Sirius-XM merger draft has been Circulated with FCC

Thank Ryan!

This is the best news yet!

which means?
what timetable now are we looking at?
vote could come anytime?

And the Lord said, "Go Sox."

Yeah, please explain what the heck this mean, Ryan.

Well I wonder if Kevin I am bought by the NAB Martin will live up to his promise of ruling on this by June 30th ?

This should be good for another 30% loss to the stock price.........

"which means?
what timetable now are we looking at?
vote could come anytime?

Posted by: gary | June 20, 2008 1:57 PM"

Based on the earliest cirulated item....

Two + years????

It means the end game. A decision. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Should we read into the fact that this was circulated on the 17th, but was just put on today. After Mel's meeting with the other commissioners?

The clock is ticking now.

I still can't believe Martin would circulate something high profile like this if he didn't have the votes.

Which means-

Essentially this just confirms the news on Monday that Martin would be recommending approval and that an order was being circulated. Now its official, the matter is OFFICIALLY being considered. I wonder if anyone knows the average time items stay in circulation before being ruled upon...

And why should it take so long? I can't believe these commissioners don't know how they are going to vote by now. Come on guys, get it over with!

Mel probably said, "just put the f'n thing to a vote, and we'll all move on."

Whatever happens is better than what is happening. Viva la vote.

I think it's bottom of the ninth time and the bases are empty... what that means I'm not sure and I'm not sure what this means.. are they about to vote finally some three months after their buddies at the DOJ all said yes... smoke em' if you got em'.. this could still be another ten miles left on this marathon.. that made sense....

Why the hell does crap like this announcement and Kevin's endorsement come out piece-meal and doesn't do a damn thing to the stock, but ONE freakin' analysis by GS and the stock TANKS TO THE DEPTHS OF HELL?? WTF?????!!

This stock is either:

a. being manipulated DOWN so insiders can get in cheap before the approval - OR -
b. insiders know how the vote is going to go and were privy to dump the stock and get out before it takes a nosedive on a merger rejection

?????

anonymous coward you are a hater and a ASSHOLE I

anonymous coward you are a hater and a ASSHOLE I

Thanks for this great news Len. Saw you break it. 3 weeks or less to go. Load up now!!

How is this "Breaking" news?? It's not posted on Yahoo, Google finance news, etc.?

Glad to see this thing is finally coming to a close- even if the FCC rejects (which I doubt at this point) at least there is an answer- which this incompetent schmuck should have rendered a long time ago. He should be hung for the damage he caused both firms.

demondeacs1 you are a hater and a ASSHOLE I

i m for the merger asshole

It will be 2 weeks before anyone knows the decision.
Ask the same question tomorrow, the answer will be- 2 weeks.
Ask the same question next month or next year, the answer will be- 2 weeks.

demondeacs1, sounds like you're the hater, calling people "asshole"....
i am also for the merger!!!

Ryan, no digs on you about the piece-meal article, just frustrated!!!

i m not for the merger asshole

Cramer -- Please post the name of the guys who have slowed or blocked this merger a few more times on your show.....PEOPLE write them down and Vote these guys out of office. a Statement should be made. WE the People, who elect you into office expect REAL solutions to REAL probelms! REAL probelms you ask? Yes...like OUR ECONOMY....The WAR on TERROR, the Billions Illegals are costing this country annually, EDUCATION, SOCIAL SECURITY......like those REAL probelms. This is a RADIO SERVICE that the PEOPLE must purchase in order to obtain the service!! Give me a break with Monopoly? This is a conspiracy at the greatest level and something should be done about it!

stick and stones AC, but your words will never hurt me

the vote will = NO! to Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin's "merge" MONOPOLY scheme.

0.0

ARE YOU FUCKIN KIDDING ME......THREE FUCKIN WEEKS......THERE WILL BE NO FUCKIN STOCK LEFT......DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH FUCKIN MONEY I HAVE LOST.......I COULD USE THIS STOCK TO WIPE MY ASS.......LETS WAIT UNTIL SPRING THAT GOOD.......ORBITCAST SUCKS.......WHERE THE FUCK IS THE ORGANIZATION TO PROTEST OUTSIDE THESE FUCKIN ASSHOLE OFFICES....THEY ARE DESTROYING THIS STOCK......AND WHY THE FUCK ISNT GOLDMAN BEING INVESTIGATED.....EVERYTIME SOMETHING IS IMMINENT THEY DROP A NUCLEAR BOMB.....MEL IS A COMPLETE ASSHOLE.....HE SHOULD BE OUT DAMMING GOLDMAN AND THE JIHADIST PIECE OF SHIT

ARE YOU FUCKIN KIDDING ME......THREE FUCKIN WEEKS......THERE WILL BE NO FUCKIN STOCK LEFT......DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH FUCKIN MONEY I HAVE LOST.......I COULD USE THIS STOCK TO WIPE MY ASS.......LETS WAIT UNTIL SPRING THAT GOOD.......ORBITCAST SUCKS.......WHERE THE FUCK IS THE ORGANIZATION TO PROTEST OUTSIDE THESE FUCKIN ASSHOLE OFFICES....THEY ARE DESTROYING THIS STOCK......AND WHY THE FUCK ISNT GOLDMAN BEING INVESTIGATED.....EVERYTIME SOMETHING IS IMMINENT THEY DROP A NUCLEAR BOMB.....MEL IS A COMPLETE ASSHOLE.....HE SHOULD BE OUT DAMMING GOLDMAN AND THE JIHADIST PIECE OF SHIT

We can only hope AC, we can only hope

wtf is 0.0? Is this supposed to be a reference to O & A? it's just gay and i wanna punch somone everytime its posted.

demondeacs1, grow up. sticks and stones? names? you're the one calling people names. but let me give it a try... demondeacs1, you're an idiot. wow, that was fun. demondeacs1, you're a moron. wow...i love it. demondeacs1, you're an ASSHOLE. :)
cool.

love,
AC

your Words can't hurt me Boy! You can try but it will not work, I am bigger than that-so go kiss your mother with that sloppy mouth--because your words, lol, can't hurt me!!! so go stick that in your pipe and smoke it AC!!

Finally... This is the real deal this time. I would suspect a decisiion is to be made when teh markets are closed on Fourth of July weekend. Nice doing business with you all.

How old are you people on this Blog?

Just out of College? Stockbrokers?

Crying about how much $$ you lost?

Don't be angry, don't worry about the things you can't control, don't invest in stocks money you can't afford to lose, be greatful your alive and healthy, and Vote the guys out of office that have slowed this merger or who have stood against it.....simple.

The merger will happen, the companies will rebound, it will just take 2-3 years. You have not lost any $$ unless you were stupid enough to dump your stock in an emotion response to the sell off. But more, cost average and stop looking at the ticker--- and go back and spending your valuable time time making more money in the job you have chosen.

Peace.

Patrick Rogers for President! You go boy!...Fuckin' bunch of Washington ass-kissing cronies...Mel, who I thought was on our side, has had ample opportunity to put this FCC Duck squad on notice as the laughing stock of departments in DC.

Incredible incompetence coupled with political favors and plans. God I hate government running amuck!

First, my response.....I'll rest assured that his ass is trying to block it!

-----------

Pat,

How about this...it's been 460 days and the Nab is paying politicians off.

When 80% of customers support this and Congress doesn't, there is money changing hands.

I'm posting wherever I can advising people of your opposition.

Take your chances at election pal.

XXXXX

From: Senator_Leahy@leahy.senate.gov
To:
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2008 2:26 PM
Subject: From Senator Patrick Leahy

Dear Dr. and Mrs. XXXXXXXXXX

Thank you for contacting me about the proposed merger of XM and Sirius satellite radio companies. It is good to hear from you.

On February 19, 2007, Sirius and XM announced their plans to merge. The $13 billion proposed merger has since sparked concern about what it would mean for consumers. Proponents of the deal say that the merger would be beneficial to consumers. They argue that both companies are currently struggling financially and, without the merger, neither service would continue to invest in new and diverse programming. Critics are concerned that the merger would create a monopoly in the satellite radio service market, which may result in higher prices and reduced service in what is still a relatively new industry.

The Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights held a hearing on March 20, 2007 to investigate whether the merger is consistent with our nation's competition laws. The Department of Justice recently approved the proposed merger, but the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) must also approve the transaction before the companies proceed to merge. The FCC is charged with making its determination under a public interest standard, which is different from the competition analysis performed by the Department of Justice.

Rest assured that I will continue to closely monitor this proposal as it progresses through the various regulatory stages. Thank you again for contacting me. Please keep in touch.

Subscribe to the Senator Patrick Leahy's periodic newsletter at the following address:

http://leahy.senate.gov/NwsLtr/indexSub.... Rating :
(No ratings)

Yes, I can see why the FCC needs three more weeks before a vote.. they have only had the fucker for 17 months.... wouldn't want to rush them or anything.

What a collection of inepts.

Even if the merger goes through, and it looks like it will, the surviving company will be still in massive debt and will need ether government subsidies (censorship) or some company to come and rescue them as this economic disaster can't carry on much longer. I can't wait to see how this plays out as SIRIUSXM provides a great service, it just like the airlines can't make a profit.

Ryan... thanks for Orbitcast!

I understand the last 2 commissioners vote up to 10 days after the 1st 2, but how quickly must the 1st 2 vote once item circulated and by the way it is dated the 17th.

Anyone know ?

And if we're not talking business days, 20 days from the 17th is July 7th.

Wow - at long last the FCC shows signs of life...
Ok you guys -- go on & vote...

Amazing how GS Mark Wienkes got out his research note, crushing the DNA of Sirius / XM just before this event, lowering prices, exactly in this week... to allow the shorts to recover...

MAkes you wonder about the shorts and their supporters, don't you?

The merger will pass, I am sure now. Prices will go up.

Who gives a shit about the merger, either way no fucking HD Radio in Satrad receivers! FUCK YOU STRUBLE! Now, you sneaky llitte shitball and airways hijacker and destroyer, you are trying to circumvent public comment on the proposed 10db FM-HD power increase:

"FM IBOC Power Increase Sought"

"As I suspected, this request is 'piggybacked' on Docket 99-325, it is not a new Petition for Rulemaking. You see, they want to eliminate the opportunity for public comment and just push it through. Note that this request includes Appendix A (the long list of owned FM radio stations, demonstrating how high and mighty these companies are) but where are all of the referenced test reports that were supposed to be included in Appendix B and C? I would kinda like to read them. A-Ha! Footnote 5 explains that the test reports are being submitted directly to the FCC by iBiquity and CBS, Inc. Sneaky!"

http://tinyurl.com/4vrrl6

Man, I empothize with the hostility here; I feel the same way; I have demons in my head, running-over the same-old-tired-refrain about having a damn ruling already!

THIS IS COMPLETE INSANITY!---At this point, a "no" vote is totally liable against the FCC-Commission in the District Courts; Of course, I suppose it was Kevin's duty to circulate the draft, and he's a proponent of the merger, so maybe that would be a stumbling block when/if litigation ensues!

I'm not going through that drama; Once a decision is rendered, I'm either a long-term long, or I call it quits! I've lost so much money and "sanctity-of-mind"....in short, my Spirit has been injured; I've given it my best as a long...and I promised myself I'd at least hold through until a completed (either way) merger decision is rendered!

I will say, imo, it doesn't look good for the merger; I think Deborah Tate is the dissenting Republican (NAB-ally...Goldman-Sachs shill, and a politico!); So, Karmazin and Gary are going to try and drum-up support next week; Maybe Tate is fence-sitting, b/c they are meeting with her too again!

This is what our Government has become, sad to say! Paid to the highest bidder! Who wins in this game? The consumer? I'm sure the Courts would rule in favor of the consumer via an over-turn of the FCC-commission...but that would be too much wait for me!

I hope it doesn't come down to that; I'm still writing e-mail to the commission members!

GLTA-longs trying to "keep-the-faith"! eom!

Parting thoughts....

Common sense to the common sensed man suggests that this merger will pass.
Common sense also suggested that this simple decision should have been complete last November.

These (FCC and Congress) are not people who understand the will of the little people, or, for that matter reason. Their working lives are absorbed by never ending debate, legal tactics, and back scratching. Go along-get along ...and by all means put their interests first.

I hope and trust that this merger will be approved if for no other reason to end the embarrassment of my Government, however, with what we've all witnessed let nothing shock you!

Parting thoughts....

Common sense to the common sensed man suggests that this merger will pass.
Common sense also suggested that this simple decision should have been complete last November.

These (FCC and Congress) are not people who understand the will of the little people, or, for that matter reason. Their working lives are absorbed by never ending debate, legal tactics, and back scratching. Go along-get along ...and by all means put their interests first.

I hope and trust that this merger will be approved if for no other reason to end the embarrassment of my Government, however, with what we've all witnessed let nothing shock you!

ron and fez noon to three

Ok, I am starting to capitulate so the BOTTOM may now be in:

I could not take the pain and had to unload some shares after hours that I had bought on margin at 3.18. I could have held out for another 25 cents down, but if merger denied or something else causes a drop to 1.50 or lower, I'm completedly slaughtered. I swore I would never use margin again, but decided after DOJ announced approval with ZERO conditions. Thought this was good news.

History has shown with me that I also sell the day the bottom is formed, so expect a rebound Monday now that I relinquished some shares to Goldman Sachs at 2.01.

If I can hold onto all my shares I can make a bundle if there is an approval and rebound to 3.50 - 4.00. Hanging on by a thread. Anyone without Margin should hold tight because approval is coming. I may have to lighten up a little more, but what a shame because it will likely rebound strongly.

