Tag Archives: XM Radio

Sirius-XM merger approved

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“The companies have pledged that the combined firm will offer listeners more pricing options and greater choice and flexibility in the channel lineups they receive. If the deal is approved, the companies have said they would offer pricing plans ranging from $6.99 per month, for 50 channels offered by one service, up to $16.99 a month, where subscribers would keep their existing service plus choose channels offered by the other service.” [AP]

I think I’m paying about $13 a month and listen to far fewer than 50 channels. I’d love to see an even lower price for 10 channels. Stay tuned.

Worst jobs for 21st century

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From a Forbes story on job prospects over the next few decades:

“Another endangered species: journalists. Despite the proliferation of media outlets, newspapers, where the bulk of U.S. reporters work, will cut costs and jobs as the Internet replaces print. While current events will always need to be covered (we hope), the number of reporting positions is expected to grow by just 5% in the coming decade, the Labor Department says. Most jobs will be in small (read: low-paying) markets.

Radio announcers will have a tough time, too. Station consolidation, advances in technology and a barren landscape for new radio stations will contribute to a 5% reduction in employment for announcers by the middle of the next decade. Even satellite radio doesn’t seem immune from the changes. The two major companies, XM and Sirius–which now have plans to merge–have regularly operated in the red.”

The U. S. Department of Labor stats identified a few growth areas: Health care, education and financial services.

OK on XM

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Radio Iowa News Director O. Kay Henderson will be doing a weekly shot on XM Radio’s POTUS’08 channel (XM 130). Few details yet, but looks like her bit will be around 1:10 p.m. Central time. I’ll try to remember to record and share snippet here.

Update 8-Oct-07: And here’s the snippet. Kay gives the low down on the campaign in Iowa to XM host Rebecca Roberts. Runs about 10 min and my apologies for the audio quality. I recorded on the nano, holding the wee microphone up to the car speaker. But this clearly illustrates why the Big Kids can’t get enough of Her Kayness.

“Citizens” against satellite radio; Who’s got HD?

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Mark Ramsey (Hear 2.0): “C3SR – the consumer group that was created to oppose the merger between XM and Sirius – is in fact supported by the NAB.”

Also at Hear 2.0: “…the average consumer is more likely to die by accidental drug overdose or by hanging, strangulating, or suffocating themselves than they are to own an HD radio.”

I’d love to hear from any smays.com readers who have HD radios. How’s it sound? What are you listening to? Use Comment link below.

For sale to the highest bidder

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The Wall Street Journal reports: Former Attorney General John Ashcroft approached XM Satellite Radio in the days after the merger was announced offering the firm his consulting services, according to a spokesman for XM. The spokesman said XM declined Mr. Ashcroft’s offer to work as a lobbyist for the company.

Mr. Ashcroft was subsequently hired by the National Association of Broadcasters, which is fiercely opposed to the merger. On its behalf he conducted a review of the effects on competition if the two satellite radio companies were allowed to merge and concluded the merger would have a significant negative impact on competition in the market and urged the current attorney general to withhold approval for the merger.

That tells you just about all you need to know about our former Attorney General.

XM, Sirius merger?

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The New York Post is reporting the long-awaited merger of Sirius and XM may be announced today. Combining Sirius and XM would result in a single satellite radio operator with more than 12 million total subscribers. A deal would also marry Sirius content, such as Howard Stern, Frank Sinatra and Nascar with XM’s Oprah Winfrey, Bob Dylan and Major League Baseball. More important, analysts widely predict that a deal would also save the two companies nearly $7 billion annually.

Total radio silence from XM Ben on this story. And XM and Sirius have to get this just right to keep me. I’m spending more time with the nano and less with my XM. If they don’t make the merged service better/cheaper… I’ll be gone at the end of the contract.

Up in the sky…

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Fix my cape.They held a little celebration in Metropolis, Illinois, to mark the release of the “Superman Returns” DVD. UPI photographer Bill Greenblatt shares this photo of one Superman “look-a-like” adjusting the cape of another Man of Steel dead-ringer.

I have to wonder if Bill was being ironic when he captioned this image with “A wooden cut-out of Superman hangs on a building as hundreds lineup for a free DVD on the release date of “Superman Returns” in Metropolis, Illinois on November 28, 2006. Metropolis is the adopted home of Superman.”

The hopeless boredom on the faces of the people in line… the “Man of Plywood” missing an arm… thank you, Bill… thank you.

“Throw the bums out!”

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Tom Chartier’s election day advice:

“On Election Day, vote for the candidates who will tie up the system in knots. If enough quarrelsome fools are “elected,” the new members of Congress will spend all of their time squabbling amongst themselves and never get anything done. Perfect! That was the Founders’ plan. Government at its finest… unable to function!”

This sounds like a good idea, regardless of which party is “in power.” Mr. Chartier’s full post is worth a read. I found his quote from Atlas Shrugged especially chilling:

“Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?… We want them broken… We’re after power and we mean it… There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt.”

Opie and Anthony on Letterman

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I’ve been hearing about Opie & Anthony since they got infamous. But I’ve never heard their show. Got my first look at the lads as they chatted with Dave on Late Night (YouTube). I think they’re on XM so I’ll give ’em a listen, just to see what all the fuss is about. I wonder if the the segment will be seen by more people on YouTube than saw it on Letterman? Probably not. It was a pretty typical interview. Hardly viral.

Update (Next morning): I sampled O&A this morning on XM. They were taking calls from listeners (mostly teenage boys) while they (the callers) were going through their parents’ bedroom drawers. Lots of giggling. Hardly fair to judge the show on one brief sample but I didn’t hear anything fresh or original.

But in all fairness, their hands (lips?) are tied by the reality of needing to appeal to a mass audience. They can’t try anything really different that might only appeal to a few thousand listeners. They need hundreds of thousands. Right out of the gate. This is just not an environment for experimentation.

Problems for XM and Sirius?

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WSJ: “Many people are simply having iPod adapters installed in their cars and skipping satellite altogether, a concept that was barely on the horizon when the industry was young.”

Not sure how big a problem this is. But I’m one of those folks spending more time with the pod and less listening to satellite radio. If I had to renew today… I would. A year from now…?