GM Urged To Consider Alliance With Nissan
June 30, 2006 DETROIT (Reuters) — One of the largest investors in General Motors (GM) on Friday urged the world's largest automaker to consider a three-way partnership with Nissan Motor and Renault. In a letter to GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner, Tracinda, the investment arm for billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, suggested the automaker form a committee to "immediately and fully explore" the possibility of a partnership under which Nissan and Renault would buy a "significant minority interest" in GM. "We believe that participating in a global partnership-alliance with Renault and Nissan could enable General Motors to realize substantial synergies and cost savings and thereby greatly benefit the company and enhance shareholder value," Tracinda wrote in the letter. GM shares surged in premarket trade on the news. 6/30/2006 09:53:00 AM
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DaimlerChrysler (a Sirius exclusive) to boost Sales
 June 30, 2006DaimlerChrysler to unveil employee pricing, challenger model - WSJWSJ reports the co's Chrysler Group is preparing to unveil details of an employee-pricing discount plan for consumers and the faster-than-expected release of an anticipated new model in an effort to pump up lackluster sales. Chrysler's new incentive blitz, parts of which have been in the media over the last week, will cut pricing for a limited time to the level that co employees normally pay for most Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles, dealers briefed on the plan said. In addition, customers will be offered interest-free loans of up to 36 months and a guarantee allowing them to return vehicles within 30 days if they are unsatisfied, the dealers said. Tomorrow, Chrysler is expected to announce at a Nascar race in Daytona Beach, Fla., that it will produce a new V8-powered Dodge Challenger coupe styled after the 1970s muscle car of the same name, people familiar with the co's plans said. Although the car won't arrive in dealerships until next year, it will be featured in summer promotions that Chrysler hopes will pull customers into showrooms, these people said. 6/30/2006 07:44:00 AM
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New Sirius PNP Radios
Our InsideSiriusAlliance partner, GSI ( http://getsiriusinfo.blogspot.com/) posted the article below (Perhaps these new units replace those that were rumored to be "pulled" from the online store?). New SIRIUS PNP Radios - We got the Photos..
GSI has gotten some photos of the NEW "Streamer GT3" the Brix version of the Starmate (note the GT3 will not have replay functions), and the Streamer 3 is the Brix version of the Sportster, with a Amber display in place of the blue found on the Sportster 4, the Streamer 3 will not have replay functions. We are also told that the Sportster 3 will be out with an Amber display and will not have replay.. This will be the "poor mans" new Sportster... We are told the Amber display is cheaper and will be found on the "lower" end units.. The blue display is an upgrade, and will be on more costly units.. From what we are told the Streamer GT3 (and a new Starmate unit) will be the first in the Starmate Family that will be dockable. We are told the Sportster 4, Streamer 3, Streamer GT3 will fit in the same dock! (Also look for some new units from Directed that will also fit into a Universal Plug N Play dock and boombox! Here is the photos - Streamer GT3 - ST3TK1B Available November 2006  - Bright 5-Line Amber Display - Easy to Use Cross-Hair Navigation - GameAlert, GameZone - 30 Presets, S-Seek - Slimmer/Lighter Design - Docking Connector Enabled Streamer 3 - SP3TK1B - Available November 2006 - Large Streamer Sized Display - Rotary Encoder Knob - Amber Backlighting  - GameAlert, GameZone - Up to 30 Artist & Song Alerts - One-Touch Jump - 30 Presets (3 bands; A, B, C) - Full-Frequency Wireless FM Transmitter - Full-Frequency Wireless FM Transmitter - FM Preset Short-cut Button - Common Accessories with Streamer GT3 - Support for “Smart” Docks & Accessories Some may see this and say nothing new here.. (but some would be wrong) but the big news is that the new Starmates and Sportsters will fit and work in the same docks.. 6/30/2006 04:53:00 AM
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Sirius is Balancing Audience, On the Left and On the Right
  June 30, 2006Bill Gaither to Host New Radio Program on Sirius 06-30-2006 12:06 Southern gospel program will debut on July 9 on channel 62 Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music icon Bill Gaither will be hosting a new weekly radio program beginning July 9 on Sirius Satellite Radio.“Bill Gaither’s Homecoming Radio,” will feature three hours of classics and new music from the southern gospel genre, and will air Sundays on channel 62, The Roadhouse at 9 am ET and again at 9 pm ET. “I am very excited for this opportunity to team up with Sirius to take encouraging, positive music to their many listeners on a weekly basis,” said Gaither. “It is always rewarding when our programming finds its way into new places, but in this case it is particularly thrilling to be a part of the rapidly-expanding world of satellite radio.”Bill Gaither’s Homecoming Radio expands Sirius’ commercial-free Christian music offerings, which includes channel 66, Spirit (Christian hits), channel 67, Revolution (Christian rock) and channel 68, Praise (gospel). 6/30/2006 04:43:00 AM
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Politicians, Music and Fair Use
  June 29, 2006 Satellite Standard group keeps you informed. UPI Correspondent Jessica Taylor wrote an interesting piece on copyright laws, fair use laws, and the issues that Sirius and XM find themselves in regarding this hot topic. Article Excerpts: WASHINGTON, June 29 (UPI) -- New radio technologies have music industry and radio officials at odds over fair use of audio and video digital transmissions.
The implementation of audio and video flags to block unauthorized distribution and replication could be one solution, experts testified Tuesday before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. However, opponents of the flags say they would still block even legal use of music by consumers.
The Audio Broadcast Flag Licensing Act, currently pending before the committee, would authorize the Federal Communications Commission to implement technologies to prohibit unlawful transmission and copying from satellite and HD radio.
"Specifically, it provides that technical licensing agreements currently taking place between satellite/HD radio and developers of digital audio broadcast systems include a broadcast flag or similar technology that limits the unauthorized dissemination, duplication and redistribution of the content," said Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-N.J., sponsor of the proposed bill.......
The article goes on to discuss this important topic in great detail and icludes quotes from Sirius as well as XM, and others. SSG Readers are encouraged to read the whole article HERE
6/29/2006 11:21:00 PM
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Sirius' OutQ To Be Exclusive Radio Broadcast For Gay Games VII
  June 29, 2006 Sirius Satellite Radio's OutQ will be the exclusive radio broadcaster of the Gay Games VII in Chicago. the event will take place from July 15th through the 22nd. Sirius will cover all aspects of the games including the opening ceremony at Soldiers Field and the closing ceremony at Wrigley Field. Other sponsors giving the Gay Games two snaps include Walgreens, The New York Times, American Airlines, Gatorade and Ernst & Young. The Gay Games will also feature performances/appearances by Cyndi Lauper, Megan Mullally, Margaret Cho, former Olympian Greg Louganis and "Star Trek"s George Takei (Also a Howard Stern announcer) among others. Interested SSG readers can learn more HERE and HERE6/29/2006 10:59:00 PM
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Pro Surfer Gets Sirius
 June 29, 2006 Sirius satellite Radios' channel 28, Faction, gives some of the most interesting and compelling content on radio. There is a regular staple of stars on faction, but their guests bring aspects to the channel that make faction unique. The show also inspires a growing following in various extreme sports, and other outdoor activities that have become so popular today. We here at satellite Standard group came across this interesting piece from Global Surf News: Article excerpt: Pro Surfer Ryan Helm Featured on Sirius Satellite Radio - Radio Faction Channel 28
Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 29 June, 2006 : - - Los Angeles, CA -
Pro Surfer Ryan Helm was recently interviewed by Faction Radio's Mike Tully. Helm speaks about the honor of being named to represent the U.S. East Coast Surf Team in the ESPN X Games this Summer and of his time spent living in mainland Mexico and surfing the Mexican Pipeline in Puerto Escondido, home of the 12th Annual ESPN X Games Surfing Comp.
When asked about the venue for this year's X Games Surfing competition, Helm responds with a wry grin; "I like the Power, very few places in the world have the energy that Puerto has; it will be an excellent stage to showcase our talents for the X Games". Having lived and surfed in Mainland Mexico for 5 years (2 months spent at the Mexican Pipeline) Helm is considered by some to be a darkhorse rookie, named to the X Games squad just this year by head coach Matt Kechele.
With Mexican salsa coursing through his veins, many feel that Helm may actually be the East's (not so) Secret Weapon, in defense of their 4th consecutive Gold Medal against a California dominated West Coast Team. "Ryan Helm's Puerto and mainland Mex experience will add strength to the over-all team. Ryan brings a lot of versatility... his natural ability with Tube riding along with his incredible flexibility will allow him to squeak out the deepest of Doggy Door's...... Sirius Satellite Radio is catching on in many ways, and it is content such as faction that differentiate Sirius from traditional radio. Interested SSG readers can read the whole Global Surf News column as well as see some pretty cool pictures HERE 6/29/2006 10:47:00 PM
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CIBC Weighs in on Satellite Radio
Satellite Standard likes to keep you informed. This morning, CIBC issued the following: Briefing.com, Live In Play 29-Jun-06, 09:31 Sat Radio: Revising 2Q subscriber ests, shifting retail shares to SIRI - CIBC CIBC says that following XMSR's product shortages and widely publicized NPD figures for April and May, they are raising their full-year ests for SIRI and lowering estimates for XMSR. They believe that slower industry sales are product & marketing related, not demand driven. They say June/July sales should support this thesis. The firm is increasing their est. on SIRI for 2Q net adds to 561k, from 532k, which now assumes a 55% retail share (was 52%). They are also increasing our 2H subs ests, resulting in FY subscribers of 6.39 mln, up from 6.29 mln, above consensus of 6.3 mln. and co guidance of 6.2 mln. For XMSR, they are lowering their 2Q net adds est. to 401k (was 462k), below consensus of 436k. They says this assumes lower retail share (45% vs. 48%), reflecting flat retail subs YoY. Firm is also lowering 2H sub ests, resulting in year-end subs of 8.36 mln, from 8.50 mln, and below consensus of 8.47 mln. Firm says 2Q results should reflect continued momentum for SIRI, suggesting better NT appreciation. 6/29/2006 08:05:00 PM
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Stiletto Sighting - Sirius
 June 29, 2006 The quick eyes at engadet got ahold of this. During the Convergence 2.0 conference Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin talked about a new, fully-portable Sirius receiver/MP3 player. He even took a beta version of the device out of his pocket and flashed it to the crowd. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera handy, and thought the opportunity was lost. Luckily, another photographer working for The Deal was front and center and captured the picture to the right (close up below). Below you'll see an exerpt from the transcript of Karmazin's keynote in which he describes the new device, in little detail. — Brian Ward "Regarding the iPod, I wish it didn't exist [laughter]; I wish over the air radio didn't exist anymore, but there's only 24 hours in the day, the consumer has a ton of choices. I don't really think about the iPod as being any more of a competitor than any other distraction that a customer or subscriber could have, so we have a product, it's in my pocket; I was listening to it on the way over, it's in beta testing now; we've said that we will have that product in the stores by the end of the summer, but what it is, is a product that, in a wearable mode, will get you live satellite radio, so you can walk around, and this is the size of it, listen to it in satellite radio, and you'll be able to store all of your music that you might want on it, so the idea is that we sort of have everything that an iPod might have, which is your ability to store and navigate through your music, and have the ability to get live satellite radio at the same time, but if you're spending time on your iPod, that means you're not spending time on Sirius, so therefore, I do think of it as a competitor, and something that we keep our eye on." Link HERE for story 6/29/2006 07:57:00 PM
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NasCar Goes Upscale
 June 29, 2006 Amongst the satellite radio community, the mention of NasCar brings out a rather passionate debate. NasCar has been on XM Satellite Radio for some time, but will be switching to Sirius satellite Radio in 2007. The debate often centers around whether or not fans will follow NasCar to Sirius, or whether NasCar brings additional subscribers. Here is what we do know. NasCar is GROWING. A BusinessWeek article recently explained the attraction to NasCar, and why the appeal now translates to a bigger audience each year. Article Excerpt: As many of those fans know, NASCAR long ago outgrew its Southern, working-class roots. The 40-week schedule, which runs February through November, includes weekends in Chicago and Las Vegas, and could one day include New York, Seattle, and Denver. Upscale brands such as Sony , Gulfstream, and watchmaker Tissot have signed on as sponsors, and developers are furiously adding trackside luxury condos, private clubs, and corporate suites. For example, Phoenix International Raceway just opened a chic lounge above the track's first turn where fans can nibble sushi and sip wine or mixed drinks. A weekend pass to the lounge during November's Checker Auto Parts 500 will run $2,400, but the raceway is only selling 100 such tickets.
Go to BusinessWeek Online to view the slideshowEven celebrity chefs are getting into the act: Food Network's Mario Batali just penned a cookbook for race-day tailgaters; Wolfgang Puck will open a café at the track in Fontana, Calif., in September. "The image of [NASCAR as] the Bubba sport is not true," says Larry DeGaris, a sports-marketing expert whose clients include United Parcel Service, PepsiCo, and Bank of America.A day at the track has become a coveted perk for executives whose companies spend millions to sponsor NASCAR -- and their clients. Debbie Acocella, a customer business manager for Kellogg's in New York, got her first taste of the sport in June when she hosted two supermarket buyers and their families at the Neighborhood Excellence 400 in Dover, Del. Their Sunday included a catered breakfast, lunch, and snack in the relative quiet of the company's suite, a tour of the pits, and a pre-race visit from Kyle Busch, who drives the Kellogg's car. The group watched the start of the race up close before turning to the suite. "You can see why we have a car," Acocella says. "I finally understand it."Interestingly, the stats that surround NasCars growing audience are very appealing. The number of people who spend six or more hours a week following the sport has grown almost 20% in the last five years, to 75 million, according to market researcher Ipsos Insight.Done right, NasCar on satellite radio has a huge potential. Shows that relate to the preparation for the next race, and discussion of drivers and teams can be quite compelling for both listeners, and sponsors. There is a reason that companies spend big bucks to sponsor a car. They want their name out there. There is a reson you hear conversation that mentions sponsors all of the time. Drivers have taken on their sponsors name as part of their identity. Take the Home Depot for example. The driver is Tony Stewert, but he just as often refered to as "Home Depot #20 Car". There is no doubt that NasCar is gaining popularity. How that impacts satellite radio is yet to be seen, but being involved with Nascar certainly can't hurt. Interested SSG reader can read the entire BusinessWeek piece HERE6/29/2006 03:32:00 PM
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Ford Shifts Focus From Hybrids
 June 29, 2006 Sirius Satellite Radio OEM partner Ford has announced that they are shifting their focus away from hybrid cars and moving towards cars that can run on fuels other than gasoline, suh as E85. In a NY Times article, Ford discussed this move in some detail: Article Excerpt: Hybrid vehicles will still be in the company's lineup, but they are more likely to be cars than trucks or sport utility vehicles, officials at the company said.
The move represents an increasing focus among American automakers on ethanol, a fuel derived from grain alcohol, as a gasoline substitute.
In September, the automaker's chief executive, William Clay Ford Jr., announced the ambitious hybrid goal as part of a marketing campaign that touted the company's green credentials.
In an interview today, Mr. Ford acknowledged he was likely to face criticism for backing off the company's hybrid vehicle goal.
"This is in no way a lack of commitment to hybrids," Mr. Ford said. "It's an expansion of our commitment to other technologies."
Mr. Ford, known for his lifelong interest in environmental causes, went on: "The goal all along is a sustainability goal. It is not a hybrid goal."
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Chevy Starts Big Promotion
 June 29, 2006 XM satellite Radio OEM partner Chevy is beginning a promotion that should start off the third quarter with a bang. Chevy is running a 0% for 6 years promotion now through July 5, 2006. 0% promotions such as this tend to move a lot of cars. For XM satellite Radio, that means a lot of XM equipped cars, which should get things off on the right foot for XM in Q3. An eaxample of the promotion:  6/29/2006 01:30:00 PM
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Willie Nelson Joins XM
 June 29, 2006 XM's 'Hank's Place' to Re-open Under New Management as 'Willie's Place' on July 10 WASHINGTON, June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XM Satellite Radio, the nation's leading satellite radio service with more than 6.5 million subscribers, announced today that country music legend Willie Nelson will join XM to launch "Willie's Place" (XM 13), XM's traditional country music channel, formerly known as "Hank's Place." In his new role as "proprietor" of "Willie's Place," Nelson will provide creative direction for the channel, as well as contribute exclusive programming to "Willie's Place" and other XM commercial-free music channels. "Willie's Place" will begin broadcasting July 10. "I've been a fan of XM and Hank's Place since the very beginning. They put a lot of thought and hard work into making the channel sound as good as it does, so I feel privileged to be a part of it," said Willie Nelson. "It's an honor to have an American music icon like Willie Nelson take the reins of our traditional country music channel," said Eric Logan, executive vice president of programming, XM Satellite Radio. "Like the channel itself, Willie embodies the heart and soul of country music. His involvement further underscores XM's commitment to country music nationwide with the most country channels and innovative content for country fans." In addition to changing the channel name, XM is building new studios for "Willie's Place" in Carl's Corner, TX, located in the Willie Nelson's BioDiesel Truck Stop. "Willie's Place" will begin broadcasting live from Carl's Corner in 2007. "Willie will be a great addition to the channel and I know we'll have a great time down in Carl's Corner," said Eddie Kilroy, on-air personality for Hank's Place. This announcement comes just a few days in advance of Willie Nelson's Annual Fourth of July Picnic concert. XM will air Willie's legendary concert, now in its 33rd year, on its progressive country channel X Country (XM 12) Tuesday, July 4 from 12 noon until 12 midnight ET. XM on-air hosts Jessie Scott and Eddie Kilroy will broadcast live from the concert site at the historic Fort Worth Stockyards. In addition to Willie Nelson and the Family, other artists scheduled to appear include: Kris Kristofferson, David Allen Coe, Ray Price, Billy Joe Shaver, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Leon Russell, Randy Rogers Band, Harmonic Tribe, Shooter Jennings, Paula Nelson, Noel Haggard, Folk Uke, Stoney LaRue, Titty Bingo, Johnny Bush, Del Castillo, Bonnie Bishop, Pauline Reese, The Mothertruckers, The Geezinslaws, James Hand, Freddy Powers and Bill McDavid, No Justice, Jimmy Lee Jones, Mike Graham and Heather Myles. About XM Satellite Radio XM is America's number one satellite radio service with more than 6.5 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City, the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Toronto and Montreal, XM's 2006 lineup includes more than 170 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: the most commercial-free music channels, sports, talk, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and the most advanced traffic and weather information. XM, the leader in satellite-delivered entertainment and data services for the automobile market through partnerships with General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan and Porsche, is available in more than 140 different vehicle models for 2006. XM's industry-leading products are available at consumer electronics retailers nationwide. For more information about XM hardware, programming and partnerships, please visit http://www.xmradio.com/. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements in this press release include demand for XM Satellite Radio's service, the Company's dependence on technology and third party vendors, its potential need for additional financing, as well as other risks described in XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.'s Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 3-3-06. Copies of the filing are available upon request from XM Radio's Investor Relations Department. 6/29/2006 01:00:00 PM
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Sirius' S50 Wins High Praise As A Best Product Design
 June 29, 2006 Sirius satellite Radios S50 has won some high praise. Today in a Businessweek Online article, the hardware was recognized as one of the panels favorite products. Article Excerpt: BEAUTY AND EASE. ZIBA had the most wins of any single design consultancy—four medals, three of them golds. It won a gold research-strategy award for one of the jury's favorite products, the Sirius S50 satellite radio (SIRI). This product reinvented the prevailing idea of satellite radio by simplifying the experience while allowing people to save and manage the music they get from satellite. "They put it all together so well," said juror Alistair Hamilton, vice-president for corporate design and human interfaces at Symbol Technologies. "Now you can take your satellite music with you and manage it."If the panel was impressed with the S50, they are sure to be impressed by Sirius' next offering due out this summer. The Stiletto will sport a "live wearable" mode, more memory, WIFI capability, and some other intersting capabilities that have not yet been announced.SSG readers can read the entire BusinessWeek article HERE6/29/2006 10:02:00 AM
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Forbes Reports Good Fathers Day For XM
  June 29, 2006 Forbes.com has published a story regarding Fathers Day sales for XM Satellite Radio. The story quotes respected analyst Robert Peck of Bear Stearns who reportrs that XM's second quarter retail sales seem to be on track. Story Excert: Web traffic to XM's website peaked around Father's Day at levels "significantly higher" than average, indicating a possible increase in interest around the holiday, said Peck. Sirius Satellite Radio's traffic stayed within the average range, but spiked after Father's Day, he added.
In addition, Peck said he's found a "significant relationship" between XM's retail gross subscriber additions and sales of Apple Computer's iPod.
Based on this model, the analysis reiterated his second-quarter net subscriber additions estimate of 395,000 for XM.
Bear Stearns still rates XM at underperform, and states that they feel that XM needs to meet expectations for a number of quarters to sustain a rally.