Good Luck all.

I'm telling you, it was MEL'S big fat white envoples at the last meeting that did the trick

You guys that are still interested in these stocks....this may very well be the bottom.

Should a vote come in less than three weeks (finally!), the curtain may finally fall on the stock drop.

I am still disinterested in these two as an investment, since they've had 7 years to get their acts together. A merger should never have been in the cards.

They should've both been profitable and riding off into the sunset long by now. Had they only forced automakers to include SDARS as standard equipment in all models 5 years ago, they wouldn't be in this mess today. Too much money wasted on acquiring subscribers, and far too much money wasted on the talent war.

O&A ..... This Dreaded Show will FINALLY becoming to an end.

eric logan has made his exit today at xm radio

eric logan has made his exit today at xm radio

poor PocketRadio,

You are still so fearful, and desperate to slander the technology standard for digital radio. Lucky that as HD Radio grows larger by the day your lunatic delusions are proven more and more uneducated and idiotic.

Now for the FACTS:

(analog power is not affected).

"The intent is to get digital coverage to better match the analog without causing harmful interference on neighboring first-adjacent channels."

"The idea is increase FM IBOC coverage and improve building penetration of digital signals for better HD-R receiver performance."

The FCC and HD Radio (since roll out 2002) have been at the current ratio of power of the analog signal to the digital signal is standardized at 100:1. AKA HD Radio signal has been at 1% power level of the analog signal. It's time to start giving broadcasters the ability to start bringing the power level of Digital up (10db) and start bringing the power level of Analog down. Which will further enrage and scare poor pocketradio, bringing on yet more childish fits of anger all over a technology, which was selected by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2002 as the only digital audio broadcasting technology for AM and FM broadcasting in the United States.

Therefore, HD Radio is considered an attractive alternative to satellite radio, which charges a fee for its use. Satellite radio which with "merge" scheme's will not be around too much longer.

HD Digital Radio • IT'S TIME TO UPGRADE!
HD Digital Radio. It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT!
www.hdradio.com/

I went in with $200k between both Siri and XM, thought for sure this would be no brainer but little did I realize the decision makers had no brains and took over 9 months. Averaged in at $3.35-you do the math for losses--and cutting off toes one by one to ease the pain.

oh the humanity!!!

@Anonymous Coward

Hey, the NAB/IBOC shill-parrot is back! Didn't I see your on Jerry Del Collino's site. The NAB is also trying to hide the FM-HD power increase from its own members:

"NAB to Seek FCC Approval of Major IBOC Power Boost"

"For some broadcasters, however, the fact that the NAB has apparently signed on to the recommendation without first revealing details of this rather secretive study to its general membership is both striking and troubling."

http://tinyurl.com/39foj9

the nab sucks dick let them merge now

Who gives a shit about the merger, either way no fucking HD Radio in Satrad receivers! FUCK YOU STRUBLE! Now, you sneaky llitte shitball and airways hijacker and destroyer, you are trying to circumvent public comment on the proposed 10db FM-HD power increase:>>

Yup! What da man said! Humiliation for the NAB scumbucketariat on tap!

Plowboy,

IF you used some "Common sense" you wouldn't be so desperate, you wouldn't have wasted your money in a risky investment like satradio with a business plan which will do nothing but fail "merge" scheme or NO "merge" scheme. Sadly you made it worse on yourself by posting BS after BS about your delusions of grandeur on the satradio industry. What the matter? Are you trying to sucker others into the same mess you made yourself? You place blame on everyone but the parties who are responsible YOU and Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin. You were too emotional and made a poor investment choice, Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin see's satradio demise and wants to get a big cash grab via a "merge" MONOPOLY before the entire industry implodes. You believed in Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin's scheme hook line and sinker. yet didn't factor in Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin's greed and arrogance factor. Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin has more than proven he cares not about the product nor the consumer, just desperate like you to line his pockets with other peoples money.

"Upping HD Radio signal strengths"

"The short math given what we know today is that it will cost roughly double on the transmission end to increase HD Radio FM power tenfold. There are likely to be additional costs for cooling and air handling as well, in order to dissipate the excess energy required to get out another 10 dB in HD Radio signal. And, for some higher powered stations, existing HD Radio configurations may not be able to handle the power load, which could add to the cost and complexity of increasing HD Radio beyond its current power level... Also worth considering is existing transmitter combiner technology and whether or not it can support the added demands of increasing HD Radio broadcasts another 10 dB. If not, then it’s very likely that stations at the higher power levels will need to factor in a new antenna system that can support HD Radio, rather than piggyback onto their existing FM antenna system. At the higher powers, especially, an immediate 10 dB increase in HD Radio signal may be cost prohibitive... This will typically mean the addition of another similarly rated transmitter (using a combining technique) or the purchase of a new transmitter of roughly twice today’s power level."

http://www.rbr.com/features/intel_briefs/hd_radio_signal_bealor_cavell.html

Hardly any stations are going to be able to afford the proposed FM-HD power increase, anyway. The increase will just cause massive interference, and that is why these bogus, secretive studies were perrformed by iBiquity, and behind-the-back submitted to the FCC.

PocketRadio,

you have alot to learn. Your posts show just how fearful, and desperate PocketRadio is. All over being upset with a technology standard for digital radio. Keep your piehole spewing as HD Radio grows larger by the day your lunatic delusions are proven more and more uneducated and idiotic.

“Digital FM stereo coverage will equal monaural analog FM coverage. We’ll deliver digital stereo farther than analog stereo.” In general, he added, the 10dB maximum boost proposed by the group would boost a digital signal’s range by about 10 miles."

"the power boost would deliver “digital indoor reception with better quality than analog.”

"The 1 percent cap, the petition said, was “intentionally set at a very conservative level to ensure that the introduction of digital audio broadcasting would not adversely impact analog compatibility. The relatively limited on-air testing of the IBOC [in-band on-channel] system that had been conducted at that time justified such a hyper-conservative approach.” Since then, the petition continued, experience has shown that the low digital FM power level “precludes many of these stations from being able to transmit a digital signal that fully replicates their analog service areas. The lower digital power level also limits the ability of digital FM signals to penetrate buildings and other structures, thereby impeding indoor reception. Consequently, a significant number of potential listeners are unable to benefit from digital broadcasts.”

With the filing, “broadcasters and equipment makers clearly say it’s time to increase the power devoted to FM HD Radio broadcasts,” HD Radio developer iBiquity Digital said. “The initial HD Radio rollout was structured to ensure minimal interference of analog signals while also offering a strong digital service. That first phase has gone smoothly, with minimal interruption of traditional radio broadcasts.” The test program, iBiquity added, determined that the proposed increase in digital FM output would significantly improve digital FM performance with virtually no risk of adversely affecting analog compatibility.”
The tests found little impact on the host station’s analog signal or the analog signals of FM stations operating in nearby markets in adjacent frequencies [first- and second-adjacent stations], iBiquity said.

More than 1,700 AM and FM HD Radio stations are on the air.

Good news Good news, except if your a troll named PocketRadio who spams the web with his desperate, fearful, lunatic delusions are proven more and more uneducated and idiotic by the day. The TRUTH is much better than PocketRadio Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.

Sorry Pocketradio only the uneducated can be controlled by your ignorant fear.
http://scientaestubique.wordpress.com/2007/01/19/media-political-and-religious-fud-fear-uncertainty-doubt-controlling-by-fear/

@Anonymous Coward

"Reduced quality concerns"

"Another such conflict arises from the extra free programs available today. iBiquity is seeking FCC approval for conditional access, that is, enabling the extra programs to be available only by paid subscription (on future models of HD Radio). NDS, a maker of digital media encryption technology, has a deal with iBiquity to provide HD Radio with an encrypted content-delivery system called RadioGuard.[40] NDS claims that RadioGuard will provide additional revenue-generating possibilities. iBiquity has stated that RadioGuard will become a standard feature of the HD Radio system. These competing capabilities mean that purchasers of early models of HD Radio have no guarantees of continued broadcasts of either high-quality audio or extra channels. Audio quality will suffer as broadcasters decide to subdivide their streams into extra HD-2 and HD-3 channels. And if the extra channels become subscription channels, they will become invisible to older radios without RadioGuard (and to those unwilling to pay for them)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_Radio

Do you think consumers, who have already bought HD radios, know that their radios may become obsolete?

Do you think consumers, who have already bought satradio radios, know that their radios will become obsolete?

@ Anonymous Coward | June 20, 2008 7:17 PM

silly rabbit, read the press. "YOUR RADIO WILL NOT BE OBSOLETE." it's even on the front page of orbitcast.

"Do you think consumers, who have already bought satradio radios, know that their radios will become obsolete?"

I love this ! What a spoiled little baby with a temper! I'll see you back on Jerry's site. I really had you fooled - it was all-for-one and one-for-all! Them was me!

Oh it is so over for satradio.....

iPhone 3G firmware has FM radio support, FOTA
Posted 19 June 2008

Reports from users in possession of the latest iPhone 3G firmware indicate that the device will have support for both FM radio and FOTA (firmware over the air).

FM radio support means that the iPhone 3G may be able to make use of devices like Apple’s own “iPod Radio Remote,” which includes an FM tuner and allows users to listen to FM radio stations. Current iPhone and iPod touch models are incompatible with the radio remote.

Firmware over the air support means that Apple will theoretically be able to deliver software and firmware updates over the iPhone’s cellular network connection, potentially allowing re-locking of unlocked devices and feature enhancements that do not require connection to a host computer.

Stick a fork into the entire satradio industry. First Melvin's "merge" scheme taking the industry down to it's knees, IF approved the industry will hit new lows till it completely implodes because of Melvin's greed and arrogance. Now we hear the 3G iPhone includes a FM tuner. Satradio D O N E.

"Cramer -- Please post the name of the guys who have slowed or blocked this merger a few more times on your show.....PEOPLE write them down and Vote these guys out of office. a Statement should be made. WE the People, who elect you into office expect REAL solutions to REAL probelms! REAL probelms you ask? Yes...like OUR ECONOMY....The WAR on TERROR, the Billions Illegals are costing this country annually, EDUCATION, SOCIAL SECURITY......like those REAL probelms. This is a RADIO SERVICE that the PEOPLE must purchase in order to obtain the service!! Give me a break with Monopoly? This is a conspiracy at the greatest level and something should be done about it!"

I'm not a big fan of this merger but HOLLY CRAP this has taken way too long.. any decision is welcome at this point.. it can't be that big of a deal to decide... and I do think these people should be held accountable.. fire their asses... you know what I mean.. vote them out..

"I really had you fooled - it was all-for-one and one-for-all! Them was me!"

You fool NO ONE but your ignorant self Pocketradio. Your games only prove how fearful, and desperate PocketRadio is. The rest of us could care less, as a education DEBUNKS everything ignorant point you make.

Have no clue what "Jerry's site" is can't say I've ever been there however we now know it's a place where trolls like Pocketradio spew ignorance... Nope no need to go there.

But here is yet another link with the FACTS:

Pumping Up The Volume: HD Radio Touts Price Cuts
BY PATRICK SEITZ
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=17&artnum=2&issue=20080604

Pocketradio - DEBUNKED

FM sucks, HD blows and satellite radio will rule in 2 -3 years

FUCK OFF NAB RADIO SUCKS LET THEM MERGE

@Anonymous Coward

"Pumping Up The Volume: HD Radio Touts Price Cuts"

"Are you waiting in line for your HD radio?"

"If you lower the price enough, folks will buy the radio. That's the belief about HD radio that is being stoked in our industry. And, of course, it's wrong."

http://www.hear2.com/2006/11/are_you_waiting.html

Slamdunk!

Coward to Plowboy,

Desperate are those hoping for a NAB win. I enjoy seeing Nabsters like yourself get your comeuppance for trying to hold onto your frail monopoly.

What may Plowboy undertake once this merger is completed? .... Lobbying the House and Senate to pass legislation that NAB broadcasters pay full radio royalty just as satrad does... and as these poor artists deserve.

I will bet I'll find a sympathetic ear for Artists in the new Democratic administration....don't you?

It will be grand when the NAB Members pay up!

:)

"The rest of us could care less, as a education DEBUNKS everything ignorant point you make."

If you were so educated you would grasp the difference between COULD and COULDN'T care less, smart guy.

THERES NO RELEVENCE TO OPRAH NO RELEVANCE TO HOWARD NO RELEVANCE TO MARTHA FUCKIN STEWART...............AND MEL IS SITTING IN THE FUCKIN IVORY TOWER AND SAYING NOTHING WHILE HIS STOCK IS BEING BASHED INTO THE GROUND.......STEVE JOBS WOUDNT STAND FOR THIS SHIT FOR A SECOND HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE TALKSHOWS MAKING THE ROUNDS AND FUCKING THIS ASSHOLE FROM GOLDMAN WHO IS A FUCKIN JIHADISTS.....EVERY FUCKIN TIME GOOD INFORMATION COMES OUT LIKE AN IMMENANT MERGER THIS FUCKIN PIECE OF SHIT POPPS HIS TIMMY MC FUCKIN VAY HEAD UP AND DROPS AND IED.......

