Motley Fool has put together a Fuck, Marry, Kill list (ok, so they called it "Date, Marry, Kill" - but we know what they're talking about) and their choices, in order, are: Sirius, Apple, and XM.
The Fool selected to "date" Sirius because they're at their 52 week low right now, even though Sirius has fewer subscribers, a heavier market cap, and posted steeper losses than XM. Still, Sirius has a lot of momentum behind it and the Fool seems to like the prospect of Sirius Backseat TV should it take off.
Apple was the one to marry because, well, because they're profitable. And they've got the iPod, of which they've sold 90 million units (compared to "only" 13.6 million satellite radio subscribers). It doesn't hurt that Apple has topped Wall Street's estimates for 16 straight quarters. Oh right, and then there's the iPhone.
XM on the otherhand got killed. Why? Because of the fading merger speculation, the RIAA lawsuit and losing massive retail marketshare to Sirius. The Fool isn't necessarily convinced over the whole "OEM is the future" thing either (because of iPod jacks).
Can't say I disagree with any of that.
I agree too. XM is doomed.
As a listener, my list goes:
Fuck Sirius, Some great programming like Discovery Channel (check it out if you never have), Sirius Patriot, and the Blue Collar Comedy channel make Sirius a hot little number. Shallow play lists and hacky DJ's prevent a serious commitment.
Marry XM, A good balance of deep playlists, talk, and special events that grab you like the "Before the Music Dies" special, make XM a great long term commitment.
Kill Apple, A gimmicky MP3 player has staved off the inevitable death of a bad computer company. Making stores waste space on their "computers" in order to be able to sell the crappy MP3 player, past attempts to have complete control of every level of computing at the expense of the consumer, and the forced integration of all peripherals "like them or not you have them", make Apple death-worthy.
The only thing that gives me great hope is that the author of this piece recommended XM at 32.00 and has been professionally incorrect.
It's almost a George-Seinfeld think of " Do the Opposite " when it comes to Motley Fool recommendations. IMHO.
What can NEVER be explained away is that with 250 million ( XMSR ) to 1.6 billion ( SIRI ) shares IF Sirius ever makes a dime, it will be divided 1.6 Billion times.
I'll take XM's PE's thank you !
I'd agree with the Fool if I didn't hate that Apple asshole in the Ads. Because of him, I'd have to kill Apple, fuck XM, and marry Sirius.
"A gimmicky MP3 player?", History Guy?
That's about the dumbest thing I've read on a web page, period - and I'm 33 years old.
I'm sorry Pete, the original iPod was a large capacity MP3 player with a click wheel. Other than being the first large capacity MP3 player with a click wheel, what made it sooo great? Nothing.
Frankly, Motley Fool gets it so wrong so many times, I dont know why anyone would listen to them. These cranks were telling people to buy both stocks when they were far higher.
"I agree too. XM is doomed."
They are? Then where does that leave Sirius? They can't make any money even WITH all that "superior" (cough) content. *rolls eyes*
I say they're both fucked.
>> Other than being the first large capacity MP3 player with a click wheel, what made it sooo great? Nothing. >>
What makes it soooo great?
Oh gee, I don't know, maybe the fact that 90% of the free world has one?
IMO, your comments regarding Apple are out of sheer ignorance - stick to what you know best, discussing satellite radio.
i would marry sirius because they were the choice i wanted back in 04 and i'm satsified. i would slowly fuck xm while pfreak watched. and i would date apple because lets face it, you gotta love the ipod.
You know you have a short attention span when you get lost trying to remember fuck, marry, kill.
Also, Pete I appreciate your complement regarding my knowledge of SatRad. That said; the fact that it is very popular does not change the fact that the iPod's domination over other similar units comes almost completely due to its marketing and its "first horse in the race" status rather than any other factor. The iPod was and is an example of excellent marketing, not engineering.