SSG Readers are encouraged visit Bear Stearns for more information on XM's analysys HERE
The link to the Forbes.com story is HERE 6/29/2006 09:53:00 AM
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Sirius and Variety Will Launch Radio News Bureau
  June 29, 2006 Sirius Satellite Radio continues to ad value for their listeners by announcing a deal with Variety. Up-to-the-minute box office reports and breaking news and views on movies, TV, and entertainment SIRIUS to air Variety Radio News multiple times each hour every day NEW YORK, June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI - News) and Variety, the "show business bible," today announced the launch of a radio news bureau, based in Variety's Los Angeles offices, that will provide the latest in entertainment news to SIRIUS' national radio audience multiple times each hour of every day. Source: SIRIUS Satellite Radio Launching this fall, Variety Radio News will broadcast regular reports on SIRIUS' Los Angeles channel 150. With contributions from veteran Variety reporters and editors and SIRIUS' national reach, listeners will now be able to hear the latest from the worlds of film, TV, publishing and online media, as well as industry gossip, anywhere they are, including as they drive to and from work and industry functions. Variety is recognized throughout the world as the entertainment industry's newspaper of record, covering the global media and entertainment marketplace in 84 countries. With its seasoned editorial team and the largest newsgathering staff in the industry, Variety delivers breaking news, exclusive "scoops," box office reports, plus film and TV production charts. "Variety delivers an insider's view on film, TV, music, the internet, and publishing with concise and provocative insight," said Scott Greenstein, SIRIUS President, Entertainment and Sports. "Variety Radio News will become as indispensable to the industry as the magazine itself, and also make it possible for anyone in the country to be as up-to-date as any movie insider. Whether it's on the way to work, a screening, or anywhere life takes them, SIRIUS will put Variety right there with them." Peter Bart, Variety Editor-in-Chief, said: "Variety chose SIRIUS as our partner because of its already strong credibility in the entertainment world and SIRIUS' unrivaled ability to reach a national audience. There is clearly an appetite for news from the world of media and entertainment that is both timely and credible. It is our intention to get it first and also get it right." About SIRIUS SIRIUS delivers more than 125 channels of the best programming in all of radio. SIRIUS is the original and only home of 100% commercial free music channels in satellite radio, offering 67 music channels available nationwide. SIRIUS also delivers 61 channels of sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic, weather and data. SIRIUS is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, NBA and NHL and broadcasts live play-by-play games of the NFL, NBA and NHL. All SIRIUS programming is available for a monthly subscription fee of only $12.95. SIRIUS products for the car, truck, home, RV and boat are available in more than 25,000 retail locations, including Best Buy, Circuit City, Crutchfield, Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, RadioShack and at shop.sirius.com. SIRIUS radios are offered in vehicles from Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep®, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln-Mercury, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nissan, Rolls Royce, Scion, Toyota, Porsche, Volkswagen and Volvo. Hertz also offers SIRIUS in its rental cars at major locations around the country. Click on http://www.sirius.com/ to listen to SIRIUS live, or to purchase a SIRIUS radio and subscription. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance with respect to SIRIUS Satellite Radio Inc. are not historical facts and may be forward-looking and, accordingly, such statements involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Accordingly, any such statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among the key factors that have a direct bearing on our operational results are: our dependence upon third parties, including manufacturers of SIRIUS radios, retailers, automakers and programming partners, our competitive position and any events which affect the useful life of our satellites. About The Variety Group/Reed Business Information (RBI) The Variety Group, Daily Variety, Daily Variety Gotham, Weekly Variety, Variety China, and Variety.com, are all owned by Reed Business Information (RBI), the largest business publisher in the U.S. RBI and is a member of the Reed Elsevier Group plc (NYSE: RUK - News and ENL - News) -- a leading publisher and information provider operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business industry sectors. 6/29/2006 08:45:00 AM
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XMSR vs RIAA in new issue of BusinessWeek
"Copyrights And Wrongs
The record biz could lose by winning its lawsuit over XM's recorder BusinessWeek online, June 29,2006, Technology & You
TECH & YOU PODCAST I'm a fan of Bob Dylan's new Theme Time Radio Hour show on XM Satellite Radio ( XMSR ), but I'm often not around at the times it is aired. So the idea that Pioneer's brand-new inno portable receiver can record XM broadcasts seemed perfect. But there's a problem. The recording industry doesn't want consumers to be able to buy an inno -- or anything like it.A group of record companies, backed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), has filed a suit in federal court in New York claiming the inno's recording ability violates copyright law. The complaint seeks a ban on the sale plus damages -- as high as $150,000 for every song XM plays. Unlike the music industry's fight against file sharing, this dispute has nothing to do with piracy. The inno, which we'll look at in detail in a future column, can store music recorded from XM. But once saved, the songs are locked in the device until they are deleted or the XM subscription lapses, when they vanish. And XM is paying about 7% of its gross revenues in music royalties. In other words, XM pays for broadcast rights and would-be pirates are thwarted. THE CONSTITUTION AUTHORIZES COPYRIGHTS specifically "to promote the progress of science and useful arts." But the record companies, like the movie studios, are using copyright laws to try to protect their business models from innovative but disruptive technologies. This hurts us all.The XM suit is complicated. (Surprise.) The basic claim is that the royalties XM pays allow it to provide an "evanescent satellite radio broadcast," but because the inno can record, XM effectively becomes a download service. XM has not formally responded to the suit, but Chance Patterson, vice-president for corporate affairs, calls it "baseless and without merit." The suit claims that the inno would discourage subscribers from paying for legitimate downloads. Wrong, says Patterson. The inno lets users tag songs they want to buy, he notes, and when they connect it to a PC, the tagged songs are automatically marked for purchase at Napster. ( NAPS ) Complete the purchase, and the songs download to the inno as MP3s. Like all such lawsuits, this one's about money; the record companies want to extract more of it from XM and competitor Sirius Satellite Radio ( SIRI ). The latter avoided a lawsuit by signing a license with three major record companies to pay extra royalties for its recording-capable S50 player. XM refused to roll over. But the XM case is also part of the futile effort by entertainment companies to control how customers use their products. More than 20 years ago the Supreme Court ruled it was permissible for consumers to tape television shows for personal viewing at a later time. The entertainment companies have been trying to win back ground ever since.The studios say recording is allowed only if customers listen to the tracks exactly as XM sends them out. "The [XM] service is not designed for the purpose of permitting the user to listen to the program at a more convenient time...," the suit argues. "[But the inno] is designed to free subscribers from ever having to experience XM's transmissions as a unified, integrated radio broadcast." I am not a lawyer, and I have no idea what the judge will do in this case. But I think this is one battle the record companies could lose by winning. The entertainment industry has grudgingly yielded ground in efforts to control how customers use its products. The TV networks have gone furthest toward giving up their established business model by letting customers watch selected shows where and when they want. Rather than emulating the movie studios, which are trying to defend their control over the times and places that films are available in different forms, the record companies should follow TV's lead and give customers what they want.Changing a successful business model is painful. But businesses that fight the tide of consumers who want to push new technology to the max are likely to end up drowned. For past columns and online-only reviews, go to Technology & You at businessweek.com/go/techmaven/By Stephen H. Wildstrom" 6/29/2006 05:56:00 AM
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Pure Vanilla - New Sirius Advertiser
 June 28, 2006 Sirius Satellite Radio is getting a lot of attention from companies looking for ways to market their products. Sirius offers many platforms where a sponsor can advertise, and because it is satellite radio, advertisers can be pretty creative with their ads. Pure Vanilla is a new Sirius sponsor that has had some ads on the Howard Stern Show. Not only is Pure Vanilla a new sponsor, but they are a fairly new business as well. Pure vanilla launched beta testing of their product in April, and expects to have their cards widely available in stores nation wide this month. What may be of particular interest to readers is that this company is brand new and publically traded. Pure Vanilla trades under the ticker symbol PVNX. So what exactly is Pure Vanilla??????
Pure Vanilla, through http://www.purevanilla.com/ and in-store sales of Pure Vanilla cards, is the first anonymous payment solution to facilitate purchase of Adult content online.
Pure Vanilla is popular with consumers because its unique payment option is anonymous, time-efficient, and pre-paid. Pure Vanilla is popular with on-line merchants because its system enhances financials through accelerated cash flow, the elimination of charges backs, reduced processing fees and free exposure through the Pure Vanilla listing.
Pure Vanilla can leverage its patent pending technology to sign-up thousands of consumer online accounts and merchants daily. Thus, as the only Adult Industry adopted payment system, Pure Vanilla is expected to lead and dominate the payment processing for a significant global industry.
Why Use Pure Vanilla?????CONSUMER-Complete AnonymityPure Vanilla is the first cash based payment solution that enables cardholders to make totally anonymous purchases of Adult Content online. Pure Vanilla does not pass any personal information on to any web site you choose to view, at any point. Your usage is truly anonymous; your privacy is guaranteed  now you are just a number.
-No Risk of ID Theft - No Credit Card Fraud Pure Vanilla is effectively a cash transaction and does not require a credit card. Retail consumers are not required to give any personal information to purchase the Card (except age verification at point of purchase). At the retail level we do not collect any email, private or personal information at all. The Pure Vanilla card eliminates the risk of ID Theft, Credit Card Fraud and presents no online credit risk whatsoever to the Consumer. Click here to open a Pure Vanilla account online.
-Transact Online Without Credit CardsPure Vanilla enables you to transact online without any dependency on credit cards. No more monthly bills which can clearly show charges for online usage. Simply go to a participating retailer to purchase or reload your Pure Vanilla Card, go online and access the Adult content site of your choice; all the traditional worry of on line transactions are a thing of the past. Pure Vanilla is a secure, anonymous online payment engine.
Purchasing the Pure Vanilla CardGo to our online zip code locator and simply enter your zip code to find what locations are in your neighborhood or simply click here to open your Pure Vanilla account online.
MERCHANT
-Today, Pure Vanilla retail agents throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe.Throughout the coming months, we will be increasing our footprint in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.
-Delivering Incremental Qualified ConsumersPure Vanilla brings you customers that previously could not or would not partake based on credit limitations and or concerns about anonymity.
Pure Vanilla delivers a steady stream of qualified consumers to your websites. As Pure Vanilla is totally cash based, your customers are pre-approved to transact at your website.
-Zero Charge backsWith Pure Vanilla there are NO charge-backs. Only Pure Vanilla eliminates chargebacks because every transaction is pre-paid.
-More Reasonable FeesPure Vanilla reduces processing and ancillary fees associated with maintaining an online adult site significantly.
-96 hour Cash Flow to content providersWith Pure V proceeds are available in as little as 96 hours.
RETAIL AGENT
-No Out of Pocket Expense or Ongoing Inventory Carrying CostsThe Pure Vanilla card is a cash-based card meaning there are no out of pocket expenses to the retail agent.
-We will take credit cards in stores. Guaranteed Profit on Every Transaction
-Increased Foot Traffic - Ancillary SalesPure Vanilla, through its Retail Locator, identifies you as a participating retailer and at no fee to you adds you to their store location by zip code section thereby driving new and repeat customers to your establishment, creating ancillary sales and increased traffic earnings.
-New Source of Revenue / No Added Overhead CostsPure Vanilla is one of the hottest new products that will stimulate repeat and new business without any additional overhead spending.
-New Customer basePure Vanilla is adding new customers every day, potentially increasing your business without any financial outlay on your part.
What is clear is that Pure Vanilla understands their market niche very well, and that they offer a service that is unique to the industry. The potential for Pure Vanilla is international, and the exposure they are sure to get from the Howard Stern Show (now available on the internet globally) is sure to set them off on a course for success. pure vanilla offers a simple and discreet payment option for an industry that rakes in BILLIONS every year. You can learn more about Pure Vanilla HERE 6/28/2006 10:58:00 PM
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Sirius Broadcaster Bob Papa to Get Roasted
 June 28, 2006 New York, June 27--Talented boxing blow by blow man and WFAN Radio's (660 AM) Giants play by play voice Bob Papa will “swim with the fishes,” at least for one night, when Sopranos star Joe Gannascoli (Vito Spatafore) is the mob boss of roasters at Ram Roast II to benefit Fordham University athletics on Thursday night, June 29, at Tavern on the Green. Papa will receive the Ram Tough Award from his alma mater for sitting in the hot seat, while Gannascoli will be joined on the dias firing way at Papa by football coaching legend Dan Reeves, former Giants stars Carl Banks (WFAN/Sirius Radio) and Howard Cross (YES Network), YES Network’s Yankees voice Michael Kay, WB/11’s Sal Marchiano, Sirius Radio's Steve Cohen, boxing promoter Dino Duva, and Jack Curry of the New York Times. Kay, Curry and Marchiano are also Fordham alum. WFAN midday host Joe Benigno will serve as Roast Master General, the Master of Ceremonies. Papa, a product of Fordham's WFUV Radio and a 1986 graduate, is also a broadcaster for NBC Sports on Olympics and AFL, as well as Sirius Radio host and Westwood One play by play broadcaster. Papa was the long time blow by blow man for ESPN2's Friday Night Fights, as well as NBC's Olympic boxing. Celebrity guests also include former Giant Super Bowl champ Karl Nelson, actor Joe Lisi, boxing Hall of Famer Lou Duva, WABC televison sportscaster Marvel Scott, WABC radio sportscaster Warner Wolf, and Papa's fellow Fordham grads Nets play by play voice Chris Carrino, Lakers radio voice Spero Dedes, and WFAN Knicks analyst John Andariese In addition, the WB/11’s longtime newsman Marvin Scott will receive the Best of the Bronx Award as one of the borough’s favorite sons for his contributions to the industry and his hometown. For tickets and information call 212-972-5337. This story via East Side Boxing HERE6/28/2006 10:49:00 PM
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XMSR Puts Spotlight on Comedy in July
 June 28, 2006 www.fmqb.comJune 28, 2006 XM Satellite Radio has designated July as "Laugh Out Loud" month. The satcaster plans to celebrate the art of comedy by highlighting original specials and other programming featuring some of the biggest names in the game. For example, every night at 10 p.m. throughout July, XM will air a different episode of Stand Up, Sit Down, the series where comics discuss their careers and craft with XM Comedy host Sonny Fox. Lewis Black, George Carlin, John Cleese, Dane Cook, Bill Cosby, Jim Gaffigan, Gilbert Gottfried, Mitch Hedberg, Robert Klein, Richard Lewis, Kathleen Madigan, Carlos Mencia and many others will be featured on the show throughout the month. Also, XM will showcase other comedy programming, including classic cuts from Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Bob Newhart and others; the greatest comedy duos; the best in Canadian comedy; timeless comedy routines from the Monty Python group, and more. "Since XM became the first to offer the 24-hour uncensored comedy format anywhere on radio - satellite or terrestrial - our comedy offerings have grown from mere concept to four channels with some of the strongest listenership on the platform," said Eric Logan, EVP of Programming for XM Satellite Radio. "The response to XM's comedy programming has far surpassed expectations with XM Comedy alone consistently ranking as one of the top five most listened to channels on XM." 6/28/2006 09:51:00 PM
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Bridge Ratings Examines Digital Media Impact on Radio
 | from www.fmqb.com |  | June 28, 2006
Bridge Ratings has released a survey of 4000 radio listeners to see how different types of digital media affect their listening, with the results broken down by their favorite format. Those surveyed were asked if their usage of satellite radio, Internet radio, recorded music in general, P2P file sharing, podcasting and MP3 players was affecting listenership to terrestrial radio. Overall, the competing mediums are taking a bite out of regular radio, with an overall decline in the total amount of listening. Many respondents did say that other mediums cause them to listen to the radio more often, especially podcasting (58 percent), P2P file sharing (51 percent) and MP3 players (42 percent). However, radio is losing out mainly to Internet radio, with 55 percent saying it cause them to listen to less traditional radio. When separated by formats, there was an overall net loss on listenership all the way around, with Rock losing the most listenership to other mediums (-15 percent), followed by CHR (-12 percent) and News/Talk (-10 percent). Other results of the study show that Adult Hits listeners spend more time with terrestrial radio than other choices and Urban listeners spend more time using their MP3 players than listening to their favorite stations. Alternative fans also use other mediums to better inform their radio choices. "We saw in this study that traditional radio listening benefits from some digital media alternatives," Bridge Ratings President Dave Van Dyke sums things up, saying. "Peer-to-peer file trading, podcasting and MP3 player use can cause increased time spent listening to traditional radio depending on format, while satellite radio and Internet radio can cause reduced listening to conventional radio." "Knowing which form of digital entertainment benefits your format can be a key to battling the new TSL issues the industry faces today," adds Van Dyke. The complete survey results can be found here. |
6/28/2006 09:48:00 PM
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A Closer Look at the Sirius-Zing Wearable Device
 June 28, 2006 www.siriusbackstage.com posted this informative article highlighting Sirius-Zing Partnership: " A Look at ZINGEarlier this month we learned of SIRIUS’ partnership with digital media platform developer ZING. Rather than launching a “swiss-army-knife” radio, we predict SIRIUS has opted for an “it just works” philosophy, dramatically improving the out-of-the-box experience and focusing on ease-of-use and reliability. All of the power will be under the hood and seamless to the user. ZING VP of Hardware Development Michael Gifford “believes a product needs to look as beautiful on the outside as it does on the inside.” Gifford had a hand in producing the Mac mini and the XBOX. To fully understand the SIRIUS-ZING collaboration, look no further than ZING CEO Tim Bucher. A former Apple Computer executive, Bucher headed up Macintosh Engineering, where he produced the Mac mini. Bucher was also directly involved in technology development for the iPod, and helped with Microsoft’s UltimateTV. However, probably the most overlooked figure at ZING is visionary Arthur van Hoff. van Hoff was the guy who started Strangeberry, a Internet content distribution startup that was eventually acquired by TiVo. The beauty of Strangeberry, and the reason TiVo gobbled them up, is that “it will recognize incoming programming (JPEG images, video, MP3s, or whatever) and route it to the appropriate device in your living room.” This was the holy grail of the so-called “digital hub.” Here’s some commentary on the top-secret Strangeberry: So what are they really building? My best guess is that Strangeberry crew, all former Sun folks, developed a piece of software that actually makes finding devices on the home networks as easy as turning on the power switch. And it is using some variant of Apple’s Rendezvous technology. I remember these guys had released some variation of Rendezvous for Java in the early days of their operation. Rendezvous is a technology which can and does work with all sort of networks - Wi-Fi, Ethernet or powerline networks. After joining TiVo, van Huff launched TiVoToGo, a service that allows the transfer of shows from TiVo to personal computers and portable devices. So, How does this all affect SIRIUS? The ZING platform is described as “the first portable audio and entertainment solution that can combine wireless and satellite radio capabilities.” With this in mind, we can only imagine the great engineering going on at ZING. The potential features of a ZING-enabled SIRIUS Radio may include: Automatic roaming from Satellite to WiFi (hotspots become SIRIUS repeaters) Always connected / Updates downloaded via the Internet Timeshift SIRIUS shows / Download Songs Automatic discovery of music on your network Create dynamic playlists mixing the SIRIUS service and your personal music collection A combination of TiVo’s simple-yet-powerful interface, recording capabilties, with Apple’s hip and minimal style, the SIRIUS-ZING Portable Media Player may be something out of this world. Comment here. Posted by TulaneJeff on Wednesday, June 28th, 2006 at 8:07 pm ET." 6/28/2006 09:41:00 PM
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Blog e-mail Alert Test
This is a test for our new feature which will send you e-mail alerts when new articles are posted on our site. 6/28/2006 09:15:00 PM
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What Does FLW Mean To Sirius?
 June 28, 2006 What does FLW Outdoors mean to Sirius satellite Radio????? SERIOUS EXPOSURE FLW Outdoors is growing rapidly, and they get plent of exposure in the process. As of now FLW events are broadcast to over 430,000,000 homes world-wide. Only 10 years ago the tour was in it's infancy. Total pay-outs were in the neighborhood of $800,000. It made it hard to be a profession angler. Now FLW Pays out over $40,000,000, and puts on events like you cant imagine. The big change was the sponsorship of Wal Mart. The organization began to blossom, and smart corporations have jumped on to the bandwagon. This year Sirius Satellite Radio not only signed on as a sponsor, but also sponsors one of the many professional anglers on the tour, Chip Harrison. SSG readers should be familiar with Chip through our interviews and coverage of his season. Recently, there was an interesting piece on the news regarding FLW and its massive growth. The piece is three minutes long, and will take a while to download, but it is worth watching. It gives you a flavor of what FLW is all about, and the growth potential that exists. View the Video: HERE (via Youtube)HERE (via Rapidshare (High Quality Quicktime))and watch for Sirius Satellite Radio's Eric Pollard in the interview. The Championship FLW event is only a month away. Chip Harrison, the Sirius Satellite Radio angler, will be on the lake in a Sirius satellite Radio boat. The exposure will be huge. FLW has a loyal following, and being a sponsor of FLW gives Sirius Satellite Radio a "leg up" with a growing audience. Visit www.flwoutdoors.com to learn more about the various events around the country. 6/28/2006 04:07:00 PM
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Merger Talks Heat Up
  June 28, 2006 The topic of a megrer between Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio seem to be all the rage these days, but this article is not about the satellite radio rivals. It is about two of the companies that supply music to Sirius and XM. EMI and Warner Music have each made takeover bids for the other company, and both companies have rejected each others offer. Excerpts From Associated Press: Warner Music made a cash offer for EMI on Tuesday of 320 pence ($5.84) per share, valuing the company at 2.5 billion pounds ($4.6 billion), EMI said. It rejected the bid, calling it "wholly unacceptable" considering the potential synergies of a combination and the range of options EMI has.
That offer came four days after EMI bid $31 per share to acquire Warner Music, valuing the company at $4.2 billion, EMI said. Warner rejected that offer.
EMI said it also rejected Warner's bid of 315 pence per share made June 14.
New York-based Warner Music did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
A combination of EMI and Warner Music would control about 25 percent of the recorded music market, surpassing BMG in the rankings and moving into second place behind Universal, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry......
As many satellite radio investors are aware, the music companies are at the center of the new devices that Sirius and XM have on the market. Sirius has come to terms with the group on their S50 unit, while the RIAA is in litigation with XM over the INNO, Helix, and Nexus devices.Just how such a merger/takeover in the music industry would effect satellite radio is unknown, but investors should keep their eyes on this issue. Interested SSG readers can read more HERE via Yahoo and the AP 6/28/2006 03:03:00 PM
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Delphi Hires Temp. Workers
 June 28, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. In the wake of a massive employee buy-out program for early retirement of union workers, Delphi has now hired about 2,000 temporary workers to maintain their operations. The Delphi issue was central to General Motors lately, and the potential of a Delphi Strike would have caused production issues for GM. The success of the buy-put programs make a Delphi strike very unlikely at this point. XM Satellite Radio, the exclusive satellite radio partner of GM would have been impacted with a production stoppage at GM. Delphi also is the brand name on some XM Satellite Radio hardware, but the manufacturing happens elswhere, so the impact on that aspect of XM's business would have been small. The big news here for shareholders of XM is that GM production will continue as planned. Reuters Excerpt: Delphi on Monday said about 12,600 UAW members opted to take early retirement offers -- about 87.5 percent of those eligible for Troy, Michigan-based Delphi's initial program.
Thousands more union workers may leave under an additional offer to UAW workers and offers of buyouts or early retirements to the International Union of Electrical Workers-Communications Workers of America earlier in June.
Delphi will seek bankruptcy court approval on Thursday for those additional plans. Workers will have 45 days from approval and company roll-out to sign up, making exact participation unknown until at least mid August.
Delphi, which filed for bankruptcy last October, had said it expected to cut four-fifths of its more than 33,000 U.S. hourly workers and thousands of salaried employees while shedding noncore business and plants in the United States.
The company remains focused on a comprehensive restructuring, of which the attrition plan, temporary hires and wage rates are only parts, Williams said.