MEL YOUR A MORRON

THERES NO RELEVENCE TO OPRAH NO RELEVANCE TO HOWARD NO RELEVANCE TO MARTHA FUCKIN STEWART...............AND MEL IS SITTING IN THE FUCKIN IVORY TOWER AND SAYING NOTHING WHILE HIS STOCK IS BEING BASHED INTO THE GROUND.......STEVE JOBS WOUDNT STAND FOR THIS SHIT FOR A SECOND HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE TALKSHOWS MAKING THE ROUNDS AND FUCKING THIS ASSHOLE FROM GOLDMAN WHO IS A FUCKIN JIHADISTS.....EVERY FUCKIN TIME GOOD INFORMATION COMES OUT LIKE AN IMMENANT MERGER THIS FUCKIN PIECE OF SHIT POPPS HIS TIMMY MC FUCKIN VAY HEAD UP AND DROPS AND IED.......

MEL YOUR A MORRON

I never read a post that consists of more than two paragraphs. Get a grip you psuedo Tolstoys.

Merge its been almost a year and a half. Interoperability. Yikes, somebody get a grip internet radio, ipods, traditional radio, cd's, silence, and dvd's.

Why the rush i think they should give it another year or two.

"STEVE JOBS WOUDNT STAND FOR THIS SHIT FOR A SECOND HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE TALKSHOWS MAKING THE ROUNDS"

WRONG!! Apple lost nearly 50% at the beginning of the year and all the Apple stockholders were freaking out asking where was Jobs. He said nothing except that he doesn't look at the stock price and that those things work themselves out.

I wouldn't be too hard on GS.... their call of 11/07 called Sirius at 2.25 while Citi has clung to a 9.00. Citi has been very accurate throughout their organization.... more so than even Bob Peck who saw XMSR @ 20.00 post merger.

If there is one are of concern I think GS has correctly identified it's that the 6.99 Ala carte may be a killer..... run the numbers yourself .. if even 30% ( 5 million ) drop by 60.00 per year, you've just lost 15% of the combined company's revenue.

Face it.... 90% of people have been 85% wrong on pricing or seeing the future of Satrad. Don't count anything out and for God's sakes after seven years of downhill promises and hype, use your own head.

My head says what it said three years ago.... that this will be a killer in 2015. A literal smoker with a cap up to 35-38 Billion bucks. (12 bucks per share) . A six bagger (now) is worth the wait if you're long term.

Other thoughts..

1 Nab has screwed themselves being so vehement.... tipping their fears/insecurity.
2. CITI 9.00 is ass kissing for funding preference.
3. Goldman may be doing this for Mel and Merger or to cover shorts.
4. The merger will be 4-1 approved.
5. SIXM will be in the black by Q4 - 2009.
6. There is a tremendous pent up demand of fence sitters.
7. Mel is the greatest communication master/marketer of all times.
8. The FCC (Under Martin) is immoral , political and incompetent.
9. Merger produces 500M of combined synergies annually forever.
10. Contracts with OEM's and content providers get reworked "vigorously" upon expiration.
11. Adlestein is the next Chairman ... and a good one.

Mel is a faggot!! Hoo Hoo Right Robin! Tell them Fred!!

3 weeks + 10 days = more BS = end of august an then maybe = more BS

CONVICTION SELL on Clear Channel is the Wienksky is correct and young people are using more advanced listening devices and recording platforms and NOT sat/T-radio...
Advertising folks take note of GS recommendation...

"young people are using more advanced listening devices and recording platforms and NOT sat/T-radio..."

HD Digital Radio • IT'S TIME TO UPGRADE!
HD Digital Radio. It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT!
www.hdradio.com/

I am discovering HD Radio...

"HD Radio is a different digital broadcasting standard than those previously adopted by other countries. The lack of a common standard means that digital radios of one country may not work in another, and that manufacturers must develop separate products for different countries. As a result, costs are raised for both broadcasters and consumers. "

"The HD Radio audio Codec, called "HDC", is incompatible with the DAB and DRM audio codecs, AAC and HE-AAC. Whereas the AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) family of codecs are publicly documented standards, and implemented on hundreds of diverse non-radio related devices and in computer software, the HDC codec exists only within the HD Radio system, and is an iBiquity trade secret."

"iBiquity ultimately has control over HD Radio receiver-manufacturer licensing[30] and broadcaster licensing. Unlike DRM and DAB, which are open specifications, iBiquity's HD Radio specification is partly open and partly secret"

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hd_radio

There, I have discovered HD Radio. It's a load of fucking crap.

I agree. I returned my HD POS to the Radio Shack I purchased it at last christmas. Exchanged it for Sirius. Never looked back.

You seem to be a bit ignorant in your discovery of HD Radio.

HD Radio has been officially adopted by the U.S. and Brazil. iBiquity has stated in PR articles that countries evaluating HD Radio include Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Switzerland, and Thailand. Canada adopted the Eureka-147 DAB standard in the late 1990s, but as of mid-2007 is exploring other options, including IBOC and DRM.

As of May 2008, more than 1600 AM and FM stations are broadcasting with HD Radio technology, with more than 700 FM stations offering more than one digital channel per FM frequency, thus doubling or tripling the number of programming channels available to listeners.

In order to implement DAB approximately 1500 kilohertz in width, it was necessary for the European Telecommunications organization to set aside a new range of frequencies, whereas FM-HD Radio shares its digital broadcast with the traditional 200 kilohertz-wide channels.

Yet countries where they are implementing DAB, the vast majority of stereo radio stations on DAB have a lower sound-quality than FM. Other issues with DAB include "downgrading" stations from stereo to monaural, in order to squeeze even more channels into the limited 1000 kbit/s bandwidth.

As with traditional AM, FM and TV broadcasting, HD Radio programming is free and supported either by commercial advertising or public broadcasting. Therefore, HD Radio is considered an attractive alternative to satellite radio, which charges a fee for its use.

HD Digital Radio • IT'S TIME TO UPGRADE!
HD Digital Radio. It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT!
www.hdradio.com/

"But after an investigation of HD Radio units, the stations playing HD, and the company that owns the technology; and some interviews with the wonks in DC, it looks like HD Radio is a high-level corporate scam, a huge carny shill... Between the high prices, poor listening options, homogenized content, and a decade and a half of FCC dealings that went into this monopoly, critics are calling the move to digital radio a 'catastrophe' and a 'complete giveaway' to behemoths such as CBS... All the major radio players, such as Clear Channel Communications, are iBiquity investors. Which means Clear Channel is paying itself for the right to broadcast, and every mom-and-pop station that wants to go digital also has pay the big boys. Nice setup!"

AC, You're wasting you time, shut your fly trap.

"Problems with the system that pervade the entire HD/IBOC data and codec from beginning to end, all the way to the signal on the air persist. The codec, by today's standards, is grossly inferior on FM and literally unspeakable on AM (gee, I had no idea). Since they're hardwired into the receivers, they won't be changed anytime soon, if ever. But it goes beyond that. There were bad choices of network layer such that reliability is compromised. The code used in exciters has a severe memory leak, so the exciters crash routinely. The receivers can be locked up solid by malformed packets, requiring a power cycle to restore operation. The list goes on and on and on. Will any of this get fixed? Probably not, since all the money right now is going to promotion, not to technical bug fixes. This is a system that has been in development for a decade and a half, and it still has problems from beginning to end that range from audio encoding, through the transport layers, to the encoding, and now, with the spectral regrowth problems, to the broadcast bands themselves; you know...that which is supposed to be serving the public. I would love to be implementing digital radio. But this is garbage."

Wow Anonymous Coward,
Did you find that in cliff notes? The staradio fanboy's guide to HD Radio written by Pocketradio? Sounds again like your mighty confused when it comes to HD Radio.

The TRUTH is much better than PocketRadio Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. HD Radio is no scam. There are way too many manufactures and corporations which have chosen to move forward with programming and manufacturing of HD Radio and HD Radio technology.

Till you learn the truth and reality about HD Radio. YOU are "wasting you time, shut your fly trap."

THEY OWE US A STRAIGHT 5-0 VOTE.

Here is what will happen when the merger completes

1) They will offer guidence indicating that due to the delays in approval they will not have a good year, period. They will reduce the forcast for 09 as well.

2) They will announce that there projections for synergies were not as robust as they originally thought and will scale back estimates. They will announce meger related expenses, including severance packages for the exec level positiions, which will be huge.

3) They will announce a major cash shortage and File for BK protections. Not a bad thing, but the only way in my opinion to get away from the contracts and the mountian of debt.

4) Compnay will not see a dollar of proift unitl 2010.

No a short term pop, or quick buck gain, but a long term speculative holder. Play with money you can lose on this one and you may just be surprised

"THEY" OWE no one nothing!

Here is what will happen IF the merger completes:

1)initial churn from consumers who want nothing to do with supporting Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin"s "merge" MONOPOLY scheme will be mind blowing.

2)the truth about the "merge" and a announcement of what's left of the talent, content, and programming will come out causing a second wave of churn almost equal to the initial churn.

2.5)The new alacarte pricing alone removes over 1/2 of the income the xm and sirius had prior to the "merge" putting the company into a bigger hole and come the first quarterly report completes its alienation of wallstreet and mainstreet.

3)Talent and content contacts will all be coming up for renewal and the "merged" company without direct competition will have little incentive to spend money they never had and never will have making satradio the equivalent of terrestrial only this time the few subscribers left will be paying to hear more commercials.

4)After all his "merge" MONOPOLY scheme checks clear Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin will be gone and consumers will be so desperate they will hunt down Hugh "I have no idea what satradio can be" Panero and Eric "the cheaper the programming the better" Logan and force them to take positions in the company to try and break apart the companies "merge" and help xm back to health.

5) Hugh "I have no idea what satradio can be" Panero and Eric "the cheaper the programming the better" Logan of course will fail, the company will go bust and the FCC will break it apart and sell the pieces to the highest bidders with the only stipulation being able to prove their management teams have a pulse, and have ears to hear with.

6)Plowboy will still be waxing poetic in hopes of getting any of his investment back after finally realizing his investment was A)extremely risky investing on a business plan with failure written all over it. B)The "merge" MONOPOLY was indeed a very bad idea for the industry and consumers.

7)Max, Pocketradio, and the rest of Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin's blind, ignorant, satradio fanboys still unable to understand what happened continue lashing out at everyone still blaming everyone but their hero Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin for the demise of their precious satradio.

8)Thousands of satradio receivers now obsolete from the "merged" company going belly up find their way to landfills. Yet Max, Pocketradio, and the rest of their small group will continue posting on orbitcast as they still having delusions of grandeur and think their satradio's are working even though the abandon XM-1: Roll, XM-2: Rock, XM-3: Rhythm, XM-4: Blues, Radiosat 1, Radiosat 2, Radiosat 3, and Radiosat 4 had already been used as target practice by the Navy.

But this story has a happy ending....

9)With satradio's quick demise traditional terrestrial broadcasters where already working on and able to raise the quality of their offerings and (unlike satradio) had the money to bring in the content and talent consumers want to listen to.

10)HD Radio offers a deal to all orphaned satradio subscribers and HD Radio continues to gain thousands upon thousands of listeners. With consumers behind HD Radio the FCC gives the orders to finally turn phase out analog radio.

HD Digital Radio • IT'S TIME TO UPGRADE!
HD Digital Radio. It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT!

AC: I really don't understand your points.

You made very good points about the merger, there are things to be concerned about, but two things give you a big lack of credibility.

1) Attacking so-called "blind, ignorant fanboys". Why? It stands to reason if people are paying for this service, they would be fans of it, right? If they weren't fans of it, they wouldn't pay. Now granted, some people have "merger blindness", but I base that on either being fans of the stock benefits from merging or thinking they could get both channels for a reduced cost, or people who think the merger is a sign of one company "winning" over the other.

2) The HD spam, as Ryan so accurately put it, is annoying because one of the reasons people went with SatRad was to get away from corporate-style Clear-Channel programming. Nothing I see says that HD Radio has the promise of SatRad in terms of variety. Sure, some HD stations are commercial free, but a lot of it is just another radio station. You really sound like a commercial.

I don't have the hate of Traditional Radio that some fans do, and I think HD will eventually replace FM, however, I do wonder why you a "trolling" the forums somewhat. At least on other forums, I don't see people repeating the same mantra over and over. Are you just trying to troll these forums. Why would you want to spam Orbitcast with the same mantras over and over. It gets old faster--older than "Ron and Fez noon to 3", "0.0", "Hoo Hoo I invented , Tell 'em Fred", or that crap. If you hate SatRad, why even bother reading this blog. Ryan did warn you once that it was getting old. I think you need to add more variety and nuance to your arguments.

That's assuming you are just one person and not multiple people with different agendas. The AC posts sometimes seem a bit schizoid).

Anonymous Coward is correct on everythig he stated!!! # 3 and 4 are dead on --Sad but true

What a page full of crap....talk about wild speculation, worried investors, and some that absolutely do not have a clue.

As usual....the good reading ends with Ryan's post.

""HD Radio is a different digital broadcasting standard than those previously adopted by other countries. The lack of a common standard means that digital radios of one country may not work in another, and that manufacturers must develop separate products for different countries. As a result, costs are raised for both broadcasters and consumers."

