Only if they're interoperable too. I'd like to pick up channels from both services beyond the "best of" packages.

It really depends on what a la carte packages will allow. If I can listen to Stern in the morning and NHL in the afternoon and the radio is as easy to use (recording etc) then I may purchase a new radio.

However where does this guy get the three years crap because they have to redesign dashboards. What a bafoon. Sorry a lot of car radios are double DIN's and the brains can fit just about anywhere.

And since we are a year into the merger process that means we have 2years left.

Nope. I have a inno with im happy with. Plus why would I want to pay more and buy a new radio to listen to shitty Sirius programming?

I'm a Sirius subscriber and I got it because I'm a big Stern fan and also because the music on terrestrial radio became unlistenable. To be honest, the only thing I really want from XM is baseball. I'm planning on moving and it would be great if I could listen to my team in my car where I move. Any other consildation, especially dealing with the music channels, does not really concern me because I know I will always have tons of choices.

"Nope. I have a inno with im happy with. Plus why would I want to pay more and buy a new radio to listen to shitty Sirius programming?"

Im with you

I will be letting my XM subscription run out first. I have 3 years left on the 5 year plan.
I have no interest in NBA, Howard, O&A, NFL, NHL Golf or any other specialized programming. I want the music and deep playlists.. if Mel Screws with that I will cancel my subscription and go to Slacker with the refund.

Iteroperable however.... both companies can update the receivers. If they get a new CODEC wont it be simple for XM to broadcast Sirius and Sirius to broadcast XM programming? I mean.. Who needs an interoperable receiver in that case?

These ANALists really are taking way too many uninformed shots in the dark.

@jones
I'm with you. I want the music and only the music. The ala carte packages look great. $7 to pick and choose? Sold. My SkyFi is getting old anyway, I wouldn't mind upgrading and saving a few bucks in my sub cost at the same time!

"Mel Screws with that I will cancel my subscription and go to Slacker with the refund."

Mel doest give a flying fuck what comes out of your radio, as long as it costs as little as possible. So we can all kiss deep playlists out of our car windows and welcome in fart sounds and girls having fake orgasms.

No I'll wait for fully operational/full bandwidth radio.

I agree with "another thought" posted above. Sirius sells "brain " conversion kits for GM, Toyota and Honda if I'm not mistaken. They are small boxes that can be mounted in the trunk, behind the glove box, under the seat.....no biggie there. I think you would need a firmware update for interoperability so the two chipsets could communicate...... just guessing. I am sure Sirius and XM have secretly been working on this for a while. I do not think the prediction of media analyst Jim Goss at Barrington Research is any better than mine. 3 years?? I don't think so.

Jim Goss at Barrington Research, needs to stay with reporting and not speculation. Each could use t-4 lines for example from the broadcast studio to the other's uplink station. There are other methods of mixing the stations as well.

I will NOT get the A LA Carte radio. I have XM and love it. i will probably upgrade during football season to get the NFL as well. I have no interest in the other Sirius programming, particularly Stern.

So basically, what you are saying, this merger is a complete sham?

Such a BS story, since Jan 08 Delphi has had a car stereo with both XM and Sirius chips in it. By the end of the year if the merger is approved they will have a car radio with just one chip. I work in the auto industry and we were already given a heads up about what was coming down the road. Also just an FYI the whole industry is moving towards car radio’s having a USB port instead of a MP3 plug in. Thumb drive will be replacing Ipods and MP3 players.
Remember 20% of Sat listeners have 80% of the subs. If Sirius would let me have more than four subs than I would buy at least two more.

I have a Helix (which is the same as the Inno) and it is like my Swiss Army Knife of satellite radio. If it dies or bricks, I'll get a new unit, but not before then. I've been real happy with it, especially since I can record XM programming and it serves as an MP3 player and podcast receiver. Neatest toy I own!

The larger question is.....if you have a car with either XM or Sirius now, will you ever be able to get dual-receiver units in your car? Is a firmware upgrade or equipment upgrade for specific car brands going to be offered?

I recently bought a Honda with XM, but would love to get some of the things Sirius offers...not sure if I ever will be able to in my existing car.

Has anyone heard how they are going to address this? Essentially give Ala Carte option to all the cars that are out there today...

Ryan, you've made a mistake because Max has told us all along it only takes 10 months to develop a receiver and get it engineered into a vehicle ;)

Seriously, there seems to be mass confusion between "ala carte" and dual mode receivers. These are two different things altogether -- ala carte receivers for XM will NOT receive Sirius programming, and vice versa -- only a limited subset of 10 channels from the other provider will be available from either. These will be available only by cutting bandwidth allocations to the existing channels for each service, OR by freeing up bandwidth by some other means (e.g., XM may be able to use the bandwidth currently allocated to CCU).

YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RECEIVE SIRIUS PROGRAMMING ON YOUR XM RECEIVER OR VICE VERSA, OTHER THAN WHAT THE COMPANIES DEEM TO BE THE "BEST OF" EACH SERVICE. This will require a "dual mode" receiver, something that will never see the light of day if Mel was truthful in his testimony as to the cost.