Interested SSG readers can read the story HERE via Reuters
6/28/2006 02:40:00 PM
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S & P Downgrades Ford Rating
 June 28, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. Ford, an exclusive OEM partner to sirius Satellite Radio, had their corporate credit rating downgraded today. S & P cites a difficult year for Ford as part of their reasoning. Ford recently announced an aggressive advertising campaign, and is ramping up Sirius satellite Radio installs. LONDON (AFX) - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it has lowered its corporate credit rating on the Ford Motor Co group to 'B+' from 'BB-' and affirmed its 'B-2' short-term rating, with a negative outlook. S&P removed the ratings from credit watch, however, where they were placed on May 25. 'The downgrade reflects our view that 2006 will be a more difficult year for Ford than previously anticipated,' said S&P analyst Robert Schulz. The agency forecast that a difficult 2006 would leave Ford more exposed to adverse market developments during the next two years. The motor company had consolidated debts of 151 bln usd at March 31, S&P noted. Interested SSG readers can read the news HERE via Forbes.com 6/28/2006 01:30:00 PM
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Honda To Build Car Plant In Indiana
 June 28, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. XM Satellite Radio OEM partner Honda has plans of building a new car plant near Greensburg Indiana. The $550,000,000 plant is expected to employ about 2,000 workers, and ultimately produce about 200,000 vehicles each year (That means a lot of XM Satellite Radio Installs) . It is anticipated that construction will be complete in 2008. Once complete the U.S. production of Honda vehicles will increase by almost 15%. 6/28/2006 11:39:00 AM
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Apollo Management Involved in Big Deal
June 28, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. One of the major shareholders in Sirius Satellite Radio is getting into the plastics business. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity firms Apollo Management LP and Graham Partners on Wednesday said they agreed to buy Berry Plastics Corp., a maker of plastic container tops and packaging, for $2.25 billion. Berry Plastics, which has annual sales of about $1.3 billion, is currently owned by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners (GS.N) and JPMorgan (JPM.N) Partners. The firms are the private equity arms of their respective investment banks. Berry Plastics put itself up for sale in March, as its owners were looking to exit the business after owning it since 2002, when they purchased it for $870 million. Declining raw material costs made the company an attractive target for private equity buyers. The deal is expected to close by the end of the third quarter. Apollo is among the largest private equity firms and is investing from its roughly $12 billion buyout fund. Graham Partners is a Philadelphia-based private equity firm focused on the industrial sector. SSG readers can see the article HERE via the Washington Post 6/28/2006 09:48:00 AM
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Bob Dylan's XM Radio Show Donated to National Baseball Hall of Fame
  June 28, 2006 One of America's Classic musicians now has a place in the home of the greats from one of America's treasured sports thanks to XM Satellite Radio. COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. and WASHINGTON, June 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bob Dylan is once again headed for Cooperstown. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has added to its archive the "baseball" episode from legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's critically acclaimed music show on XM Satellite Radio, "Theme Time Radio Hour." The one- hour episode contains Dylan singing an a cappella rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," along with classic baseball calls, such as Curt Gowdy's legendary call of Ted Williams' home run in his final at-bat with the Boston Red Sox, and baseball original compositions, such as Buddy Johnson's "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball" and "The Ball Game" by Sister Wynona Carr, among others. The "Theme Time Radio Hour" airs weekly on XM and features an eclectic mix of music based around a theme. The CD will be added to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library archive, which features more than 10,000 hours of recorded audio and video, and will be available for researchers to access. Dylan's "Theme Time Radio Hour" airs Wednesdays at 10 a.m. ET on XM Satellite Radio, which is also the official satellite radio network for Major League Baseball (MLB). The recording joins an historic cross-section of baseball-related cultural enterprises in the Hall of Fame Library archive, such as Abbott and Costello's Who's on First, interviews with other cultural icons about their love of baseball, along with a wide collection of sheet music and original baseball-themed recordings. The National Baseball Hall of Fame Library is open year-round, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Appointments are recommended and can be arranged by calling 607-547-0330. Selected recordings from the Library audio and video collection are available for purchase by calling 607-547-0330. Open seven days a week the year round, with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day, the Hall of Fame is open from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. through Labor Day. Individual one-day ticket prices are $14.50 for adults (13 and over); $9.50 for seniors (65 and over) and for those holding current memberships in the VFW, Disabled American Veterans, American Legion and AMVets organizations; and $5 for juniors (ages 7-12). Friends of the Hall of Fame members are always admitted free of charge and there is no cost for children six years of age or younger or for active and retired card-carrying military personnel. For more information, visit our Web site at baseballhalloffame.org or call 888-HALL-OF-FAME (888-425-5633). XM is America's number one satellite radio service with more than 6.5 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City, the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Toronto and Montreal, XM's 2006 lineup includes more than 170 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: the most commercial-free music channels, sports, talk, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and the most advanced traffic and weather information. XM, the leader in satellite-delivered entertainment and data services for the automobile market through partnerships with General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan and Volkswagen/Audi, is available in more than 140 different vehicle models for 2006. XM's industry-leading products are available at consumer electronics retailers nationwide. For more information about XM hardware, programming and partnerships, please visit http://www.xmradio.com. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements in this press release include demand for XM Satellite Radio's service, the Company's dependence on technology and third party vendors, its potential need for additional financing, as well as other risks described in XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.'s Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on 3-3-06. Copies of the filing are available upon request from XM Radio's Investor Relations Department. SSG readers can see the story HERE via Yahoo 6/28/2006 09:25:00 AM
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Will the Shift to Fuel Efficient Cars Spur an Increase in Sales?
June 28, 2006  (Thus, an increase in satellite radio subscribers...)"Daimler Hopes Americans Are Finally Ready for the MinicarNew York Times, June 28, 2006 By MARK LANDLERFRANKFURT, June 27 — Are Americans finally ready to get Smart? DaimlerChrysler, which shelved an earlier plan to bring its Smart minicar brand to the United States, plans to announce Wednesday that it will introduce the tiny two-seat vehicle to the American market early in 2008, according to several executives at the company. The German-American carmaker is betting that with stubbornly high gasoline prices, mounting concerns about global warming, and waning interest in sport utility vehicles, consumers in the United States will welcome a car that is no larger than a good-size riding mower. "Now is the right time to go to the U.S.," said a senior executive at DaimlerChrysler, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified because the plans were not yet public. "The world, and the U.S., has changed in the last two years." The Smart car has won a hip image in European cities like Rome and Paris, with their serpentine streets and snug parking spaces. It was recently featured in the thriller "The Da Vinci Code," as well as in the remake of "The Pink Panther," in which it served as the ride of choice for Inspector Jacques Clouseau...." Link to full article: HERE6/28/2006 08:16:00 AM
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Barbara Walters' "The View" in the News
 June 28, 2006More press for Barbara (who will have her own show on Sirius soon)New York Times, June 28, 2006 Star Jones Reynolds's Departure From 'The View' Was in the Works for Months
By JACQUES STEINBERGStar Jones Reynolds's departure from "The View," which she announced on the show yesterday after weeks of rumors, was actually in the works for far longer than even savvy viewers realized. It came more than six months after ABC executives decided not to renew her contract when it expires later this summer, Barbara Walters, the show's co-executive producer, said in an interview after the broadcast. "They had done a great deal of research, and her negatives were rising," said Ms. Walters, who, like Ms. Jones Reynolds, has been a co-host of the program since its inception nine years ago. "Not so much because of what she did on the air. It was things she did off the air. The audience was losing trust in her. They didn't believe some of the things she said." Ms. Walters declined to specify what in particular had concerned the network, but Ms. Jones Reynolds drew criticism when she arranged for suppliers to donate items for her wedding in 2004, apparently in exchange for being mentioned on the show...." Link to full article: here6/28/2006 08:10:00 AM
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Sirius Releases S50 Firmware Update
 June 28, 2006The S50 has been upgraded!www.siriusbackstage.com posted this story last night:"SIRIUS has released new firmware for the S50 this evening.
Improvements and features in this release include: New 4 Hour Scheduled Recording Limit Change in the Sort Order of Recorded Shows Improved Stability Expect the S50 product page to be updated with release details later this week. To update your S50 to the latest firmware: Launch the My Sirius Studio application on an Internet-enabled PC Connect your S50 unit via USB. Click on the gear icon ( ) next to the S50 device icon, or go to File -> Device Settings, and choose “Check for Software Update”. This is a screenshot of the screen showing an update is available. You can discuss the new S50 release here and get support on the SIRIUS Backstage S50 forum." 6/28/2006 06:31:00 AM
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Cramer's Show: Can't stop mentioning Sirius!
 June 28, 2006 Aaron Task, co-executive editor of TheStreet.com, is filling in for Cramer this week. Although his comments are basically innocuous this time, I find it amazing that they dedicate so much air time to one stock! "RealMoney Radio Recap: Bigger Is Better6/27/2006 5:32 PM EDT Not Fun in the Summertime Task asked Gabrielski how he was dealing with the current market environment. It hasn't been easy, Gabrielski said. In general, the key to speculating is finding companies that are profitable, because then you have a downside valuation target. Investors can then value the company on something, he said. For example Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI:Nasdaq) is not profitable, Gabrielski said. "So subscriber growth is not a good valuation model?" Task asked. It's a good data point in an up market, but you have to adjust your strategy in a sour market, Gabrielski replied. " 6/27/2006 08:16:00 PM
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DaimlerChrysler comments on auto sales
 June 28, 2006DaimlerChrysler says incentives, inventory too highTue Jun 27, 2006 5:29 PM ET NEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler AG Chairman Dieter Zetsche on Tuesday said the company's U.S. unit was struggling with unacceptable levels of vehicle inventory and was spending too much on incentives to clear the glut. "Our sales projection was too optimistic," Zetsche told reporters. The remarks come just days before Chrysler is to roll out a new sales promotion campaign for July, expected to include employee-level pricing for any car buyer, money-back guarantees and a new advertising campaign featuring Zetsche as the face of the automaker. Zetsche said that he expected overall U.S. vehicle sales would be near 17 million units on an annualized basis in June, up from May but down from a year earlier when GM first rolled out employee-level pricing, touching off a summer price war. "For anyone but Toyota, it was a relatively slow month," he said of June. Zetsche said that the company's marketing research showed that consumers had a favorable impression when the chief executive came out in direct support of its products. The strategy recalls Chrysler's promotions of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when then-CEO Lee Iacocca brought the company back from the brink with an ad campaign that featured him and the memorable line, "If you can find a better car, buy it." Zetsche, known for his trademark wire-rim glasses and walrus-moustache, conceded that he had very low name recognition outside the U.S. auto industry. "The vast majority of people don't know me," he said. U.S. dealers who have seen the television ads featuring Zetsche say they promote Chrysler's German engineering and American heritage. That marks a shift in marketing approach by Chrysler, which has so far kept itself at arm's length in the U.S. market from the parent company's German-based luxury-car unit, Mercedes-Benz. But Chrysler executives said last week that the company would promote next year's launch of a more fuel-efficient, diesel version of its Jeep Grand Cherokee by pointing out that its turbo-charged engine was being built by Mercedes. And Zetsche, who also heads the Mercedes unit, said Chrysler Group had suffered in the market earlier this year because of the financial problems for rivals General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co. "We were perceived as one of the Big Three," he said. DaimlerChrysler's U.S. sales have fallen about 1 percent in the first five months of the year. The company has also had to resort to deep incentives of up to $5,000 on the Dodge Durango SUV in order to clear unsold inventory. The average per-vehicle spending on sales incentives was just over $2,200 in June, according to the Power Information Network. But Chrysler was spending almost $4,000 on average, according to the market tracking firm. 6/27/2006 06:06:00 PM
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GM comments on auto sales
 June 28, 2006GM sees weaker auto market, offers limited saleTue Jun 27, 2006 4:05 PM ET (By Kevin Krolicki) DETROIT, June 27 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. on Tuesday cautioned that overall 2006 U.S. auto sales could fall short of last year's total because of higher interest rates and volatile gas prices. GM, which last year sparked a price war by offering U.S. consumers the same discounts that it gives to employees, confirmed it would launch a limited-time, zero-percent financing offer on many of its 2006 models over the upcoming U.S. holiday weekend. But executives at the world's No. 1 automaker said the company would stick to its strategy of avoiding massive discounts of the kind that pushed shipment volumes to record highs last summer, even though such a move translates to sharp year-on-year declines in sales. "It's fair to say that the industry is tracking a bit below expectations," said Paul Ballew, GM's chief market analyst. "It's not that the industry is dramatically different from what we expected, but we are seeing it come in a bit soft." GM, which has seen its U.S. auto sales slip 8 percent in the first five months of the year, must now hold onto its U.S. share of just above 23 percent in order to avoid further wrenching cost cuts, analysts have said. The company is trying to protect its flank from aggressive Asian rivals. The automaker's employee pricing offer of last June was matched a month later by both Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group. The discounts boosted sales to record levels but eroded the U.S. automakers' profitability. CHRYSLER SEEN JUMPING ON DISCOUNTS Chrysler, which has been the most aggressive in offering discounts to clear an inventory of unsold vehicles this year, is expected to announce renewed employee-level discounts starting in July, a move that increases the pressure on its domestic rivals. GM Vice President Mark LaNeve said last summer's sweeping promotions would mean that this year's sales would fall far short for GM. "Our year-on-year comps (comparable sales) are going to be especially brutal," he said. Ballew said GM's June retail sales were the best they have been all year, in part because of strong interest in heavily-equipped models of the company's new line of full-sized sport utility vehicles, such as the Tahoe, Yukon and Escalade. But GM's overall sales might fall more than 30 percent from a year earlier, down to 2004 levels when sales also lacked the boost of a big discount program, he said. Overall sales should be near 17 million units on an annualized basis, he said. "It's not unexpected," he said. "It's where we thought we would be." But LaNeve said GM would avoid fire-sale promotional tactics to boost sales and shore up market share. "Do I want (market share) to be higher? Absolutely. But we've got to do it in the right way," he told reporters and analysts on a conference call. "We have to do it on product strength and pricing in the market that's not dependent on incentives." PRICES UP, EVEN AS SALES SLIP LaNeve said GM had decided not to extend a special promotion announced in May that subsidized gasoline purchases for buyers of mid-size cars and SUVs in Florida and California. At the time, some analysts had speculated that GM could be readying a national introduction of that program. "It was not a big enough sales lift to go through on an expanded basis," LaNeve said. Another challenge for GM is the shifting U.S. consumer preference away from the light-duty trucks that have dominated the market for the last decade, Ballew said. The truck share of the overall U.S. market slipped 2.8 percentage points in the first five months of this year to 51.7 percent, GM said. That was led by a drop in sales of mid-sized SUVs, which had emerged as the American family car of choice in the mid-1990s. Sales in that category are down almost 50 percent since 2003, Ballew said. "The challenge in the second quarter has been a little more severe," he said. But Ballew said that GM was below the industry average in terms of sales incentives and had seen an increase in average transaction prices that topped the industry-wide performance. The average U.S. vehicle sold for $25,908 in the year to date, up $365. By contrast, GM has increased its average sales price by $1,200 to $26,341, he said. Those gains reflect stronger sales of GM's new SUVs, including the Escalade, which has an average price of just under $60,000. GM has gained share in the SUV market, despite the tougher sales climate, and executives have been surprised by the demand for margin-boosting vehicle options, like navigation systems, LaNeve said. "We've been struggling with the richness of the mix," he said. 6/27/2006 06:01:00 PM
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Shaeffer's Research on SIRI and XMSR Short Interest
June 28, 2006  Shaeffer's Research discusses hedge funds, convertible bonds and their relation to short interest, (ie, large short positions do not necessarily reflect negative sentiment).Tuning into Satellite Radio www.Shaeffersreseach.comBill Feingold--> 6/27/2006 2:37 PM ET Let me start with an admission--I love satellite radio. I've always enjoyed radio programming, but most of the commercials you hear these days grate on me more than fingernails scraping down a chalkboard. Satellite frees you from that tyranny on the music stations, and even the ones you get on the talk stations are pretty easy to take. O.K., now to the markets. Mel Karmazin of Sirius Satellite Radio was on the tape yesterday, saying he'd like to buy XM Satellite Radio Holdings at the right price, but that he would expect regulatory issues because of the duopoly status of the industry. That generated some good feelings in a couple of stocks that have been having a rough go of it. Coincidentally, the most recent Nasdaq short-interest data were published today. They indicate that Sirius has the second-most short shares outstanding, with more than 147 million shares of short interest, behind only the Nasdaq-100 Trust. Now, a large reason, of course, is that Sirius is a $4 stock, so the number is a touch misleading. Still, that's a lot of short stock. To illustrate this, Sirius' latest 10-Q indicated 1.4 billion shares issued and outstanding (also known as "the float"), so more than 10 percent of the float has been sold short . By comparison, Yahoo!, one of the most heavily shorted companies, has 1.4 billion shares outstanding, of which 81 million have been shorted, representing less than six percent of the float. But here's the catch. Sirius hasn't been getting the money to pay Howard Stern from the money it earns from its subscribers--not yet, anyway, and not for some time to come. Who's been paying Howard? Mostly, it's been the convertible bond market. In the past three years, Sirius has issued three convertible bonds, raising proceeds of more than $700 million even after giving the investment bankers their cut. Even with the stock's poor performance during the past 18 months, the bondholders as a whole can't complain too much--all of the convertibles are trading above the issue price. In fact, the first of these convertibles, issued nearly 18 months B.H.S.(Before Howard Signed), is now quoted around 340 percent of par, even with the stock down about 50 percent from its all-time high. As you may have gathered by now, a lot of convertible bonds are held by hedge funds, who sell short the underlying stock and try to profit from mispricings between the convertible and the stock as well as from the stock's volatility. I conservatively assumed that half of Sirius' convertibles are held by hedge funds. Because all of Sirius' convertible bonds trade with fairly small conversion premiums (the difference between the bond's market price and its value if immediately converted into stock), the bonds are relatively easy to hedge and thus are particularly attractive to hedge funds as long as they are able to short the stock. Based on the approximate theoretical hedges of the bonds, I have estimated that about 75 percent of the short interest in Sirius is related to convertible bonds. The moral of the story is that if you were tempted to run out and buy Sirius stock expecting to benefit from a huge short squeeze, think again. Most of the short interest is actually hedging the convertibles. In fact, the nature of convertible arbitrage requires hedge funds to short more stock as it goes up, so that you could easily get the opposite of a squeeze--you are more likely to run into additional supply from hedge funds adjusting their positions. A couple of other things are worth mentioning. First, the short-interest table published today shows a large increase from mid-May to mid-June in Sirius' short interest, from 119 million to 147 million shares. Sources in the convertible market tell me that much of this increase was caused by selling pressure from outright (unhedged) accounts. Outright convertible accounts seek to profit mostly from directional stock moves as opposed to the small discrepancies hedge funds often look for. But when they sell their bonds, they rarely sell directly to other outright holders. Rather, the bonds end up with hedge funds, who will only buy them if they can establish an offsetting short position. So, the increase in short interest, while still attributable to worsening sentiment (the outright seller, after all, must have decided he didn't like the stock any more), probably does not represent a big new risky bet that could lead to covering at inflated prices. Let's close by taking another look at XMSR, Sirius' competitor. XMSR too is among the short-interest leaders, with 37 million shares shorted in the latest report. Interestingly, XM's most active convertible security is a busted (i.e., not currently stock-sensitive) bond that matures in three years. One might assume that the short interest is thus entirely fundamental, since busted convertibles are not typically hedged with much stock. But XMSR issued some convertibles privately about three and a half years ago when its subscriber base was just beginning to build. You or I could not have bought these bonds--they went to several of XMSR's suppliers and partners (including GM) as well as to private-equity firms. The bonds had a 10-percent coupon, were secured by XMSR assets, and were convertible at $3.18 per share. Even with the rotten year the stock is having, the convertible is worth well over four times its original value, not even considering the 10-percent coupon. Because of the private nature of that deal, it's hard to know who owns those bonds now, but it's a good bet that at least some of the holders have shorted stock to hedge them or have sold the bonds to someone who did. Now, if Sirius were to buy XMSR, they'd either need to raise about $5 billion cash that they don't have or give the XMSR holders Sirius stock. The latter is a lot more likely. In that event, we could see a very interesting situation. One of the best-known hedge-fund strategies is merger arbitrage, where the hedge-fund manager buys the stock of the company being acquired and shorts the stock of the acquirer, assuming the deal is a stock swap. When the deal closes, the position unwinds automatically, as the long position is replaced with by stock in the surviving company, which in turn covers the short position. So, the hedge funds, if such a deal were to be announced, would buy XMSR and sell short SIRI. The idea would be that they would essentially be buying SIRI, via XMSR, at a lower price than they were simultaneously selling it. The trade makes money as long as the deal is consummated, although the longer the deal takes to close, the lower the annualized returns are. But there might be a problem with availability of Sirius stock to short, since so much of it has been shorted against the convertibles. Since the two companies have fairly comparable market values, this would not be a "drop in the bucket" to Sirius by any means. Instead, you would likely see a mad scramble to get or keep the borrowable Sirius stock, a fight between the convertible and merger hedge-fund managers. If this all does come to pass, two consequences are likely. Sirius convertible bonds would lose some of the premium to their pure stock value since they would become much more difficult and expensive to hedge. A convertible hedge-fund manager will naturally pay less for a position that he's in danger of being unable to hedge. So, if this happens and you like Sirius stock, think about asking your broker if you can swap it into some convertible bonds. You might be able to pick up some income without giving up any real upside, courtesy of some panicking hedge fund. The "risk-arbitrage" spread would be fairly wide. In other words, because of the difficulty in establishing a hedge, you might be able to buy $100 worth of Sirius stock for $85 or $90 via XMSR. 6/27/2006 05:34:00 PM
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Yet another reason the best talent is moving to satellite radio!
 Two Fired By Clear Channel Over WMTX Profanity Mishap
June 27, 2006 www.fmqb.comVeteran radio and television reporter Dennis Roper and up-and-coming radio personality Amy Newman were fired from Clear Channel Tampa two weeks ago after a taped weather update was broadcast on WMTX that accidentally contained profanity. The incident happened the night that Hurricane Alberto was approaching, and Roper was working solo for WFLA (970 AM), supplying news and weather updates for Clear Channel's Tampa and Orlando stations. "There's really no excuse for this because I know better, but I was frustrated with the equipment that night," Roper said, according to Tampa Bay Online. "Things were rushed, and I let the 'f word' go on one of the taped updates. It was never intended for air. I didn't even know it would be aired."Roper said he thought the tape would be erased, but it was played on WMTX during Newman's night shift. "I don't think she had any control over it," Roper said. "It was programmed in the system and it's unfortunate for her." No complaints have been filed with the FCC regarding the incident, and Roper said he did not think the FCC would issue a fine. "It was an accident," he told TBO. "I think the station only got two calls, and those listeners were laughing about it. But everyone in broadcasting is paranoid now, not just Clear Channel." 6/27/2006 04:23:00 PM
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Conflicting stories on FCC/Sirius hardware issues
June 27, 2006 Orbitcast posted that Sirius has pulled certain radios from it's online store, however, these models are still being sold through various retail outlets including Crutchfield and tss-radio. In a recent analyst presentation, David Frear fielded a question from an attendee, reiterating that Sirius had cleared up all it's FCC hardware/manufacturing issues and units are in full compliance.
www.orbitcast.com"Sirius Pulls Radios from Online Store A couple days ago a loyal reader noticed that all Sirius plug-and-play units were being listed as "out of stock" on Sirius' online store. Not sure if this was a glitch or a restocking issue, I held back from jumping to any conclusions. Yesterday, GSI had gotten word that Sirius units were actually pulled because the radios are getting a retool over FCC transmitter issues. Following a possible FCC inquiry, Sirius will most likely be shipping receivers with weaker FM transmitters in the near future" The issue at hand is that Sirius has maintained that they addressed the issues and resumed manufacture of FCC compliant hardware. From all indications this is the case. Further, Sirius has maintained all guidance. A few calls to Sirius' on lne store have been answered that radios will be available within a week or so. Given this information, coupled with the widely available existing inventory it would appear that any impact would be minimal in nature. 6/27/2006 02:18:00 PM
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House Subcommittee on Telecom & Internet Hearing at 2:00 PM
The Committee on Energy and Commerce Joe Barton, Chairman Hearing The Audio and Video Flags: Can Content Protection and Technological Innovation Coexist? Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the InternetJune 27, 20062322 Rayburn House Office Building2:00 PM Hearing Webcast: Active Connect to the live hearing webcast.Committee web casts require the free Real Player. Witness List & Prepared TestimonyPanel 1 Mr. Mitch Bainwol Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerRecording Industry Association of America1330 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 300Washington, DC, 20036 Mr. Andrew W. Levin Executive Vice President and Chief Legal OfficerClear Channel Communications200 East Basse RoadSan Antonio, TX, 78209 On Behalf of: National Association of Broadcasters Mr. Stewart Harris Songwriter209 Tenth Avenue South, Suite 534Nashville, TN, 37203 On Behalf of: Songwriters Guild of America Ms. Ruth A. Ziegler Deputy General CounselSirius Satellite Radio Inc.1221 Avenue of the Americas, 37th FloorNew York, NY, 10020 Panel 2 Mr. Fritz Attaway Executive Vice President and Special Policy AdvisorMotion Picture Association of America1600 Eye Street, NWWashington, DC, 20006 Mr. Gary Shapiro President and Chief Executive OfficerConsumer Electronics Association2500 Wilson BoulevardArlington, VA, 22201 Ms. Gigi Sohn PresidentPublic Knowledge1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 650Washington, DC, 20009 Hearing Transcript: Not AvailableThe transcript of this hearing should be available within 60-90 days of the conclusion of the hearing. Click here for the latest list of available hearing transcripts.. Available Member StatementsThere are no prepared Member Statements currently available. 6/27/2006 02:13:00 PM
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Merger or No Merger????
