Mel Karmazin said this morning at the Bear Stearns Media Conference (listen online here) that he believes Sirius could launch locally focused channels on its nationwide platform and support those channels with local advertising, but he noted that no such plans are in the works.

Mel suggested that Sirius could launch a New York-focused channel once New York-based Howard Stern arrives next year, complete with local traffic, weather info and contests. He insists that Sirius wouldn't be violating the terms of its FCC licenses as long as the channels were available nationwide. "There is no obstacle to us using national channels to put up local content," he said.

Karmazin also talked up the opportunity Sirius will have to grow its national advertising upon Stern's arrival, noting that advertisers will be able to reach beyond the markets where his show is currently carried with the nationwide potential of Stern's carriage on Sirius. Karmazin also said Sirius is flexible with ad lengths and is willing to sell spot lengths ranging from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.