This is neither Barrington's prediction nor is it any surprise. We've known since the inception that it takes about 3 years to get a new receiver into a car. Three years, in fact, represents a shortening of the time frame, since such receivers do not now exist and will have to first be developed, although intuitively, the ala carte modification to the current chipset cannot be anywhere near the difficulty of the "dual-mode" receivers (which will likely never be brought to market).

This is merely the first in a long line of eye openers that is going to begin to appear once the merger is consummated. The promised synergies are not going to materialize. Dual-mode receivers, probably not. More "choice" for consumers will soon turn into half the number of music channels to choose from. And, of course, the price increases you guys all said wouldn't happen, COULDN'T happen, will be happening shortly after the merger is closed. The only thing that can change any of this is FCC mandating the consumers' interests be protected, and based on the DOJ's reasoning, one gets the idea THAT isn't going to happen.

Welcome to the real world, folks.

Yes, Of course I"ll buy a new radio. This situation is no different than any other technology out there. When they release a new LCD/Plasma TV, don't you go and buy a new one, don't we all buy new PC's when they come out, I'm on my 8th Palm Pilot at this point and 3rd iPod, of course I'll buy a new radio when they are available with the new combined programming. Why are people being such whimps about this.

Yea, you might have to actually open up your wallet to have access to the latest and best technology in this country......shocker!!!!

1. I have no interest in an 'a la carte' radio -- I want it all.

2. I doubt there will ever be a 'dual mode' or 'interoperable' radio.....but if one is made and it is anything similar to a Stilletto or Inno, I will get one.

I've got to keep saying it.......the merged company will need to abandon one of the existing constellations.

"Mel doest give a flying fuck what comes out of your radio, as long as it costs as little as possible. So we can all kiss deep playlists out of our car windows and welcome in fart sounds and girls having fake orgasms."

Hate to tell you this Scott, but the "fart sounds and girls having fake orgasms" cost a hell of a lot more that deep playlists. So your entire premise is wrong.

Stackpointer! I never agree with you, but I've always appreciated reading your views, despite how much I disagreed with them. But NOW, you are out right lying or seriously mislead.

First, ala cart REQUIRES the dual mode radios. They will be the same thing. Some limited content "best of" from XM or Sirius may be made available on current radios. As you said, it will be a bandwidth problem. But, you can assume big name content, like Stern, will probably be made available on XM.

Second your statement that- "This will require a "dual mode" receiver, something that will never see the light of day if Mel was truthful in his testimony as to the cost." is a complete lie. Mel only said that such radios are expensive to build (like all sat. radios) and require a subsidy from XM or Sirius. Mel said they subsidize all of their radios but will not agree to subsidize a dual mode radio WITHOUT a merger, because why would they subsidize a radio that an end user only utilizes for their competitor? Now with merger, that is no longer a problem.

Stackpointer, your clear misleading post which contains obvious lies (and you know they were lies- you've been on here long enough to know the truth) makes me wonder what your agenda is. Do you work for the NAB?

If Interoperable Radios are available, I'll place my order today for 15!
I want a la carte' and WANT IT NOW!
I might be in the minority, however, I don't like to wait for products and will pay a premium to acquire such!

FCC-Get this Merger done, I want my a la carte!

I will only buy one that picks up both frequency bands. I have a Sirius lifetime sub on my Stiletto 2, and that won't be changed until I clearly get more for my money. In the meantime, I expect that Sirius will start putting baseball on its channels, and vice versa, XM will get NFL and so on...

>>> I've got to keep saying it.......the merged company will need to abandon one of the existing constellations.

You'd better watch out saying this -- you'll be bashed by every Siriot on the planet for this remark. I have long maintained that broadcasts on SIRI's bandwidth will cease very quickly after the merger -- perhaps within a couple years -- and that no interoperable receiver will ever come to market.

They DO NOT WANT TO HEAR IT. Even though it is, financially, the only way the merger makes sense, they don't want to hear it.

It makes absolutely no sense to continue putting Sirius receivers in the hands of customers who are only going to be pissed when, ultimately, the receivers are paperweights. If they have any gumption at all they will figure out how to take the hit up front, compensate the offended parties with a new receiver or retrofit, and be done with it.

They can then sell SIRI's spectrum and raise a billion dollars to help pay off debt.

I have a Sirius Lifetime and my 2nd receiver I pay yearly- so I am very happy to keep both and probably will pay the difference to get the best of XM depending on what it consists of.

Hmmmm, probably would. I personally love music and sports. I have Sirius now,Love football and basketball. The music is not all that bad, some people critisize it but I still enjoy it. I have heard Xm has deeper playlists but it is No Commercials that does it for me. As long as I could get NFL, MLB, NBA, NHl, Nascar, PGA, Howard Stern, O & A , Maxim, and finally commercial free music, Especially Rolling Stones Radio) I'll be as happy as a pig in shit!!

"Lease Spectrum, ARE YOU STUPID???? With the combination of the two companies, you are right they can delete some channels . But then why lease spectrum, why not expand you services. Sirius BackseatTV offers what 4 channels? I'd add a couple more channels. ESPN new would rock! or a VH! type of channel. You could also work on offering an anti-thft car alarm service. I'm sure they could expand their offerings somehow?

