Sirius XM Radio Inc. chief Mel Karmazin said in an internal memo to staffers that the company now has the most revenue of any other radio company - not just in the United States, but in the world."Based on revenue in the first quarter of 2009, SIRIUS XM is the largest radio company in the U.S., which means we are also No. 1 in the world," wrote Karmazin in the memo to employees.
Orbitcast has obtained Mel Karmazin's note to Sirius XM employees, read it after the jump...
Orbitcast has obtained Mel Karmazin's note to Sirius XM employees, read it after the jump...
Internal memo:
Note the last sentence in Karmazin's email. Sure, he's doing some well deserved chest-thumping right now (especially considering the level of opposition the terrestrial radio industry has mounted against satellite radio). But he's also grounding the optimism with a bit of reality.
The advertising-driven model is suffering right now, especially for traditional media like radio. But, as Mel pointed out, there's also some seasonal trends to consider. So it's possible that Clear Channel will gain that momentum back it needs to surpass Sirius XM again.
But for now, some gloating is in order. And it doesn't get much better than to thumb a collective nose at Clear Channel.
To All Employees:
Obviously, we are very focused on continuing to grow our business in a very difficult environment. As you all saw with the release of our 1st Quarter earnings, the difficulty in the U.S. auto market is adversely affecting our subscriber growth. With that understood, the growth of our company, particularly since the merger, has been phenomenal.
All of the major radio companies have now reported their first quarter results and I thought you would be interested in seeing the revenue of SIRIUS XM relative to the other large radio companies in the U.S.
1st Quarter Revenue
SIRIUS XM $605 Million
Clear Channel Radio $603.6
CBS Radio $259.7
Citadel/ABC $158.9
Cox Radio $75.5
Entercom $75.4
Based on revenue in the first quarter of 2009, SIRIUS XM is the largest radio company in the U.S., which means we are also No. 1 in the world. Some of these companies have been in business for decades and we only began to generate revenue in 2002. Based on seasonal differences in the radio advertising business, I would estimate that Clear Channel will have greater full year revenue than SIRIUS XM, but I hope your efforts in growing our company will prove me wrong.
Mel Karmazin
CEO
SIRIUS XM Radio
Note the last sentence in Karmazin's email. Sure, he's doing some well deserved chest-thumping right now (especially considering the level of opposition the terrestrial radio industry has mounted against satellite radio). But he's also grounding the optimism with a bit of reality.
The advertising-driven model is suffering right now, especially for traditional media like radio. But, as Mel pointed out, there's also some seasonal trends to consider. So it's possible that Clear Channel will gain that momentum back it needs to surpass Sirius XM again.
But for now, some gloating is in order. And it doesn't get much better than to thumb a collective nose at Clear Channel.
Fight on! Sirius is a great product. I dont agree with all his decisions, but Mel is a warrior.
Yea with the most debt in the world as well......This is like saying I have the fastest car in the world, but it doesn't work.
Time for de-monopolization.
Profits = Sales-Costs
Profits Done
1st in revenue, last in profits. fix the bottom line, mel. your business plan is still broken.
Hasn't GM beem the worlds biggest automaker in the last decade or so? I know that is apples and oranges...but the stock in smaller, better run companies with lots of headroom for growth have always been preferable to the ones with the bulky, clunky business model. So, maybe it would be a bit like GM thumping its check over the last several years....
That said, I want SATRAD to succeed. I've been with it since the beginning!
Sure isn't reflected in the stock price, Mel.
read this bit before received it from one of the radio news gathers. also give them sdars credit for continuing to promote their content while most other broadcasters have stoped altogether do to the economy.
Is it me or are all CEO's delusional?
Ramon, I smell hubris in this big-nosed jew!
It's about time we get some clarity concerning the TRUE strength of Sirius-Xm satellite radio... and a bit less of the usual BS?
All you NAB boys raise your hand!
Along with the most revenue than any other radio company in the world is also the most loss for any radio company in the world.
Jud
In a word, yes.
ah, but you must remember that siri is growing 20% a year while terradio is * s h r i n k i n g * by the same amount...
I believe we'll have 'em beat by year's end and I'd even spot them a couple of months.
Patience" TUESDAY" IS THE START OF A NEW BEGINNING....…TRUST ME....L
Melvin has turned siriusxm into a turd. His LIES killed satrad, and his LIES continue to dig satrad even deeper into the hole.
There is no future in satradio.
and poop is #2
Dear Mr. Karmazin:
All I can say is that you are as full of shit as an Easter Turkey.
Just today I was stuck in a traffic jam in a major east coast city. I usually listen (or ATTEMPT to listen) to "Rawdog" to keep my blood pressure down during such situations.
