punk. Readers can now simply click and listen to the music that has left an indelible mark on our culture."

Since Slacker has an embeddable widget, I've embedded the Spin Punk station into Orbitcast... check it out after the jump, or follow the link below to check it out on Slacker.com.

[Spin Punk]
(Photo Credit: CNET)

An e-mail from ABC-Citadel corporate engineering has reportedly issued an order effective this morning to suspend AM In-band on-channel (IBOC) operations, according to Radio-Info.

The communication came from Citadel's Martin Stabbard, according to sources.

The order, effective immediately, is reportedly for all Citadel AMs running IBOC at night. While no reason was given for the order, it is believed that interference issues are the most likely factor.

IBOC is the method in which iBiquity utilizes to broadcast the HD Radio signal - using sidebands to transmit the digital data over AM/FM waves. But since wider channels are required, both the AM/FM implementations of the iBiquity system often cause interference with adjacent stations on the dial. As a result, lower power stations can become unlistenable if they have an HD Radio station on an adjacent channel.

[Radio-Info]
Thanks Karl!

UPDATE: Apparently Citadel/ABC's AM stations will suspend nighttime HD Radio transmission until they can do further work with iBiquity to reduce adjacent-channel interference. Radio-Info adds that, "the FCC allowed nighttime AM digital as of September 14 - and the complaints have mounted up."

NBC's "Heroes" is now in its 2nd season, and the underlying theme of recent episodes revolves around an evolution in humans that's causing its characters to have special powers (uhm, can you tell I'm a fan?). The interesting aspect is that this evolution has been rapidly increased recently, causing more mutations to occur at a faster pace.

Ok, so Sirius and XM are right now arguing that they face competition from other audio services like AM/FM radio (who garner something like 96% of all radio listening... not entirely surprising since radio has been around commercially for around 80 years). In that audio mix, Sirius and XM argue that other options like Internet radio, streaming audio on cell phones, MP3 players and various other audio technologies also serve as competition.

But just like the evolution we see in "Heroes," the evolution of audio entertainment has been rapidly increasing as of late. The options available to the consumer have intensified in just the eight months since Sirius and XM announced their merger.

Even in this short amount of time, there's been an exponential growth in audio devices ("mutations" maybe? I don't know if I can go that far in the analogy, but you get it). So let's take a look at what has affected how we listen to audio, and what will be changing how we define "radio" in the years to come:

iPhone
Of course you have to bring the iPhone into this. Back in 1997 - let alone just 8 months ago - a cell phone was just a cell phone. Now mobile phones come equipped with audio playback, storage and over-the-air streaming capabilities. The consumer looks at a "cell phone" less and less as simply a "phone" and more and more as a mobile access system... and the iPhone personifies that. We all know the iPhone's evolution is not going to stop (it took a couple generations of the iPod before it truly began to take off). Of course, other phones (like the LG Muziq) are equipped with audio capabilities, and that's only going to continue to evolve.

The new iPod series
The new iPod Nano, Classic and Touch bring video and music together. And the Touch, like the iPhone, allows wireless downloads of music directly from the iTunes store in countless Wi-Fi hotspots around the country. Hear a song in Starbucks? Buy it instantaneously. Tag songs heard on HD Radio, and purchase them through iTunes. There's no doubt that iPod/iTunes is its own audio eco-system, and Apple is showing no signs in relenting its continuous evolvution of this platform. More than anything, the iPod has revolutionized how we listen to music (and time-shifted programming like podcasts). And the biggest thing to remember is that the iPod is only 6 years old.

HD Radio
In March 2007, the FCC gave the green light to HD Radio. With this new technology (and a new receiver), radio fans can listen to multiple streams of higher-quality, digital programming. But most radio listening is done in the car, and this hasn't escaped the massive media companies that are pushing this technology. BMW, Ford, Lincoln and Mercury all offer HD Radio receivers as a factory-installed option and Sony has come out with the XDR-S3HD table radio and XT-100HD car radio... and there's more to come.

