Gary Parsons has stepped down as the Chairman of Sirius XM Radio Inc. Board of Directors, the company said late Thursday. In his place, the company has appointed Eddy W. Hartenstein (an independent director) as the non-executive Chairman.
Parsons said in a written statement, "While it has been a privilege to serve Sirius XM as Chairman and to have guided the company successfully through the merger of Sirius and XM, I believe now is the right time to step aside."
Parsons was founder of XM Satellite Radio and was the Chairman of XM Satellite Radio, prior to the merger of Sirius and XM. He was also arguably the most active XM executive instrumental in getting the Sirius/XM merger approved.
"I could not be more proud of everything that has been accomplished in satellite radio," said Gary Parsons. "It has been a true honor to serve the stockholders of these companies since founding through delivery of an unparallel service to millions of loyal and devoted subscribers."
"'[Parsons] is a true pioneer; he believed in the promise of satellite radio before there were subscribers, programming or even satellites," said Mel Karmazin. "I want to thank Gary for his vision, expertise and tireless commitment to Sirius XM."
Gary's replacement, Eddy Hartenstein is Publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Times and is the former Chairman and CEO of DIRECTV. He also sits on the board of SanDisk, Broadcom, and The City of Hope.
The question I have is: what will Gary do next? He's a true visionary and a self-described technologist, so what does the next chapter hold in store? I'd love to know.
[via Barrons]
"I could not be more proud of everything that has been accomplished in satellite radio," said Gary Parsons. "It has been a true honor to serve the stockholders of these companies since founding through delivery of an unparallel service to millions of loyal and devoted subscribers."
"'[Parsons] is a true pioneer; he believed in the promise of satellite radio before there were subscribers, programming or even satellites," said Mel Karmazin. "I want to thank Gary for his vision, expertise and tireless commitment to Sirius XM."
Gary's replacement, Eddy Hartenstein is Publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Times and is the former Chairman and CEO of DIRECTV. He also sits on the board of SanDisk, Broadcom, and The City of Hope.
The question I have is: what will Gary do next? He's a true visionary and a self-described technologist, so what does the next chapter hold in store? I'd love to know.
[via Barrons]
An open message to Mr. Gary Parsons:
Sir:
I have been a subscriber to XM satellite radio since February 2002 and stockholder since January 2007. When I first learned of the satellite radio concept I was very excited because I truly felt we would be liberated from the dull humdrum that commercial radio had become. When I bought my SkiFy generation 1 unit(complete with car & office docking units) and joined the XM generation back in 2002 I was truly excited. The music,comedy, and news/information channels were unbelievable. I used to travel to my Air Force Air Guard unit every few weeks to participate in flying training missions (not to mention drill weekends) and I can truly attest that XM satellite radio kept me from falling asleep on my 1.5 hour trip back to my house or from going postal in rush hour traffic when I would listen to XMComedy. Listening to the comedy channels really did keep my blood pressure down and prevent any feelings of road rage I might have experienced and I truly have XM to thank for that. I can truly state that I was responsible for getting at least 6 guys from my unit to subscribe to satellite radio. We used to talk about the great choices of music,etc. and compare what we listened to. Sir, that is a true fact. We were satellite radio fans for sure and I can assure you NOONE was a bigger supporter of XM (and satellite radio in general) than me.
Fast forward to growing too fast and some of the senior members of the XM board stating that they could not support the direction that XM Radio was taking and resigned. I agreed that XM was trying to grow too fast and should focus on quality NOT quantity. Forget about signing up every character/personality/sports event in the media and focus on what we as the core subscribers supported and paid for.
Mr. Parsons,it pains me to inform you that since the acquisition/merger, the quality of XM has suffered across the board and my support for the combined company is not strong at all. I cannot support a business that has substituted/eliminated a number of channels and the replacements are definitely sub-par. Sir, I cannot bear to listen to the existing comedy channels more than 15 minutes without changing to another channel. I usually switch to terra radio out of disgust and find that they are now more entertaining. What "Einstein" programmer decided to have some commedian yak on like Dr. Phil every damn day during rush hour on the ENTIRE Eastern Coast of the US?