"World's first DRM+ broadcasts go on-air in Germany"

"The world's first ever DRM+ broadcastes have gone on-air in the FM band in Germany, and it is reported that the DRM+ system will be standardised next year. It is also reported that there will be trials of the US-based HD Radio system in the FM band in Germany as well, although I've seen another German report which said that the HD Radio system failed to meet the interference criteria for transmitting in the FM band -- i.e. HD Radio stations would interfere too much with existing FM stations -- so whether HD Radio stands a chance of being used I don't know, but I would doubt it. The European receiver manufacturers certainly wouldn't be keen on supporting yet another standard if they can help it due to the additional licensing costs that would be incurred, and the fact that HD Radio is a proprietary system wouldn't help matters. Also, HD Radio only has a very limited amount of support -- just the odd radio station in a few countries -- so I can't personally see how it stands a chance of building up the momentum required to compete against DAB+, as that has a lot of support from around the world."

http://tinyurl.com/2nojbu

"European HD Radio examined"

"When IBOC was first proposed for digital radio the European radio technology industry criticised it on the ground that it was unstable and prone to interference. Another objection was that the patents are owned by a single company, which charges fees for use... HD Radio is similar but the fees come to one company. We're using a different licensing scheme in Europe, with broadcasters contacting manufacturers direct and not paying an on-going fee. HD Radio is not seen as a replacement for DAB or DRM but an alternative that could work for some European radio stations. A spokeswoman for the UK's Digital Radio Development Board said that everybody is looking at everything, although there is currently no apparent interest in the country for HD Radio."

http://tinyurl.com/3dd92d

Yea, Europe looked at HD Radio and kicked Struble in his fucking little balls.

mp3 is the future

PocketRadio,

Hell bent on proving you have alot to learn? Each and every one of your posts show just how fearful, and desperate PocketRadio is, all over a technology standard for digital radio. As HD Radio grows larger by the day your lunatic delusions are proven more and more uneducated and idiotic.

You'd think poor Pocketradio between his spamming the net with his delusions, about HD Radio and playing games posting under different names here at orbitcast he might try to educate himself, but NO Pocketradio is fearful of the truth. What's interesting is Pocketradio seems to think everything in the consumer electronics industry has the ability to operate globally other than HD Radio. HD Radio has been officially adopted by the U.S. and Brazil. iBiquity has stated other countries are evaluating HD Radio including Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Switzerland, and Thailand. As more and more countries adopt HD Radio as their digital radio standard consumers will have more and more places where their HD Radio's work. As posted above there are valid reasons why the FCC chose Ibiq's HD Radio technology as the standard instead of DAB or DRM. The ability for simple understanding and the ability to comprehend facts shows the truth.

With more than 1,700 AM and FM HD Radio stations are on the air, it's easy for Robert Struble, Ibiquity President/CEO to keep the positive news and reviews of HD Radio coming in. Pocketradio posts he thinks Struble is being disrespected in his own rude, crude way but the truth about HD Radio continues to show the real, desperate, sad truth about Pocketradio.

Good news Good news, except if your a troll named PocketRadio who spams the web with his desperate, fearful, lunatic delusions which are proven more and more uneducated and idiotic by the day. The TRUTH is much better than PocketRadio Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.

Sorry Pocketradio again only the uneducated can be controlled by your ignorant fear.
http://scientaestubique.wordpress.com/2007/01/19/media-political-and-religious-fud-fear-uncertainty-doubt-controlling-by-fear/

Pocketradio, DEBUNKED.

JRT,

You guessed some things right, some things not so right.

1)"blind, ignorant fanboys" and not the majority of satradio they are those as you call "people have "merger blindness".

2)HD Radio will be seen as a better option than a "merged" satradio company IF approved under Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin who preaches "corporate-style Clear-Channel programming". Some XM subscribers can see Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin"s "corporate-style Clear-Channel programming" much more clearly than those of us with Sirius subscriptions. There is no taking away any of Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin success in broadcasting but urge you to find out about Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin before thinking Sirius or a "merged" xm and Sirius under Mel run's any differently than "corporate-style Clear-Channel programming" which some satradio subscribers are satradio subscribers for.

3)Don't hate satradio, have been a multi-radio subscriber to both, however can see clearly what positives direct competition has brought to satradio, which will be removed with Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin's "merge" scheme. Also terrestrial broadcasting companies have been waiting with money on the table to bring back the content and talent consumers want to listen to. HD Radio is the technology they will use to move forward and past satradio. Satradio's got no money, never made any, never will, Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin's "merge" scheme made a unworkable business plan even worse. Worse for the satradio industry and worse on consumers.

And heck yes there are many more than one person posting under the default Anonymous Coward.

I can't wait for this to end just so I don't have to read morons write merge in quotes anymore.

I love how the HD Radio spammers always fial to mention that the stations aren't nationwide.

I love SatRad when I travel for business. Same stations. Everywhere.

Not new stations when the markets change.

I love how TacoKid spams he always fail to mention he's the type of person who can't handle the change and variety with different stations everywhere.

It's about the merger.... may we have a separate thread for HD? ..... who see any merit about a discussion Re: HD? .... Here... let me sum HD up WITH a quote: " It slightly improves the sound quality of terribly shitty content" .

-----------------

Returning to satrad ...and all the conversation about bankruptcy. ( I see it as a sale of XM that would probably flounder later )

Having run companies, I know (and I'll use the work Know) that based on past loss reduction, XM can be assured to go under/be sold at this time. They have simply not cut losses to any appreciable degree. In two years they cut their losses from .60 to .42 in a quarter. At this rate, it will take them about 4.5 years to BE at which point they will have amassed another 2.2 BILLION in debt (add this to the 1.5 they are down.)

I feel Homer's ass getting tight..... I see him pulling out financials for a rebuttal... but this is true and historic.

In the same two year period, Sirius went from .33 loss to .07 loss. Now, would Homer be the first to say that Sirius hasn't escrowed for it's infrastructure and needs 1.0 B for birds over 2-5 years... yep.... agreed ...so we will add in .05 per share which covers the leasing of a fleet...our adjusted siri loss is then .12 down from .33.

This suggests it will take 6 -7 quarters for Sirius to BE as they are reducing their loss by about .09 per year. You can see what's happening here when XM can't easily cover the 120M "bond" they need for their baseball agreement, the pooh will hit the fan soon.

You see, Sirius is wired, is Jewish connected, and can get financing. XM is Gentile in a world of Jewish financing and is sitting in Washington with little connection to the real world of money and entertainment. While I digress.... Sirius is run by Disney equivalents while XM was run like a telecommunication company. If any of you thing this paragraph is inconsequential, you're naive.

Without a merger XM will need to be sold soon. If it's not sold, or if the new owner can't devise a model better than they did, the FCC will only have one player anyway... and it will be Sirius if for no other reason than their retail customers are cash cows AND they started losing money one year later than XM did. (this last point is often overlooked) .

I have always and often given Homer shit for being, in my opinion, "XM Bias"., a charge I still support. BUT he's one intelligent dude (as is Levi) that has taught me and told others that XM's deal with GM may as well be non-existent due to it's contribution to the bottom line. This is key.

I look back over the years now and fully appreciate that XM's issues was in not hiring Stern, poor OEM $$ contracts, and their lack of retail penetration. All could have been fixed by a BOD that had brains and backbone.... which never existed sans Jack Pierce.

FCC... you may as well make hay with the concessions you have, cause you'll end up with no concessions , and only one company, in

Sorry... I keep forgetting to sign in.

Plowboy

After the merger, satellite radio should come up with a method to allow them to broadcast to satellite radios that are not current subscribers. These radios will receive the benefits of satellite radio with no subscription fee, except they will have to listen to commercials inserted into the broadcast. Imagine the revenue for selling ad space on one hundred national radio stations/channels. This idea would be worth billions in ad revenue over the next ten years and would have the NAB shaking in their boots. If only someone would come up with a method to do this. Oh, wait a minute, someone already has.

http://www.rapidpat.com/backpage.cfm?PAGENO=0&TYPE=SIRI8

Great post Tristan... you called the potential future with this one.

-----

Both companies have a business model that assumes a subscriber's willingness to pay for mostly commercial-free, high-quality, high availability services. However, it is believed that there is a segment of the population that find the commercial-free subscriber fee to be too high and would be willing to live with satellite service containing significantly more advertisements for a less expensive subscriber fee. It is likely that a service provider would welcome obtaining this market segment as long as it did not cut into the profits obtained from the commercial-free subscribers. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a system and method for introducing advertisements in a satellite radio system that can be selectively enabled at the receiver, depending upon the particular tier of service to which the subscriber is subscribed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A secondary channel is used to broadcast advertisement clips (e.g., audio clips) to a receiver for subsequent decoding and playback. The receiver is configured for different tiers of service, e.g., one that delivers substantially advertising-free content and another that delivers content that includes more significant amounts of advertising. The content delivered to both is the same content; however, for the service tier that includes more advertising, the advertisements broadcast on the secondary channel are interleaved into the content, preferably in such a way that the continuity of the content being delivered is not compromised

Has anyone bothered to think about the current Sub's and the effect of the lower package prices and the effect on ARPU? A customer can switch to a $6.99 package, that was paying 12.95 per month when they merger. When that happens to the the sunk SAC of $90.00 , considering I am a exisitng customer. will take forever to recover, not to mention if I paid for the year, which I did last month, SIRI will have to refund my money, considering I lowered my per month rate.

See's like they did not think this one through

True, but the lower cost will bring 10 times MORE subs, at a much faster pace, with very little churn. For $6.99, satellite radio is almost free. Appealing to almost everyone This is the real reason why it's being fought so vehimately.

as anyone bothered to think about the current Sub's and the effect of the lower package prices and the effect on ARPU? A customer can switch to a $6.99 package, that was paying 12.95 per month when they merger. When that happens to the the sunk SAC of $90.00 , considering I am a exisitng customer. will take forever to recover, not to mention if I paid for the year, which I did last month, SIRI will have to refund my money, considering I lowered my per month rate.

See's like they did not think this one through

Oh!! They have thought this one through.. You see, because there will be no real "a la carte".

That's right.. No refund for you.

I mean, sure you will be able to get an "a la carte" package at some point, But, you are going to have to really, really want to pay the price premium.

The first thing I predict you will find out is.. Current Receivers that are in OEM cars and purchased from Retail are not capable of "a la carte" price tiering. So that means... No "a la carte" for current receivers. And of course, It will take several years to get newer receivers in the OEM food chain.

Now the real kicker will be that when newer "a la carte" capable receivers come to market, my bet is that they will twice as expensive as radios that receive only complete programming packages. And those radios will have reduced "feature sets" as compared to the cheaper (subsudized) full range radios. So the "public interest" of 'a la carte' will be defeated. That is.. Unless you want to pay $450 for a receiver with few feature sets to receive 'a la carte' programming that saves you $6 a month.

The entire 'a la carte' scam is simply that. Simply a promise. Just like the interoperable receiver promise.

The two companies claim the complied with the interoperable radio requirements of their licenses. Yet, claimed that no one was interested in the product. But, somehow, once the merger was cooked up.. Suddenly, Millions of people, (i.e. shareholders) what them.

The same thing will go with 'a la carte'. Just because they will "make it available". Doesn't mean they will make the option obtainable without extra costs up front. Up front costs that would quickly eliminate the cost savings of a lower priced monthly subscription fee.

And I am sure that things won't get any easier on the OEM side of things. Consumers will probably have to buy a option of a 'a la carte' capable radio with steep dealer installation fees.

Simply put, 'a la carte' is a financial and logistical nightmare for these companies. And rets assured, they will do what ever possible to keep consumer choice to a minimum.

The day is quickly approaching when the people supporting this merger who have sold their personal integrity in hopes of making a couple of bucks of a post merger PPS POP will get their "just rewards".. And Karma has already started rewarding them with a 50% loss of investment.

And so it goes,
PCSTEL

PCSTEL,

I'm probably not as cynical as you are on this. I don't see it as a scam.OEM by nature takes 3 years for model changes. New retail units are due within three months right?

Will you get the cream of the crop for $6.99 ... I doubt it. Should anyone expect it..... no.
The fact remains that customers will get the option to save almost 50% if they so elect.
As with all of life, you get what you pay for.

"THEY" OWE no one nothing!

Here is what will happen IF the merger completes:

1)initial churn from consumers who want nothing to do with supporting Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin"s "merge" MONOPOLY scheme will be mind blowing.

-------------

Looks like AC is Mr. Cranky Panties today. Don't worry about me AC, I've got money to play with. It appears to me though that you're on the wrong side of the trade and FCC position.
It also appears to me that if the DOJ studied this for 14 months and said it isn't a monopoly, that your opinion is worth something in between spit, dirt and pee.

You're not a NAB member are you?

"Has anyone bothered to think about the current Sub's and the effect of the lower package prices and the effect on ARPU? A customer can switch to a $6.99 package, that was paying 12.95 per month when they merger. "

They also have the option of paying double...ever thought about that?

The effect of lower prices is not limited to existing customers- lowering the price point aids distribution to new customers who might not have considered it before. I won't bother predicting what the net effect would be, but the business is scalable (i.e.. it costs little to add a new customer.)

@AC

"With more than 1,700 AM and FM HD Radio stations are on the air, it's easy for Robert Struble, Ibiquity President/CEO to keep the positive news and reviews of HD Radio coming in. Pocketradio posts he thinks Struble is being disrespected in his own rude, crude way but the truth about HD Radio continues to show the real, desperate, sad truth about Pocketradio."

BUT:

"Have 200 HD Radio stations gone missing?"

"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."

http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/have-200-hd-radio-stations-gone-missing.html

AND:

"HD Radio spinners claim a breakthrough year: Pulling a fast one"

"According to a press release from the Alliance 330,000 HD receivers were sold last year. This is a 725 per cent increase from the 40,000 sets purchased a year earlier and therefore 2007 was a 'breakthrough year' for the technology. In 2008 they will sell a million of the things."

http://tinyurl.com/4zgkaw

AND:

"Bellwether BE Makes Some Changes?"