  June 27, 2006 Many assume the FCC and FTC would not allow the merger of XM and Sirius. There is no doubt it would be very difficult to get approval, but a lot as changed in the competitive landscape since the two SDARS licenses were granted. These changes in the competitive landscape may make it possible to win approval. At the time that the satellite radio licenses were issued there was NOT a prevalence of Ipod/MP3 players, internet radio, and HD radio. The method by which consumers obtain musical and other content has dramitically eveloved since those early days of satellite radio. It easily could be demonstrated that a merger would benefit the consumer by providing him/her with more content and more choices, not less. By combining the bandwidth, the service could eliminate duplicate music channels and make available that bandwidth for more and better content. Effectively one of the FCC original goals could be achieved, an interoperable service. For those that may argue that reduced competition might hurt the consumer, they would be reminded that these services are competing with other music and entertainment choices, not just each other, and therefore would need to maintain a high level of service and content to continue attracting that consumer. As to "how can either company afford to buy the other", it could be done with a stock exchange and the resulting company should have a higher valuation together than the two separately -- the revenue potential would remain at least the same, and likely would be even greater, given the potential for an improved service offering and more net content, but the costs of the combined entity would be reduced substantially. While we here at SSG would agree with most that combining these companies at this stage is an unlikely event, we do believe it would benefit shareholders from both companies. 6/27/2006 11:12:00 AM
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Subscriber Numbers
 June 27, 2006 The end of the quarter is fast approaching and there exists the typical buzz about subscriber numbers. Analysts have weighed in with their opinions and posters on message boards have added their two cents. Here is one thing that we already know: At a minimum Sirius has already added at least 423,000 subscribers. There have been more than a few "bumpers" and DJ mentions of "over 4.5 million subscribers" on the Sirius airwaves over the past month or so. Sirius finished Q1 with about 4.08 million subscribers. So, speculation and opinions are fun, but anybody guessing under 423,000 for sirius will be well off the mark. Currently analysts estimates are slightly over 400,000 for XM and about 550,000 for Sirius. 6/27/2006 11:02:00 AM
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Big Trades On Sirius and XM
  June 27, 2006 Yesterday was a big day for both satellite radio equities, with some big players throwing their hats into the sector. One player in particular seems to be enamored with the sector as a whole, making a BUY of 6,750,000 shares of Sirius Satellite Radio, as well as a BUY of 1,800,000 shares of XM. SSG readers can see the Sirius trade reported at 4:20 yesterday afternoon. That trade was reported after hours, but was the result of accumilation throughout the day. At the closing prices, this investors stake in satellite radio is now worth nearly $57.6 million dollars. This kind of investment activity bodes well for those with long positions, and has to have those that are short giving a second thought to their strategy. If the sector begins to warm up further, we could see some nice PPS moves for both Sirius and XM. At this point most analysts have a BUY on both equities with some price targets that long investors would love to see. 6/27/2006 09:26:00 AM
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Martha Stewart Inks deal With Kodak
 June 27, 2006 Satellite Standard group keeps you informed. Today Martha Stewart and Kodak announced a multi-year deal whereby Martha Stewart will design and market invitations, stationery and other products that enhance consumers' digital pictures under a pact aimed at boosting both of their online sales. Martha Stewart, who has her own channel on Sirius Satellite Radio, has been very busy over the last year expanding her brand into several new areas. Deals such as this make her an even bigger household name, and garner exposure for all of her ventures. The deal between Martha and Kodak has a term of exclusivity. One key audience for Martha and kodak is the $3 billion per year scrapbooking market. Interested SSG readers can read more HERE via CNN Money 6/27/2006 08:59:00 AM
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When is Satellite Radio going to address opportunities in the pre-owned market?
 June 27, 2006"Point of purchase" opportunities in the pre-owned vehicle market are huge...when is satellite radio going to do something about this?With Carmax and AutoNation accounting for a growing percentage of vehicle sales, why doesn't satellite radio make a bigger push this sector? It seems like unit sales and installation could be profitable for the retailers, and satellite radio could significantly expand it's reach. What gives? Here is an excerpt from MSNBC (June 21, 2006) on the most recent CarMax earnings report: "CarMax Maxes Out Earnings
Economies of scale help the used-car superstore burn rubber in Q1 2007.CarMax (NYSE: KMX) shares leapt as much as 11% in early trading Monday (ending the day up 8%) on news that the auto retailer/wholesaler had run a monster truck over analyst estimates. For its fiscal first quarter of 2007, CarMax reported a series of "50s:" $56.8 million in net profits $0.53 per share 54% better profits than last year. And the numbers underlying those "headliners" look even better. For example, same-store sales grew a strong 6% year over year. Inventory turns came in healthy at 8.8 times -- meaning that over the last year, the company sold out and refilled its inventory nearly three times in each four-month period. And the slight decline in gross margins didn't prevent CarMax from expanding its operating and net margins significantly. " 6/26/2006 11:00:00 PM
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47,600 Take GM and Delphi Buyouts
  June 26, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. Today GM announced that 35,000 of thier hourly workers have accepted the early buyout offered by the company. This represents about 1/3 of GM's hourly work force, and was greter than the number anticipated by the auto maker. GM has now reached their projected job cuts 2 years ahead of schedule. Delphi, which in in bankruptcy, had also offered buyouts. 12,600 Delphi employees took an early buy-out deal as well. Because of the better than expected acceptance of the buyouts, a Delphi work stoppage, which had serious potential to harm GM, will likely be avoided. General Motors has also announced that they have raised their guidance on the amount of money their company will save from $7 billion to $8 billion by the end of the year. Analysts see the news as positive but still maintain that there is work ahead for General Motors. Getting this issue behind them will also enable GM to react more substantially to market conditions. With Chrysler contemplating an employee discount program similar to what GM did last year, GM is now better equipped to respond in kind. Until this was resolved, GM needed to build up inventory in the event there was a delphi work stoppage. Now that excess inventory is not likely needed. as a cushion. This news should also be well received by XM Satellite Radio. The potential for a GM work stoppage due to Delphi seems to be behind them now. this means that GM production will continue as planned, and thus installs of satellite radios will not be impacted. XM is the exclusive satellite radio partrner to GM. 6/26/2006 09:32:00 PM
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Barbara Walters to host weekly show exclusively on Sirius
 June 26, 2006  Barbara Walters to Launch 'Best of the Very Best' on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Early Next Year Last Update: 3:33 PM ET Jun 26, 2006 NEW YORK, June 26, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ Sirius Satellite Radio announced today that broadcasting icon Barbara Walters' interviews will be featured in an exclusive weekly SIRIUS show, entitled Barbara Walters' Best of the Very Best, presenting a selection of her compelling interviews over the past 30 years with great entertainers and world leaders. Walters will also host four times a year a new, live call-in show, entitled Ask Barbara Anything, exclusively on SIRIUS. The weekly two-hour series, Barbara Walters' Best of the Very Best, will take the best from a vast archive of diverse interview subjects that have captivated millions. Barbara Walters' Best of the Very Best will debut early next year exclusively on SIRIUS Stars, channel 102. The show will include dynamic interviews with famous people ranging from Hillary Clinton to Muhammad Ali to Tom Hanks to Lance Armstrong, to name only a few. Walters will also host a periodic new show created just for SIRIUS. The satellite radio show, Ask Barbara Anything, will focus on varied compelling topics and major cultural events spanning the worlds of entertainment and politics. The show, beginning this fall, will include Walters taking calls directly from listeners. "I am delighted to be part of the SIRIUS Satellite Radio family," said Walters. "It is an exciting new venture for me, and I am glad that my interviews will have this new exposure." "Barbara Walters is a pioneer in the world of broadcasting. Her intelligence, honesty and integrity have broken ground in television and opened many doors for women in journalism," said Scott Greenstein, President of Entertainment and Sports, SIRIUS Satellite Radio. "We are honored and excited to showcase her candid interviews with the world's biggest newsmakers, and offer Barbara a platform for exclusive new specials." Considered one of the most recognizable faces on television, Walters was the first female to anchor a news broadcast, when she co-anchored ABC Evening News with Harry Reasoner in 1976. Since then she has interviewed more statesmen and stars than any other journalist in history, including every American President and First Lady since Richard Nixon. She was also the first female co-anchor of the Today show. Walters is currently co-executive producer and co-host of the Emmy Award winning daytime talk show, The View. The Barbara Walters Specials are continuously the top-rated specials of the year and have included such entertainment legends as Sir Laurence Olivier, Bing Crosby, John Wayne, Bette Davis and Audrey Hepburn. More recent interviews of superstars have included George Clooney, Matthew McConaughey, Mariah Carey, Julianne Moore, and Renee Zellweger. Walters' The 10 Most Fascinating People special broadcast, launched in 1993, offers a year-end review of the most prominent newsmakers of the year. In September 2004, after 25 years as co-host and chief correspondent of ABC News' 20/20, Walters left the show to begin a new phase in her career at the network. She remains an active member of the news division and network, substantially increasing the number of primetime ABC News specials, in addition to her Barbara Walters Specials. 6/26/2006 03:41:00 PM
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Playboy Radio On Sirius Hits 1,000,000 Mark
  June 26, 2006 Although this news has already circulated to some extent, this Press Release by Playboy makes it official. Playboy Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio has had more than 1,000,000 people opt in for the channel. The popular channel is now international, with availability in Canada. Playboy Radio is not yet available on line through Sirius. If that were to happen, the show would be GLOBAL. Perhaps this is in the cards of the future. Excerpts from the Press Release: "We are thrilled with the success of Playboy Radio thus far and have high expectations for continued growth," said Ned Nalle, President of Programming for the Playboy Entertainment Group. "We are very proud of the original and compelling programming we've been creating and we're glad to see both listeners and new advertisers connecting with our content."and"Playboy Radio chose SIRIUS for its home on satellite radio because they believed we could bring listeners break-through programming they had never heard before," said Jay Clark, Executive Vice President of Programming for SIRIUS. "The overwhelming number of people who are opting in demonstrates there is an avid audience for Playboy Radio's type of sophisticated and sexy programming."SSG readers can view the entire Press Release HERE via Yahoo Finance.6/26/2006 11:10:00 AM
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Sirius Coverage on Wimbledon Begins
  June 26, 2006 Satellite Standard group keeps you informed, and Sirius Satellite Radio keeps tennis fans informed. 
Today SIRIUS will once again serve up a fortnight of top tennis, with comprehensive live coverage from the historic All England Club from June 26—July 9th. Enjoy baseline-to- baseline broadcasts of the top Wimbledon matches, plus tournament statistics, analysis and player interviews. 2005 Wimbledon Champions, Roger Federer and Venus Williams, have both won this Grand Slam event three times and will defend their titles against the world's best players. Plant your feet in the grass and start a new tennis tradition with Strawberries & Cream On SIRIUS. Point, Set, Match: SIRIUS.
 The action is sure to be fast and furious, and the competition extreme. The worlds top tennis players are all converging on the grass to see who will hoist the Wimbledon title. The top raked players and seeding are:
 Be sure to tune in. Interested SSG readers can learn more via the Sirius website HERE
6/26/2006 10:45:00 AM
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Mel Says Sirius Doing Well on its own
 June 26, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. Sirius CEO Says Company Doing Well On Its Own SIRI9:50 AM EDT June 26, 2006 By Ellen Sheng Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones) Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) would be interested in buying XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) at the right price, though regulatory issues "would be a question mark," Chief Executive Mel Karmazin said Monday. He said he'd be less interested in being acquired, though he also would consider it if it were in the shareholders' best interest. Asked if he would consider a merger with a satellite-television provider, Karmazin said it would make more sense for DirecTV Group Inc. (DTV) and Echostar Communications Corp. (DISH) to merge with each other than with Sirius. Karmazin emphasized that regardless of the possible benefits and cost savings from a merger, Sirius is doing well on its own. "Our business plan doesn't involve our doing a deal," he said at an industry conference here. -By Ellen Sheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5863; ellen.sheng@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires06-26-06 0950ETCopyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. 6/26/2006 10:07:00 AM
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Jim Cramer comments on Sirius and XMSR
 June 26,2006 Satellite Standard likes to keep you informed. In this case, I call it "dodging bullets", ie, knowing what the press and analysts are saying, thus, informed investors can determine which events alter their investment strategy.
Jim Cramer mentions satellite radio almost compulsively on his shows. Here is a list which goes back just a few weeks.
Jim Cramer's Lightning RoundCramer's 'Mad Money Lightning Round':
Hanging Up the Phones
6/23/2006 7:47 PM EDT
"Here's what Jim Cramer had to say about some of the stocks that callers offered up during the "Mad Money Lightning Round" Friday evening:
Sirius: "My range is $3.50 to $4.50. You're bumping up against the top of my range. I don't want to touch it. I don't want to touch XMSR either."
6/19/2006
In another sector, Cramer said, shares of the two main satellite radio companies remain "hideously overvalued," but if forced to choose, go long Sirius (SIRI:Nasdaq - news - research - Cramer's Take) and short XM (XMSR:Nasdaq - news - research - Cramer's Take).
On the very same day 6/19/2006
Jim Cramer's Stop Trading! Tech Ideas
6/19/2006 3:46 PM EDT
In another sector, Cramer said, shares of the two main satellite radio companies remain "hideously overvalued," but if forced to choose, go long Sirius (SIRI:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) and short XM (XMSR:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take).
6/16/2006
Sirius: "Mel Karmazin has not missed a single benchmark. ... It doesn't matter, Sirius is not going anywhere. I'd stick with Mel and not the stock."
Jim Cramer's Stop Trading! Radio Sweethearts
6/13/2006 3:42 PM EDT
Sirius (SIRI) is wrongly tarred with XM Satellite's (XMSR) brush, Jim Cramer said on CNBC's "Stop Trading!" segment Tuesday.
"Maybe the good trade here is to go long Sirius and short XM," he said. Sirius "has met every target," while XM has missed every one. "In this market, what's bad for XM is bad for Sirius, even if it shouldn't be."
Cramer's 'Mad Money Lightning Round': No Fling With the King
6/9/2006 7:22 PM EDT
Sirius: "I'm having breakfast with [CEO] Mel Karmazin next week. And you know what my late grandmother said, 'Never say a bad word about someone. Just keep your mouth shut.' "
5/31/2006
RealMoney Radio Recap: Technically Speaking
"He said that it makes sense that Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) is beating out XM Satellite Radio (XMSR), given the fact that XM dramatically missed its most recent quarterly estimates.
Plus, Sirius is run by Mel Karmazin, who Cramer called "money in the bank." Now that the stock is near $4, he said that he is more bullish on it, but that he would ring the register once it hit $5 or $6. |
6/26/2006 09:44:00 AM
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Congratulations To Sirius Angler Chip Harrison
 June 24, 2006 Satellite Standard Group is pleased to congratulate Sirius Satellite Radio angler Chip Harrison on a strong finish at Lake Champlain, and for qualifying for the FLW Tour Championship Event in Birbingham Alabama. By finishing in the top 50, Chip has secured a seat in the championship event. Chip finished 28th overall with 815 points and $56,750 in winnings. SSG will be catching up with Chip prior to the Championship event. 6/24/2006 10:11:00 PM
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All-in-One GPS and Satellite Radio to be widespread in 2007?
  June 23, 2006 Handheld GPS Combining Utility And Entertainment By Amy Gilroy, STAFF (TWICE) _ New York Portable navigation devices (PNDs) are turning into mini "hubs" inside the car and out, pointing to a future where many models won't be limited solely to guiding people from one place to another. Already more than two thirds of PNDs include some form of music or photo-viewing capability, suppliers said. Clarion and JVC for example, are offering PNDs that double as portable media players. TomTom's new PNDs double as , for example, are offering PNDs that double as portable media players. TomTom's new PNDs double as iPod controllers, and Polaroid is building GPS navigation into a portable 'Add to this real-time traffic services, satellite radio controls and Bluetooth hands-free speakerphones, and it's easy to see why "GPS is becoming the hub unit as it converges with 'MP3 and satellite radio in an all-in-one device that's portable," said Roger Bowman, RadioShack communications, mobile electronics and seasonal items merchandise VP. Over the next 18 months, the three technologies expected to converge most frequently with PNDs will be satellite radio, Bluetooth for hands-free cellphone use and real-time traffic services, marketers said. "Traffic as well as Bluetooth hands-free communication will be the key capabilities at the end of this year and satellite radio next year," said Raj Mitra, Magellan's worldwide product marketing senior director.
Garmin is the only vendor offering controls for an optional satellite radio antenna/tuner combo, and solely for XM Satellite Radio, but by January's International CES, many suppliers are expected to follow suit with units in the $1,000 range. Magellan, Lowrance and Polaroid say they are looking at offering satellite radio, and Cobra and Polaroid are considering Bluetooth.
Sirius does not expect Sirius/GPS combos to appear in 2006, but "by next year, you'll start to see it on a more widespread basis," said senior VP Bob Law.
Retail buyers appear especially bullish on Bluetooth integration in PNDs. TomTom's current Bluetooth PNDs are some of Car Toys's most popular GPS units, "and it's because of the Bluetooth features," said Car Toys senior merchandising VP Dan Jeancola. Tweeter's VP/merchandising GM Jonathan Magasanik called Bluetooth speakerphones in GPS "one of the most viable features." Vigreaux cautions, however, that technology can't be stuffed haphazardly into PNDs. "This is not about stuffing technology in a product. A navigation device is first and foremost a navigation device," he said. Certain audio applications, however, fit well with GPS because 80 percent of people listen to music while driving, he noted. As to real-time traffic, almost every key PND supplier offers some form of real-time traffic service at present although the market is still in its infancy. The service is estimated to enjoy fewer than 100,000 users, although it could grow to a user base of 6 million to 8 million by 2010, according to The Telematics Research Group (TRG) of Minnetonka, Minn. 6/23/2006 02:51:00 PM
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37,000 Take GM and Delphi Buyouts
  June 23, 2006 With less tha a day left on the option to accept a buyout for early retirement, over 37,000 workers have already filed their paperwork. 28,000 GM workers and 9,000 Delphi workers are all on their last day of work. The early buyouts are designed to make the GM and delphi business viable, and the fact that this restructing seems to be moving forward can eleviate some concern over production. This bodes well for XM Satellite Radio, the exclusive satellite radio partner of GM. As concerns over Delphi and GM are aleviated, the street can more accurately forecast production. The agreements that have been reached help to ensure that production at GM will continue as planned. This means that XM satellite radios will be installed as planned. From Detroit News: "Under the program, UAW members at GM and Delphi with 30 years or more on the job can receive $35,000 to leave with full benefits and pension, while lower-seniority workers can receive lump-sum cash buyouts up to $140,000 to sever all ties with the company.The offers were extended to all 113,000 of GM's U.S. factory workers and initially went only to 13,000 Delphi workers with 27 to 30 years on the job. But the Delphi program has since been expanded to cover nearly all workers at the company.Some workers have already left under the program, while many are expected to leave July 1. But both companies reserve the right to keep workers on until Jan. 1, 2007."The provision to keep workers on until January can help ease any concerns of a glitch in the system.SSG readers can view the entire article HERE6/23/2006 01:37:00 PM
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Sirius Angler Chip Harrison Wins Cash At Champlain
 June 23, 2006 Sirius Satellite Radio angler Chip Harrison did very well at the FLW Tour event at Lake Champlain. Chip recorded a 21st place finish which was enough to net him $10,750 for his efforts. In the two days of fishing, Chip reeled in 10 fish that weighed in at 31 pounds 8 ounces. This was less than 2 pounds off of being in the top 10 for the event. Chip had a strong showing both days, and was in the running throughout the 2 days. The top 10 anglers participate in an additional 2 days of fishing for the top prizes. The strong showing at Champlain gives Chip a good shot at being a participant in the Championship event. Chip went into the Champlain tournament just a six spots shy of the championship qualifying level. The championship event will be held at Logan Martin Lake in Birmingham Alabama on August 2nd through the 5th. While we will have to wait for the final results from Champlain, it appears that Chip did well enough to be headed to Alabama. Congratulations Chip on a great performance at Champlain. 6/23/2006 01:10:00 PM
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Fangoria Radio makes Page Six, New York Post
w  June 23, 2006MOURNING SHOW
By RICHARD JOHNSON with PAULA FROELICH and CHRIS WILSON June 23, 2006 -- THE theme of Fangoria Radio, which Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider launches today on Sirius Satellite, is horror. "What's exciting about the show is the guest list," beams co-host and scream queen Debbie Rochon. "Not only does it feature the biggest names in horror today, but also some of the biggest deceased stars. Thanks to our on-staff psychics, we have booked a number of dead celebrities who will be channeled through one of the hosts via seances." 6/23/2006 12:57:00 PM
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Court Strikes Down SEC Ruling On Hedge Funds
 June 23, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. This article that will be of interest to ALL investors. Via MarketWatch.com By Robert Schroeder Last Update: 10:47 AM ET Jun 23, 2006 WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- A federal court struck down a Securities and Exchange Commission rule that requires hedge fund advisers to register with the agency as investment advisers. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the SEC rule is "arbitrary" since it exempts funds with one hundred or fewer investors from Investment Company Act regulations but compels registration for those with fifteen or more investors under another act. The suit was brought against the SEC in late 2004 by Pleasantville, NY-headquartered Opportunity Partners. The link to this article is HERE 6/23/2006 12:41:00 PM
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Update on Sirius Wearable
 June 23, 2006 From www.orbitcast.com and www.siriusbackstage.com"Sirius SL100-TK1 = Sirius Stiletto?