Stack: "Ryan, you've made a mistake because Max has told us all along it only takes 10 months to develop a receiver and get it engineered into a vehicle ;)"

You're repeating the same lie I sat your ass down on on a previous thread. As with everything else, you have slandered and misrepresented what I said, but that is your style and obviously part of your character.

To repeat my offer to defend two other slanders you made:

"Sirius can't pay it's bills."

Please let us in on any knowledge you have on their being slow payers or high credit risks.

and your other statement that Lee Abrams left because of the merger. I see no evidence of any shred of truth in this, but again, maybe you can defend those two statements.

I'm calling you out again, Stack- stand and deliver. Now.

No, I personally like my XpressRC

To answer the question: No

I just got a notice saying I have 22 days before XM automatically renews my account. So XM/Sirius basically has 22 days to tell me why in the heck I should renew if the new plans are going to be crap. A La Carte? How about a la barf? The new plan that most interests me is the all news and talk. But even then, Fox News won't be part of the package. WTF? And if you do A La Carte, you end up paying more for play-by-play channels, O&A, and other "premium" content. So basically, A La Carte is just another excuse to get money out of you.

As soon as the Slacker Portable hits Amazon, I'm hitting it up faster than a hot blonde girl. There's no competition when it comes to music, and Slacker has the mentality that XM had at the beginning. Customer first.

Apparently somewhere along the way, Wall Street got to XM. Or was it Howard Stern?

Posted on November 20th:

The other comment by CommonSense: "Given the hundreds of hours you have spent trying to villify the merger with stretched logic and baseless accusations, who is the conspiracy theorist here?"

hits the nail on the head- that is a term I would use to describe your writings. When the absence of a couple of features on a car radio is practically laid to some sinister, unspoken reason which only you know about (you could tell us how you have this privileged information- but of course, then you would have to kill us all) and accusing the CEOs of these companies of the equivalent of outright perjury - a federal crime in this case- without anything to back it up- well, that's just plain nuts.

You have done nothing but slander everyone involved- and for no reason. This is a paid entertainment service- not "As the World Turns" or a war crimes tribunal.

Before you call someone a liar, you ought to know WTF you're talking about.

First, ala cart REQUIRES the dual mode radios. They will be the same thing.

Totally wrong. From the XM/SIRI Press Release:

A La Carte – 50 Channels ($6.99) – Currently the only standard package offered by
either company is $12.95 a month. Under this new option, for only $6.99 per month
– a savings of 46 percent – consumers will be able to choose either 50 SIRIUS
channels from approximately 100 SIRIUS channels or 50 XM channels from
approximately 100 XM channels. Additional channels can be added for 25 cents
each, with premium packages priced at additional cost. However, no one choosing
this option will pay more than $12.95 a month.

NOWHERE DO YOU SEE THE CLAIM YOU WILL RECEIVE CONTENT TRANSMITTED ON BOTH COMPANIES' SPECTRUM.

As I have pointed out since the merger was announced, this has all been about confusing the shit out of people and leading them to believe they will get things they won't get. You'll be able to get your 10 extra channels of "Best of XM" on Sirius -- but that could have easily been done without the merger -- each company could merely trade ten channels worth of content to put it up on their satellites.

The ala carte receiver does NOT allow you to receive your choice of XM or SIRI channels. If you have an XM receiver, you'll get XM. If you have a Sirius receiver, you'll get Sirius.

I'll accept my apology now.

I'm stunned by the line of horse$hit on this board. I have to tell you, if you really think a merged service will give you less choice, please drop the service and go back to regular radio. What the hell are we arguing?

I also think that I have seen a consistent trend: XM users tend to be younger, and SIRI tend to be older as it seems like Sirius has better programming from the 90's back, and XM has "hee hee" better music from the 90s and on. As someone who believes that grunge signaled the downward end of good music, XM had zilch that I was looking for except some of the deep track channels in rock and MLB. Their 80s channel was awful, their 20-31 music channels had commercials, and oprah and opie and anthony are unlistenable.

So please if you are one of the douchebags saying "waa im going to drop my service now" then drop it and spend your time somewhere else besides a "Satellite Radio" website which you clearly arent interested in anymore. Try Perez Hilton or watchingdogsscrew.com or something more important to y'all

Max

It is pointless to argue with you because you will lie at will to defend your honor, something I do not do, ever.

When I told you it takes three years to get an OEM receiver in the dash, you ridiculed me, argued incessantly about it, compared it to engineering a tractor, and all manner of other nonsense. In this instance, you have ultimately been proven wrong, so you respond by taking my remarks out of context and making up claims that cannot be supported.

As to Lee Abrams, while it is true there is "evidence" as to his reason for leaving, there could never be, obviously, as such evidence would never be disclosed publicly. But if you talk with ANYONE at Eckington they will tell you that employee morale is low, nobody gives a shit anymore, and most are just waiting for the right time to bail out. While Lee had been at this one job for a long time, I think the timing makes it abundantly clear what precipitated it. So, if you're idiot enough (and I believe you are) to believe there is no relationship, then I can't help you with that. Anyone with any gumption would seriously doubt any allegation that his leaving was related to anything OTHER than the merger.