I could list almost a dozen channels I am now disappointed in but it probably would serve no purpose.
Sir, I am basically disappointed in the direction that the combined company(SiriusXM) has taken and unfortunately you had a lot to do with the direction that this company has taken. In my opinion the two companies should NEVER have merged and been allowed to succeed or fail on their own merits.
I have about 1 year left on my multi-year subscription and I am not at all sure I will renew my subscription. Unfortuately Mr. Parsons, you and other people who should have known better are to blame for my lack of support.
Mr. Parsons, I get no joy in posting that you and XM were better than this and I am disappointed in the way things have turned out and you have NOTHING to be proud of.
You have let me down Mr. Parsons.
I wish you no ill will but you really shouldn't have stood by and let what was once something I was proud of evolve to "Satellite Radio Lite"
If you could do me one favor, please take Mel Karmazin with you. He's done enough damage.
Boo Hoo Recondo you're so mean you made me cry
The number one reason for merger :
$500,000,000 for Howard Stern . Enough said .
XM is now completely absorbed into the Satellite communications mafia. While Parsons rides out on the Golden parachute, corporate America takes over Sat radio. Can the Sat mafia kill terrestrial? No, it's not long before Sat radio will become a channel cacher for Slacker. Because with all of this content people are becoming bored, and Sirius can't get it, the original concept that XM had:
You won't hear this anywhere else
Bt the way where are all of those public content channels that the merger agreed to. I think I'll write my congressman.
It really sucked for me to see a company I was so proud of, and so willing to always recommend to my friends and family, so quickly turn into something no better than terrestrial once the focus turned to squeezing profits out rather than keeping XM awesome. At this point, if I heard tomorrow the whole company was going bankrupt, I wouldn't even care. Good riddance.
There's a dozen other ways to get music 'anywhere' now, and a lot (like Slacker) have much better sound quality (the music is even in stereo!). I know for a fact the first thing I'm looking for in my next cell phone is one I can get the Slacker app for.
It's been a year since I made the call to cancel all of my XM subscriptions, and I don't miss it a bit. (By 'it', I mean this Sirius crap pretending to be XM, in fact, I still deeply miss the first three years XM was on the air. XM had a soul back then.)
I agree with the points in the open letter, as I've been a subscriber since 2001. For those of us who saw the original XM, and have lived through the changes, it's difficult and frustrating. I've talked to many XM subscribers who recently joined the satellite radio community and they have a much different view; they enjoy satellite radio as being "much better than FM". To them, it's new and fresh, and they are correct -- it is still better than FM. For us "older" users, it's no longer a novelty and we have certain expectations. I miss much of the older programming, and couldn't agree more about the sub-par Sirius stations. XM Comedy used to be great; it's horrible now. Too much talking, too much Jim Breuer (who told this guy he was funny?). Top Tracks used to be great; Classic Vinyl is good, but not as good as it was before.
For those frustrated with XM's programming, give it up for a week and listen to FM. You will miss satellite radio. It's not as good as it was, but it's still better than FM. I find myself changing in the car between XM, Slacker (on my iPhone) and the iPod. I find that the alternatives (Slacker and iPod) make up for the changes in XM, but XM is still in the rotation.
Good letter. I would sign my name to it as well.
My question would be, how much do you think the current direction of Sirius XM has to do with Parsons' decision to leave? The canned quote obviously says nothing, having probably been written by the legal department, so it makes you wonder what the real story is.
I'd say it's very hard for someone who, like Parsons, founded a company, to be a "yes" man to someone else with a completely different set of ideas.
It looks like mel is holding a fart lol!!!
Thanks for nothing , Gary
You make excellent points about the difference between satellite radio "veterans" and newer listeners.
On your point about satellite radio still being better than FM, I say yes and no, and I would add that it's somewhat of an "apples to oranges" comparison.
