Initial thoughts on Sirius Backseat TV

Thursday, March 29, 2007 at 11:58 AM
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Sirius Backseat TV
Perhaps the most significant revelation about Sirius Backseat TV is the content partners. At CES we saw that Cartoon Network was a content partner, but the adding of Nickelodeon and Disney Channel shows that Sirius has a powerhouse of children's programming backing this effort.

That's huge, because Sirius has essentially covered all the bases for the leaders in children's television.

Sirius Backseat TV

In a statement, Denise Dahldorf, Executive Vice President of MTV Networks Content Distribution and Marketing said, "like all of our MTVN brands, our goal for Nickelodeon is to be everywhere our audiences are, and the launch of Sirius Backseat TV gives kids and families even more screens to interact with us."

"Disney Channel viewers expect to be able to access their favorite shows and stars wherever they are on a wide variety of devices," said Ben Pyne, President of Disney and ESPN Networks Affiliate Sales and Marketing.

"Cartoon Network Mobile is a customized programming service designed for the on-the-go mobile lifestyle," said Coleman Breland, Executive Vice President of sales and marketing for Turner Network Sales. "This new venture with Sirius is one we think parents will see the benefits of and represents the next generation of back seat entertainment."

The one-year of free Sirius Backseat TV and free Sirius Satellite Radio is pretty significant as well. Just like satellite radio, I think the Backseat TV product requires consumers to first experience the product before they realize that they want the product. While $470 isn't a cheap offering - that price does include the full year of service as well as the hardware - which might make it an easier sell at the dealership.

My only concern with Sirius Backseat TV: there are tons of ways for a substitutive product to overtake them in the marketplace. Yes, it's live streaming content while on-the-go, but - as the iPod has shown us - people are just as accepting of a cached solution (especially if it's without a monthly charge). With WiFi-enabled households becoming nearly ubiquitous, what's to stop a device to download new programs while your car is parked in the garage? I'm not saying that Sirius Backseat TV doesn't have potential, but ignoring the competitive risks is silly.

But with Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network on their side - as well as the key OEM partnership with Chrysler - Sirius might have a decent jump on the competition as demand for this type of service grows.

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Comments

I have a really bad feeling about this...
As an XM sub I shouldn't have to worry about bandwidth for Sirius TV ambitions... yet here I sit with a bad feeling that everything I love about satrad is slipping away....

I agree with the comptetive aspect this might triger from otehr companys. Besides the already present and obvious risks like ipod and such, what about new ideas and innovations that might want to compete with this. Whats stopping actualy satelite tel companys to making there own service with the full lineup of channels...

I see sirius/xm making another joint venture or merge with a big company like microsoft in the future once all this present mess with teh fcc is sorted out.

They offer to good of a service and have an aggressive management team that won'y allow this company to sink. Atleast thats what I think.

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