Customizable Radio
Slacker's "Personalized Radio" enables consumers to customize their own radio stations and listen to them wherever they happen to be. Slacker has been streaming online for a while, and now that it has deals with the all the major record labels, will soon be available via WiFi and in automobiles via satellite.

WiFi DAPs and Radios
With the Sansa Connect, consumers can stream Internet radio from Launchcast stations, browse Flickr photo streams and sign up for Yahoo's portable music subscription service, Yahoo Music Unlimited To Go, to download any tracks or albums over Wi-Fi. Pandora also will have its own WiFi Portable Radio available, where you can listen to the Pandora customizable radio over-the-air wherever you have access. And let's not forget the Phoenix WiFi Radio, which virtually eliminates the need for a traditional alarm clock.

Ford SYNC
The Ford SYNC, which starts shipping in automobiles this fall, allows drivers to control a myriad of audio entertainment options through a single built-in interface. SYNC uses a hands-free in-vehicle Microsoft operating system that can switch seamlessly between devices like iPods, Zunes and cell phones to play MP3s and internet radio services like Pandora or mSpot. Standard on all of Ford's top models – which is about 40% of Ford's sales – it will be available for sale on their other models.

Sprint Xohm
Sprint has announced the roll-out schedule for its nationwide high-speed WiMax network: Sprint Xohm. Sprint plans WiMAX test service in the Chicago, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. areas by year-end 2007. Samsung has been awarded the infrastructure build out for the New York area market, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston and Providence, R.I. Xohm is expected to be available in a number of markets starting April 2008 and expected to cover 100 million people by year-end 2008 thanks to their partnership with Clearwire. Think WiMax is years away? Think again.

Remember, the world of audio has changed dramatically since Sirius and XM received their licenses in 1997. Even the Sirius-XM merger's biggest opponent, the NAB, has commented about the "...seismic explosion in alternative media sources in the last 30 years..." (Dennis Wharton, Executive VP, NAB, Communications Daily, "Tribune Seeks FCC TV Waivers for $8.2 Billion Sale", 05.07.07).

NAB President and CEO, David Rehr, may have said it best when he stated, "barely a day passes without the introduction of a new competing device or service." (David K. Rehr, 2006 NAB Radio Show, September 21, 2006).

The last eight months shows the pace of the audio evolution, and the ever-expanding array of options available to consumers, continuing to accelerate. And maybe they're not mutations so to speak, but the convergence of devices is growing at an exponential pace, and will forever change the way we listen to "radio" ever again.

Former Radio One/Indiana controller, Denise Redding, has filed a civil lawsuit alleging she was fired because of her race and because she refused to sign off on questionable financial statements, reports the Indiana Business Journal.

Redding, who was employed from 2002 to 2006, claims she was fired three months after she reported to Radio One officials that she would not sign off on the company’s financial statements because she could not certify that they were valid and accurate.

In the lawsuit Redding says that she believed Radio One’s local general manager, Chuck Williams, had inflated revenue reports resulting in first-quarter revenue that was not accurately reported. Her review of the company’s financial records convinced her Williams “may have committed payola violations and actionable fraud.”

Redding also says Williams, “accorded more favorable treatment to similarly situated employees who are male and/or non-African-American,” the Indiana Business Journal writes. She is seeking at least $82,000 in back pay, plus damages for lost benefits and emotional distress.

Radio One, with 60 stations in 19 markets, is the nation’s seventh-largest radio broadcasting company and the largest radio broadcasting company that primarily targets black and urban listeners.

[Indiana Business Journal]

It amazes me what counts as a "review" in an age when information is abundant and, let's face it - valuable. And if we were to give a dollar amount to CNET's review of the just released XpressRC... it wouldn't be worth the $0.02 that the author continually throws in.

This is how the "hands on" with the XpressRC opens up:

"Generally speaking, my love for satellite radio is nonexistent. Sorry to say, I just don't see a reason to spend that kind of money ($12 per month) to listen to a host of shows that can usually be heard on the radio and music that copies what we hear on local radio for free."