In many smaller cities and rural areas, there just aren't many radio stations available, and even big markets don't have as many as there are on satellite radio. So, simply by virtue of the number of channels on satellite radio, it offers an advantage over terrestrial. Moreover, there are things on satellite radio where there terrestrial options, such as comedy channels, BBC, the gay channel, etc.
As far as the quality of the music channels, for any given Sirius XM channel, I think you can find terrestrial stations that are programmed better. I think part of the problem is Sirius XM channels are built around two- or three-word monikers for music genres rather than audience demographics. They need to put more thought into the type of listener who likes a type of music and think about what other stuff this person wants. In this way, they would build channels that people would identify with and be able to listen to for long periods of time. As it is now, there is a wear-out period on every channel, not only because the tight playlist means you start hearing the same stuff over and over, but because there's nothing fresh or edgy that pushes the limits of the genre a little. XM used to do that; Sirius XM does not.
Sorry, meant to say there are things on satellite radio where there are NO terrestrial options...
Recondo,
Superb letter!
And pay attention Sirius (not that you ever do).
Subscribers are not happy with the programming they are receiving. While XM was highly original and innovative, SIRIUS resorted to replicating FM radio right down to DJs that talk all over records and morning shows on the music channels. Sound quality is a joke as well.
If Sirius is really interested in moving forward and giving people a reason to subscribe they need to expand their limited playlists, eliminate chatty DJs and talentless "morning mashups" and provide sound quality that comes close to or matches that of CD audio.
Don't know why this is such a difficult concept to embrace when the company continues to lose subscribers to Internet radio.
Bring back Hugh Panero .
I wonder why Orbitcast didn't announce that Sirius XM has until February 24, 2010 to provide the minority access channels. Wonder if this is related to Parson's retirement.
Wow the same bunch of whiners, that hate Sirius/XM!
Why do you post here everyday?
Sounds like someone either lost there ass in the stock or is short the stock!
Companies don't survive without profit and XM was basically bankrupt, if not for the merger XM would be gone anyway.
Move along children, the school bell just rang!
Ryan you should black ball a few of these guys.
Every time I read the comments noting but bashers!
Recondo72 - What a great summation of all that irks the shit out of so many subscribers! Unfortunately, you are correct; they just don't listen. Even more disturbing is the fact that they don't care..... about the feelings of THE MOST PASSIONATE SIRIUS/XM FANS!!! They have sold out for mediocrity over quality; little do they know that it is going to come back to haunt them. I hadn't turned on terrestrial radio in almost 4 years, but lately have been listening to an FM station in my area that is programmed BETTER that anything on satellite. I never would have admitted this a couple of years ago, but back then I wouldn't have had any reason to wander back to the very thing that drove me to satellite radio in the first place! I can't write anything more damning than to announce that I have started to retreat back to radio that I had found unacceptable. Good grief, how far this company has fallen!
Oh profit motive huh:
Cord Blomquist, senior communications director and information policy analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, said FCC’s micromanagement of Sirius XM could not come at a worse time.
“Satellite radio is probably facing the bleakest time in its short-lived history, and part of it is because XM and Sirius bled so much money for so long buying talent like Oprah and Howard Stern,” Blomquist said.
I am new to satelite radio as of 3 years ago and truthfully don't understand what you are talking about. Satellite radio could not remain the same. Don't you realize that. This 2009. XM and Sirius have to compete with lots of companies. Neither of them could have afforded to remain the same. The original signers of XM have ideas and desires that date back to when they signed up and that was in the BY DAYS!
Get real. If they had not merged one or both of the two companies would have went the way of the dinosaur. Perhaps rather than complain, you can change your paradigm and think positive. Sirius and XM can't go back in time. They must move forward in time. What about TV? Back in the day (15 yrs ago), TV was better, now we have to put blocks on it. What about the computer? Its not safe for kids anymore.
So it is time to fast forward to 2009.
XM will never go back to the way it was when the original signers signed up.
I feel insulted that you expect them to and expect me to go backwards to!....ITs a NEW DAY! A NEW YEAR! A NEW Century!
The company could be best served by you giving them your support and suggestions for future programs that will help them compete in this economical climate.