Besides, the point I was making with the remark holds either way -- the several XM employees I know of are totally disinterested and frankly, haven't hesitated to say so. This is a shock to no one; I believed it would be a problem on day one and I posted words to that effect at the time.

The merger is all about bandwith and other uses they will have for it.
I expect they will phase out XM or Sirius in time. Or keep one name for Radio and another for other things.
Do not be fooled about the radio and what is or is not in it. It does not take any time to change the in dash radio for another one as long as it fits in the dash. 3 years is nuts.

Remember when they added Playboy you did not get it unless you called to have it turned on. That shows that they can turn on or off channels and that was with the first radio not just later ones.

I wish we could get Sirius Online and XM Online together that would be nice.

Actually, an Interview done none other than by MK states that XM and Sirius will both run as separate services for 15 years.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2007-02-26-sirius-usat_x.htm

Yea, you might have to actually open up your wallet to have access to the latest and best technology in this country......shocker!!!!

That is not the way most people think. They want radio and are not going to buy a new radio just to get what they had and that is radio. Take away anything and tell them they need to buy a new radio to keep what they had and they will walk.

Stack:
"It is pointless to argue with you because you will lie at will to defend your honor, something I do not do, ever."

No, you just lie, period.

"When I told you it takes three years to get an OEM receiver in the dash, you ridiculed me, argued incessantly about it, compared it to engineering a tractor, and all manner of other nonsense. In this instance, you have ultimately been proven wrong, so you respond by taking my remarks out of context and making up claims that cannot be supported."

Rubbish. This statement proves you're a liar. And you know damned well when I used the term "OEM" I was not referring to a fully integrated Lexus style system built into the dash design. Unfortunately, a few million satellite radios have been dealer and port installed that are modular, and they work quite well. There is nothing stopping future add ons from being developed in the (ahem) near term. Your ridicule was well deserved, as you called a satellite radio "the most complex part of a car." Laughable shit. When I made the reference to the tractor, it was because YOU drew a conclusion between physical size and complexity. That's not too bright, is it?

You continue:

"As to Lee Abrams, while it is true there is "evidence" as to his reason for leaving, there could never be, obviously, as such evidence would never be disclosed publicly. But if you talk with ANYONE at Eckington they will tell you that employee morale is low, nobody gives a shit anymore, and most are just waiting for the right time to bail out. "

This is another load of crap- WHO have YOU been talking to? Another pretense of you being an "insider." Of course, no one in the media business would EVER disclose Abram's feelings right? Are you effing kidding me pal? But of course, YOU know how he feels, even if everyone else in the world doesn't. From what I see, Sam Zell actively recruited him.

In the meantime, isn't it amazing how you know:

1) precisely how everyone feels.
2) precisely what the OEMs are doing.
3) precisely when new hardware is being released or why it can't
4) technological barriers to merging the two services, while at the same time claiming the merger shouldn't be done (?) for every other reason BUT the technology.
5) that prices will be raised
6) that content will surely suffer
7) In the end, they're going out of business anyway, and goodbye cruel world.

Sick.

>

Oh, all of your prophecies regarding SatRad come true! LOL!

Still waiting for the credit report on Sirius' payment history. Got anything on that?

Is anyone else pleased to know that as soon as the FCC approves the merger Stack Pointer would bid farewell to this site. If he doesn't then I feel sorry for his family if he continues to waste his time on a loosing battle that will other wise have been lost.

If his beliefs ring true in the coming months and the now 1 company goes out of business looses all of its customer becuase of rate hikes and the poor programing than aren't we all in the same boat if the companies never did merger and Sirius (in his opinion) would have been belly up, leaving us with 1 company (monopoly in his opinion). Thus creating higher prices.

Stack your talking your self into circles. They merge they create a monopoly. They don't merger Sirius or XM goes belly up and then a monopoly is created anyway. You should seriously leave or cut back for a little while. Even the people that do not agree with the merger are going to HD or Slacker.

Why don't you cheap bastards get dual subscriptions and have everything. I have never such a large collection of whining and penny pinching idiots.

You will get my apology when you acknowledge I was correct about Mel's comments concerning the cost of a dual mode radio.

As for your point on that, you are talking about programming menus, not radios. But Mel has said before that with a merger they will allow consumers to get all of XM and all of Sirius on one radio. (What they haven't said is that you will pay less for that). Your reference to programming menus doesn't change that.

Answer my question Stack- who do you work for?

Typical fanboy BS... turn the discussion around and crap all over Stack Pointer when he shares his comments which may just turn out to be the truth.

Grow up ladies

No new reciever unless it comes at a good price and alot of new features...still happy with the Myfi..Helix...and Roady 1.

I do not think it will take as long as everyone thinks it will on the OEM side. Yes, they traditionally have huge lag times from development to production, but i believe all they are going to need to do is switch the tuner box. Just like today how you can buy a SIRIUS box for the OEM cars GM, Honda, Toyota with out the need for a new radio. SIRIUS or whatever the new company is called will just start giving the manufactures new boxrs is not as if the car companies made these them selves.