The sleuths over at Sirius Backstage have discovered the Sirius SL100-TK1 radio listed in one of Crutchfield's company databases, along with new car/home kits, and antenna headphones. The naming convention of "SL100" indicates that the Sirius Stiletto moniker will likely be the name of the device, and that it will have 100 hours worth of storage (or 2Gb disk space). I spent some time trolling through Crutchfield's site swapping out image names wiith "SK100TK1" but to no avail (so don't bother). [ Sirius Backstage] UPDATE: The photo above is most definitely not a photo of the new Sirius Wearable unit. It was originally found on SIRIUS' homepage, and thought to be a leaked image... but lo-and-behold it's just a stock photo. " 6/23/2006 12:30:00 PM
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Opie & Anthony Getting Press
 June 23, 2006 XM Satellite Radio personalities Opie & Anthony will be seeing a lot of press over the next few days. Ever since the worked a deal with CBS Radio to be aired on terrestrial radio as a replacement for David lee Roth, people have been waiting to see the ratings books. Sopme ratings are now in, and it appears that Opie & Anthony have shown improvement over the ratings that were being posted by Roth. For their part, Opie & Anthony are busy talking to reporters to keep the media exposure ball rolling. There is an article in Reuters today, and they had an interview with Associated press which will likely be seen in print in the near future. Excerpts from the Reuters piece: "Stern's former New York CBS Radio station, 92.3 FM, saw its share of 18-to-34-year-old listeners triple to 4.2 percent in May from the tepid 1.4 percent pulled by Roth in April.""In Boston, CBS' share of 18-to-34-year-old listeners jumped from 2.3 percent in April to 6.7 percent in May, and in Philadelphia, the share of that age group jumped from 2.4 percent to 7.7 percent, according to additional early ratings extrapolated by CBS from Arbitron Corp. (ARB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) data."SSG readers can view the whole article HEREThe Boston Herald has also run a story about Opie & Anthony. The Boston market has potential to be a strong market for the duo. They were an on air talent in Boston prior to being syndicated, and subsequently taken off the air.Excerpts from the Boston Herald Story:"The Hub station’s morning ratings spiked in key categories with the popular duo, who replaced Roth April 26, according to Arbitrend numbers put out yesterday."
"The number of listeners among adults ages 25 to 54 increased from 76,000 with Roth in April to 102,000 with Opie & Anthony in May. WBCN’s morning rating share jumped from 1.5 to 4.1 in the same group."
"In the same category, WBCN (104.1 FM) inched up to 13th place from 16th place. It had the No. 1 spot among 25-to-54 year-old adults with Howard Stern last fall. Now, it’s Matt Siegel of KISS 108."
"Among adults ages 18 to 34 - another coveted category - ’BCN’s morning rating share also tripled, leaping from 2.3 with Roth to 6.7 with Opie & Anthony. The number of 18- to 34-year-old listeners increased from 53,000 in April to 93,000 in May."
“We knew they were well loved in this marketplace. Seeing results this quickly with O & A is a great tribute to their talent,” WBCN program director Dave Wellington said of the combo formally known as Gregg “Opie” Hughes and Anthony Cumia.SSG readers can view the entire Boston Herald story HERE
For WBCN FM in Boston it has been an interesting 6 months. The FM rock station went from being #1 with Howard Stern to #16 with David Lee Roth to #13 with Opie and Anthony. The Opie & Anthony shows immediate results for WBCN. How far Opie & Anthony can take WBCN in the ratings is yet to be seen. It would appear that there is a "Opie & Anthony Effect", but it also seems that it does not carry the same impact as the "Howard Stern Effect".The deal with CBS does seem to be growing. On Monday June 26th, the show will begin airing on WJFK in Washington. Rumors of other markets have been circulating, and based on the immediate ratings jumps over Roth, CBS may well accelerate those new markets.How much of a ratings success will Opie & Anthony be? Likely the ratings will be better than Roth, but not as good as Stern. Time will tell.
6/23/2006 09:19:00 AM
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Rumor...Sirius to be offered in ALL Chrysler Vehicles?
 June 23, 2006As posted on www.siriusfannetwork.com"Major Chrysler Announcement Coming Soon?
Thursday, 22 June 2006 Yesterday Ford announced that they will be quadrupling the number of vehicles available with SIRIUS satellite radio for 2007. Today, the rumor mill is churning with chatter that indicates Chrysler is about to announce that they will be offering Sirius Satellite Radio in ALL of their vehicles. It is rumored that Chrysler will make the announcement within 2 months, but we would like to caution our readers that this is only a rumor. As such, always approach unconfirmed information with caution." 6/23/2006 05:13:00 AM
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Update on the NAB and FM Modulators
 June 23, 2003Posted by Orbitcast.comThe NAB Cried Foul with the FM Modulators"Just as we thought, the NAB stirred the FM Modulator pot with their own testing so they could go crying to the FCC. Surprise surprise. This from Billboard Radio Monitor: [...] NAB spokesperson Dennis Wharton says, “Our tests showed that 13 of the 17 wireless devices (76%) exceeded field strength limits set by the FCC. Six of those devices exceeded the FCC field limit by 2,000%. One device transmitted a signal that was 20,000% stronger than allowed by FCC rules. Many of the devices also transmitted signals that were substantially wider in bandwidth than permitted by the FCC, resulting in potential interference to 1st and 2nd adjacent channels as well.”The NAB has sent letters to both FCC chairman Kevin Martin as well as Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ted Stevens and co-chairman Daniel Inouye notifying them of the results. If they spent this much time on creating innovative programming, they'd have masterpieces." Visit www.orbitcast.com for more details. 6/23/2006 05:09:00 AM
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Sirius To Launch "Fangoria Radio"
  June 22, 2006 Sirius Satellite Radio today announced that they will be launching Fangoria Radio. This is yet another example of "niche" or accessory programming that differentiates Sirius from both their competitor XM as well as terrestrial radio. NEW YORK, June 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS Satellite Radio SIRI and Fangoria Entertainment today announced the launch of Fangoria Radio, the first national horror-themed entertainment radio show. Hosted by renowned Twisted Sister frontman and horror film producer/actor Dee Snider, Fangoria Radio will air Friday nights from 10:00 pm - 1:00 am ET on SIRIUS Stars channel 102. The show will debut on Friday, June 23, 2006. Fangoria Radio, a live, 3-hour weekly radio show from the creators of the world's most popular and longest running horror publication, Fangoria Magazine, gives horror fans a place on radio to call their own. Listeners will be able to interact and get close to the best and scariest in horror entertainment. The program will feature interviews with celebrities and stars in the horror world, listener call-ins, updates on horror movies, and even on- location visits to the biggest horror films in production. In addition, Fangoria Radio will highlight the latest horror gossip as well as reviews of movies, television shows and video games. Host Dee Snider's sidekick will be celebrated 'Scream Queen' and radio veteran Debbie Rochon. Fangoria Radio will be produced by Mike Kostel, an Emmy and Ace award winning producer. Fangoria Magazine editor Tony Timpone will appear frequently on the program to provide his trademark insight and opinions on the latest horror news and happenings. "Fangoria is the first and most prestigious brand for horror and will deliver for SIRIUS listeners unprecedented access to the best in horror entertainment," said Scott Greenstein, President of Entertainment and Sports, SIRIUS Satellite Radio. "Fangoria Radio is certain to become appointment listening for horror fans nationwide." "Fangoria Radio transforms every Friday night into Halloween as the show covers all aspects of the world of horror - from the greatest in entertainment to the latest in Goth fashion," said Fangoria Entertainment's Thomas DeFeo. "If it scares, screams or startles, it's on Fangoria Radio. We are extremely delighted to join with Sirius in the launching of Fangoria Radio, which represents an exciting opportunity to expand the Fangoria brand and reach existing fans and new audiences." The $9 billion dollar horror entertainment industry ranks among the top entertainment categories in film, television, books, video games and associated merchandise. Fangoria Entertainment has served as the genre's leading authority for over 25 years, with the ubiquitous Fangoria Magazine selling in leading bookstores, video retailers, and on military bases throughout the world. 6/22/2006 04:30:00 PM
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Chrysler Considering Employee Discount Promotion
 June 22, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. Last year GM ran a very successful sales campaign in June and July. GM's Employee Discount promotion spurred huge sales volume for the auto giant, and their satellite radio partner XM Satellite Radio saw a big jump in OEM subscribers. This year it appears that Chrysler is giving serious consideration to doing a very similar promotion. According to ABC News (via Reuters), Chief Executive Tom LaSorda said on Thursday the automaker is considering offering employee discounts to all U.S. consumers this summer. LaSorda, speaking to CNBC television, said the automaker has not yet decided on discounts and is also considering other "ideas."
Chrysler Group, a unit of DaimlerChrysler AG , has said it will roll out a new program of discounted vehicle pricing in July in a move to clear out unsold 2006 models.Employee-pricing rebates would mark an escalation of a brewing price war among U.S. automakers and put pressure on Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. , Chrysler's larger rivals, to follow suit.Last year Ford and Chrysler were under pressure to make better promotions in the wake of the GM program. This year it appears that Chrysler may lead the way in price cutting. One major reason that may have Chrysler making such considerations is the fact that Toyota has now moved into the #3 slot in U.S. Auto sales. That event happened in May.It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out. SSG readers can read the Reuters article HERE6/22/2006 11:54:00 AM
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XM's INNO Getting Alot of Press
 June 22, 2006 The XM Inno is getting a lot of press lately. Without having to advertise the device, coverage has ranged from positive reviews of the device to articles relating to the RIAA and the current PERFORM Act legislation. For the second day in a row Businessweek.com has published an article in relation to XM satellite radio, and a third article about the capabilities of the INNO is pending. This kind of consitant exposure bodes well for XM Satellite Radio. For XM Satellite Radio this can translate directly into sales. XM seems to have taken the role as a "Champion" for consumner rights in their battle against the RIAA. Passionate music lovers, and gadget lovers alike will be quick to proclaim their support of XM's stance. When the passion of these groups begins to translate to the average consumer it could translate into high demand for the INNO. What does this mean for XM? It means that consumers will be very likely to warm up to the device. It means exposure in areas where they might not tradiotionally see exposure. It means that the name of a specific device, The INNO, may become synonomous with the capabilities it offers. Whether planned or not, the INNO is garnering attention and is becomming a "Brand" in and of itself. No, it is not near "I-Pod" status, but is is making waves none-the-less. This exposure and branding is very valuable, and can help bolster the XM satellite Radio service. The combination of XM being perceived as "fighting for the consumer", a hot new and capable device, and fee free exposure can be a pwerful combination. SSG readers interested in the INNO can visit Shop XM Radio HERE SSG readers interested in today's Businessweek.com article can read it HERE6/22/2006 10:59:00 AM
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BusinessWeek sheds light on XMSR vs. RIAA
XM vs. the Industry--And CongressJUNE 21, 2006 News Analysis, BusinessWeek.com By Carlos Bergfeld The recording feature of the satellite service's new radios has drawn a double whammy: A lawsuit and the threat of legislative action XM Satellite Radio ( XMSR ) has faced plenty of static in its short life. Questions about whether its technology will work as billed. Doubts about whether there's a substantial enough audience for its $12.95-a-month service. Competition from rival Sirius Satellite Radio ( SIRI ), where shock jock Howard Stern has attracted his enthusiastic flock. More recently, XM has come under attack from two more fearsome foes: the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the U.S. Congress. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) introduced legislation that could be voted on in the near future that would make XM's newest line of satellite radio players illegal. The RIAA filed a lawsuit against the company in May, alleging that the service's newest portable players already infringe on copyright law and asking for some costly reparations—up to $150,000 per song downloaded by its subscribers. Several XM devices, including its inno, allow listeners to record music for later listening, though they can't move songs off the devices. Now, XM is fighting back by enlisting the help of a group 6.5 million strong: its listeners. The satellite radio company has sent out a call to its subscribers, asking them to voice their opposition to both the Senate's legislation and the record industry's lawsuit. On its site, under "Defending the XM Nation," the company proclaims: "The music industry wants to stop your ability to choose when and where you can listen. Their lawyers have filed a meritless lawsuit to try and stop you from enjoying these radios." XM has even set up on its Web site a way for subscribers to easily solicit their congressmen. Listeners can plug in their zip code and get a list of the senators and congressmen for their area. They can then send either a standard form letter or a personalized appeal. RALLY CRY MAY FAIL. The RIAA is supporting the Senate legislation (called the PERFORM Act for the "Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders in Music Act of 2006") and filed its lawsuit because it wants tougher copyright laws for music. But some experts say the recording industry's 33-page suit against XM would set precedents for copyright issues well beyond satellite radio, possibly even for video recording equipment. Fred von Lohmann, senior intellectual-property attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), has elaborated on this point on the EFF's Web site, writing, "Court rulings, after all, continue to cast a legal shadow long after the technologies involved have disappeared." He says consumers' ignorance of these far-reaching implications could spell legal trouble for technology innovators in the near future. For the average satellite radio user, the minutiae of copyright law may not be something they're particularly aware of or interested in. "These are such fine distinctions and the consumer couldn't care less—they just want their music," says Laura Behrens, principle research analyst on the media industry at researcher Gartner. Behrens says the copyright issue is not clear-cut for either party, as both have vested interest in the issue and much reason for wanting the public on their side. "All of these companies say they have the consumers' best interest at heart, all of them claim to know what consumers' best interests are—seldom is it as simple as all of that," she says. The recording industry says it should be able to win its case against XM, even with the current laws on the books. The lawsuit concerns the features of a few recently launched portable satellite radios—the inno made by Pioneer and the Helix from Samsung—that allow the recording of streamed satellite radio. The digital players have fairly restrictive settings: The devices can't be programmed to record individual songs, and recorded content cannot be transferred off the devices. The devices allow XM subscribers to record blocks of programming, minutes or hours of the feed from a certain satellite channel, onto the players. DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION AT ISSUE. What the recording industry doesn't like is the fact that subscribers can go back to a block of recorded programming and chop it up into different songs automatically with the help of the players, which label the songs individually. The PERFORM Act would make this illegal, but the RIAA says XM is already breaking the law. "We believe that this is a case of direct infringement where they are offering a distribution service without a distribution license," says Mitch Glazier, external vice-president of government relations at the RIAA. The recording industry wants XM to pay royalties to record labels on either a per-song or a subscription basis, on top of the performance charges, in the same way other music distribution services like Rhapsody and iTunes do. The complaint against XM references some of the buzzwords and slogans the company has used as evidence of the infringement, referring to XM's use of the term "XM + MP3" as well as the catchphrase, "It's not a Pod, it's the Mothership," both as supposed evidence of the company's intent on digital distribution. Will XM's appeal for its subscribers' support work? The company says it has had a positive response thus far. "It's an opportunity to educate our subscribers, both in terms of how their subscription fees benefit artists and labels, and at the same time to educate them on how the big record companies are pressuring Congress to pass laws that hurt satellite radio and its subscribers," says Nathaniel Brown, XM's senior vice-president of corporate communications. It's hard to tell if XM listeners will heed the call. Recently, technology companies like Google ( GOOG ) and ( YHOO! ) Yahoo! had a huge setback in Congress with the passage of legislation without provisions for Net neutrality (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/8/06, "Web Titans' D.C. Blues"), a cause the big tech companies were also asking the public to support. Fighting the lawsuit may prove costly for XM. The company has yet to turn a profit, in part because it is spending heavily on marketing and on-air advertising to boost its number of subscribers. Analysts have said the company would reach profitability by 2008 (see BusinessWeek.com, 4/13/06, "Coming Soon to XM: More Commercials"). But it's possible that costly legislation or a new round of fees for music rights could push profitability back even further. 6/22/2006 08:38:00 AM
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FCC Votes To Revise Media Ownership Rules
 June 21, 2006 The FCC is voting to revise ownership rules of media companies. The issue has been hotly debated, and involves court decisions. With all of the recent talks regarding satellite radio, and buy-outs, and mergers, this story should be on interest to SSG readers. You can read the story HERE via Forbes.com 6/21/2006 01:13:00 PM
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Cousin Brucie To Be Inducted Into N.Y. State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame
 June 21, 2006 Sirius Satellite Radio D.J. Cousin Brucie is to be inducted into the N.Y. State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame this weekend. Cousin Brucies career has spanned decades. His arrival at Sirius satellite Radio has brought fans who simply adore his personality, and show persona. Cousin Brucie can be heard on 60's Vibrations as well as Sirius Stars on Sirius Satellite Radio. Cogratulations Cousin Brucie 6/21/2006 12:11:00 PM
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Ford Getting Serious About Sirius
  June 21, 2006 Satellite Standard Group Keeps you informed. Ford Motor Comapny is working hard at turning around their business, and cutting losses. They have developed new advertising initiatives, are spiffing up their models, and are cutting costs. Today, there are articles that relate to Ford, and there is mention of Sirius in the articles as well. Money.cnn.com has this article relating to the overall Ford business. Ford themselves have issued this PR realting to several initiative including Sirius Satellite Radio. Excerpts include: "For 2007, the Ford Mustang is enhanced with a standard auxiliary audio input jack and available heated front seats, SIRIUS Satellite Radio and DVD-based navigation system. The new Mustang GT California Special includes 18-inch wheels, side scoops, unique tape stripes, lowered chin spoiler and unique front and rear fascias." "The 2007 Ford Five Hundred offers an all-new chrome package and SIRIUS Radio,> in addition to offering a navigation system and heated seats on SEL models, along with a rear-seat DVD entertainment system. The Five Hundred also will be equipped with standard front-seat-mounted side air bags, as well as Ford's Safety Canopy side air curtain system." "For 2007, the Mercury Milan will offer new features, such as all-wheel drive, DVD-based navigation, SIRIUS Satellite Radio and an auxiliary audio input jack." "Montego receives increased safety features as standard equipment for 2007, including traction control, front-seat-mounted side air bags and Ford's Safety Canopy side curtains with rollover protection. Also new for 2007 are SIRIUS Satellite Radio, an 18-inch chrome wheel option and two new exterior colors" "Satellite Navigation and SIRIUS Radio Grow - Responding to another consumer trend, Ford is dramatically increasing the number of vehicles with DVD-based navigation systems and SIRIUS Satellite Radio. "In 2005, less than half of our vehicles were available with a navigation system, satellite radio or auxiliary audio inputs. For 2007, we're doubling the models available with a navigation system and quadrupling the number with SIRIUS Satellite Radio," Fields explains. "In addition, we're increasing the number of models with auxiliary audio jacks from" "Also, for 2007, Ford Motor Company is broadening its relationship with SIRIUS Satellite Radio, adding the feature on Ford Five Hundred, Fusion, Mustang, Expedition, Ranger, Sport Trac, Mercury Montego, Milan and Lincoln Navigator. Ford's new vehicles -- Ford Edge, Ford Shelby GT500 and Lincoln MKX -- will offer SIRIUS radio when they go on sale. By the 2008-model year, Ford will offer available SIRIUS Satellite Radio in 90 percent of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles." Ford has already launched some interesting initiative involving Sirius Satellite Radio. The promotion with the Mercury Mountaineer with 0% financing and Sirius satellite Radio for three years has been very successful. Last month the Mountaineer saw a 30% jump in sales. One aspect of the promotion that many may not consider is that the subscription is built into the price of the vehicle, and a consumer is not hampered with a monthly bill specific to satellite raadio. 6/21/2006 10:56:00 AM
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A Call to Satellite Radio Consumers
  June 21, 2006 Today Businessweek.com published an article relating to the RIAA suit against XM Satellite Radio, the current legislation in Congress (the PERFORM Act), and XM Satellite Radios response. There are several issues at hand, and Satellite Standard Group applauds XM Satellite Radio for the stance they have taken. What is unclear in the buisnessweek.com piece is that this PERFORM Act legislation issue could have a dramatic affect on both satellite radio carriers. Both Sirius and XM have a lot at stake with this legislation. More specifically, CONSUMERS have a lot at stake. The RIAA issue also effects both companies. At this point Sirius has already negotiated a "settlement" for the S50 device that went on sale in late 2005. XM took a different stance with the RIAA on their devices, and the RIAA filed a law suit against XM Satellite Radio. Many who follow the issue believe that the RIAA filed the suit in an effort to get XM to the negotiating table. As the Businessweek.com piece points out, many consumers may not grasp what is happening with this legislation, and thus may not act or let their voice be heard. Readers can see what the PERFORM act is HERE. In an effort to get the word out, SSG will list the specific points that are at hand: 1. The legislation claims that it would create a "level" cost structure for copyrighted materials. However, the legislation SPECIFICALLY excludes over the air (traditional radio) broadcasting. Ironically, devices that are capable of the very issues that Senator Feinstein is designing this legislation to prevent are already being produced, and because they are designed for over the air broadcasts, they would not be covered. As HD radio emerges, there would be a distinct advantage to traditional radio companies, and the artists would receive NO PROTECTION under the legislation. 2. The legislation claims that it is not discriminatory, but neglects to point out that the exclusion of over the air (traditional radio) broadcasts are not included in the group that would have to pay fees. Feinstein states, " under current law some businesses are required to pay higher licensing rates than others even though they provide essentially the same services." This is exactly the case. Satellite Radio pays fees for EVERY song they air. Traditional radio pays NO FEES. How can this legislation possibly state that it is creating a "level" playing field? On their website, XM Satellite Radio has issued the following appeal to their subscriber base: Statement to XM Subscribers - The XM Nation Everything we've done at XM since our first minute on the air is about giving you more choices. We provide more channels and music programming than any other network. We play all the music you want to hear including the artists you want to hear but can't find on traditional FM radio. And we offer the best radios with the features you want for your cars, homes, and all places in between. We've developed new radios -- the Inno, Helix and NeXus -- that take innovation to the next level in a totally legal way. Like TiVo, these devices give you the ability to enjoy the sports, talk and music programming whenever you want. And because they are portable, you can enjoy XM wherever you want. The music industry wants to stop your ability to choose when and where you can listen. Their lawyers have filed a meritless lawsuit to try and stop you from enjoying these radios. They don't get it. These devices are clearly legal. Consumers have enjoyed the right to tape off the air for their personal use for decades, from reel-to-reel and the cassette to the VCR and TiVo. Our new radios complement download services, they don't replace them. If you want a copy of a song to transfer to other players or burn onto CDs, we make it easy for you to buy them through XM + Napster. Satellite radio subscribers like you are law-abiding music consumers; a portion of your subscriber fee pays royalties directly to artists. Instead of going after pirates who don't pay a cent, the record labels are attacking the radios used for the enjoyment of music by consumers like you. It's misguided and wrong. We will vigorously defend these radios in court and before Congress, and we expect to win. Thank you for your support. This issue is VERY IMPORTANT to all consumers of satellite radio. It is important that these consumers take a few minutes to contact their state representatives to voice your concerns. This legislation is NOT limited to devices that are capable of recording content. It will effect satellite radio as a whole. Higher rates for the playing of music need to be absorbed somewhere.Satellite Standard Group would like to issue an appeal to ALL satellite Radio consumers to read the legislation, and contact your representatives with your opinion. We also issue an appeal to Sirius Satellite Radio and XM satellite radio to work together on a platform for protecting their customers. A joint web page that spells out the issue, and is easily linked to from the Sirius or XM site is needed. Competition between Sirius and XM is fine, but recognition that there is an issue such as this that threatens the industry on a common ground perhaps deserves a common effort to fight it. Readers can learn who their representatives are HERE . Please take a few minutes to help keep your rights as a consumer in tact. The Businessweek.com article can be found HERE6/21/2006 10:48:00 AM
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Jacoby Analysis Equals Shareholder Frustration
 June 20, 2006 If you follow satellite radio, the name Jacoby is likely very familiar to you. Jacoby, an analyst for Banc of America has been following Sirius and XM for quite some time, and his reports often find their way into publications on a frequent basis. Jacoby has for the most part been a bigger "fan" of XM Satellite Radio than he has been Sirius. Investors in Sirius have often expressed frustration at his reports, where he somehow always has seemed to take shots at the equity. Looking back at his analysis, one begins to wonder whether Jacoby has been compounding one mistake with another, and another. On January 6, 2006 Jacoby carried a "SELL" rating on Sirius with a price target of $5.50. At the time Sirius was trading at $6.45. In the same report he had a "BUY" on XM with a price target of $36. XM was trading at $27.95 at the time. Jacoby cited that XM had a weak Q4 "due to weak auto sales". Auto sales in Q4 had nothing to do with the weak OEM number posted by XM. The issue at hand was the promotional sub deactivations from the HUGE June and July "Employee Discount" promotion run by GM.On February 17, 2006 Jacoby once again maintained his "BUY" rating on XM satellite Radio. He once again lowered his target by taking it from the $36 target a month prior to $33. XM satellite Radio closed at $21.57 at the time. Jacoby cited the recent resignation of Board member Roberts as a part of his reasoning, but then went on to state that he saw "positives that have been overlooked", "expects expenses to drop in the first quarter of 2006 and expects market share to trend up as the Stern effect wanes for Sirius Satellite Radio". Jacoby recommended investors buy XM stock while it is at depressed levels stating, "We have little doubt that the competitive nature of this business has changed long-term value, but at these levels the concerns are more than discounted, in our opinion.