I ask you: Do you want the new Sirius and XM to fail as a merged company because you can't get the shows you use to listen to? If you do, then maybe you are really one of the NAB fans that pray for their demise.
Yes, companies don't survive without a profit, and this one just lost another $150M in quarter three, and there are fewer satellite radio listeners now than before the merger.
Maybe that's because they operate under the same set of principles you apparently do: Ignore or attempt to suppress critical voices, and, rather than drawing conclusions based on facts, ridicule the people making the points. Can there be anything more reminiscent of grade school playground tactics than that? It's easy to see why you are hearing that school bell.
I love the people that come out against the Sirius bashers. You see, they don't think that there should be any negative opinion posted on Ryan's site. If they had it their way, this would be the ALL THINGS HOLY SIRIUS where only positive praises would fill the pages of this blog.
God forbid anyone continues to badmouth Sirius here. After all, there are so many people content with a service that shuns the opinions of its subscribers and whittles down the quality of programming to please the lowest common denomination.
All we are asking is for quality radio instead of the exact same kind of garbage that FM radio is known for.
The more we complain the more Sirius has to listen. They read this blog daily and sometimes when they don't like something they read they lash out at the complainers or urge the blog owner to toss them off.
Our opinions are just as meaningful as anyone else's.
Ryan, thanks for allowing us here.
Satellite radio is nothing to me now and if they dropped the TV news channels I'd cancel. That's how bad it is, good for nothing but CNN & Fox simulcasts. XM was so much better.
It is a very strange situation to me because Sirius killed satellite radio, yet GP stood by and allowed it to happen. So who's fault is it?
Sirius did throw the so called Hail Mary that started the food fight. But Parsons was weak. Instead of taking control of costs and fighting it out with Sirius, he allowed his offspring to die at the hands of Karmazin. Sorry, I can't say anything good about that.
They made mistakes but those mistakes could have been fixed and they could have brought the company back. Maybe the stockholders would never have seen the benefit, but the product have survived. As it is today, XM is intolerable for the most part.
wow, you really are ignorant. since you don't understand that the economy is in the tank, unemployment is over 10% and new car sales are at historic lows, and thousands of companies are posting lower year over year earnings, I guess you won't understand anything.
btw, you also don't appear to understand finance. 150mm in losses - this is a non cash charge and represents the debt discount applied to the remaining liberty media loans that were refinanced.
I have to say that the listener "experience" is gone.
I've been an XMer since 2003 and a Sirius listener since 2004 and I have to say they each had their niche. Here, succinctly,sums up the difference in philosophies between the two companies:
XM had a dedicated telephone and e-mail for every station. Sirius had (877)33-SIRIUS where you could type your song request.
It's that simple. I remember requesting songs on Ethel and having Erik (who I would e-mail back and forth btw) and he would play whatever song I wanted next. Awesome trick to play on dates. I'd e-mail Bodhi (Squizz) asking him about a song and he'd reply with a little bit of history.
I have no idea/faith that Sirius played any songs that I requested. I liked their talk stations because they were "cooler" and "edgier" than XMs. I felt cool listening to Maxim Radio and some of their stations (Faction/Coffeehouse) were really unique. Hearing my favorite skateboarders and athletes play their favorite songs and talk about their lives was great.
Seriously, think about the telephone numbers being and the ability to take live calls and you have the quintessential difference in philosophy between Sirius and XM. It's a shame sirius has won that battle.
What you are suggesting is that I accept mediocrity (in addition to a decline in customer service,essentially ignoring customer feedback,a great increase in repetition in comedy bits,etc.) and I ain't gonna do that and that is NOT what I (and many others like me) paid/signed on for. Look at the majority of these posts for crying out loud...........
As posted, by others involved in the broadcasting business (I'm not one of them, I work in a TOTALLY different career field)the actions taken by SiriusXM have basically fucked up a good thing.
Compete?? With what?? I don't know if you noticed it or not but there ain't but one satellite radio broadcasting system now. I ain't buying that bullshit that Mel gave to the FCC. Plus, the original FCC charter was for at LEAST two satellite radio corporations be available for consumer subscription.