"Typical fanboy BS... turn the discussion around and crap all over Stack Pointer when he shares his comments which may just turn out to be the truth."

When it ever turns out to be the truth. please let us all know. Thanks.

During a recent interview Steve Jobs was asked how people were supposed to keep current with Apple's ever changing iPod.

Without batting an eye Jobs said that consumers would need to purchase a new iPod EVERY YEAR if they wanted to keep up with his company's product.

It takes brass balls to make a comment like that to your consumer base.

So - what is the big deal about buying an adapter or new radio - once?

>>> You will get my apology when you acknowledge I was correct about Mel's comments concerning the cost of a dual mode radio.

I believe Mel DID say what you claimed -- never said otherwise. But he also said that a dual-mode receiver costs $700 and these companies cannot make money on $700 radios. Period, end of story. Now, he may have been exaggerating, surely he was -- but they're his words, not mine. I sure as hell don't owe you an apology, and you sure as hell do owe me one.

>>> But Mel has said before that with a merger they will allow consumers to get all of XM and all of Sirius on one radio.

I'm not sure that he has said that; however, as I've pointed out in the past, it simply doesn't matter what he says BEFORE the merger is approved. Unless FCC mandates dual-mode receivers, the day after merger approval he can simply say, "Oops. Sorry. We thought we could do it, but now we see we can't".

And that is precisely what he'll do. The simple fact is that XM and SIRI will be broadcasting 70-80% duplicative programming and NOBODY is going to want dual-mode receivers -- not customers, and sure as hell not the companies, who can never, ever turn a profit on them.

IMO, It is highly likely they will focus their efforts on "converter boxes" for the Sirius OEM receivers that make them able to receive XM. These will be GIVEN away to DCX/Ford owners that are stuck with legacy Sirius hardware, and replacement free receivers given to all other activated Sirius receiver owners. As soon as these are available, could simply quit broadcasting on Sirius bandwidth altogether -- the spectrum could be sold for a HUGE pile of money to help pay off debt, or could be used for more profitable programming.

>>> Answer my question Stack- who do you work for?

I've been self-employed since 1981 during which time I've owned several small business interests.

>> Without batting an eye Jobs said that consumers would need to purchase a new iPod EVERY YEAR if they wanted to keep up with his company's product.

Two totally different things. Jobs makes money on every iPod he sells, so obviously, he wants you to buy a new one every year.

XM and SIRI spend money on every receiver they sell and if that receiver is not used (as in a paying subscription) for a certain period of time, they can never recover its cost.

Well the fact that right now I have 3 XM radios and 2 Sirius between my wife, my son and myself, I am looking forward to the merger as it will let me drop a few radios. Where 2 of the XM ones are factory installed car radios, they would remain as would one of the Sirius units, which is a better unit they our Roady 2.

As for programming, I listen mainly to maybe 10 channels on XM. O&A, Air America, the Rock channels, and 26 and 16. On Sirius, its Radio Margaritaville, Garage, America Left, World Soccer Daily and most of the channels below channel 16. Therefore, I can easily stay within the 50 channel a la carte plan.

>>> I listen mainly to maybe 10 channels on XM.

Personally, I think they're going to shocked at how many people opt to go with a less expensive arrangement and what that is going to do to ARPU. When people talk about "synergies", they conveniently ignore the fact that every subscriber will have the option of getting 50 (or however many) channels at a discount -- and I think they'll do just that. When you cut the ARPU to $7/8 month, you have to have cheap receivers and a very strong customer commitment to get the cost of the receiver back and still turn a profit. Family plan subs have that strong commitment, but a person who is buying it because he can get something cheaper than $13 does not have.

I have no doubt the breadth of music I listen to is far more than the typical person. But there is no way in hell I can find 50 channels on XM (even fewer on Sirius) that I want to listen to. They just aren't there. 25? 30? Maybe.

There is a fundamental difference between audio and video entertainment, and that makes it different from cable/sat TV subscriptions. While a person will listen to the same music repeatedly, fewer are apt to sit and watch the same TV shows repeatedly -- which means they NEED more channels of video. We don't NEED 100 channels of XM or Sirius. On this, Mel has miscalculated, in a big way.

This really is a popular topic.

I'm not buying a new receiver. I have an old Audiovox XR9 that I use in my office and car, a faulty MyFi that stays in the kitchen and a new Rock & Road that is in the wife's car. Until one of these break, they all essentially do what I need them to do, receive XM programming. Sure, I'd love a SkyFi3, or an XpressRC, but I really don't need it. I run Audacity on my comp at work to "archive" any shows I might want to listen to later. Given my power source and such, I might by a SkyFi 2 to replace the XR9, but only if the price is right.

A la carte doesn't appeal to me much. I want all the channels, and my other receivers are on the family plan, so why would I want to change that?

Personally, I think they're going to shocked at how many people opt to go with a less expensive arrangement and what that is going to do to ARPU. >>

Of course, absent from your argument (plus ca change) is what lower pricing might do to expand the subscription base.