Today your brilliant PD's had some jerk-off comedian YAKKING ON & ON for at least 45 minutes about his departed relative and NOT ONE DAMN COMEDY BIT. I switched to "Blue Collar" and heard the same shit that I heard during the morning commute.
Now again this is during RUSH HOUR for the ENTIRE EAST COST of the United States of America.
This is just one example of the ineptitude that is demonstrated DAILY by the people you have hired.
Mr. Karmazin, you( and your staff of "YES" people) have no credibility and I don't trust you as far as I could throw you.
You sir are full of shit.
Recondo72
the new company has forgot about the employees, number one in revenue doesn't mean anything when your employee morale sucks. Try giving raises with those reviews....
Wow, that wasn't necessary. Nobody made fun of your red neck, missing teeth, or incestual relationship with your mother and father.
Give Mel a break; he doesn't come down to the gas station and tell you how to pump.
Dick.
Didn't Mel just get liberty to bail them out of certian bankrupcy ? P.S i was listening to Slacker as i typed this .
Mel is a lying ass.
Sirius has turned the once-great XM into a pile of feces. I hate you, Mel. HATE.
Whenever corporate execs make comments of this type ("we're number one," "people are thrilled with our product," "the toxic waste dump causes absolutely NO RISK to the public," etc.), it's an attempt to "create an alternative reality" (lie) to bail water out of a sinking ship.
And, of course, anyone who's been through a high school business class knows that "revenue," by itself, is no measure of business success. Companies with lots of revenue coming in go bankrupt all the time.
Karmazin is like the used car salesman who told his customer, "We lose $500 to $1,000 on every car we sell." The customer replied, "If that's so, how do you stay in business?" The salesman replied, "We make it up on volume."
have owned this stock since it was cdrd still hopeing for the best lets see if we can ever get back to those prices
doji star thursday 22.8 mill
gravestone doji friday 16.4mill
all at support
20ma 50ma 200ma within $0.06 of each other
Translation for all you naysaying "bear" asses...
take a picture of $0.34 it will last longer.
you will not see this again any time soon.
sincerly swingin'big
Way to go Mel. This company is going to be a media giant. Sirixm is debt free compared to clear channel.
http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=1323420
Way to go Mel. This company is going to be a media giant. Sirixm is debt free compared to clear channel.
http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=1323420
Just as you can't look at revenue in isolation, despite Karmazin's comment suggesting you can, you also can't look at debt without considering other factors. For one thing, Clear Channel has actually made money over much of its history, including almost a billion dollars in profit in '07.
I'm not any big fan of Clear Channel, but you have to look at the whole picture. If you pull out one fact and use it to construct an argument, you're committing the same error Karmazin did.
No, this is true. If you get all of the satellite radio content providers in one room and rate it, then it's number 1.
I'm part of that shrinkage, btw. I cut one of two subscriptions.
Ha ha ha. Rome is burning! It's Melvin "Nero" Karmazin!!
I love this technology but I really have to wonder about the people working there... I had to cancel my second radio. The customer service rep tried to make few feeble attempts to get me to stay.
When I mentioned some of the unedited music was a little much for my wife and 11 year old daughter to handle. He tried to sell me the Family package. He made it sound as if there was some kind of content filter in place to cover the "bad words." I tried not to laugh...
Then I asked if there were any plans for a true music channel merge. He response was that all the music channels were the same on both XM and Sirius sides - the only difference was some of the talk and sports channels. That I did not find funny... I had to flat out tell him he was wrong and should do a little research. There are a number of music channels that are still exclusive to each side.
It is pretty sad that I'm more informed about Sirius/XM than one of their own employees...
I had to laugh when I read this shit.
Sirius FM stinks on ice.
DJs still babbling all over the music and the service continues
to mimic FM radio rather than delivering quality programming.
Just go bankrupt, will you? Somebody else needs to come in
and fix this service.
I was pointing out that sirixm has a smaller amount of debt compared to revenue than cc. Regardless of how much cc made in 07', they are still controlled by the investors paying that debt, 18 billion dollars is no small amount. If I'm correct, sirixm borrowed somewhere in the 750 million dollar range to cover merger related debt. Mell has always said that they made extreme cuts where they could to pay off this debt sooner. I was excited about these numbers because, like you, I am missing the broad range of music that was xm. They have always said that when the company is profitable, they will invest in the music channels once again.
When I first got XM, the music was great.
There were plenty of stations, a huge variety,
and no talking like on FM radio.
Well, for some reason, before the merger,
they decided to add talkfests, and those
DJs haven't stopped talking since. They
are getting to the point where they talk
more than FM radio jocks and you are left
with the same amount of music broadcasting
minutes as you would on a station with
advertising.
What gives ?!?!?