Jacoby maintained a "SELL" rating on Sirius with a price target of $5.50. Sirius closed at $5.27 that day.On May 8, 2006 Despite recent industry issues, Banc of America Securities continued to recommend XM Satellite Radio over Sirius Satellite Radio, citing a "depressed" valuation.Jacoby stated, "Our results suggest the Sirius trades fairly close to our base case equity value estimate of $5, while XM trades well below our 'bear' case value estimate of $22 per share," wrote analyst Jonathan Jacoby in a research note Monday. "XMÂs current stock price implies 69% upside to reach our base case."In the report Jacoby stated a "BUY" rating on XM with a target of $30 and a "NEUTRAL" on Sirius with a price target of $5. XM was trading at $17.48 and Sirius at $4.72.Now today Jacoby issued a report indicating that retail demand for satellite radio has slowed. He cites high gas prices, lack of advertising, and slow MP3 sales to his opinion. Jacoby is lumping satellite radio together as a whole in this piece, and failing to acknowledge that the two companies, Sirius and XM are seeing different results. Jacoby states that Year-over-year satellite radio growth has slowed to 6% in May and 9% in April, down from 26% in March. This is true based on NPD Data, but he fails to point out that Sirius is seeing substantial year over year growth, while XM has dipped into negative territory. XM satellite Radio has cited retail sales as a concern....Sirius has stated that they are not seeing an issue with retail sales.Jacoby has now lowered his price target on Sirius from $5.00 to $4.50. He also lowered hexpectationsons on XM from $25.00 to $22.00The question many have been asking is whether or not there has been some sort of ongoing agenda relative to XM and Sirius with Jacoby. Both equitiestes have been beaten up substantially since the beginning of the year, but XM has taken a bigger haircut than Sirius. Investors that to listened to Jacoby's advice on Sirius will have not lost anything at this point.......They would have sold at $6.45 back on January 6. By contrast, investors in XM that took the advice of Jacoby would have a high level of frustration, having riden the equity down from $27.95 to current levels of $13.28 (a 53% trim in price).Compounding that frustration for XM shareholders is that Banc of America was selling shares of XM throughout the time frame that Jacoby was recommending a "BUY". Compounding frustration for Sirius shareholders is that Jacoby seems to find any opportunity to cast Sirius in a negative light, and that he is assigning XM's problems to Sirius. Compounding overall frustration is that these opinions by Jacoby typically get to investors in the form of articles that do not include any disclosures. Lately that vehicle has been Forbes.com. Analysts write reports, and include full disclosure on those reports. Those reports are distributed to the media, who then take excerpts from those reports and publish them WITHOUT the original disclosures. If you were a shareholder in Sirius or XM wouldn't you want to be aware of the positions (or lack of positions) that the investment house had in the equities being reported on????? Try to call the companies involved, and everyone points the finger to the "other guy". Investors that read pieces quoting analysts should seek out the original report that includes all disclosures, or contact the publication or investment bank to obtain the disclosures.
6/20/2006 12:18:00 PM
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Satellite Radio Q2 Expectations
  June 20, 2006 The second quarter is wrapping up, and Sirius and XM will soon be putting together their respective announcements on their quarterly meetings. The quarter has been interesting, and opinions vary on the subject of satellite radio, and the best trading strategy for buying and selling these equities. At this point many analysts have weighed in on EPS expectations, and where they stand. Satellite Standard Group, keeping you informed, outlines some of the expectations investors will want to be aware of. SIRIUSCurrently 28 analysts are anticipating a loss of about .15 cents per share. This level has remained fairly constant throughout the quarter. The loss last year for Q2 was .15 cents per share.Revenue is looking decent for Sirius. Analyst expectations place revenue at about $147,000,000. This represents a 180% increase over last year when revenue stood at $52,000,000.Subscriber estimates have remained very steady throughout the quarter. There has been scuttlebut about a weak quarter at retail for satellite radio, but Sirius has maintained that they are not seeing weakness in that channel. Current analysts estimates for subscribers for Sirius stands at about 550,000 NET additions for the quarter. If Sirius were to add 550,000 they would finish the quarter with apprimately 4,628,000 subscribers.XMXM Satellite Radio has about 29 analysts following the equity. On average, the expectations are that XM will announce a loss of .66 cemts per share. Last year XM satellite Radio posted a loss of .70 cents per share.Revenue for XM is anticipated to be about $223,000,000. This represents a 78% increase over last years revenue of $125,000,000.Subscribers fo XM have been all over the board this quarter. With XM lowering year end guidance during the quarter, and hardware issues relating to their plug and play line, analysts have pretty much all lowered the anticipated subscriber numbers for XM. Currently it appears that most analysts are anticipating about 400,000 NET additions for XM. This would place XM 100,000 subscribers shy of 7,000,000 subscribers, a milestone that some were expecting this quarter.6/20/2006 10:52:00 AM
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XM Satellite Radio Applies for New Patent
June 20, 2006 The quick eys over at Orbitcast noted a recent patent application for XM Satellite Radio. The details of the patent relate to a digital FM modulation process utilizing HD Radio. SSG readers can get the whole story HERE via Orbitcast 6/20/2006 09:23:00 AM
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Jacoby Weighs in on Satellite Radio
 June 20, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. Today Banc Of America analyst Johnathon Jacoby reiterrated his "BUY" rating on XM Satellite Radio, but lowered his price target to $22.00. He also has lowered his price target on Sirius from $5.00 to $4.50 In the past Jacoby has taken a Market Cap value approach to the sector in setting price targets for Sirius and XM. In the first quarter Jacobys opinion that Sirius at $5.00 was viable with XM at $30.00. Since then he has lowered targets on XM by 27% while lowering SIRI by 10%. It would appear that at least to some extent he has changed his opinion on Market Cap valuation of the equities. 6/20/2006 09:00:00 AM
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Delphi Announces Deal with GM
 June 17, 2006 Delphi has now announced a deal with General Motors. The deal is a buyout deal for hourly workers. Delphi announced the agreement with the International Union of Electronic Workers-Communications Workers of America and GM, Delphi's former parent and its largest customer, late Friday. This second deal should ease perceived pressures on the Delphi situation, and in turn ease concerns of a Delphi strike effecting GM production. XM Satellite Radio and holders of the equity should welcome the news as a nice positive. SSG readers can read the whole article HERE via CNN Money 6/17/2006 01:04:00 PM
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As Heard on Sirius - Terrestrial Radio Stealing a Bubba Creation
 June 16th, 2006 Terrestrial Radio Stealing a Bubba Creation Near the start of the 6pm period on Bubba The Love Sponge's show on Howard 101, Bubba discussed that some radio stations on terrestrial are using his material. However, this time around, a radio station in Portland Oregon has taken one of Bubba's registered trademarks. The station, 105.1 The Buzz in Portland Oregon, is owned by Entercom. Their morning drive-time DJs Nelson and Terry are doing "Shock Collar Karaoke". The name, is a registered trademark to Bubba The Love Sponge Clem. Bubba talked to his Executive Producer Brent Hatley on the air about reminding the radio station's Program Director of the trademark. They intend to suggest removal of the trademark from their website and discontinuing the use of the name. A link to the trademark is: HERE. A link to the website misusing the trademark: HERE.6/16/2006 06:14:00 PM
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The Stern Effect Phase 3
 June 16, 2006 Satellite Standard Group has written two previous articles regarding "The Stern Effect". This topic is oft discussed, and people to this day are still trying to quantify what exactly "The Stern Effect" is. Today, the third Pace of "The Stern" effect began. Howard Sterns show is now streaming over the internet. Fans that already have Sirius have been clamoring for this. Fans that have not yet signed up now have another reason to pull the trigger and get a subscription. Internet streaming of Howard Sterns show gives Stern more exposure in more places. Have a car with factory installed Sirius, and want to listen to Stern in the office or house? Simply log onto the computer. Live in the city, and want Stern in your office? Simply log on and listen away. College student and a fan of Stern? Again, you can do it at your computer. It will be an interesting thing to track web site hits at Sirius.com. This will clearly show the Stern Effect in great detail. Is The "Stern Effect Phase 3" the end of the road? ABSOLUTELY NOT. We still have the Howard Stern Classics that are now going to be a part of Sterns programming, as well as other yet to be announced events that Stern brings to his listeners every year. What is clear is that Howard stern has had a DRAMATIC impact on Sirius' subscriber rolls and market share. Sirius has dominated in the retail channel since the fourth quarter of 2005, and continues to do so. In fact, Sirius is seeing impressive year over year growth while by contrast XM is seeing negative year over year numbers. New subscriber are coming to satellite radio in bigger numbers than last year, and Sirius is seeing more of that growth by a healthy margin. So far this year (through May) Sirius has captured 58% of the NPD tracked retail share. With Howard Stern on line, the outstanding growth is likely to continue as will THE STERN EFFECT. Suffering from PAIN? Click HERE6/16/2006 04:10:00 PM
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Does "Powerful" Equate to Satellite Radio Subscriptions?
Forbes released it lastest list of "most powerful" people. Tom Cruise Tops the list, but satellite radio talent is not far behind...XMSR's Oprah Winfrey took the No. 3 spot on the Forbes list, and Sirius' Howard Stern, took the No. 7 spot. link to article: here6/16/2006 03:40:00 PM
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Bear Stearns' Robert Peck at it again
Satellite Standard Group likes to keep you informed. Although the analyst's comments were previously posted, this article hit the wires today. Forbes Market Scan XM Device Gets FCC Certification06.16.06, 1:36 PM ET XM Satellite Radio has cleared a major hurdle regarding its SkyFi 2 radio receiver, but the company still faces major issues. On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission certified XM's SkyFi 2 radio receiver model, according to the satellite radio company. XM has sold approximately 500,000 units of the SkyFi 2 to date, according to estimates from Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck. "While we believe this is definitely a positive event for the company, we think there are still major issues that need to be addressed," the analyst wrote in an investor note Friday. These issues include ongoing inquiries from the Federal Trade Commission, product delays, stakeholder lawsuits and tepid consumer demand. The analyst maintained an "underperform" rating on XM while maintaining a positive outlook for the industry as a whole. He said he believes the market is big enough for both XM and competitor Sirius Satellite Radio. Also this week, the Audiovox Xpress receiver was approved by the FCC. "We view this as a positive for the company as it can start shipping these units into the retail channels," Peck said. 6/16/2006 02:15:00 PM
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Howard Stern streaming live NOW
check it out www.sirius.com6/16/2006 01:07:00 PM
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The illicit relationship between the record labels and terrestrial radio
It never exactly made sense that satellite radio had to pay fees to the labels and terrestrial didn't. Now, of course, we know why. They were getting it "under the table". Perhaps resolution of the "Payola" scandal will level the playing field and shift part of the burden to the "free" radio stations. EMI Agrees to Fine to Resolve Payola CaseNew York Times, June 16, 2006 By JEFF LEEDSThe EMI Group, the music giant, agreed yesterday to pay $3.75 million to resolve accusations of paying radio programmers to play specific songs, becoming the last of four major companies to reach a settlement as part of an investigation by the New York attorney general. The office of the New York attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, which announced the settlement yesterday, released e-mail messages and other documents showing that EMI executives agreed to give radio programmers Rolling Stones tickets or offered direct cash payments to stations for airplay of specific songs. Federal and New York state laws prohibit broadcasters from accepting payments of cash or anything of value unless the arrangement is disclosed to listeners. EMI, the smallest of the four major companies in terms of sales of new releases in the United States, offered an acknowledgment that echoed its rivals. The company said certain employees had "engaged in some promotional activities that were wrong and inappropriate." EMI also agreed to a series of changes, including a prohibition on providing cash for use in radio contests. The company had instituted stricter policies on its promotion practices last year after Mr. Spitzer, who is running for governor of New York, started his inquiry. As with earlier settlements, Mr. Spitzer said senior EMI executives were often aware of the practices, which included arranging a concert in exchange for airplay or staging fake requests to radio station call-in lines. In one instance cited by Mr. Spitzer's office, an executive at EMI's Capitol Records label sent an e-mail in June 2002 informing the general manager that a song by the Baha Men would be played three times a day in exchange for a concert. The label "just got WBLI to commit to three times a day by giving them a show," according to the e-mail, which was circulated to other executives. Other documents show EMI and radio executives discussing exchanges to obtain airplay for acts like Beenie Man, Skye Sweetnam and Gorillaz. The settlement was the latest salvo in Mr. Spitzer's effort to shed light on the murky world of radio promotion, a corner of the industry where executives jockey for an edge in determining which songs are heard on the air. Even as Internet services gain popularity, radio airplay is regarded as the biggest driver of CD sales. EMI's settlement comes a month after the Universal Music Group, the world's biggest record company, agreed to a similar deal for $12 million. Last year, Mr. Spitzer announced settlements with Sony BMG Music Entertainment and the Warner Music Group, who settled for a combined $15 million. With inquiries into the conduct of the four record giants now resolved, state investigators are expected to focus on large radio corporations, including CBS Radio and Clear Channel Communications. Mr. Spitzer filed a lawsuit against one broadcaster, Entercom Communications, in March after settlement discussions foundered. The Federal Communications Commission is seeking documents from the broadcasters in connection with its own payola inquiry. Documents released yesterday indicated that payments from record companies could take many forms. Mr. Spitzer said EMI executives would explain the availability of "promotional support" to stations, and radio personnel conveyed that providing such support would result in increased airplay. EMI would then cover costs that the stations incurred for items like production of station jingles and "party buses." At the same time, executives developed tactics to deceive radio programmers into believing a song was popular. In a 2002 e-mail message, for example, an executive at Virgin Records, another EMI label, provided instructions to generate false requests for a Norah Jones song, saying the callers should indicate they heard of the artist through a friend or television show. "Please make sure the callers are women 20-28 years old," the e-mail said. "And please make sure they don't get caught." 6/16/2006 12:21:00 PM
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Stern Streaming on Line Today?
 June 16, 2006 Sirius Backstage is reporting that Howard Sterns on line service will begin streaming today at 1:00 PM eastern. SSG readers can read the whole story HERE via SBS 6/16/2006 12:12:00 PM
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Decency Standards Driving Listeners from Terrestrial to Satellite (Motley Fool)
Motley Fool, June 16, 2006Bush Loves Satellite Radio
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMFBreakerRick) The Christian Coalition and President George W. Bush seem like unlikely catalysts to spur subscriptions for the sometimes randy satellite radio stars XM (Nasdaq: XMSR) and Sirius (Nasdaq: SIRI), but that's the way it's likely to play out. Bush recently signed legislation that raises the fines tenfold for indecent transmissions through free radio and television broadcasts. Oh, Janet Jackson, what has thy right breast done? This is no laughing matter to terrestrial heavies like Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU) and CBS (NYSE: CBS), which have been slapped with fines in the past. It's just so very telltale that as radio and television networks have paid the fines and scrubbed their content clean, satellite radio is looking to close out the year with nearly 15 million subscribers. Way to go, conservatives! How many more radio fans will line up for satellite receivers (as terrestrial radio gets euthanized) and ultimately get exposed to even raunchier streams? That's out of the frying pan and into the deep fryer, my friends. Of course, you can't realistically police what folks elect to pay for, like satellite radio and cable movie channels. Fears that the government will also whitewash premium content, whether it's gagging Howard Stern or bleeping the bejeezus out of The Sopranos, seems about as likely as wiping retailer shelves clean of mature video game titles and CDs with parental advisory stickers. It wasn't decency standards that drew the mainstream to trade in their rabbit ear antennas for cable and satellite television subscriptions. Breadth of content was the key driver. That has also been the major component of the satellite radio migration, with each network offering dozens of commercial-free music channels. But now it has a helping hand from legislation that is likely to drive even more notorious on-air personalities, and their fans, to satellite radio -- in the footsteps of popular acts like Stern, Opie & Anthony, and Bubba the Love Sponge. XM? Sirius? Somebody give Janet her own Rhythm Nation channel on your airwaves. You owe her that much after all that she's done for you. 6/16/2006 11:13:00 AM
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International Display Works Awarded 2 Satellite Radio Contracts
June 16, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. International Display works has signed two satellite radio contracts. What is unclear is which carrier these contracts are with or whether both carriers are involved. Here is what we know at this point: 1. One contract is from a major automotive parts supplier for Film SuperTwist Nematic (FSTN) displays to be used in a new automotive satellite radio product. 2. One contract from a major satellite radio provider for FSTN units to be used in a new portable satellite radio product. 3. Revenue from the contract is expected to be $7,000,000 SSG readers can read the whole story HERE via Yahoo Finance This news is new, and we will issue updates as they become available. Check back here at SSG. 6/16/2006 10:06:00 AM
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More Bandwidth for Satellite
 June 16, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. We have learned that additional bandwidth may become available for satellite radio. Reverse DBS Band. The FCC plans to issue a Notice of Proposed Rule Making on the reverse DBS band, and would make an additional 400 MHz of spectrum available for satellite video. The D.C. Circuit court vacated an earlier auction of satellite frequencies, so the FCC needs to find a new way to assign the spectrum. As SSG readers know, XM's deal with WCS for their spectrum fell through last month. The fact that XM is now free of the expense associated with WCS may allow them to participate in a Bandwidth auction more easily. Both Sirius and XM are working on hierarchical modulation as well. This 'overlay" modulation allows a "compression" of current bandwidth, and allows them to flow roughly 25% more through their existing bandwidth allotment. We will keep you posted 6/16/2006 08:44:00 AM
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Howard Stern "Classic" in time for Fathers' Day?
June 15, 2006 Inside Sirius Alliance prtner Sirius fan Network, www.siriusfannetwork.com posted this article Howard Stern Classic Show To Debut This Weekend? Thursday, 15 June 2006 Howard Stern fans waiting in anticipation for the launch of a "Howard Stern Classic" broadcast on Sirius may have their appetite satisfied this weekend! Last month it was announced that Sirius had acquired Howard Stern's Radio Show archive from CBS. The tapes span from 1985 through 2005 and represent more than 23,000 hours of Stern's terrestrial radio shows . Howard Stern promised that the tapes would air exclusively on Sirius Satellite Radio, and it looks like the first "Classic" Show could debut this Father's Day.Although an official announcement hasn't been made as yet, we found an interesting promo on Sirius Satellite Radio's Website. Sirius Fan Network captured the image below, which we feel holds a very strong clue - can you see it?THE TAPES HAVE ARRIVED - (Just In Time For Father's Day)Father's Day is this Sunday.... You can figure out the rest. And to add more fuel to our theory... Sirius is running a poll on the Howard 100 Website asking fans to vote for the classic show they want to hear first. Father's Day is also the target date for Sirius to offer Howard Stern online. Things certainly appear to be adding up.. 6/15/2006 08:38:00 PM
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Playboy Radio (exclusively on Sirius) Signs up 100,000 per week
 June 15, 2006 A Story from an Inside Sirius Alliance Partner www.siriusfannetwork.com posted this story:Playboy Radio Boasts More Than One Million Opt-In Subscribers Thursday, 15 June 2006 During Today's Morning Show with Kevin & Cort on Playboy Radio, Christie Hefner announced that more than one million subscribers have opted to tune in to Playboy Radio! That's amounts to about 100,000 new subscribers per week. Playboy Radio thanked listeners for their support. Playboy Radio is available to all Sirius subscribers at no extra cost, but in order to receive Playboy Radio, subscribers must opt-in for the channel, either via the phone or Internet. SIRIUS also offers the ability to block Playboy Radio, and other channels, through its parental control system. Playboy Radio, now on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, broadcasts Playboy's sexy, smart and refined adult programming coast-to-coast. As the satellite service's exclusive channel of sexually themed entertainment, Playboy Radio brings the Rabbit Head brand to SIRIUS subscribers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Filled with wild on-air personalities and sophisticated, sexy content, the new station's lineup isn't duplicated anywhere else on the radio dial. 6/15/2006 08:36:00 PM
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New Hardware for Sirius and XM
June 15, 2006 Insude Sirius Alliance member Get Sirius Info spotted this new Sirius unit for a marine application: 
Prospec Electronics has introduced its latest marine stereo product for boaters that's Sirius ready. The JBL MR18 AM/FM/CD and Sirius ready receiver boasts an output of 180 watts with Electronic Shock Protection, allowing for uninterrupted listening while cruising, in rough or calm waters.
SSG readers can visit GSI for more information HERE
Meanwhile, XM Satellite Radio is also inroducing a new radio that has the ability to crank it up for power in emergency situations. Orbitcast has posted a piece about new unit from Eton similar to the one pictured below.