One of the major consumer rights groups went on record opposing the merger and stated it would result in higher subscription rates,fewer choices and a decline in programming and customer service. Looks like they didn't know what the hell they were talking about did they???
As far as failing, the way things are going now, I don't have near as much empathy for SiriusXM as I did a few months after the merger. I did give it some time but as I posted, I am truly disappointed in the way things have turned out.
Since this fuck-up of a merger, I have(out of necessity) switched to broadband and now download sites like Zoltar for no-shit Techno, and Slacker for comedy worth a shit. If SiriusXM had not gone down hill on programming content, I would probably still be using dial-up service!! And yes, there is some great music/entertainment available on the internet and I am lucky to be able to pick up several great Classic Rock stations via the internet that I listen to at home because even though I have SiriusXM via DirecTV hard wired through my house, I find myself listening to it less & less. Again thanks to the shitty programming that is a result of Mel & Co.'s commercial radio mindset and Mr. Parson standing by and letting it happen. That brings up a good point...if SiriusXM IS competing with other sources for listeners, why evolve into basically terra radio without (for the most part)commercials? From what I know about competition, you have to try HARDER not offer a sub-par product/service. Now there are (in several instances)SUPERIOR choices for programming especially when it comes to music & comedy. Additionally, I am lucky to be in an area that has several GREAT terra radio stations (in the Carolinas believe it or not). Two independent FM stations WXRC-FM/95.7("The Ride") which can give Vinyl Classic a good run for its money & has SUPERIOR DJ's who know when to shut the fuck up and WOLD-FM/103.3 which as a Classic Country show every day that is BETTER than that dude on "Willie's Place" at noon(WOLT-FM knows better than to pass off The Marshall Tucker Band as a classic country band - obviously that dude on "Willie's Place dosen't) Not to mention WNCW-FM/88.7 a PBS station that offers better Bluegrass on Saturdays that SiriusXM & a Saturday night Blues program that is better than a lot of the blues offered on SiriusXM (EXCEPT for Bill Waxman's show - one of the FEW things that SiriusXM hasen't fucked up.......YET!!!)
If SiriusXM went off the air today I would not miss them near as much as I would have prior to the acquisition/merger.
Look at the stock's performance. It's still hovering around 70 cents or less. Mel & Co. keep putting out smoke & mirror stuff and he knows they are in danger of being delisted. Nothing he and his cohorts who are TOTALLY ingrained in the corporate world of commercial radio know how to do anything else.
Yes, Parsons had the great concept and the better system and the superior service but he is to blame for growing too fast and the result was they spent way too much money for personalities,sporting events,etc. and got into the stupid game of "I'll see you one better" game with Sirius which that is the reason he had to go to Mel with his hat in his hand.
Thus the decline in quality,service and quite possibly the eventual failure of SiriusFM(OOPS I ment SiriusXM...) as a broadcasting system under Mel & Co.
By the way.......
I certainly DO appreciate OrbitCast.com for allowing this forum. My sincere hope is that some changes in the quality of programming AND senior leadership will occur within SiriusXM before its too late.
Thanks so very much.
It's a nice day here in the Carolinas. As good 'ol Arlo Guthrie sang: "I don't want a pickle, just wanna ride my "motorsikle"!!!
That's just what I'm gonna do....
Happy riding!!!
It is called one time charge for retiring 250 million loan from liberty!
Do a little research before you post!
Actually I real don't understand if someone hates the programming and hates the company so much.
Why post?
Bitter, bored, payed, need a hobby or maybe a girlfriend.
Lower you blood pressure and move on the company already has and for the better.
You bashers that complain are the minority, apparently 18.5 million subs like the service.
RMAN --
To anser your excellent question....
Remaining silent about a badly run service that doesn't care about its subscribers gives Sirius the leeway to continue saying that they have a happy subscriber base.
The more people that continue to speak out -- and you can see more people are -- the more Sirius is going to be forced to reconsider their bad programming decisions.