But let's be negative- all the time

>>> Of course, absent from your argument (plus ca change) is what lower pricing might do to expand the subscription base.

It doesn't matter. If you're losing money on every subscription, you do not help your situation by selling more subscriptions.

When someone is paying $8/month and 35-40% of that goes to cover direct variable costs, that leaves you $5/mo to go toward recovery of the receiver cost and to, somehow, recover some of your fixed costs and gosh, hopefully even turn a profit. And that's before lopping off an average of 20-25% for OEM revenue share.

Over the 39 month life of a subscriber, that will leave maybe $160 gross margin (before receiver costs) on these ala carte subscriptions. These receivers effectively become loss leaders. If Mel has miscalculated, and too many people opt for the lower cost subscription plan, the companies stand no chance of surviving, and they will be forced to revamp the ala carte program to make it generate more net revenue.

"Expanding the subscription base" only exacerbates the problem because you're losing money on every one of them -- at the very best, you're not generating any contribution margin. The idea is to make money, not to increase the number of subscribers.

>>> Of course, absent from your argument (plus ca change) is what lower pricing might do to expand the subscription base.

It doesn't matter. If you're losing money on every subscription, you do not help your situation by selling more subscriptions.

When someone is paying $8/month and 35-40% of that goes to cover direct variable costs, that leaves you $5/mo to go toward recovery of the receiver cost and to, somehow, recover some of your fixed costs and gosh, hopefully even turn a profit. And that's before lopping off an average of 20-25% for OEM revenue share.

Over the 39 month life of a subscriber, that will leave maybe $160 gross margin (before receiver costs) on these ala carte subscriptions. These receivers effectively become loss leaders. If Mel has miscalculated, and too many people opt for the lower cost subscription plan, the companies stand no chance of surviving, and they will be forced to revamp the ala carte program to make it generate more net revenue.

"Expanding the subscription base" only exacerbates the problem because you're losing money on every one of them -- at the very best, you're not generating any contribution margin. The idea is to make money, not to increase the number of subscribers.

"So we can all ...welcome in fart sounds and girls having fake orgasms."

Already available. It's called Howard Stern.

Back to the original question...I may spring for a new radio for the wife, but I won't give up my Inno unless they introduce something very, very similar.

Yep no matter the price. It has to be a portable like a stiletto!

It's going to be HD Radio to the rescue, they better be ready for all the consumers with backbones and common sense who will have none of this xm/sirius merge forming a MONOPOLY, much less support this merger. The post merger = Higher prices, less choice, less competition which = shitty deal for consumers.

Looks like car makers are finding HD is the answer. No three years of waiting for a MONOPOLY
From a growing list of auto manufacturers like BMW, Hyundai, Jaguar and Mini, there are now over 11 manufacturers and 55 models of vehicles with HD Radio slated to be in the dashboard very soon. Plus, many local car dealerships are now offering HD Radio as an add-on option.

http://www.hdradio.com/

Loving local radio just got better. It’s Time to Upgrade! A wide range of choice is now available in table top radios, stereo component systems, home theater and in dash automotive and marine radios. Upgrade today and get more stations for free.
http://www.hdradio.com/buyers_guide.php
http://www.hdradio.com/find_an_hd_digital_radio_station.php

Stack I still do not understand where you are getting that Sirius Spectrum is getting sold off. Why is it that you strongly believer the sirius spectrum is so poor. Why please answer that question if you like.

I'll stick with my Inno until it dies then it looks like it may be time to say goodbye to SDARS. Too bad.

Stack: "When someone is paying $8/month and 35-40% of that goes to cover direct variable costs, that leaves you $5/mo to go toward recovery of the receiver cost and to, somehow, recover some of your fixed costs and gosh, hopefully even turn a profit. And that's before lopping off an average of 20-25% for OEM revenue share."

Now tell us where you're getting your figures from.......

If I can get Stern on my OEM XM, I'll be happy. If not, I'll probably go ala carte.

I just hope I can purchase a new radio that will prevent me from receiving Opie & Anthony and Ron & Fez.

pfreak- bye bye

>>>>>>> Stack I still do not understand where you are getting that Sirius Spectrum is getting sold off. Why is it that you strongly believer the sirius spectrum is so poor. Why please answer that question if you like.

I don't say the "spectrum" is poor -- it is just like XM's.

However, there are numerous reasons it makes better sense to continue use of XM's spectrum versus SIRI's.

- XM's satellite infrastructure provides better all-round reception.

- XM's choice of codec is superior to SIRI's -- SIRI chose the obsolete PAC codec while XM is using AACPlus. PAC has been abandoned by everyone but Sirius, and there are good reasons for it. As a result of using PAC, Sirius is limited as to quantity of content it can broadcast. XM's infrastructure will always support more content than SIRI's. Bottom line: XM's infrastructure enables the broadcast of more content using the same amount of spectrum.

- XM has new satellites, good for another 14-15 years, while SIRI is faced with spending a billion dollars to replace satellites over the coming few years.

- XM's low-bitrate encoding allows them to broadcast channels like the weather/traffic channels utilizing very small amounts of bandwidth.