As part of XM Satellite Radio's expanded EAS initiative, XM is also working to develop a crank-powered satellite radio receiver that would allow listeners to receive signal during power outages. So during emergency situations where terrestrial radio networks are down and cell phone networks are rendered useless, you'll be able to receive emergency notices without any power source. SSG readers can read the whole Orbitcast piece HERE
6/15/2006 02:14:00 PM
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RF Monolithics Earnings Call Today
 June 15, 2006 RF Monolithics, Inc. Schedules Third Quarter Earnings Release and Conference CallTuesday June 6, 9:00 am ET DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- June 6, 2006--RF Monolithics, Inc. (RFM) (Nasdaq: RFMI - News) a global Wireless Solutions provider of RF Components and Modules for the wireless marketplace, will announce financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2006, after market close on Thursday, June 15, 2006. Following the release, the management of RFM will conduct a telephone conference call at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) to discuss operating performance for the period. To participate in the conference call, please dial 800-772-8997. The reservation number is T605038R. The conference call will also be available live via the Internet by accessing RFM's Investor Relations page at http://www.rfm.com/. The webcast is also distributed over Thomson/CCBN's Investor Distribution Network to both institutional (at http://www.streetevents.com/) and individual investors at http://www.companyboardroom.com/For those who cannot access the live broadcast, a replay will be available by dialing 888-509-0082. The dial-in replay will be available from June 15, 2006 through July 15, 2006. Reservation number T605038R. About RFM Celebrating over 25 years of providing low-power wireless solutions, RF Monolithics is enabling the next generation of wireless applications with a solutions-driven, technology-enabled approach to wireless connectivity. We provide the connections to extend the edge of the Internet to communicate with the billions of unconnected machines through a broad range of low power wireless solutions - from comprehensive industrial wireless sensor networks to high performance RF components. For more information on RF Monolithics, Inc., please visit our websites at http://www.rfm.com/ and http://www.wirelessis.com. Contact:PR Financial Marketing, LLCJim Blackman, 713-256-0369 or RF Monolithics. Inc.Investor Relations Carol Bivings, 972-448-3767 RF Monolithics, Inc. Carol Bivings, 972-448-3767 Source: RF Monolithics, Inc. 6/15/2006 11:23:00 AM
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Sirius Doing a Little Family Plan Promoting
 June 15, 2006 The Family Plan is a plan utilized by Sirius and XM where a subscriber can add additional receivers to their account for $6.99 per month. While the price is lower, the consumers are loyal, and less expensive to market to. Satellite Standard Group has written articles regarding the subject. Sirius and XM have had differing strategies regarding the family plan. In the fourth quarter of 2005 and the first quarter of 2006 XM used this segment as a subscriber growth vehicle. This boosted their family plan to roughly 20% of the subscriber base for XM. By contrast, Sirius has traditionally not marketed very heavy in this sector, and had a family plan base of 12%. Sirius now seems at least slightly geared on growing this "Family Plan" sector. Today on the Howard Stern show, and interesting ad ran that promoted the family plan. The ad featured the "It's Like We Know" theme, and centered around a guy trying to get his Sirius equipped car back from his wife. The ad states that for an additional $6.99 per month, with receivers starting at about $49, that both the husband and wife can have their Sirius. The Sirius campaign is not as "agressive" as the campaigns that XM has run (using free hardware with a 3 or 6 month commitment), but is more agressive that ythe "organic" strategy employed by Sirius in the past. It will be interesting to see what percentage of the subscriber base the "Family Plan" makes up for both sirius and XM at the end of Q2. 6/15/2006 11:10:00 AM
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XM Units Getting Green Light From FCC
 June 15, 2006 With filings at the FCC for various units, it appears that XM is making headway on getting the hardware isses back on track. SSG reported that the Roady 2 has already gone through the paperwork process, and it now appears that the Audiovox Express and SkyFi2 are also on their way to full compliance and production. In the case of the SkyFi2, it appears that it will have a narrower selection of FM modulator stations to choose from. The issues ranged from FM modulators, to shielding, to ferrites. All were remedied to the satisfation of the FCC. To date these are the units we have been made aware of. 6/15/2006 10:49:00 AM
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XM Markets Service at U.S. Open
 June 15, 2006 Many people do not equate golf with radio listening. While the concept may seem odd at first, consider that it is simply something that has not traditionally been offered. A golf channel carries coverage of golfing events, but can also have golf talk shows centered around courses, improving your game, and interviews with the various players on the tour. XM Satellite Radio is now taking an interesting approach to marketing its servive to spectators at the U.s Open. This is not the first time that XM has done this, but this looks like the best publicized. XM will have 1,000 portable XM radios that they will "loan" out to spectators at the event. Spectators will be able to listen to the golf coverage, and can also explore the other content offerings that XM has. It is a great way to expose the service to an individual who may not otherwise have tried out a unit. This type of marketing also creates a buzz surrounding the product. Word is sure to spread quickly regarding the use of these portables, and there will likely be a curiosity that can not be resisted. Programming such as golf is an example of niche or accessory programming. This type of programming as a stand alone is not likely to be a "driver" for subscribers. However, in combination with more mainstream programming becomes a power marketing tool. This type of programming is something that differentiates satellite radio from terrestrial radio, and a marketing program like what XM is doing with golf can become a powerful tool in selling the overall service. Press Release Source: XM Satellite Radio U.S. Open Golf Tournament to Air Live on XM Satellite Radio; Portable XM Radios Available for Spectators in the GalleryWednesday June 14, 11:30 am ET WASHINGTON, June 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Golf fans across the country can listen to comprehensive coverage of the U.S. Open on XM Satellite Radio this week, and spectators at the championship can pick up complimentary XM radios to hear the broadcast. The U.S. Open will air live and nationwide on XM channel 146 from Thursday, June 15 through Sunday, June 18. The XM broadcast will mark the first time that the championship will be carried on satellite radio. XM will air complete play-by-play coverage of the U.S. Open, pre- and post-round commentary, call-in shows, interviews with leading players, and on- site press conferences. XM's on-air team is currently broadcasting pre-event coverage from the Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., the site of the U.S. Open. Each day at the championship site, XM will provide 1,000 portable XM radios for spectators to listen to the broadcast for the day at no charge. The XM booth will be located at the U.S. Open merchandise pavilion Thursday through Sunday. Attendees can also opt to purchase a new XM radio. "Spectators at the U.S. Open can pick up a complimentary XM radio for the day to hear what's happening throughout the course," said Kevin Straley, vice president of talk programming, XM Satellite Radio. "This is the first time that the U.S. Open has been broadcast on satellite radio, and XM is very excited to be bringing the championship to millions of people across the country." 6/15/2006 10:20:00 AM
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Analyst comments on the wires this morning
  June 15, 2006 SIRI & XMSR checks indicate both should meet modest Q2 retail net add est@SBSH (theflyonthewall.com 06/15 07:45:02) 6/15/2006 07:58:00 AM
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JP Morgan weighs in on May NPD data
 June 15, 2006Sirius Satellite Radio-SIRI growth estimates for Q2 go conservative(theflyonthewall.com 06/15 06:24:20) Neutral@JPMS - JPMorgan has put Sirius' growth estimates for Q2 at a more conservative pace due to NPD data that suggested slower growth trends than previously expected. The firm now estimates 550k subs in Q2, down from 599k subs. They also see retail net adds of 269k in the quarter, down from 343k. While JPMorgan believes Sirius should beat year-end subscriber guidance they feel shares will be constrained by slower retail growth and consumer spending. XM Satellite Radio-XMSR tough trends push Q2 sub growth estimates back(theflyonthewall.com 06/15 06:41:17) mailto:back-Neut@JPMS - Second quarter trends look weaker than expected, accordingto JPMorgan, and they will now be more conservative to XMSR's subs numbers.The firm has lowered their expectations for 2006 subs to 8.4M, below guidance of 8.5B. They now see Q2 net subs of 439k, down from 688k and retail net adds down 11.5% Y/Y, or 180k. While a miss on 2006 guidance could put pressure on the stock, the firm believes interest for XM Radio could pick up in 2007 with Asian autos ramping. 6/15/2006 06:46:00 AM
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RFMI Goes Into Orbit
  June 14, 2006 RF Monolithics is one of the companies we here at satellite Standard group follow. We follow this company because they are a supplier of SAW filters to satellite radio. What makes RFM appealing to someone considering an investment in the satellite radio sector is that RFM also is in many other facets of business. simply stated, RF Monolithics is participating in the growth of satellite radio, while at the same time developing other business interests that are unrelated to sirius or XM. Satellite Standard Group readers can learn more about the various sectors that RF Monolithics is in by reading our previous article HERERF Monolithics is now involved in some very interesting and compelling activities. RFM components are widely used in the SPHERES program, and help keep the sheres stable. The MIT Space Systems Laboratory developed the SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites) laboratory environment to provide DARPA, NASA, and other researchers with a long term, replenishable, and upgradable testbed for the validation of high risk metrology, control, and autonomy technologies for use in formation flight and autnomous docking, rendezvous and reconfiguration algorithms. These technologies are critical to the operation of distributed satellite and docking missions such as Terrestrial Planet Finder and Orbital Express. You can read more about the programm and wath some facinating videos HEREEarly success of the program points to continued development of technology, and RFM will no doubt participate in that process. This program adds yet another dimmension to the business that RFM is involved, and is another reason why people that follow this sector should follow the activities of RF Monolithics closely. 6/14/2006 10:36:00 PM
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Jacoby at it Again! (Doesn't Mary Crane get tired of writing this story?)
Forbes Market Scan Retail Sales Still A Worry At XMMary Crane, 06.14.06, 4:41 PM ET Satellite subscriber numbers remain at risk amid a soft retail environment even though shipments have resumed on several XM Satellite Radio models, according to a report from Banc of America analyst Jonathan A. Jacoby. Jacoby said XM's RoadyXT satellite receiver got a clean bill of health from an outside consultant who said it met the Federal Communications Commission's emission standards. The commission can now grant the RoadyXT a new FCC ID, which XM hopes it will also receive for its SKYFi2, Sportscaster and Xpress radios over the next few weeks. FCC compliance was attained, in most cases, with the addition of a 25-cent part added to the radios, whose receivers' FM modulator -- used to transmit satellite radio programming over an FM radio frequency -- exceeded FCC limits. According to the analyst, the company has resumed shipments of its RoadyXT, SKYFi2 and Sportscaster radios based on outside tests that demonstrated the units were in line with FCC standards. Shipments of the Xpress will also likely resume over the next few weeks. Despite this good news, however, second-quarter subscriber numbers remain at risk, given the weak retail environment. "Although a speedy resolution to the FCC issue is a mild positive, it is only the first step toward regaining momentum at retail." Jacoby said he expects XM's gross subscriber growth to be flat, versus last year's second-quarter growth of 393,000. Sales could improve in the month of June, which accounts for about half of the second quarter's retail sales and includes Father's Day, which makes up about 30% of the quarter's sales. Still, Jacoby said he still believes there is downside risk to his 417,000 net subscriber additions estimate. Despite that, the analyst maintained a "buy" rating and price target of $25 on XM and recommended it over Sirius Satellite Radio, rated "neutral" with a $5 price target. "XM finally appears to be regaining its footing, while the expectations for Sirius may be too high," he wrote in a research report Wednesday. 6/14/2006 09:15:00 PM
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Retail Satellite Radio Sales Neck and Neck For Immediate Release: Updated Wednesday June 14, 2006 Bridge Ratings' trending of Satellite Radio subscribers continues through 2006. The purpose of this on-going study is to analyze consumer preferences related to satellite service brand and satellite radio in general. Bridge Ratings interviews consumers at retail outlets who have purchased Satellite radio. In the early phases of theseinterviews, brand loyalty was not a major purchase factor. Some programming for each satcaster appealed to individual shoppers but there was little overall brand impact on the purchase decision. This has changed in recent weeks. Programming options and equipment style and benefits are taking a stronger position as the impetus for the purchase decision with Sirius more consistently being sited for its programming and equipment as motives for purchase.
XM: 648,086 Sirius: 615,150 Q2 Projected Total: 1,263,267 Bridge Ratings projects that over the last fifteen weeks 1,718,945 additional subscriptions to satellite radio have occurred at the retail level. XM's share of this 15 week projected retail sales total is 50.2%, Sirius 49.8%. Based on the slowing trendline of sales for XM, Bridge Ratings now projects XM total subscriber count at 8.4 million by year end 2006 and 6.5 million for Sirius. Projections are updated quarterly.
The "Stern-Effect" seen during Bridge Ratings' satellite research trends of 2005's fourth quarter and into the first quarter of '06, continues to be less of a factor this quarter. Our latest estimate is that a total of 1.33 million (11%) of Stern's terrestrial fan base has migrated to Sirius. As Bridge Ratings continues to interview former Stern listeners, there is an apparent apathy regarding future Sirius subscriptions. This week the response "I Don't miss Howard Stern enough to subscribe" drops to fourth most mentioned reason for not subscribing. Stern's impact on the satellite radio subscription model continues to weaken. This week "equipment and subscription cost" fell behind "I'm listening to amorning show that was my second choice before". These results lead us to believe that the absence of Stern on mainstream media and the lack of the continuing marketing that he enjoyed through 2005 and early 2006, is affecting the "Stern affect". Interestingly, inspite of this slowdown in subscriptions directly attributed to Howard Stern, Sirius continues to show strong retail strength based on other significant content benefits, most notably the quality of their music programming and their sports package. Stern as a marketing pillar solidified the Sirius market position and is likely stimulating market awareness of Sirius. We are finding major league baseball is having a primary positive affect on Sirius's continued ability to out-brand XM in recent weeks. This week's interviews revealed that 55% of retail consumers purchased Sirius satellite radio systems while 48% mentioned the Sirius brand prior to the purchase. The higher index of purchase to brand awareness indicates that 48% of potential satellite radio shoppers interviewed this week were able to name Sirius Radio, but 55% of those consumers actually purchased a Sirius system - a 7% positive differential. Some aspect of the purchase process converted an additional 7% of shoppers to Sirius this week.The variable may have been price, equipment feature preference, programming preference - any number of issues that were presented to the consumer at point of purchase. Trending over the past three weeks shows this index growing for Sirius. In the month of July, Bridge Ratings will release its full second quarter tracking for this sector. Those results will reflect these same consumers' opinions after a periodof time using the satellite service they chose. *Based on interviews conducted at retail outlets between January 1 and June 12, 2006. Markets surveyed: Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Boston, Detroit, New York, Boston. 4009 weekly listeners 18+.
full article: www.bridgeratings.com6/14/2006 03:53:00 PM
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Cramer on "Stop Trading"
"Live In Play ( www.briefing.com) 13-Jun-06, 15:36 SIRI Sirius Satellite pops to session high as Cramer on CNBC says good trade is long SIRI and short XMSR - stocks should not be trading in lock-step (4.11 +0.00) ."This is a pair trade that we have heard making the rounds at hedge funds. Unsure of how to value companies that have not reached CFBE, funds have been discussing this as a "sector neutral" combination. 6/13/2006 03:42:00 PM
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XMSR presentation at Deutsche Bank Today
Seems like there is no link to the live webcast, just a link to the presentation: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=115922&p=irol-presentations6/13/2006 02:57:00 PM
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Is The RIAA Chasing Their Cash Cows?
June 13, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. Today we learned of a new device being developed that goes to the very heart of the RIAA "debate" with satellite radio. This MobiBlu device (pictured below), is an MP3 player that is capable of receiving and recording FM radio. 
Since satellite radio began broadcasting the RIAA has received huge sums of money from Sirius and XM for the songs that these services play over the airwaves. By contrast, terrestrial radio does not pay anything. To be clear.......SIRIUS AND XM PAY FOR EACH SONG THEY PLAY AND TERRESTRIAL RADIO DOES NOT.
What does this mean?
It means that the RIAA has a revenue stream from satellite radio that they never used to have. Now the RIAA is trying to garner MORE money because the devices being introduced by Sirius and XM are capable of recording.
Add to this the fact that the recorded content on Sirius and XM's units stays on the device. You can not move it to your computer or to another device. Compare that to a unit such as the MobiBlu and you see something STARK. The MobiBlu actually allows you to transfer the content to a computer. Look at the "Special Features" that the device is capable of:
Does the RIAA have a failed business model? It would look like they very well might. The RIAA has chosen to take on satellite radio because the "established" practice of giving the songs to terrestrial radio for free would be hard to reverse at this point. Technology has passed the RIAA business model by.
The RIAA has chosen to attempt to garner more money from Sirius and XM. Perhaps they feel that this would be easier than changing the failed business model with terrestrial radio. Satellite radio plays more music each day (no commercials) than ANY other medium. Each song that plays puts money in the coffers of the RIAA. By making the challenges; they are making, the RIAA is biting the hand that feeds them. What will the RIAA's argument be when devices such as the MobiBlu hit store shelves? Devices such as this are not only the real threat to the RIAA, but also pose a bit of a threat to satellite radio (although terrestrial content is very lacking when compared to Sirius or XM). Ironically, the RIAA is behind proposed legislation that would make all of this content FREE for terrestrial radio by law. Something tells me that the RIAA was not thinking a few steps ahead. A device such as the MobiBlu may well have the RIAA suddenly seeking revisions in the legislation. The RIAA needs to do a few things in order to be viable: 1. Get their house in order. 2. Understand the potential for technological advances. 3. Understand that satellite radio gives them an entire revenue stream that they simply did not have previously. 4. Act as a partner in the process. The issues with the RIAA will be interesting to watch, as will their current litigation with XM Satellite Radio. Satellite Standard Group will keep you posted.
6/13/2006 02:12:00 PM
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Forbes Weighs in on Bear Sterns Comments
 June 13, 2006 Forbes Market Scan XM Faces 'Anemic Demand' Kate DuBose Tomassi, 06.13.06, 12:31 PM ET Citing "anemic demand" in April and May for XM Satellite Radio, coupled with product delays and shortages, Bear Stearns Equity Research analyst Robert Peck reduced second-quarter 2006 net subscriber additions estimates on the satellite broadcaster. In a report Tuesday, the analyst estimated 395,000 net subscriber additions in the quarter, down from 450,000 previously. He added that he expects advertising spending to be down significantly during the quarter as well. The impact is likely to be felt in the third quarter as well as the shortages continue, said Peck. In addition, the third quarter is typically seasonally strong for rival Sirius Satellite Radio because of the National Football League season, and this year Sirius will likely be promoting a new unit, called the "Stiletto," he added. "We believe that the negative sentiment around the stock likely will continue in the near-to-mid term," the analyst said. But the analyst says he remains positive on the industry longer term, and believes the market can accommodate both XM and Sirius. "As XM resolves issues, we think there is significant scope for appreciation even though it may take some time and be subject to significant amount of volatility," he said. Bear Stearns rates XM at "underperform." The firm rates Sirius at "outperform." 6/13/2006 02:06:00 PM
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Roady XT Revisions Submitted to FCC for Compliance
 June 13, 2006 Satellite Standard Group has learned that XM Satellite Radios Roady XT unit has undergone minor changes and clarifications in an effort to comply with the FCC. On May 30, 2006 XM Satellite Radio notified the FCC that Retlif Testing Laboatories was authorized to act on XM's behalf for application to the American Telecommunications Certification Body (ATCB). On June 8, 2006 Retlif sent correspondence to the FCC regarding the Roady XT device answeing the questions that the FCC had. Those questions related to the following: 1. "Leaky" RF coaxial cables as an antenna 2. Questions about the ferrites used in the device 3. Questions regarding by whom the ferrites are attached to the device (The FCC stipulates that the end user shall not be responsible for this activity). 4. Questions regarding whather or not shields are in place in the final assembly of the device 5. Questions regarding the placement of the FCC I.D. 6. Questions regarding the antenna, and whether or not the length of the antenna is adjustable. 7. Questions regarding the frequencies the unit was tested at. The FCC has requested that tests be conducted at the lowest (88.7) and the highest (107.9) ranges of the device. 8. Questions regarding what the lowest and highest frequency ranges are on the device. 9. Questions regarding what audio level adjustment the unit was set at for the testing. 10. A request for more detailed information documenting the testing process. 11. Questins about whether the harmonics were fully maximized during the testing 12. Questions about testing at 502 MHz and whether that was in compliance with regulations. 13. A request for an installation manual. 14. A request that the manual include the required language from 15.105 15. A request for the home kit manual to see if the device in that configuration comples with regulations. 16. A request relating to the input and outputs of the device and what transpired with them during testing. Retlif Testing Laboratories issued a response to each item On June 12, 2006, retlif responded to FCC questions again. the items covered were as follows: 1. The FCC informed Retlif that their request for confidentiality can not be granted. 2. The FCC requested that the FCC ID label be corrected to the proper format. 3. The FCC took exception with the use of "snap-on ferrites". 4. The FCC asked for additional clarification that the length of the antenna can not be adjusted by the end user. 5. The FCC noted that some specifically required FCC language was now added to the manual, but that other required language was now removed. 6. The FCC request further clarification on the 502 MHz testing Retlif Testing Laboratories responded to each issue. It would appear that given this information that the FCC issue with XM was not limited to the FM modulator. At the recent Programming conference in Washington D.C. XM management indicated to analysts that the FCC issues would be resolved in roughly 60 days. By the recent communications with the FCC, it is clear that XM is working on the issue. 6/13/2006 01:18:00 PM
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HD signal has less of a reach according to Corporation for Public Broadcasting
 June 13, 2006 Besides the high cost of HD radio hardware, low consumer awareness, questionable content quality...now we hear that coverage is not that great, and interferes with AM/FM radio signals! is HD really a threat, or will it actually drive listeners to satellite? Orbitcast ( www.orbitcast.com) posted this interesting piece on HD Radio's coverage (or lack thereof): Corporation for Public Broadcasting: HD Radio Coverage Investigation
"Following yesterday's article on HD Radio's Dirty Little Secret, a reader found this RFP (PDF) by the Corporation for Public Broadcast (CPB) to investigate reported problems in HD Radio's coverage. The reports indicate that the HD Radio signal not only has less of a reach, but also interferes with the regular analog AM/FM radio signal.Terrestrial radio's biggest advantage is their reach. Everyone has an AM/FM radio, and nearly everyone can get signal for free. Take away that, and you've got a serious problem. " 6/13/2006 11:26:00 AM
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Links to Webcasts for SIRI & XMSR presentations at Deutsche Bank Media & Telecom Conference Today
 June 13, 2006Sirius Satellite Radio at Deutsche Bank Media & Telecom Conference Tuesday, June 13, 2006 8:20 AM PT, 11:20 AM ET Link to webcast: HEREXM Satellite Radio at Deutsche Bank Media & Telecom ConferenceTuesday, June 13, 2006 11:40 a.m. PT, 2:40 p.m. ET Link to webcast HERE6/13/2006 11:08:00 AM
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Sirius On Line Service Ramping Up
 June 13, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. An SSG reader informed us of a small change in the Sirius Satellite radio on line service. A new "security" feature has been added to the player. This feature requires the user to enter a code. Presumably it is to prevent multiple useage and hackers from gaining access. Sirius has outlined intentions of running Howard Sterns programming over the net, and this added feature would seem a logical step in that process. We here at SSG will keep you posted. 6/13/2006 10:46:00 AM
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XM's New Advertisement
 June 13, 2006 It would appear that XM is "hearing" the talk about their advertising philosophy. They have a new ad out for Fathers Day that leads with CONTENT. Featured are MLB, Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Nascar. The ad is not as polished as others that XM has run, but it does deliver a content message as the "first item of business. It would appear that XM is not giving up on promoting specific hardware though. they close the ad with the Sportcaster, and the Inno. 6/13/2006 10:40:00 AM
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XMSR Golf Channel Gets a Mention in the Wall Street Journal
  June 13, 2006Listen to That PuttAn all-golf radio channel? XM plans to make a go of it. The Wall Street Journal, Monday, June 12, 2006 By SARAH MCBRIDE; Page R4 How's this for niche programming: a golf radio channel. That's one of the latest offerings of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., which created the channel in partnership with the PGA Tour and Pure Golf Inc., a Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., company that produces the station's programs. It isn't an obvious sell, to say the least. First, there's the slow pace of golf: How do you keep the attention of fans who are just listening to the game being played? In addition, the channel is expensive to produce, because much of the programming is tournament coverage, which requires multiple announcers and big outlays for travel and remote-broadcasting equipment. And the only other programming right now is a one-hour talk show that airs live at 8 a.m. Eastern time on weekdays and is then repeated every hour until noon. So for much of the day, people who tune in to the station hear only a voice telling them to return later for programming. But Washington-based XM -- which acknowledges that the station isn't one of its most popular -- says it can make a go of it. "We believe that one of the most powerful things we have going for us is the ability to take very powerful niche areas and activate them," says Eric Logan, XM's director of programming. He says that XM, by filling a void left by regular radio, is tapping into a particularly passionate category of fan -- the type who may sign up for XM, or remain a subscriber, particularly because of the golf programming. In XM's broad strategy, that lands the station with bedfellows like classical music and bluegrass that also have a strong pull on a small group. Link to full story HERE (Subscription to WSJ Required) 6/13/2006 09:40:00 AM
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Want to Buy 1 Second of Ad Space?