At least on this forum opinions are not censored. I know another satellite radio blog that is very popular that you can't speak out against Sirius without having your post removed. Is that what we want here? Ryan seems to think better.
I see that you've read something in some anonymous post above yours and call that "research." The Wall Street Journal refers to Sirius XM's third-quarter performance as a $150M loss (or $149.2M to be exact). That's from America's most credible source of business data. Companies, and people trying to explain away their bad performance, like to use terms like "charges" because they sound better than losses, but the bottom line is, they're losing customers and (still) losing money.
One thing you might want to consider: If you support the current direction of Sirius XM, why do you not write intelligent, thoughtful posts explaining why you feel this way, rather than continue the childish nonsense like saying someone "needs a girlfriend"? What you need is an education.
Good points. Shooter Jennings' show on Outlaw Country (Saturday 6-8 p.m. and re-run Sunday 8-10 p.m. Eastern) is another I'd suggest as an example of something that's still good. Very eclectic music mix, and his personality brings a lot to it. X Country had this same slightly alternative feel, although the music mix is different. Too bad it's only four hours a week.
Sorry, made a mistake -- it's re-run Sunday 10-midnight.
"Ignore or attempt to suppress critical voices, and, rather than drawing conclusions based on facts, ridicule the people making the points. Can there be anything more reminiscent of grade school playground tactics than that? It's easy to see why you are hearing that school bell."
1. I ridicule, you ridicule. What's the difference? If what I said is interpretated as ridicule, I apologize. I disagree with what the writer says because the motives are suspect. I also feel sorry for the XM people who lost their jobs and positions and hope that they put their pride aside and bought some of the SIRI penny stock.
2. You are right about one thing: I choose to ignore all critical voices because I can't distinguish the bashers from the naked short sellers! I don't know who is honest any more. Therefore, the instant I realize a post is turning negative, I turn on the ignore button. It was purely an accident that I read the entire post that prompted my response. MISTAKE!
3. In my little book, condemnation, non-constructive criticism and mean spirited comments don't deserve any consideration. "That includes me to."
The school bell just rung. Got to go to school.
I can't wait to swing on the swing set!
I worked at XM for 2 years. Gary hasn't done anything but help negotiate the merger. If he's happy that that is his legacy.....well, godspeed, cause to most of us, it was the end of something that was once enjoyable and listenable.
So, he successfully negotiated a merger that allowed him and his other 1,000 XM executives to get insanely large packages once the merger was through - people who had been there for less time than myself (but were lucky enough to have the executive title) were given HUGE amounts of money to basically sit at home unemployed. Hell, it almost seemed like people were being hired there just so they'd be employed in time to get the package when the merger went through. Can you say, "knew the meger was coming?". Yeah, that's what it seemed like.
Piss poor. XM is so Sirius now that it's just sad. If I wanted Sirius and their Top 40 mentality and limited crap playlist, I would have bought a sub to sirius, not XM (or just listen to FM). It's hard to believe, but more than ever, I am shocked that I have 200 channels of sat radio and I can't fine ONE enjoyable thing to listen to. Unreal.
Bye Gary, thanks for......nothing.
I agree with you, Im no longer recomend Sat Radio.
You're incorrect. While a few others on here -- generally those that support the company's current actions -- ridicule the person making a point, I do not do that. I value the exchange of ideas. In the conversation you are referencing, I said I understood why this person heard a school bell because he/she introduced this metaphor to describe me and others, and I said he/she needed an education because the point about me or others "needing a girlfriend" was so inane and sophomoric that that seemed to be the case.
As far as others motives, I own no stock in the company, have never been a "short seller," and have no financial interest in seeing harm come to Sirius XM. My only investment in Sirius XM was the hundreds of dollars I spent for equipment, most of which I no longer use.
But everyone has all kinds of motives: There are company employees who post here, stockholders, former employees, etc., and they all have a motive or agenda, but that's also what makes them knowledgeable. Rather than attempting to determine someone's motive or agenda, why not agree or disagree with what they say based on the merits of their arguments, rather than attacking them personally?