Monday, September 15, 2008

Yesterday complaints, todays rumors, tomorrows reality

Just as I begin a short rant about Sirius XM and Apples iPhone playing nice to give me Howard Stern on my iPhone. Rumors of Apple Buying Sirius XM.
Here is the first part of a blog post. I'm looking for the siriusxm.com article about being bought by Apple.

Last week Mel Karmazin watched shares in Sirius XM Satellite Radio plummet 40% to sub $1-land. Why? The CEO gave a bearish view on 2009 subscriber growth. And he didn't exactly reassure anyone when he joked about lending the company his own company money when $300 million in convertible debt comes due in February.

In retrospect, he tells the WSJ, that probably wasn't the best thing to say:

"I wish I didn't say it," he said. "I tend to be candid. I said something off-handed. I wish it was as simple as that." Ultimately, he says there has been "a tremendous overselling of the stock" and that his company "is heading toward making a bunch of money in the future."

He'd also love to take Sirius XM private. Also, he'd like a pony.

"How do you find [the money] today?" If the company were generating positive cash flow, which he expects it to do for the full year in 2009, privatization would become much more feasible, he says.

And by the way: How many times do you think Howard Stern has rethought his move from CBS?

Talk-show host Howard Stern's five-year, $500 million pay package, announced in 2004, included 34.4 million shares payable to him and his agent, Don Buchwald. Then, the shares were worth about $110 million; by the time he joined the company in 2006, they were worth more than $220 million because of the stock's sharp rise. Today, those shares would be worth $32.6 million.

www.SiriusXM.com - Where Howard Stern comes head-to-head with Oprah

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Saturday, September 13, 2008

Where is Sirius XM on my iPhone?

Sirius XM joined, where is www.SiriusXM.com and more importantly, when will I be able to listen to Sirius XM on my Apple iPhone?
Where are the flip4mac guys with the answer to my problem?
I need Sirius XM, but more importantly HOWARD STERN on my iPhone!!

If you own a satellite radio, you'll soon have the option to get even more channels than the 130 or so that you already receive. You can thank Uncle Sam for the increased variety -- and for the higher fees it will cost you.

The two satellite services, XM and Sirius, have been offering different programs since the two companies were launched about seven years ago.

Sirius has Howard Stern, XM has Bob Edwards. Sirius has the NFL, XM has Major League Baseball. XM has programs hosted by Bob Dylan and Tom Petty, while Sirius has a Bruce Springsteen channel and will launch a three-hour Beatles show tomorrow.

But all that competition will begin to disappear over the next few months, now that the Federal Communications Commission has agreed to let the two services merge into Sirius XM Radio.

First up will be new "Best of Both" packages that will let subscribers to one service add channels from the other service. The channels to be included in the packages haven't been announced, but price has: an extra $4 per month added to the regular monthly rate of $12.95.

The new merged company is also under an FCC-imposed deadline to come up with radios that can receive either service. The radios are supposed to be on the market within the next nine months. CEO Mel Karmazin said last week that they will be available well before that deadline.

Now that Howard Stern and Oprah have merged

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