 June 12, 2006 Satellite Standard likes to keep you up to speed with items that may impact the satellite radio industry. In a story by AdAge, it has been revealed that Clear Channel is considering a new advertising format known as "BLINK". BLINK basically equates to small 1 second ads on the Clear Channel radio stations. The idea is interesting, and the concept, if a success, will likely spread to other radio companies. Article excerpt.... "Clear Channel is discussing the idea of one-second radio spots with marketers and media buyers.
Blinks are one-second commercials. The real value of the Blinks, as they are being called, may be in the publicity they can generate. After all, you're already reading an article about them, and the short spots are only in the concept stage. The radio giant, however, says it didn't think up Blinks as a promotional stunt. "It really is to find new uses of radio for advertisers who are continually asking us to demonstrate that our medium can successfully extend brands, can successfully reach the consumer with touchpoints that are new and surprising" said Jim Cook, senior VP-creative for Clear Channel Radio. "Interested SSG readers can read the entire piece HERE via AdAge6/12/2006 04:37:00 PM
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Sirius Canada father Day Promotion
 June 12, 2006 Sirius Canada is running a special Fathers Day Promotion where some good discounts are available to give dad his "favourite" gift. http://www.siriuscanada.ca/fd-e.htm6/12/2006 04:31:00 PM
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Institutional Watch - Satellite Radio
  June 12, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. Institutional ownership in SDARS has been a sector that has been a big differentiating factor with Sirius and XM. Traditionionally XM has had a much larger institutions base than has Sirius. Earlier this year XM showed institutional owenership of 109% (short interest plays a role in this) and Sirius as low as 24%. As of the end of Q1 there have been some adjustments to these numbers. XM now sits at about 100% while Sirius is now at about 31%. This is an area that investors will want to keep informed and aware of. With TCW exiting their XM position, it will be interesting to watch what is happening with institutional ownership in SDARS. There is potential for these equites to be substantially impacted by institutional activity. At this point this subject is an issue that should at a minimum cause a "blip" on every investors radar screen. Keep an eye on the institutional sector. There have been a lot of conferences over the past 60 days. 6/12/2006 04:09:00 PM
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TCW Concludes Sale of XM Shares
 June 12, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. This news has a negative as well as a positive aspect to it. Over the past weeks there has been selling pressure on XMSR. It would appear that some of that pressure came from TCW liquidating their position in XM Satellite Radio. With the selling pressure of TCW now in the past, is this an opportunity for the selling pressure to relax, and XM to base? This could well be the case, and this would be welcomed news to the entire sector. Of course it is also possible that other institutions are selling as well, but having the biggest potential seller now off of the books is a big item to note. Investors may want to note the trading behavior over the next couple of weeks. TCW used to have 27,000,000 shares of XM Satellite radio. In the first quarter they sold 14,000,000 shares. It would appear that they have sold their last 13,000,000 shares since March 31, 2006. As of today TCW no longer holds shares of XM Satellite Radio. XM's largest shareholder is Honda with 29,000,000 shares. Interested SSG readers can read the SEC filing HERE6/12/2006 12:16:00 PM
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RFMI Third Quarter Earnings Coming Up
 June 12, 2006 Press Release Source: RF Monolithics, Inc. RF Monolithics, Inc. Schedules Third Quarter Earnings Release and Conference CallTuesday June 6, 9:00 am ET DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 2006--RF Monolithics, Inc. (RFM) (Nasdaq: RFMI - News) a global Wireless Solutions provider of RF Components and Modules for the wireless marketplace, will announce financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2006, after market close on Thursday, June 15, 2006. Following the release, the management of RFM will conduct a telephone conference call at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern) to discuss operating performance for the period. To participate in the conference call, please dial 800-772-8997. The reservation number is T605038R. The conference call will also be available live via the Internet by accessing RFM's Investor Relations page at http://www.rfm.com/. The webcast is also distributed over Thomson/CCBN's Investor Distribution Network to both institutional (at http://www.streetevents.com/) and individual investors (at www.companyboardroom.com). For those who cannot access the live broadcast, a replay will be available by dialing 888-509-0082. The dial-in replay will be available from June 15, 2006 through July 15, 2006. Reservation number T605038R. About RFM Celebrating over 25 years of providing low-power wireless solutions, RF Monolithics is enabling the next generation of wireless applications with a solutions-driven, technology-enabled approach to wireless connectivity. We provide the connections to extend the edge of the Internet to communicate with the billions of unconnected machines through a broad range of low power wireless solutions - from comprehensive industrial wireless sensor networks to high performance RF components. For more information on RF Monolithics, Inc., please visit our websites at http://www.rfm.com/ and http://www.wirelessis.com. Contact:PR Financial Marketing, LLCJim Blackman, 713-256-0369orRF Monolithics. Inc.Investor Relations Carol Bivings, 972-448-3767 6/12/2006 12:02:00 PM
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BMW Signs Exclusive Pact With Sirius Canada
  June 12, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. Inside Sirius Alliance member Get Sirius Info caught this news bit today. SIRIUS Canada and BMW Canada today announced along term exclusive agreement that will make SIRIUS Satellite Radio receiversa factory and dealer option for BMW vehicles sold in Canada. Starting in fall 2006............ For the full story visit Get Sirius Info HERE6/12/2006 09:58:00 AM
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NFL Legend Jerry Rice to Host Exclusive Show on Sirius
 June 12, 2006NFL Legend Jerry Rice to Host Exclusive Show on SIRIUS Satellite Radio(PR Newswire 06/12 09:01:10) SIRIUS Satellite Radio(Nasdaq: SIRI), the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, has added legendary NFL receiver Jerry Rice to the roster of expert hosts on SIRIUS NFLRadio, channel 124, the only 24/7 year-round radio channel devoted to the NFL. Rice will begin hosting on SIRIUS NFL Radio on Tuesday, June 13th when he co-hosts "The Afternoon Blitz" with Adam Schein from 3-7 pm ET. He will be heard three days a week on SIRIUS every week throughout the year. "I'm thrilled to be joining the SIRIUS NFL Radio team. SIRIUS is theSuper Bowl Champion of satellite radio companies," said Rice. "I'm going to approach my broadcasting career with the same energy and enthusiasm I had during my playing career and we'll put on a fun and informative show for all the listeners out there." "Very few athletes in professional sports can claim that they were the absolute best at what they did -- Jerry Rice is one of those few," said Scott Greenstein, SIRIUS' President, Entertainment and Sports. "Now he will share his incredible wealth of knowledge and experience with SIRIUS' nationwide audience. Our listeners will be able to interact with him all year long,talking directly to one of the greatest players to ever put on a uniform." After being drafted in 1985 by coach Bill Walsh and the San Francisco 49ers out of Division I-AA Mississippi Valley State, Jerry Rice went on to become the greatest receiver in NFL history. 6/12/2006 09:26:00 AM
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More Analyst Comments this morning
 June 12, 2006 Friedman Billings Ramsey on XMSR XMSR: Reiterate Outperform - The firm noted Delphi announced an agreement with the United Auto Workers union, including financial support from General Motors, to offer buyouts to all hourly employees. This agreement is a major advance as Delphi's works to avoid a strike. While we believe a strike would have minimal impact on XM`s retail distribution and a short-lived impact on GM production, XM's largest OEM partner, we believe that the positive resolution of this overhang will benefit shares of XMSR. With several additional overhangs weighing on shares of XMSR, we expect near-term share appreciation to be constrained. That said, we expect the resolution of some of these overhangs over the next several quarters to provide a catalyst for XM shares. Our $28 price target is based on our DCF analysis, which utilizes a 13% WACC and a 4% terminal FCF growth rate. 6/12/2006 09:22:00 AM
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Heard On Sirius June 12, 2006
 June 12, 2006 Satellite Standard Group keeps you informed. Heard minutes ago on the Howard Stern Show: Stern stated just before 9:00AM EST that, "It appears that Sirius will be doing beta testing of the on line service next week" 6/12/2006 09:07:00 AM
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Analyst comments on the wires this morning
  June 12, 2006UBS on XMSR:XM Satellite Radio-XMSR lower risk of Delphi strike a positive-Buy@UBSW - (theflyonthewall.com 06/12 06:20:11) The firm believes that this will benefit XMSR as shares have been hurt by the risk of a Delphi strike. Stanford Capital on SIRI:Sirius Satellite Radio-SIRI appears to be on target for 550K subscribers (theflyonthewall.com 06/12 06:20:22) -Buy@STFG - The firm said that SIRI appears to be on track to addat least 550K new subscribers in Q2, which will likely be more than XMSR. The firm said this puts SIRI on track to hit their 6.2M subscriber estimate for 2006. 6/12/2006 06:34:00 AM
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23,000 Hours of Content
 June 11, 2006 satellite Standard Group is taking a deeper look into the recent news that Howard stern got back his content, and that Sirius and Howard can use this content on Sirius satellite Radio. LETS BOIL IT DOWN1. 23,000 hours of programming equates to 958 days worth of programming with-out a single repeat, or break. That is 2.6 years of programming!!!! Sirius paid the sum of $2,000,000 for access to this programming.2. There is little doubt that Sirius could easily get 4 years worth of programming out of this content (promos, lead-ins, news breaks, advertising, etc). $2,000,000 for four years worth of Howard Stern Programming. Howard Stern was #1 in many many markets during his days on terrestrial radio. This programming is extremely valuable, and Sirius got it for $2,000,000. 3. That content cost Sirius about $86.96 cents per hour. Imagine what Sirius can get for advertising revenue on this content. This content on it's own channel would be a cash cow!!!!! 4. On top of that, this content can be fully utilized by the current show to supplement programming, reminisce about something specific, or simply to look back at a particular guest, comedy bit, or whacky event. This content has a HUGE potential for Howard stern, as well as Sirius Satellite Radio, and in fact may be the best content deal that has been struck yet. 6/11/2006 10:41:00 PM
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Directed Electronics to Present at the NASDAQ Investor Prorgam on June 21
 June 11, 2006 Directed Electronics, Inc. to Present at the NASDAQ 17th Investor Program VISTA, Calif., June 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Directed Electronics, Inc. (Nasdaq: DEIX - News), the largest designer and marketer of consumer branded vehicle security and convenience systems in the United States based on sales, and a major supplier of home audio, mobile audio and video, and satellite radio products, today announced that Jim Minarik, President & Chief Executive Officer, will present at the NASDAQ 17th Investor Program. The event will be held June 20 - 21, 2006 at the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel, London, United Kingdom. Directed's investor presentation is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. GMT (9:15 a.m. EDT) on Wednesday, June 21, 2006. The presentation will be webcast live and will be available at http://nsdq.client.shareholder.com/london2006.cfm or on the Investor Relations section of Directed Electronics' website at http://www.directed.com/. For those who are not available to listen to the live broadcast, the call will be archived 6/11/2006 08:04:00 AM
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Sirius to Present at Deutsche Bank Media Conference
 June 10, 2006Sirius to present at Deutsche Bank Media Conference on Tuesday, June 13th at 11:20 AM ETAdditional InformationLink to webcast: http://investor.sirius.com/calendar.cfm6/10/2006 09:40:00 PM
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FMQB Reports on Copyright Laws
 June 10, 2006Copyright Laws Under AttackJune 9, 2006 FMQB An ongoing battle in Congress could have a wide-ranging effect on music copyrights, but also change the way people listen to music on their computers. A U.S. House Of Representatives panel has approved a draft of a reform act that would alter the language of who does or does not have the rights to make copies of recordings. Coming out in support of the changes are the Digital Media Alliance (DiMA), National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), and the RIAA. In a joint statement, the organizations said, "Our member companies – digital music providers, music publishers and recording companies – stand much to gain from legislation that will bring music licensing into the digital era." On the other hand, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has been joined by Sirius, XM and Radio Shack, among others. The EFF sent a letter to Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) saying the proposed legislation will "encroach in unprecedented ways upon long-held consumer rights to make private, personal uses of copyrighted works – rights that become even more vital and necessary for the public good in the digital age." They also note that the language in the bill "implies that licenses from copyright holders are needed for every digital copy made in the transmission of digital media - including cached copies on servers or on your hard drive, and even temporary copies." Here is a the three page letter (click for PDF) submitted to the bill's authors, prepared by a coalition of 19 consumer-oriented advocacy groups and companies, including the American Association of Law Libraries, BellSouth, the Consumer Electronics Association, Public Knowledge, RadioShack, and Sirius and XM satellite radio, claiming the proposal poses a threat to fair use. 6/10/2006 09:04:00 AM
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Stern Gets Coverage in the Washington Post
 June 10, 2006The Audience Howard Stern Left Behind: Mysteriously, Neither Here Nor ThereBy Marc FisherWashington Post Staff WriterSunday, June 11, 2006 David Lee Roth flopped. Adam Carolla is sputtering along. And Elliot Segal -- of DC-101's "Elliot in the Morning" show -- won a bonanza of new listeners, but only temporarily. The replacements and competitors who hoped to capitalize on Howard Stern's move in January from traditional terrestrial radio to the paying-customers-only world of Sirius satellite radio haven't exactly prospered. In Washington, WJFK (106.7 FM) replaced Stern with the Junkies, the quartet of local guys who yuk it up each morning with banter about sex, sports and other "guy stuff." After suffering a massive drop in listeners in their first couple of months in Stern's old morning drive slot, the Junkies have been adding audience steadily. The latest Arbitrend monthly ratings reports show they have nearly matched Stern's appeal to men 18 and older. But radio executives are having a tough time figuring out where Stern's national audience of about 12 million daily listeners has gone since the self-appointed King of All Media switched to the profanity-friendly playing field of satellite radio. No doubt, Stern has been a powerful boon to Sirius, which had been lagging far behind Washington-based XM Satellite Radio in the race for subscribers. Since Stern's arrival, his $600 million deal has looked like a winner for Sirius, which has added more subscribers this year than XM has -- narrowing the gap between the companies to 6.5 million listeners for XM and 4 million for Sirius. But even if surveys are correct in attributing more than one-fourth of those new Sirius subscribers to Stern's presence, one in every six Stern listeners, at best, has decided to cough up $13 a month to listen to radio. Where did the rest go? In the nightmares of radio executives -- who, like TV, newspaper and magazine bosses, have watched as the splintering of the media landscape diminishes their once-dominant places in Americans' daily lives -- those Stern listeners might vanish into millions of individual choices to program their own morning music on their iPods or spend their time on the Internet. But in Washington, as in much of the nation, the ratings numbers don't support that conclusion. The number of Washingtonians listening to the radio in the morning dropped hardly at all in the first few months after Stern's departure, according to Arbitron ratings. "The question of losing audience to satellite could keep you up at night," says Michael Hughes, the top manager of the five CBS-owned radio stations in Washington, including WJFK. "But there's no empirical evidence that that's happening." Hughes saw his talk station lose nearly half its market share in the first three months of this year, but he's confident that WJFK is on the rebound. And by adding "Opie & Anthony," one of the raunchiest of raunch radio shows, in middays, he's hoping to create a solid offering of guy radio from the Junkies through to the "Don & Mike" show in afternoon drive time. Opie and Anthony, whose show airs on XM, are one of the first examples of terrestrial radio swallowing its pride and adopting a show from satellite. The duo will do a cleaner version of their act for broadcast each day, then scoot over to XM's New York studios to do a more R-rated show for their paying audience. Tracking Stern's listeners locally, it's clear that many spent the first weeks after the switchover sampling DC-101 FM's resident bad boy, Elliot, whose audience jumped by more than 50 percent at first -- from 114,000 listeners to 178,000 per week -- only to drop back to where it had started by April, the ratings indicate. "It seems to be a shotgun effect, where listeners landed in lots of different places," says Lisa Wolfe, program director of WTOP (103.5 FM), the all-news station, which itself switched frequencies during the same time frame, one of several moves that changed the Washington radio lineup. With Big 100.3 (WBIG-FM) dropping oldies to focus on '70s rock, and Mix 107.3 (WRQX-FM) easing out of its experiment with a vastly expanded playlist to return to its former blend of the likes of Sheryl Crow, Avril Lavigne, Red Hot Chili Peppers and KT Tunstall, listeners have had more reason than usual to bop around the dial, sampling different stations in search of something listenable. "It's all about putting on good shows," Hughes says. The former Van Halen frontman, Roth, bombed on the radio in a handful of Eastern cities, proving once again that a good talk show guest does not necessarily make a credible host. Carolla, a proven comedian, has racked up ratings less than one-fourth of those that Stern drew on the same West Coast stations. But two winners do appear to be emerging from Stern's move: In some cities, ratings for National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" bumped up, a reflection of Stern's appeal to a more liberal and urban audience that's demographically similar to public radio's listener base. And in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, the decline of stations that had aired Stern has allowed Spanish-language stations to dominate morning ratings as never before. Although Stern's FM listeners for the moment appear to have blended into a roster of choices, they certainly will involve new gadgets and new ways to listen. WJFK, for example, is streaming its shows over the Internet and offering podcasts of its programs. But the hype might be getting ahead of reality: 98 percent of the station's listeners still tune in the old-fashioned way -- on the radio link to article HERE6/10/2006 08:57:00 AM
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Stern "Classic" gets a Mention in New York Daily News
 June 10, 2006 New York Daily News Saturday, June 10, 2006 "More of Stern to go aroundAs part of the settlement of his lawsuit with CBS, Howard Stern basically acquired the tapes of all his old shows, about 23,000 hours. Stern said this week he's still going through them and deciding how to use them. Options include a Classic Stern channel at his current Sirius Satellite Radio home, time capsules to replay in full on days he's off, or clusters of, say, a dozen appearances from one guest. Or, quite likely, some combination of the above. Stern fans are eager to hear, among other things, uncensored bits that were bleeped. And whether you care about Stern or not, it's good news that these 20-plus years of radio history will be preserved - because in radio, so much is not. " Link to article HERE6/10/2006 08:51:00 AM
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Cramer is having Breakfast with Mel next week (Will Mel eat Jim's Lunch...?)
 June 10, 2006 Sirius mentioned on Jim Cramer's Lightning Round Cramer's 'Mad Money Lightning Round': TheStreet.com Staff6/9/2006 7:22 PM Sirius: "I'm having breakfast with [CEO] Mel Karmazin next week. And you know what my late grandmother said, 'Never say a bad word about someone. Just keep your mouth shut.' "Link to quote HEREWhat in the world does this mean?!!!! I am sure Mel will make his point. Anyway, Jim has been losing credibility lately. Bombs are dropping all over the place...UNH, FNSR, VTSS. It's about time Jim did some "real" research. 6/10/2006 08:42:00 AM
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Delphi Reaches a Buyout Deal with UAW and GM
 June 9, 2006 Delphi Reaches Deal With United Auto Workers, General Motors to Offer Buyouts to Hourly Workers DETROIT (AP) -- Delphi Corp. said Friday it has reached a deal with the United Auto Workers and General Motors Corp. to offer buyouts to hourly employees who aren't eligible for early retirement. The automotive parts supplier said it also was expanding its previously announced early retirement incentives to include more workers. Delphi is GM's largest supplier and has sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. GM is helping to fund the buyouts, Delphi said. via Yahoo HERE6/09/2006 04:26:00 PM
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Arbitrons Portable People Meters
 June 9, 2006 Satellite Standard keeps you informed. Arbitron has announced that four new radio groups have signed on to the Portable People Meter electronic measurement service. The device, the size of a pager, is slated to be the replacement for the old "Arbitron" diaries that are currently in use. These pagers will monitor the listening and viewing habbits of participants via a signal that the meter receives. It will be interesting to follow the progress. Interested SSG readers can learn more HERE via AdAge 6/09/2006 04:08:00 PM
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Poker, Anyone? Live and Exclusively on Sirius
  June 9, 2006Bluff Poker Radio To Air 2006 World Series of Poker Broadcasts Live On Sirius Satellite RadioLast Update: 10:01 AM ET Jun 9, 2006 LAS VEGAS, Jun 09, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. announced today a Harrah's subsidiary has signed a letter of intent with BLUFF MEDIA, publisher of Bluff Magazine and producers of Bluff Poker Radio, for production of live radio broadcasts from the World Series of Poker(R) Presented by Milwaukee's Best Light. The non-binding agreement is subject to definitive documentation. Bluff Poker Radio's live World Series of Poker broadcasts, which can be heard exclusively on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 125, will span a minimum of 10 hours a day for 43 days beginning June 29 and continuing through the final table of the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold 'Em World Championship, often referred to as the Main Event. "This is another first for poker," said Jeffrey Pollack, Commissioner of the World Series of Poker. "Now fans can experience all of the color, thrills and action of our tournament on Sirius Satellite Radio and with expert perspective and behind-the-scenes access from Bluff Poker Radio." "We are extremely excited to be working with Harrah's Entertainment and Sirius Satellite Radio to produce complete radio coverage of the WSOP," said Eddy Kleid, co-president of Bluff Media. "The World Series of Poker is the premier gaming event and offers the largest purse in all of sports. Our ground-breaking coverage will bring the excitement of the WSOP to listeners live as it happens." The broadcast team for Bluff Poker Radio's coverage of the 2006 WSOP will include former Monday Night Football radio play-by-play announcer and broadcast veteran, Howard David, current Bluff Poker Radio host and Fox World Analyst Nick Geber, and respected poker journalist John Vorhaus. In addition, Phil Gordon, former host of Celebrity Poker Showdown has signed on to provide commentary for the Main Event final table. Bluff Poker Radio's World Series of Poker live broadcast will include table and tournament analysis, tournament updates, interviews with the top poker players, listener interaction and live play-by-play action from the majority of the 45 WSOP final tables. More information on the live radio broadcasts is available www.wsopradio.com. 6/09/2006 11:38:00 AM
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