"It’s probably no secret that the rate of HD Radio adoption has slowed in the United States. There are new opportunities that exist in other countries; Mexico and Brazil come to mind; sales there are few but promising. The whole industry is in a bit of a null in the HD transition but I don’t think anyone’s long-term plans have changed.”

http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0044/t.9546.html

@AC

"With more than 1,700 AM and FM HD Radio stations are on the air, it's easy for Robert Struble, Ibiquity President/CEO to keep the positive news and reviews of HD Radio coming in. Pocketradio posts he thinks Struble is being disrespected in his own rude, crude way but the truth about HD Radio continues to show the real, desperate, sad truth about Pocketradio."

BUT:

"Editorial: More Than Half Full"

"AM-HD continues to fight uphill. Several manufacturers showed impressive new transmitter models designed to optimize and maintain HD performance. Yet the growth of AM-HD stations coming on the air appears stalled and we hear murmurings about some broadcasters pulling back on AM-HD or wishing to renegotiate their commitments with Ibiquity."

http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0044/t.13363.html

AND:

"Black Friday for HD Radio"

"Nor was I surprised when Kurt veered left to discuss - and dismiss - HD Radio. What fascinated me was the reaction. Any room full of broadcasters is full of HD radio doubters, nowadays. But the vibe in this room was remarkable for the eye-rolling and audible snickering that greeted virtually any mention of HD."

http://www.hear2.com/2008/03/this-weeks-desp.html

AND:

"Will Small Markets Convert to HD Radio? Survey Suggests Not Soon"

"Of the 100, he received 50 surveys back. Of those, only one station had converted to HD-R. Eighty-six percent of the remaining respondents indicated it would be highly unlikely or somewhat unlikely they would convert their stations over the next 12 months, according to his report. Six percent indicated it would be neither likely nor unlikely, and only 6% indicated it would be likely, he told me. Most respondents cited cost as the main factor prohibiting conversion; others felt the technology had been overhyped and that FM analog is good enough in the listeners’ minds, McIntyre says."

http://www.rwonline.com/leslie_report/

The big joke HD Radio Rollout has effectively stalled - outside of the HD Alliance suckers, there is virtually no interest in further stations converting. HD radios are not selling, and most are being returned as "defective".

@AC

"With more than 1,700 AM and FM HD Radio stations are on the air, it's easy for Robert Struble, Ibiquity President/CEO to keep the positive news and reviews of HD Radio coming in."

“HD Radio on the Offense”

"But after an investigation of HD Radio units, the stations playing HD, and the company that owns the technology; and some interviews with the wonks in DC, it looks like HD Radio is a high-level corporate scam, a huge carny shill... Between the high prices, poor listening options, homogenized content, and a decade and a half of FCC dealings that went into this monopoly, critics are calling the move to digital radio a 'catastrophe' and a 'complete giveaway' to behemoths such as CBS... All the major radio players, such as Clear Channel Communications, are iBiquity investors. Which means Clear Channel is paying itself for the right to broadcast, and every mom-and-pop station that wants to go digital also has pay the big boys. Nice setup!"

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/2007-03-07/music/hd-radio-on-the-offense

"Radio: Ponzi's back!"

"In 1918, we had Charles Ponzi. Ninety years later, we have Peter 'Sgt. Bilk-o' Ferrara. Schemes. From Ponzi to HD Radio. Ibiquity has the license and collects the fees. The HD Radio Alliance, which Sgt. Bilk-o runs, does the fast-talkin’, slow walkin’ hype. Right? Like the other schemes, the HD Radio edition begins with a hard-sell sales pitch to hook you in and establish the product. Right?"

http://gormanmediablog.blogspot.com/2008/03/radio-ponzis-back_27.html

Struble is a bullshitter, scammer, shill, lier, con-artist, and fraud. His IBOC is destroying our broadcast bands, especially on AM. His fraudulant FM-HD 10db poer increase study is fraudulant and was submitted behind the scenes to the FCC, because he knows it will cause massive interference on FM:

"NAB to Seek FCC Approval of Major IBOC Power Boost"

"For some broadcasters, however, the fact that the NAB has apparently signed on to the recommendation without first revealing details of this rather secretive study to its general membership is both striking and troubling."

http://tinyurl.com/39foj9

"FM IBOC Power Increase Sought"

"As I suspected, this request is 'piggybacked' on Docket 99-325, it is not a new Petition for Rulemaking. You see, they want to eliminate the opportunity for public comment and just push it through. Note that this request includes Appendix A (the long list of owned FM radio stations, demonstrating how high and mighty these companies are) but where are all of the referenced test reports that were supposed to be included in Appendix B and C? I would kinda like to read them. A-Ha! Footnote 5 explains that the test reports are being submitted directly to the FCC by iBiquity and CBS, Inc. Sneaky!"

http://tinyurl.com/4vrrl6

No not at all a member of the NAB Plowboy. Would any self respecting member of the NAB have multiple sub's to both satradio companies?

As for who is on the "wrong side" and who is "Mr. Cranky Panties" your past and future posts more than prove who really has the problem.

The DOJ was wrong Sirius and xm "merge" is a MONOPOLY. First rule of a educated consumer is to think for yourself. Which is ultimately why you are in the sh*t your in making risky uneducated investment choices. You keep posting your delusions of grandeur here yet again educated people understand your "opinion is worth something in between spit, dirt and pee."

The problem little Plowboy is you are consumed with seeing the satradio industry as just dollar signs or more to reality your empty pockets. Most subscribers are more interested in quality, talent, content and price of service. I could care less how the industry performs in the market, I see the satradio industry and it's direct competition with each other as the number one reason for the positives in the satradio industry.

Nice try Plowboy but your "opinion is worth something in between spit, dirt and pee."

As much as I hate lawyers, law suits, and politics, It may be time to band together and take action against all these morons. A threat of a class-action law suit against the NAB, DOJ, FCC, and anyone else who caused the delay in finalizing this merger proposal is long overdue. Stockholders and radio owners of both companies are huge numbers. The NAB and their followers are laughing right now as the combined stock of XM & Sirius is worth about $10, but let 30m hands punch them in the nose and see how loud they laugh.

I am not a stockholder, but I own several XM radios (some never opened because they were purchased at such a good deal - I thought I could gift them or use them as replacements if one of my active units died). If SatRad goes down the tubes, I don't want a bunch of paperweights! By the same token, there are stockholders out there who are not subscribers-they are simply investors. I am sure they don't need a stack of XM and Sirius stock certificates in their bathroom to replace a roll of Charmin

SATRAD OWNERS UNITE!!!! (That includes those of you with factory installed radios, GPS, and Aviation units as well!)

AC,

You are showing your complete ignorance.....

"Here... let me sum HD up WITH a quote: " It slightly improves the sound quality of terribly shitty content" ."

Really is that why terrestrial radio has about 260 million plus listeners and satradio only has about 14-17 million? For a glaring example Is that why for over twenty years Howard Stern ruled FM radio is that why it took $500 million to pay Howard, his staff and general production costs and a $225 million one-time stock bonus to get him over to Sirius? Was that to pay for all the millions of fans whom he'd be leaving back on FM?

The tide is turning AC the "terribly shitty content" you speak of is not completely true, and where the content might not be up to your high standards, terrestrial radio has already shown they have the money and the ability to put content, talent and quality consumers want to listen to AND terrestrial radio corporations are utilizing HD Radio technology as they not only keep market share, but also win back listeners from pay MONOPOLY radio.

Sorry Pocketradio aka Anonymous Coward again only the uneducated can be coerced by your ignorant fear. Your posting games here only prove your ignorance, fear and desperation.
http://scientaestubique.wordpress.com/2007/01/19/media-political-and-religious-fud-fear-uncertainty-doubt-controlling-by-fear/

Pocketradio yet again, DEBUNKED.

HD Digital Radio • IT'S TIME TO UPGRADE!
HD Digital Radio. It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT!
www.hdradio.com/

Class Action Suit ,

Your not thinking clearly at all with your call for lawsuits.

XM and Sirius as part of their FCC licence to operate agreed they would not "merge" MONOPOLY.

XM and Sirius as part of their FCC licence to operate agreed they would market interoperable radio.

Whats suddenly wrong with your personal choice of XM radio? IF there is something suddenly wrong, who brought the "merge" scheme about? NOT "the NAB, DOJ, FCC" NOPE your anger lies with one person and one person only, the person who had a hand in the current sorry state of terrestrial radio is also the person who is responsible for the "merge" scheme and satradio's problems which are just starting, Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin. He knew all too well a "merge" would cause big problems yet his personal greed and arrogance made him move forward in his quest to fill his pockets and bring on the demise of satradio all at the same time.

"June 27 2006: 8:40 AM EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. Chief Executive Mel Karmazin said Monday he would like to buy archrival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., but price and regulatory hurdles would be issues.
Karmazin, speaking at a conference in New York, stressed, however, that Sirius's business plan "doesn't really involve our doing a deal" and also indicated he wasn't interested in Sirius being bought.
"Regarding XM - would we like to buy them? Sure. We'd love to buy them. Price would matter, so that would be an issue... (and) there would definitely be the regulatory issue," he said"

So Class Action Suit, you really might want to educate yourself and refine who you think should be the one defending themself in a frivolous lawsuit. The the NAB, DOJ, FCC are doing their JOBS, especially when it comes to corporations using the public radio spectrum and making sure the use doesn't become abuse (like a "merge" scheme of satradio will do IF approved)

Here is how the "merge" scheme vote is going to go down:

June 21, 2008

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission was on the losing end of a vote for the first time in his tenure (since March 2005)

But by a 4-1 vote, with FCC chairman Kevin Martin the lone dissenter,

"The FCC majority deserves the gratitude of all consumers for standing up for fair play and against anticompetitive tactics,"

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D91ELNFG0.htm

More TRUTH about HD Radio

BY PATRICK SEITZ
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 6/4/2008

"We're converting an industry that's been around for 100 years and there are a billion radio receivers in this country, so that conversion obviously isn't going to happen overnight," said Bob Struble, chief executive of iBiquity Digital, which developed the standards for HD Radio. Companies that own stakes in privately held iBiquity, which makes money by licensing its technology, include many of the largest radio broadcasters and media companies, such as Clear Channel Communications, (CCU) Cumulus, Gannett (GCI) and ABC.
HD Radio boasts high-quality audio, without the static or hiss of analog. Digital AM sounds like FM stereo and digital FM sounds like CDs. Digital signals are broadcast over the same frequencies as analog signals, so stations remain in the same place on the radio dial.
HD Radio also allows for FM, but not AM, multicasting. So, FM broadcasters can offer one or two extra channels of music or news alongside the main channel. If, say, 97.1 FM did so, its extra channels would appear on the radio dial as 97.1-1 and 97.1-2.
Plus, HD Radio stations can broadcast data services, such as text-based information — artist name, song title, weather or traffic alerts, school closings and more — that scroll across the receiver display.
And unlike digital satellite radio services XM (XMSR) and Sirius, (SIRI) HD Radio is free to listeners who buy the necessary gear.
About 60 HD Radio receivers are on the market from Sony, (SNE) Harman International Industries, (HAR) D&M Holdings and others. Those items, including table-top radios and car radios, are available at 12,000 retail outlets, such as Best Buy, (BBY) Circuit City (CC) and Wal-Mart Stores. (WMT) Car makers, including BMW, Ford (F) and Hyundai, are installing HD Radios in their vehicles.
Radio stations nationwide are broadcasting over 1,600 regular channels in HD Radio plus more than 800 multicast channels. Those multicast channels serve overlooked demographics. For example, Clear Channel Radio is now offering a country music channel in New York City where there wasn't one before. Stations in Seattle and Austin, Texas, have launched digital channels devoted to local performers and bands.
"We're making some pretty good progress," said Jeff Littlejohn, executive vice president of distribution development for Clear Channel Radio, a unit of Clear Channel Communications. Clear Channel is the No. 1 radio company in the U.S., with about 1,000 stations nationwide.
Many radio broadcasters have done their part by making digital programming available, he says. Local stations also have been actively promoting HD Radio, he says. And more stations are adding HD Radio broadcasts daily.
The transition to HD Radio is a matter of when, not if, observers say. The technology is being added to more new cars and as a feature in table-top radios. Plus, the development of low-power chipsets will allow for portable and handheld HD radios as soon as this fall, but more likely next year, Struble says.
Consumers bought more than 300,000 HD radios in the U.S. last year, Struble says. That's a drop in the bucket compared with total annual radio sales of 70 million.
"Clearly to be in the mass market we need to be selling in the millions," he said. "And we're working to get there."
The availability of extra channels through multicasting is a big selling point for HD Radio. But what's really going to drive adoption is listeners of popular analog radio stations deciding to upgrade to hear their favorite DJs and music formats in crystal-clear high-definition sound, says Steve Koenig, an analyst with the Consumer Electronics Association.
But the price has to be right, says Susan Kevorkian, an analyst with market research firm IDC. Most HD Radios are still pretty expensive, at $100 or more.
HD Radio competes not only with traditional analog radio, but with satellite radio, Internet radio and music on portable music players and PCs. "There are a lot of digital audio and entertainment options that consumers can choose from," Kevorkian said.
The lack of a cutoff date for analog radio means consumers won't be in a rush to upgrade, she says. Compare that with over-the-air TV. Consumers will lose their TV programming when stations move to digital-only broadcasts after Feb. 17, 2009, unless they get digital TVs, subscribe to cable or satellite, or get a special converter box.
Broadcasters are touting HD Radio as the radio you love, only better. "While you're hearing a lot about satellite radio and iPods, terrestrial radio is still a very-much-in-demand media for consumers," Clear Channel's Littlejohn said.
HD Radio also is innovating with features like iTunes tagging. Select HD radios have a button that listeners can press when they hear a song that they might want to buy from the iTunes online music service.