- XM has more receivers "out there", meaning that it would be less costly to subsidize the replacement of SIRI's receivers than to subsidize the replacement of XM's.

These reasons, taken alone, suggest that if they go the route of using only half the spectrum, they would choose XM's, not SIRI's, to keep.

As to whether the SIRI spectrum would be sold, I'm totally speculating. My sense is that after a merger, they are going to have a very difficult time finding sufficient content to cost-effectively fill ALL the spectrum, particularly when most people don't WANT 300 channels and aren't likely to pay for them. You can only have so many rock channels, adding sports and talk content is expensive, and it does appear that other services will be marginally profitable, if at all (weather & traffic demand very little bandwidth anyway, while backseat video is a bandwidth hog but has zero chance of ever turning a profit). One possibility would be to use SIRI's bandwidth to offer a slacker-like service, where music is constantly streamed and cached for use on demand. I'm sure RIAA would make that a very expensive alternative, however -- and these companies do not have the money to do this.

From a financial standpoint, selling off a substantially appreciated asset (like half the combined spectrum) probably makes a lot of sense.

>>> Now tell us where you're getting your figures from.......

Well, $8/mo * (1-(.35 or .40)) ~= $5

So, I guess you'd say I used 6th grade arithmetic on figures from the financial statements to get the $5 (alternatively, you can read XM's or SIRI's investor presentations, if the financial statements are just too much).

As to the revenue share, I believe these figures are common knowledge -- they are the figures the "professional" analysts use.

Which of these figures are you challenging?

Stack- ok just as long as you were not saying that sirius satellite routes are in effective because the GPS satellites have a similar pattern and they seem to work fine. I do not see a problem with recoding 1 or more of sirius' sats to broadcast the way XM's does. That shouldn't be a problem.

I will however disagree with the traffic and weather idea though. Broadcasting the "Steven Hawking" like voice makes it unlistenable.

>>> ok just as long as you were not saying that sirius satellite routes are in effective because the GPS satellites have a similar pattern and they seem to work fine.

SIRI's sats are "adequate". But they do not deliver the consistency of XM's signal. This has been discussed extensively and is not subject to interpretation.

The comparison with GPS is not valid; while I don't claim to know much about it, there are something like 30 GPS satellites and I commonly have signals from four at the same time. Furthermore, significant dropouts aren't a problem with GPS; if you lose signal from one or two for a little while, the system doesn't break down the way satellite radio does.

>>> I do not see a problem with recoding 1 or more of sirius' sats to broadcast the way XM's does. That shouldn't be a problem.

I believe it has been determined that SIRI's satellites are not capable of receiving and transmitting on XM's spectrum.

>>> I will however disagree with the traffic and weather idea though. Broadcasting the "Steven Hawking" like voice makes it unlistenable.

This is not something inherent in XM's low-bitrate encoding; it is just a business decision to allocate almost NO bandwidth to these channels. They could double the bitrate and substantially increase the quality (and still be using only minimal bandwidth); but have decided for whatever reason that these channels are not important enough to do so.

My point about the GPS Satellites are that they are constantly moving like sirius and not stationary like XM's. A lot of XM fans say that a moving Satellite can not broadcast a signal and lock on because they are moving which is ridulous for many reasons. Both the satellite and the car is always moving so locking on is not a problem. Only 2 satellites are required to have adequate coverage for GPS. 3 are required to get all information include altitude. I believe the orginal system called for 33 satellites but they were backed off of to maybe 23 or 24.

If XM has determined that the traffic channels are not important enough to make them listen able then why bother. The local broadcast do a better job at giving the listener false traffic reports anyway.

Are XM's satellites not capable or receiving Sirius programing? Why is it that Sirius' product is such crap and unchangeable in your eyes but many people do not agree with you. I guess we are just all stupid. Here's another idea how is it that we can put many satellites in the sky broadcasting many different types of services around the world but they can't make changes to them later on. I guess firmware updates are just a joke and make people think their various products are getting updated for the better. I guess I am just stupid to think that our various technologies are not as advanced as we think they are.

Did you order your Slacker or HD radio yet?

How is the fact that I receive a constant signal with my sirius but when I had XM I had constant dropouts not open for interpretation? Maybe in the state you live in (the state of confusion) XM is better but everything can be interpreted differently.

Stack:

Well, $8/mo * (1-(.35 or .40)) ~= $5

So, I guess you'd say I used 6th grade arithmetic on figures from the financial statements to get the $5 (alternatively, you can read XM's or SIRI's investor presentations, if the financial statements are just too much)."

Like most of your posts, you presume much and leave out more. Without going into the 10k's, ( I do have a life) let us presume that the cheaper packages have the effect of broadening subscriber growth from a mere 1.7 million to 2.3 million per year, on a pre-merge basis. Cutting prices does a great deal for sales volume, nes't ces pas? Without a substantial boost in acquisition cost per subscriber, a lot of this subscription growth is pure gravy.

One of the great (and almost forgotten) advantages of a company like this is that by merely adding subscribers, even at reduced prices, the newly acquired subscribers who would never touch the thing at the higher price range are like found money. It's not as if they need another satellite or millions in expenditures in infrastructure to handle them. Distribution matters. Wouldn't you agree?