...and so it begins.

The reviewer, Don Reisinger, goes on to talk about "the pains" of using satellite mobile products, though he does throw us a bone for the beauty of its color display. Oh goody. Don also likes the preset buttons, because he's miraculously found how "you can save all of your favorite shows" with those same presets. Alas, poor Don finds fault with the control knob (though gives no real reason), and dislikes the small power button employed on the device.

Thankfully, it's the pause-rewind functionality that wow'd Don. Yes, that's right, the same pause-rewind functionality that's been in satellite radios for years. In fact, he found that this functionality "sets the XpressRC apart from its competition" -- welcome to 2004, Don.

"Generally speaking, I usually don't endorse satellite radio as an alternative to podcasts or terrestrial radio..."

'nuff said.

[CNET]

Nokia wants to get into the navigation biz. This morning it said it would offer Navteq a whopping $8.1 billion, in what would be the company's largest takeover ever.

Navteq of course, supplies its digital mapping technology to both XM and Sirius.

The world's top cellphone maker is now looking for new revenue sources as the cellphone industry matures, and acquiring Navteq will give it a nice stronghold in one of the fastest growing segments in the technology industry.

Nokia's offer values Navteq at 8.6 times 2008 sales and 24.5 times 2008 earnings before EBITDA, according to Reuters Estimates. That's some crazy payout, and an obvious reason why Navteq went with Nokia as opposed to other offers (it was widely assumed that Garmin would be making a play).

TomTom offered 5.2 times 2008 sales and 20.9 times EBITDA in July for Navteq's only big rival, Tele Atlas.

Nokia's full-speed entrance into navigation industry (which actually happened last year when it acquired German software firm Gate5) is an indication that there is a lot more behind this than meets the eye. Nokia even said it sees maps as a cornerstone of its new Internet services strategy.

"Nokia is betting big on Web 2.0 applications. The sheer scale of this acquisition means it is about much more than just turn-by-turn navigation," said Ben Wood, head of research at consultancy CCS.

How much do you want to bet the same thought can be applied to the audio entertainment industry?

[Reuters]

XM Satellite Radio just announced that they are now "the satellite radio home" to the Midnight Trucking Radio Network, starting on October 8th.

Hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara, "Midnight Trucking" featuring news and entertainment for truckers. The program will be heard from 1-6am ET XM’s Open Road (ch 171).

Also on October 8, the weekend program “ATBS Trucking Business & Beyond with Kevin Rutherford” will be expanding to 7-days a week. It'll be heard on the regular weekend timeslot, (Saturday and Sunday, 4-7pm ET) with nightly encores airing from 12am-1am ET, just prior to the "Midnight Trucking Radio Network."

There's no word on whether Sirius will lose the Midnight Trucking Radio Network, which currently airs on Sirius' Road Dog Trucking Radio (ch 147).

The HD Radio camp is advertising that there are currently over 1,500 radio stations now broadcasting in HD (from its website, to press releases as well as in various other promotions)... but yet only 1,300 have filed with the FCC.

That's according to the Federal Communications Commission's Audio Division Chief Peter Doyle at least. And I'd say he's a pretty good authority on the matter.

At the NAB Radio Show last week, Doyle brought up the issue at a panel discussion, according to Radio Info.

"I keep hearing that 1500 stations are in HD, but only 1300" have filed the required notification with the Commission, said the FCC Audio Division Chief.

Doyle added, "if you're one of the 200, please let us know."

Funny how the NAB calls Sirius and XM's infractions with the FCC as "brazen" and that the companies "cannot be trusted" as a result. The NAB even calls for Freedom of Information Act requests to extract, and likely publicize, any of satellite radio's problems with the agency. But when it comes to their own requirements with the FCC, terrestrial radio conveniently ignores their own responsibilities.

How hypocritical is it for the NAB to scream about XM-Sirius repeater towers - ones that were voluntarily lowered - while there are 200 HD Radio stations that haven't filed with the FCC themselves?

Absoulutely ridiculous.

[Radio Info (PDF)]