Therefore, HD Radio is considered an attractive alternative to satellite radio, which charges a fee for its use. Satellite radio which with "merge" scheme's will not be around too much longer.

HD Digital Radio • IT'S TIME TO UPGRADE!
HD Digital Radio. It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT!
www.hdradio.com/

"No not at all a member of the NAB Plowboy. Would any self respecting member of the NAB have multiple sub's to both satradio companies? " **

** Yes indeed they would, if only for the quality programming and no commercials!! LOL

Thank you so much AC for worrying about my investments but it seems you're more worried about the $$$ than I am. I'm much more interested in seeing the business model of satrad evolve and kick the Nab's ass.... if I make a few bucks along the way, that's fine too.

I'll really be pleased, and it is my objective, to have the NAB pays royalties instead of enjoying payola....I have two letters off to my Senators today over that very issue.

Now crawl back in your anti-satrad hole, and most of all start using your own material
unless with and foresight escape you.

@AC

"HD Radios No Longer Available"

"Over the past few years I've posted on this board and others about my rather frustrating experience trying to find HD radios for sale. When I could find them, they often were not set up to work. When they were set up to work, I could only hear the FM stations. In all cases the salespeople seemed clueless about the product and disinterested in selling it. I only found the radios at Radio Shack and Fry's. In fact, Fry's (for a while) had a very nice display with a big sign and 3 radios you could listen to. Later that display was moved to a back shelf and only two radios were on display. As of 2 weeks ago, my local Fry's had no HD radios on display or for sale. There was no sign of the product at all. I checked my local Radio Shack last week and their display was gone too. My local radio stations have quit running so many promo/ads for HD. They do continue to ID themselves with their "HD1" moniker, but that's about it. The average consumer in my area won't know about HD radio except for these top of the hour IDs. Without the radios for sale in retail stores, it seems like a wise move for the radio stations to back off the promotion.I'm not here to trash the technology. I'm just telling you my experience with the product. It seems to me that HD radio is at an end."

http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,102440.msg804125.html#msg804125

Struble's little experiment is over - retailers are backing away. LMFAO!!!

@AC

"Pioneer says HD Radio succcess should be decided by open market, not forced inclusion"

"IBiquity, the company behind HD Radio, is making enemies all over the place, the latest of which is Pioneer. The Japan-based corp, which makes the popular Inno, recently told the FCC [PDF] that iBiquity's scheme to force satellite radio manufacturers to include HD Radio playback is absurd. The iBiquity conditions would limit the breadth of radio product offerings to consumers, limit which radio component suppliers’ products be designed into radios, have the effect of decreasing AM/FM tuning performance, unnecessarily increase costs to consumers uninterested in HD Radio and interfere with the useful and healthy free market mechanisms extant in radio electronics purchases."

http://tinyurl.com/5f9q2b

Let's not forget about Pioneer - a major HD manufacturer! LMFAO!!!

@AC

"Plus, the development of low-power chipsets will allow for portable and handheld HD radios as soon as this fall, but more likely next year, Struble says."

BUT:

"HD Radio spinners claim a breakthrough year: Pulling a fast one"

"According to a press release from the Alliance 330,000 HD receivers were sold last year. This is a 725 per cent increase from the 40,000 sets purchased a year earlier and therefore 2007 was a 'breakthrough year' for the technology. In 2008 they will sell a million of the things."

http://tinyurl.com/4zgkaw

AND:

"HD Radio"

"Until now, portable HD Radio receivers have been unavailable because the chipsets needed by this technology required too much power to be practical for a battery-operated device. However, in January 2008 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas iBiquity unveiled a prototype of a new iPod-sized portable receiver. It is based on a new chipset developed by Samsung. Although portable, it is still a relatively power-hungry device (it will run on an average set of alkaline batteries in about two hours, according to an iBiquity engineer)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_Radio

Struble/HD Radio - nothing but lies!

Plowboy,

Your past and future posts more than prove who really has the problems, who has made risky investments and is upset with poor performance, then placing blame on every one but who is responsible for your investment tanking. One needs not to go very far to see yet another plowboy post angry and desperate and now with some news out of the FCC delusions of grandeur.

Pocketradio,

Still more of your ignorant FUD? Oh your so fearful and desperate, over a digital radio technology standard, which is the future of radio.

"HD Radios No Longer Available"

hmmmm these places that sell consumer electronics all have HD Radio Gear.....

Amazon.com
Apple
Best Buy
Circuit City
Crutchfield
JCPenney
RadioShack
Sony Style
Target
Wal-Mart
6th Avenue Electronics
ABC Warehouse
Abt Electronics
Adray Appliance Photo & Sound
Advanced Integration Services
Al & Ed’s Autosound
Alamo Electronics
Alterman Audio
American TV
Anchor
Audio & Video Expressions
Audio Advisor, Inc.
Audio Craft Co., Inc.
Audio Ecstasy
Audio Symphony
Audio Toyz
Audio Video Connections
Audio Visions
Audio/Video Concepts
Audiotronics Audio Video
AV Arts
B & B Appliance
B & H Photo Video
Bjorn’s Stereo Designs
Bob and Ron’s World Wide Stereo
Brainstorm Logistics
BrandsMart USA
Car Toys
Carlin Audio
Classic Stereo
Colorado Hi-fi Services
Custom Audio Works
Custom Integrated Systems
D & H
Ecost.com
Electronic Express
Electronics Expo
Entertainment Solutions
Flanner’s Audio & Video
Fry’s Electronics
Ginsu Guys.com
Glenn Gleixner
Goodman Radio
Gramophone
Great Indoors
Hammacher Schlemmer & Co
Harvey Electronics
HH Gregg
Hi Def Radio
Hilo Audio
Hitech Stereo & Video
Home Entertainment
Hometech Innovations
House of High Fidelity
House of Stereo
Huppins
Insight Audio Visual Services
Integratus Technologies
Intuitive Environments
J & R Music World
Ken Crane’s
Listen Up
Magnolia
Marvin Electronics
Mickey Shorr
Mobile One
Mom’s Warehouse
MyerEmco AudioVideo
Nebraska Furniture Mart
New Wave Home Systems
One Call
Ovation
Pair Enterprises
Pdq Photo
Petra
Pflanz Electronics
Projectus
Prowire
Pyramid Audio
Quality Audio Sound
Rancho T.V.
RC Willey
Rex TV
Rogers Stereo
Rudy’s Autosound
Secure America
Sight & Sound
Sodaro’s Electronics
Sound 2
Sound Approach
Sound FX
Sound Investments
Sound Shack
Sounds Incredible
Soundscape
Spearit Sound
Specialized Sound
Starpower Home
State Street Discount Hs
Stereo Barn
Stereo King
Team Electronics
The Great Indoors
The Music Store
The Sound Shop
The Stereo Advantage
The Stereo Shop
Tweeter
Upstairs Audio
Video & Audio Center
Water Street Stereo
Wilshire Home Ent
World of Sound

Pocketradio DEBUNKED (again)

Pioneer is talking out of both sides of their ass.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/Navigation/Accessories/GEX-P10HD

Designed to receive high-quality HD Radio broadcasts for most Pioneer car stereos, this HD Radio tuner is a hideaway module that connects through the Pioneer headunit’s IP-BUS interface.

What is HD Radio?
HD Radio is the only system for digital AM and FM broadcasting in the U.S. Currently more than 1,000 radio stations are broadcasting primary signals in digital HD Radio technology, as a free service. That's right, no subscription charges!

Compatible with the following Pioneer headunits:

FH-P800BT, FH-P8000BT, DEH-P700BT, DEH-P7000BT
"External Control" capable with other Pioneer IP-Bus headunits, a/v receivers and navigation systems, with some limitations of display and control. Please review Owner's Manual(s) for more details.

That's right, no subscription charges!

Pocketradio DEBUNKED (again)

Pocketradio "- nothing but lies!"

Pocketradio grows more Desperate and fearful with each and every HD Radio sale.

Silly Pocketradio aka Anonymous Coward again only the uneducated can be coerced by your ignorant fear. Your posting games here only prove your ignorance, fear and desperation. He hasn't learned yet that most people at orbitcast have the ability to think, and have long ago written him and his postings off as desperate rants of a ignorant lunatic.
http://scientaestubique.wordpress.com/2007/01/19/media-political-and-religious-fud-fear-uncertainty-doubt-controlling-by-fear/

Pocketradio yet again, DEBUNKED.

HD Digital Radio • IT'S TIME TO UPGRADE!
HD Digital Radio. It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT!
www.hdradio.com/

no subscription charges! You get what you do not pay for.

No thanks i am not going back to ad Radio,

Even if i wanted HD i have no HD stations.

"Even if i wanted HD i have no HD stations."

Really?

http://www.hdradio.com/#stationGuideWidgetry

See this?
Still more of your ignorant FUD? Oh your so fearful and desperate, over a digital radio technology standard, which is the future of radio.

Ignorant i am not ignorant i know what HD is going to turn into or what they are going to try to push on us.

The way it is done now being added to analog is just to get the radios sold then the analog will start to be removed and it will be 100% digital. That is when it will start to become a pay service.

I am not Ignorant i see what they are up to. I see this because i understand only all Digital can transmit a signal as good as what we have with analog now.

Do not think that because it is digital it is better i know many many people that never had a problem with TV that CANNOT get the Digital TV. They have the best antenna and have done everything that can be done and after 2 / 17 2009 will have no TV that is free.
Even worse some people cannot get Sat TV or cable and they will have no way to get TV at all. Just think no TV at all we are taking a step backward.

So lets stop with the stupid digital is better crap it is not. It does some things better and other things worse.

Plowboy,

Your anti-semetic leaning overtones aside... you simple do not understand the very basics to these two companies and accounting...

YOU CANNOT RELY ON YEAR OVER YEAR IMPROVEMENTS IN EPS TO PREDICT FUTURE RESULTS.

Especially when you learn how and what was factored in to those improvements. Did you ever look at the comparison of ADJUSTED OPERATING LOSS and compare the two companies -- as well as compare them year over year? Obviously you did not -- because you would not have made such an irresponsible post, if you had.

Beyond that, there is nothing more that needs to be said.

P.S. - While you may not see your post as anti-semetic... it was. We'll let you figure out how and why.

-

This HD spam is ridiculous and off topic. It is one guy posting an argument back and forth to himself for ten paragraphs. This is a satrad site.

Merger is approved or denied by 1 vote within the next 8 days. Says who? Says me.

This whole process has been tainted with corruption. Siri at 6.95 a month? I'd even take a chance on that for a year and I am as cheap as they come.

-Spam Detector

Hey AC,

I think you need the education!

This abnormal delay in making a decision on this merger proposal by the governing bodies has NEGATIVELY impacted stock value, subs, and hardware sales. Both XM and Sirius have floundered during this historical snail-pace process.

I really do not care if a merger is approved or not, I just want a decision to be made in a timely manner. Though neither company would openly admit it, many operations have been put on hold. New products are limited, production and distribution are slim, and even adjustments in programming have been small...while the clock keeps ticking.

And AC, a "threat" of a lawsuit is not a "frivolous lawsuit." Luckily, there are a lot of people like you who do not thoroughly read or thoroughly comprehend what they are reading and a threat os legal action would prompt them to do the right thing!

@AC

Circuit City, Best Buy, Fry's, Radio Shack, Wal-Mart, as the major retailers, have basically given up on HD Radio, as they are nowhere to be found, in-store. The rest of these retailers are no-namers. Only one HD radio on Amazon is ranked as high as 566 in electonic sales rankings, which is still pathetic - all of the rest are ranked over 1,000:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_e/104-7003405-1067935?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=hd+radio

@AC

"That's right, no subscription charges!"

"Reduced quality concerns"

"Another such conflict arises from the extra free programs available today. iBiquity is seeking FCC approval for conditional access, that is, enabling the extra programs to be available only by paid subscription (on future models of HD Radio). NDS, a maker of digital media encryption technology, has a deal with iBiquity to provide HD Radio with an encrypted content-delivery system called RadioGuard. NDS claims that RadioGuard will provide additional revenue-generating possibilities. iBiquity has stated that RadioGuard will become a standard feature of the HD Radio system. These competing capabilities mean that purchasers of early models of HD Radio have no guarantees of continued broadcasts of either high-quality audio or extra channels. Audio quality will suffer as broadcasters decide to subdivide their streams into extra HD-2 and HD-3 channels. And if the extra channels become subscription channels, they will become invisible to older radios without RadioGuard (and to those unwilling to pay for them)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_Radio

"NDS RadioGuard"

"What is NDS RadioGuard? NDS RadioGuard is the first conditional access solution for HD radio, the in-band on-channel (IBOC) solution that enables digital multicast and multi-channel broadcasting."

http://www.nds.com/solutions/radioguard.html

Perhaps, when enough consumers get burned by the slimeballs at iBiquity, there will be a class-action suit, after their shitty HD radios stop working (oh, but they never really did work correctly). How many consumers does it take to effectyively bring forth a class-action suit - less than 100,000?

"HD Radio spinners claim a breakthrough year: Pulling a fast one"

"According to a press release from the Alliance 330,000 HD receivers were sold last year. This is a 725 per cent increase from the 40,000 sets purchased a year earlier and therefore 2007 was a 'breakthrough year' for the technology. In 2008 they will sell a million of the things."

http://tinyurl.com/4zgkaw

John,

"I'm not ignorant" we beg to differ.