So I would suggest leaving the running of the business to those who are actually running it.

May I remind you that all of your presumptions have been proven wrong.

This deal has been in the works a long time. Why don't we see what happens and let the truth find itself in God's good time.

>>>>> One of the great (and almost forgotten) advantages of a company like this is that by merely adding subscribers, even at reduced prices, the newly acquired subscribers who would never touch the thing at the higher price range are like found money. It's not as if they need another satellite or millions in expenditures in infrastructure to handle them. Distribution matters. Wouldn't you agree?

It is a fundamental premise of microeconomics and managerial accounting that as long as the marginal cost is

>>> May I remind you that all of your presumptions have been proven wrong.

This is simply not a true statement. I've been right about things, I've been wrong about things. I'm sure you have, too.

>>> So I would suggest leaving the running of the business to those who are actually running it.

Yes, they've done a great job thus far.

>>> My point about the GPS Satellites are that they are constantly moving like sirius and not stationary like XM's.

I got that; I just pointed out that even though they're both "moving", they aren't a good comparison.

>>> A lot of XM fans say that a moving Satellite can not broadcast a signal and lock on because they are moving which is ridulous for many reasons.

I don't think most of the people complaining are really thinking about it in terms of "why" -- the fact is that Sirius has a bigger problem with reception than XM does, and the reason stems from their satellite infrastructure (not only that they're "moving", but they are also less powerful).

>>> Both the satellite and the car is always moving so locking on is not a problem.

The reception issue is more of a problem in reception from a fixed point on the ground; although, those on the far reaches of the coast seem to report reception problems at times. Obviously, Sirius is better able to serve Canada than XM is.

>>> Only 2 satellites are required to have adequate coverage for GPS. 3 are required to get all information include altitude. I believe the orginal system called for 33 satellites but they were backed off of to maybe 23 or 24.

I'm not knowledgeable about this, but I believe you require an active satellite for each unknown -- latitude, longitude, time and altitude. If you don't care about altitude (i.e., you need only latitude & longitude), you would need three active GPS satellites. If you can assume the receiver has a perfect clock (normally, not possible) you can determine two dimensions (lat. & long.), at least as a rough estimate. In general, a signal from two satellites is inadequate for pinpointing an x-y location.

>>> If XM has determined that the traffic channels are not important enough to make them listen able then why bother. The local broadcast do a better job at giving the listener false traffic reports anyway.

Just as XM allocates more bandwidth to its classical channels than to its headbanging channels, they have determined how much bandwidth to allocate to traffic channels. This is simply a business decision, and you are free to have your own view.

>>> Are XM's satellites not capable or receiving Sirius programing?

I think not. I do believe the spare they're building, as well as the new SIRI sats that are under construction, are supposed to be able to handle all of the available spectrum. A better source of information is Homer as he has researched all this and knows it cold.

>>> Why is it that Sirius' product is such crap and unchangeable in your eyes but many people do not agree with you.

I've not said that; I've been a SIrius subscriber off and on over the years. IF I had to choose one, I would choose XM because I'm primarily interested in music content and it is my view that XM's is far superior. But others feel differently, and they're entitled to that view.

>>> I guess we are just all stupid.

I haven't said that.

>>> Here's another idea how is it that we can put many satellites in the sky broadcasting many different types of services around the world but they can't make changes to them later on.

You would need to ask a satellite expert that; it is strange to me, as well -- I've heard both XM's and SIRI's sats referred to as "bent pipes", so I don't know why they limited the spectrum they could use. Perhaps it has to do with cost, power, or the types of antenna, or whatever. I'm sure there are many technical considerations.

>>> I guess firmware updates are just a joke and make people think their various products are getting updated for the better.

Firmware updates cannot change hardware. If there are hardware limitations, then you cannot simply do a firmware update and undo those limitations. While I know about hardware, software, and firmware, I know nothing about any of them when they're in space, so you would need to ask that to a rocket scientist.

>>> I guess I am just stupid to think that our various technologies are not as advanced as we think they are.

I don't think this is about "stupidity". But I do think that many here, and elsewhere, underestimate the complexity of the issues -- whether it be satellite radio or other technologies. It is the same with so-called Wimax -- we've been hearing about it for years, yet it still isn't ready for prime time. When you develop software for a few hundred or thousand desktops, you work hard to get bugs out, but if one creeps in it usually isn't a show stopper and can be easily rectified. It is a much bigger challenge when you're developing chipsets and OEM-installed receivers in huge quantities. Programmability of these devices is clearly getting better over time.

I'm not sure auto-OEMs would look too favorably on radical firmware updates, since the receivers are tightly integrated into their vehicles -- which THEY are responsible for dealing with problems in.

>>> Did you order your Slacker or HD radio yet?

Nope, neither interests me.

>>> Maybe in the state you live in (the state of confusion) XM is better but everything can be interpreted differently.

Your personal attack notwithstanding, in my state XM and SIRI perform pretty close to the same in my experience (although XM gets a slight edge here in reception).

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