Educate yourself..... You think you know but you have no clue about HD Radio

"Consumer Facts"

Digital Radio - The Sound of the Future
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitalradio.html

Today’s digital radios offer significant advantages over their analog.....
http://www.digital-radio-news.com/content/view/74/26/

HD Digital Radio • IT'S TIME TO UPGRADE!
HD Digital Radio. It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT!
www.hdradio.com/

Homer,

Anytime you use the word Jew or Jewish it's regarded as anti-semitic. Let someone say Germans are pricks, the English are stuck up, The French are lazy, That Poles drink like fishes, people go ... yep... that's right. But say a Jew is good with money (Money Centers) or strong in the entertainment world, (Entertainment) and it's anti-Semitic. Go figure... not in my book. It's a reality if not PC.

Re: XM... let it go Son.. if the entire world thought XM was more financially viable, XM's wouldn't be in the news for it's death rattle and wouldn't be 10-15% under XM's 4.6 spread.

I Love you man, but let it go. Sirius is the whale. Xm the minnow.

Pocketradio...

Do you need more DEBUNKING? More reminders why your my bitch?

Circuit City has (38 total) HD Radio devices.
Best Buy has over a hundred HD Radio devices, by Sony, Kenwood, Insignia, Terk,JVC, iSimple, Pioneer.......

iBiquity Digital Corporation is a company formed by the merger of USA Digital Radio and Lucent Digital Radio, and Pocketradio is still a troll.

Need your BS to be continued to be pointed out? You can desperately repeat post all your ignorant, lunatic, FUD, but your BS doesn't work with those who are educated. All your spam posts continue to do is prove your ignorance and deep desperate fear of the future of radio HD Radio. Your nothing but a ignorant zealot with a chip over THE digital radio technology standard HD Radio.

Silly Pocketradio aka Anonymous Coward again only the uneducated can be coerced by your ignorant fear. Your posting games here only prove your ignorance, fear and desperation. He hasn't learned yet that most people at orbitcast have the ability to think, and have long ago written him and his postings off as desperate rants of a ignorant lunatic.
http://scientaestubique.wordpress.com/2007/01/19/media-political-and-religious-fud-fear-uncertainty-doubt-controlling-by-fear/

Pocketradio yet again, DEBUNKED.

HD Digital Radio • IT'S TIME TO UPGRADE!
HD Digital Radio. It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT!
www.hdradio.com/

Homer... let me add this and call it a night...and a fight.

I respect you very much as one of the best researched satrad wonks out there, but we agree to disagree. I have seen (and stated) that XM has been losing it (MO) since Q1 2006....and feel that their hole is too deep to dig out of without this merger.... however, if I'm wrong in the future... I'll fess up. I must say the market agrees with me since mid-2007.

It's all about earnings and nothing else... and Sirius will be the first to post them.

:)

The TRUTH about NDS (Radio Guard) function on HD Radio

Developer NDS received a Radio World “Cool Stuff” Award for the concept.

“We’re only talking about encrypting the multicast channel. The main HD-R channel would always be free.”

RadioGuard to Deliver Data as Well

"One key use for conditional access is enabling Radio Reading Service for the sight impaired, which arose out of an exception granted in copyright law: radio stations can broadcast people reading current periodicals and other materials without violating copyright law because of this exception. Thousands of volunteers read material for these services, which typically regional. Some are broadcast as Internet radio, too."

"For public-radio listeners, there's a great carrot and stick here, too. NPR and individual stations have speculated that it would be possible to identify those who had donated recently or regularly to a station and grant them access to a programming feed during pledge drives that wouldn't be interrupted by requests for funds."

Next-gen features that IBOC proponents say are coming include TiVo-like ability to pre-time a recording for later playback. Ibiquity is calling it “HD Now,” said Jeff Detweiler, director of broadcast business development for Ibiquity.

Ibiquity is planning to release new software loads for the HD-R importer and exciter this summer. Part of the importer upgrade will support conditional access and enable an additional level of error correction, Detweiler said.

Coming later this year: a HD Radio real-time traffic service that provides incident, flow and traffic information; mobile delivery of large files to on-based HD Radio-based navigation systems from TeleAtlas and Navteq; and mobile delivery of local/regional points of interest file. Proponents call the latter an opportunity for database and service providers such a Yahoo-sponsored links. Clear Channel is interested in this concept, said Ibiquity representatives.

Who needs HD Radio Conditional Access?
http://www.hdradio.com/i/HD_012508_702113106.pdf

Radio will always be a cost-free way for consumer information and entertainment.
With RadioGuard, listeners can now enjoy targeted content at
no charge or for a small fee when they choose to subscribe to receive it.
Radio is evolving. HD Radio broadcasting with RadioGuard brings reality
to the future of digital radio

Pocketradio ignorance DEBUNKED again.

@AC

Best Buy has thrty-some HD radios, only two of which are table-top models. The rest are after-market, which hardly anyone installs these days, because dashborads are too inaccessible. BTW - with the dropouts on the HD channels there is no way any traffic, or other data services will ever work with HD Radio. You are being deceptive, when you say "devices" - you must work for the HD-A-LIE-ANCE.

How interesting - the A-LIE-ANCE just pulled those new bogus, lying logos touting that HD Radio was free. Good thing, I just copied one for my blog, earlier! LOL!

http://hdradioalliance.com/logos.php

"it's all about earnings and nothing else... "
Posted by: Plowboy | June 22, 2008 7:11 PM

Thanks again for proving your thinking when it comes to satradio, to think, most of us here think satradio was more about entertainment and media not about stock price, which is why Plowboy you have 100's of posts here where you piss and moan about the "merge" scheme not happening fast enough while your risky investment tanks. Now with a tiny bit of news we all get to read as you wax poetic and worse your delusions of grandeur over the "merge" MONOPOLY. Yet your also still in a childish pissing match over which satradio company is in worse shape.

All over how a poor risky investment choice tanked and the desperate hope a "merge" scheme might somehow benefit you and Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin before Melvin's arrogance and greed fueled scheme destroys the entire satradio industry

Okay you fuckers ENOUGH about HD. I'm going to throw the switch soon, and pull the GD plug on this! ...This is MY site damnit... and I ain't having anymore of this bullshit.

You wanna disappear from the world I call "Orbitcast" ... keep it up mutherfuckers and I will!

Pocketradio,

"The rest are after-market, which hardly anyone installs these days, because dashborads are too inaccessible."

Yet again your letting your ignorance show just how fearful and desperate you are about HD Radio. Yeah there is hardly a after-market industry any more.... Pocketradio BS DEBUNKED!

"the major retailers, have basically given up on HD Radio, as they are nowhere to be found, in-store. The rest of these retailers are no-namers"

No need to point out your ignorance on this one any more the FACTS are already posted Pocketradio BS DEBUNKED!

Funny you also keep trying to say HD reception is not great but yet can't understand that HD Radio is currently only transmitting at 1% of the power that the station's FM is being transmitted at. Lucky the FCC started out HD Radio slow and is now ready to let the HD Radio stations ramp up to 10% of current FM power. Radio and data services will work as planned.

Pocketradio ignorance DEBUNKED again.

Homer...LMAO...Now there's is a name for you...LOL

Plowboy!...MORE anti-semitic paragraphs please!

BTW plowboy most of these posters have no money to invest! They are self appointed radioheads and engineers trying to SHOVE their ideas down your throat. HOMER is the biggest "roadhog" on the board. He will NEVER admit to being wrong.

All of this banter back and forth means squat boyz! LOL

HOMER...LOL! Homer...can you say diatribe?

ROTFLMAO!

We'll have to just disagree then -- because, XM has consistantly outperformed Sirius on an Adjusted Operating Earnings basis all along. There are so many factors that go into the earnings of these two companies -- that it is IMPOSSIBLE to fairly compare the two companies. Not only are there various accounting methods that are done differently, but there are a number of other extenuating circumstances that go against XM -- helping Sirius to look better.

I follow the cashflow and study the earnings closely -- seeing what goes into them. Knowing the differences between the two in how they are accounted for, has helped me to fully understand and firmly believe in what I'm seeing. And I disagree with you. Sirius is not all that rosy, in comparison to XM. Their cashflow and Adj. Operating Earnings are just not there or as good as XM's.

I'll leave you with a parting thought/example... two of many such examples that benefit Sirius and give the appearance of XM not performing as well...

Merger costs...
XM has to expense merger costs immediately;
Sirius capitalizes merger costs over the expected life of the asset being acquired.
BENEFIT APPEARANCE: Sirius

Sirius granted bonuses to Stern based on performance.
In January 2006, Sirius granted Stern all of one of his performance based bonues up-front... Sirius charged ALL of this bonus in Q1 2006... a charge of over $224 million to the shareholders that quarter. Sirius overall loss was $(0.33)/share.
In January 2007, Sirius again granted Stern more shares for his performance in 2006... this time to the tune of $83 million. However, this time Sirius expensed this amount equally throughout 2006. There was no one-time large charge in Q1 of 2007. Sirius overall loss was $(0.10)/share.
In January 2008, there was NO Stern bonus. Sirius overall loss $(0.07)/share
BENEFIT APPEARANCE: Sirius

And these are just TWO of many such things that so many just don't understand.

You see a $(0.33) loss in Q1 2006, drop to $(0.10) loss in Q1 2007, then drop to $(0.07) loss in Q1 2008... however, what you don't mention is that Sirius charged $224 million in Q1 2006 for Stern; they charged $21 million in Q1 2007 (amortized estimate for one quarter); and charged $0 in Q1 2008. Stern's bonus LITERALLY was $0.16 of the loss in Q1 of 2006; and it was approximately $0.015 of the loss in Q1 2007.

The YOY improvement is NOT as drastic as you think it is.

Plowboy, there are many such instances like this where Sirius has the appearance of more improvement than XM -- or whereby the differences in accounting give Sirius the appearance of performing better. But there is a lot more behind the numbers than a cursory comparison of EPS between the two.

I disagree with you... again, I highly recommend that you look at and compare the Adj Operating earnings and cashflow of these two companies and try to tell me again that you still believe in your conviction about Sirius' performance.

-

To the AC that posted at 7:59P, why don't you use your alias -- instead of being the pussy that you are and hiding behind the AC name...

...that's what I thought...

7:59

I'm done with you after this, except to say that Homer is in the top three guys nationally in financial regarding satrad ..and even when we debate, and debate vehemently, I'll always defend him.

Fact is... you're just an angry little NAB man who doesn't know where to turn in the face of defeat. Yes 7:59, you know you're toast and within a month I'll be starting my "Nab Pays when Artists Plays" campaign. In fact, even though

Goodnight Bucko.... better luck in the next Battle as you've certainly lost this one.

Plowboy,

Only your ignorance assumes "angry little NAB man" also = ignorant child who posted at 7:59. Still proving just how desperate and upset you are over YOUR bad investment, and your still blaming others. Perhaps you are the one who "forgot to sign in" again and posted at 7:59. After all your ego not only makes you make poor risky investments but you posted the anti-semitic comment in the first place and and then tried to justify it just about as well as you justify blaming others for your poor investment choice of Sirius.

Poor investments and poor sensitivity towards others too? What a Plowboy combination, perhaps you can bore us all some more while you blame others and desperately try to justify your actions.

Last time I checked Sirius has not gone bankrupt yet, and until it does, your not justified in saying its a bad investment.

mitchman79k,

No need to be "justified" in your opinion. One needs to look no further than the months of Plowboy's posts blaming everyone but himself for his risky, money losing investment. Sirius might not have hit bottom yet but it's coming, sooner than later thanks to Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin's "merge" scheme.

CLEAR CHANNEL IS A BAD INFESTMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WSUX HD Radio!!!

Today on H2 It’s Top 1000 Commercials followed by ADvice and then our all new HDR trivia show “I Got Nothing” where NAB SHILLS step outside their PR firms talking points to defend HDR. BEWARE the silence can be deafening!

Tonight on H3 it’s the “Who Gives A Sh*t Show” tonight topic HD Radio Wireless Telegraph of the future? We’ll be speaking with NAB SHILL Anonymous Coward. He’ll be demonstrating the new coal fired HD portable radio. It can operate for up to three hours on one 10lbs sack of clean burning coal! AC will also share his repetitious NAB trolling techniques modeled after our own radio format!

HD RADIO… Repetitious commercials are our business
HD RADIO… Repetitious commercials are our business
HD RADIO… Repetitious commercials are our business

I agree the Clear Channel "Infestment" of TESTICLE RADIO is helping to KILLED IT!

Merger by 6\30 C.O.B.

HD Spam = Yawn = Boring

Score:

Plowboy 4.6
homer985 1

When must the first 2 commissioner vote by since it was circulated on 17th. Could it be this week and if both vote Yes, do we even have to hear from others ? Or do the votes stay confidential until all ae in ?

Can anyone tell me about HD radio, I hear its hi def, RIGHT.

I thought SatRAd wasn't a competitor of FM Radio?

If HD and Clear Channel and the rest are not competing with and have nothing but bad things to say, then why care?

Why come here and post over and over trying to get people to change their minds about satrad? People who are not being forced but willingly paying for a service that they are not competing with and are not worried about?

Why are they worried about what I want to spend my money on?

I prefer satrad over FM/AM. If others prefer FM/AM over satrd, ok. No biggie.

What's the big fuss?

Clearchannel = Aids!

W S U X! ………………….HD RADIO!!!

Back to an extended set of commercial breaks after these words from our sponsors:

Are you easily confused? Are you tired of overpowering signals bringing in clear reception? Does listening to a format you can set your watch by appeal to you? Are you a poor ignorant hillbilly with little disposable income? All of these questions and more are answered by HDR.

Easily confused: No problem, HD stands for Hardly Different. HD radio only offer three times more the homogenized auditory nightmare as standard radio and we guarantee it will all sound the same (no confusion!). If you’re a fan of commercials (and who isn’t?) now you’ll get 3x more FREE! (w/ purchase of radio)

Overpowering signals: NO problem here, our digital signal is only licensed to transmit at 1% of our analog signal. If you’re getting us in HD you must be close to our transmitter so stop in and say Hi! (NO…..really, we can see you!)

Anyone who listens to AM/FM radio knows the atomic clock accuracy we use to time our commercials, music and talk. It allows for tighter segues “up next we’ll hear from the 7:45 band followed by the 7:48 band closing that music set”.

Ignorant Indigent Hillbilly: We know FREE is all you can afford so we’re offering 3x’s the FREE for FREE (w/ purchase of radio)! It has come to our attention that 99% of our radios are only available on the “Magic typing box” better known as the Internet or from electronics liquidators with that said you’ll be happy to hear that due to dismal sales these units will soon be available at a LOCAL DUMPSTER near you!

HD Radio…… Answering The Question Nobody Asked!!!

Coming up on H2…… "1000 Top Commercials" followed by our new talk show "ADventure" where we’ll discuss the exciting world of Ad company joint venture marketing. Join us won’t you

Tonight on H3….. It’s the top rated “Who Gives A Sh*t Show” Tonight’s topic:
H DOA Radio…. We built it and nobody came NOW WHAT!?! Join us while we discuss various strategies to beat this dead horse back to life. Unfortunately NAB Shill Anonymous Coward won’t be with us tonight he won Bestiality Dial A Date on the Howard Stern show, apparently a herd of Donkeys is getting him airtight as we speak.

Ryan with all the posts about HD i think it says it is what your readers want.

My Wife is mad real mad because the only station she listens to or should i say did listen to for years went HD and is now to noisy to listen to.

The only way HD is going to have the range of analog is going all digital and when that happens we are going to see pay radio.
Can they do it that is turn off analog i doubt they can it will take years with so many analog radios of all kinds that would stop working.
HD is great for Sat Radio because of how it has messed up radio.

AC. The Commissioners must vote on it by December 5th. 2011 which after that time the remaining non voting members have up to 15 years in which to place their final vote. Notification is expected sometime between 2011 and 2026.

Here is a HD catch line I heard on FM yesterday. I couldn't believe it.
" HD ... bringing continual commercials into the 20th century "

AC, I tend to disagree, Yes, Mel K has done some questionable deals during his times on terrestrial radio, but this is a new Era and he is a very smart businessman. I really don't believe it is fair to blame Mel because Terrestrial Radio suxs.

"Here is a HD catch line I heard on FM yesterday. I couldn't believe it.
" HD ... bringing continual commercials into the 20th century " "

But they are High Definition Commercials! You can hear the commercials SO MUCH CLEAERER.

It's totally worth it!

Jared,

I think you are mistaken, in 2026 the commisioners go before a board to review the decision. That step acually forces the process to begin again. 475 days later and after 17 days and two years a decision is rendered. Unless it is unanimous. In which case the decision is thrown out and the whole process begins again.

Very Complex with these dominant monopolies.

Also, HD is considered, since it is groundbreaking technology.

AV

They can take as long as they want, as long as Sirius and Xm are still broadcasting!

Call me Krazy, but I'm so confident that this merger will be approved that I've rolled over 300K in Sirius stock 80% into XMSR to pick up the 10% disparity.

I sure hope this doesn't get broke off in my hiney.... but it's a coint toss anyhow as some think XM's OEM channel will win out.

AV... Thank you for the correction. At first I thought you were mistaken until I researched Volume 3874 Para: 3 Page 2122 of the FCC bylaws which confirms your statement.

It now appears than that a ruling could crap out of this monkey sometime as early as the summer of 2029. This could be understandably be negated by Senator Kerry's request for the FCC not to rush to a decision.

Thank you for your post.

Jared

The odds are growing for approval of an XM/Sirius merger, though hurdles still remain.

That's after the companies provided a compromise proposal with a host of conditions, including a pledge not to raise rates for three years, offer a la carte service and set aside 4% of their spectrum for non-commercial use, among other things.

Among FCC commissioners, Michael Copps was sounding like he was not ready to support the merger, and fellow Democrat Jonathan Adelstein is considered a long shot. But Copps' vote may yet be winnable with additional conditions or modifications. One broadcast lobbyist pushing against the merger suggested the deal was likely to be done.
Broadcasting & Cable Copyright © 2008 Reed

Plowboy

The fact remains that customers will get the option to save almost 50% if they so elect.
As with all of life, you get what you pay for.

Sure, but providing a path of lower monthly costs which is directly offset by higher (non-subsidized) equipment costs is not a cost savings to the public. It is actually a "price increase" Hence you get half the content at the same overall lifetime costs as a subscriber that gets a subsidized radio and pays $13 a month.

Now some people would call that marketing, But in the context of merger approval and the guise of "public interests". It is a SCAM.

PCSTEL

I'm pretty much at the point of conceding defeat with this. They could approve the merger today and I almost feel as if it just wouldn't even matter now. The delay has caused so much damage that it seems irreparable now.

Why are the commissioners going to be voting in blocks of two??? And it's probably obvious what that means: the first two votes to come in will be NO which will make the stock tank even LOWER; then the other two votes will hang out there in the wind for a few weeks as the stock goes near to $1.00/share and then finally the last two votes will come in as YES. But by then, will it matter anymore? How high will the stock go from near $1.00 - $1.25?? i wish i was sitting on the bench at 3.00 or even 2.75...but this latest downturn has me languishing out in left field puking my guts out...

I disagree coward but who knows.

I feel if the merger goes through and Mel shines light on some of the directions He plans on taking the new company, additional revenue streams, Advertising plans, New tech, any innovations, any contracts with govt or other companies, and integration...I mean the time it took for this to be approved I am sure Mel has been mapping out the future of his company. This stock is one of the highest volumes traded on the market so you know all eyes are watching. The company is in heavy heavy debt with numbers rising, but with 20 million people and who knows how many more have been waiting for this merger, plus the car subs in place, I think they can turn it around in a reasonable time frame.

Main thing is He must think out of the box and find additional reveue streams...A marketplace, Satellite contracts with govt or airlines, some form of advertising (internet maybe), Backseat video, I-tunes type idea, etc

I'm pretty much at the point of conceding defeat with this. They could approve the merger today and I almost feel as if it just wouldn't even matter now. The delay has caused so much damage that it seems irreparable now.

¿¿¿¿¿¿¿

I don't follow this viewpoint. It's nearing final celebration time. The merger is soon at hand. Why are you "conceding defeat". I mean, after all.. Your battle has been about the "good of the public interest". Hasn't it?? More choices and more competition. I mean, this is what it has all been about. Hasn't it??

SDARS shareholders and subscribers rallying against "special interest groups" attempting to block increased competition from SDARS? This is a HUGE win for the consumer. Or so, that has been the 'anthem' of the SDARS shareholders.

I mean, you have to be feeling pretty proud of yourselves at this juncture. When the merger is approved. Consumers in the future will have the choice to chose "one" SDARS provider.

If they provide poor customer service or programming. Too Bad!!! The consumer will always have the "choice" of, well, just sucking it up and putting up with whatever is determined to be in their best interest by ONE company, or tossing their receiver in the landfill... Now that's Consumer Choice.

Yeap!! Congratulations on your letter writing and comment filing campaign. You have done a great job of promoting the "public interest". You should be proud of yourselves! Just another dink in the ole' Karma column for you.

But, selling you personal integrity down the toilet hasn't been for nothing.. No, Karma has begun to provide you with your "just rewards". And it starts off with a 50% reduction in your "investment" value.

In the end, the company will sail off into the sunset with their monopoly, while leaving their current investors in the same positiion as the last round of SIRI investors that got largely "wiped out" before you.

Karma is a bitch!!

And so it goes,
PCSTEL

Thanks, PCSTEL, you're just a big ball of sunshine aren't you?!!

Pestel

I assure you that regardless of the packages or promotions, everyone will have an opportunity for a lower entry point, lower prices or more selection than if the merger is denied. There is nothing perfect in the world... people are losing their homes in Michigan. I don't think grousing over a couple bucks a month ranks up there on the suffering scale.

BTW... I'm done flipping my stock. Now 100% XMSR (hello Homer) as a win has a premium in it, and a loss tells me there would be at least speculation of a sale when the cap is some silly number like 1.5 Billion. WTF ... the birds (lease pick up) and names is worth 1.5.

Here are the things that have made me think about getting into XM instead of Sirius and I'd like everyone's opinion.Chrlser is the main driver for Sirius subs and not only are they way down, but it looks like they are breaking up and only keeping Jeep. Over at Ford, their F150 has tanked and they have few little cars in the pipeline. Last while XM could renegioate their contracts with the car companies, Sirius can't add anymore nameplates. Oh there is something else. Sirius retail business has fallen off making them more dependent on their car contracts? Any ideas people

to hard to tell at this point. The market and consumer spending is difficult to predict. We dont know what both companies have planned. Retail sales have fallen for sure, but are people just waiting for the decision? Maybe, Maybe not...

I looked at some figures fropm Sirius Buzz that has OEM installs for XM @ about 60% of the market and they don't have weak hands like Ford and Chrysler. However Sirius is installing more units as their install rate is higher. This makes you think XM doesn't have the cash which makes you think the yhave some really terrible deals. If i worked at XM I'd darn sure be going back trying to rework some of those contracts am i wrong andwhy don't they do this if I'm right?

I assure you that regardless of the packages or promotions, everyone will have an opportunity for a lower entry point, lower prices or more selection than if the merger is denied. There is nothing perfect in the world... people are losing their homes in Michigan

Well, hopefully your self-assurances can help with your Karma.

Great! I have a OEM install SIRI radio in a car. When will I be able to lower my payment to 'a la carte'?

SIRI has 'commercial free channels' largely because XM provides some commercial free channels.

Likewise, SIRI has commercials on their talk channels, as XM has commercials on their talk channels.

What is to prevent the combined entity from moving to commercials on their music channels when there is no longer a direct competitor that provides a commercial-free environment?

Only a matter of time before SDARS becomes what most merger proponents claim is their largest reason for supporting a Satellite Radio merger. Crappy Commercial Infested Terrestrial Radio. The Golden Age of Satellite radio is about reach "sunset".

But at least you will have a lifetime of 3K per year tax write-offs for your efforts.

Enjoy!

PCSTEL

PCSTEL,

Like I said. Children are starving in third world countries tonight while we type. Get over it.
Take 12 beers and call me in the morning.

I'm down 205K now. Quit your whining. That's a whole lot of 6.99 subscriptions!

"conceding defeat" = alterior motive?

I thought this was interesting... a list of Goldman Sach's business principles, from their site.

http://www2.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/about-us/business-principles.html

Making money for their clients first at # 1.
Honesty and Integrity dead last at # 14.

We knew that!

"conceding defeat" = alterior motive?

Conceding defeat = realizing that after years of being invested in this crap that a successful merger is going to warrant a stock price that won't even be as high as it was just a few weeks ago.

And it's ulterior not "alterior", genius.

I'm down 205K now.

Ouch!! Now that's some BAD Karma.. At least you still have your Health. Like I said.. at the very least. You have a lifetime of 3K per year write off's.

Like I said. Children are starving in third world countries tonight while we type.

205K could have gone a long way to feed many, many starving third world children. But, instead of a bunch of positive Karma, you end with a big negative.

In the end.. It wasn't the "public interests" you were concerned about.. It was your own "personal interests".

Ahh! The hypocrisy of those that scolded organizations that they branded as "Special Interest Groups". But, in a ironic twist of fate. It appears that it was indeed these branded groups that were in fact attempting to actually protect the "publics interest", while the real special interest groups were the respective companies shareholders which were only out to enrich their own pockets at the expense of their own personal integrity and the "publics interest".

But, in the end... It appears that Karma has dealt these Shareholder Special Interest Groups their "just rewards".

Bon Appetit

And so it goes,
PCSTEL

thought this was interesting... a list of Goldman Sach's business principles, from their site.

http://www2.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/about-us/business-principles.html

Making money for their clients first at # 1.
Honesty and Integrity dead last at # 14.

We knew that!

Hmmmm.. A group that's main goal is to make money at #1
Honesty and Integrity... Dead Last.

Kind of sounds like SDARS shareholders..

The Karma monster is a commin'

And so it goes,
PCSTEL

Here's what I've done on the Goldman deal.

I contacted 9and invite you to do the same) the SEC and filed a complaint. My complaint is based on lacking regulation in securities trading. I suggested the following.

1. That any upgrade or down grade requires disclosure of the firms holdings.
2. That any firm issuing an upgrade or downgrade is prohibited from trading said security for 120 days.

The fact that this isn't required only underscores that the government is intentionally looking the other way.

"Conceding defeat = realizing that after years of being invested in this crap that a successful merger is going to warrant a stock price that won't even be as high as it was just a few weeks ago."

Run on sentence, genius.

good work, keep it up

good work, keep it up

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