Satellite just keeps growing...

[tonyho7476]

Good news for us Sirius investors. Things continue to move along nicely. I think when NASCAR jumps on board next year, Sirius will be looking good. It better, I've done nothing but lose money since buying it.

 

Linky

[tonyho7476]

Someone might get a kick out of this...I'm really bored at work today. Here is a an e-mail I sent to the Score...basically to see what kind of response I would get. My subject was 'My Favorite Score Programming'.

 

It must be your non-stop commercials. I have been without my Sirius radio the last two days, and I have been stuck listening to terrestrial/horrible radio. My favorite is when you guys come back from a commercial, talk about an upcoming segment, do a live commercial, and then go back to recorded commercials. Nice work. I can't wait until Sirius finds a way a do some local sports talk, and I will never listen to your s***ty channels again.

 

Tony

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

Someone might get a kick out of this...I'm really bored at work today. Here is a an e-mail I sent to the Score...basically to see what kind of response I would get. My subject was 'My Favorite Score Programming'.

 

It must be your non-stop commercials. I have been without my Sirius radio the last two days, and I have been stuck listening to terrestrial/horrible radio. My favorite is when you guys come back from a commercial, talk about an upcoming segment, do a live commercial, and then go back to recorded commercials. Nice work. I can't wait until Sirius finds a way a do some local sports talk, and I will never listen to your s***ty channels again.

 

Tony

 

Ive had my SIRIUS for 5 months now and I don't think I'll ever be able to drive my car without it ever again. ITS THAT GOOD!

[tonyho7476]

Ive had my SIRIUS for 5 months now and I don't think I'll ever be able to drive my car without it ever again. ITS THAT GOOD!

 

I really would like to listen to some Sox talk here...but its f***ing horrific. I hope that the satellite companies can come up with a good way to do some local talk. That would really make regular radio useless. Once you listen to music all the time with no commercials or only 5 minutes per hour on Stern and then turn this on, you want to rip your head out. Radio helps my day go by at work, so I really get into it.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

I really would like to listen to some Sox talk here...but its f***ing horrific. I hope that the satellite companies can come up with a good way to do some local talk. That would really make regular radio useless. Once you listen to music all the time with no commercials or only 5 minutes per hour on Stern and then turn this on, you want to rip your head out. Radio helps my day go by at work, so I really get into it.

 

 

Im totally with ya on that one. You get kinda spoiled because if you like a certain genre all the stations are close together. Me, Im always bouncing back between 19 and 23 ( Leave out 22 because it blows ass ) and there's always something good on. If I need news I hop over to CNBC or Fox News and get the audio feed from the TV channel. Listening to local radio you're lucky if you get 20 minutes of actual content for every hour.

[RibbieRubarb]

Someone might get a kick out of this...I'm really bored at work today. Here is a an e-mail I sent to the Score...basically to see what kind of response I would get. My subject was 'My Favorite Score Programming'.

 

It must be your non-stop commercials. I have been without my Sirius radio the last two days, and I have been stuck listening to terrestrial/horrible radio. My favorite is when you guys come back from a commercial, talk about an upcoming segment, do a live commercial, and then go back to recorded commercials. Nice work. I can't wait until Sirius finds a way a do some local sports talk, and I will never listen to your s***ty channels again.

 

Tony

 

I was thinkling the same thing today.

I forgot my Sirius at home and I was driving to work and had to listen the Score.

Commercial...commercial...commercial...

I would love local programming from thr major markets. An all Chicago sports channel and even a New York/Boston sports channel...oh wait that's ESPN.

 

Thank god for my Sirius and next week when Howard comes back from vacation.

[tonyho7476]

Here is the response I got from my e-mail. I thought for sure he'd tell me I was right.

 

Tony,

 

Thanks for your e-mail. I encourage you to listen more often. Thank you.

 

Mitch Rosen

[RockRaines]

IM pumped that my new car will have built in sat radio so I dont need to f with the stupid installation and whatnot. XM rules solely for the fact I can listen to the games on the radio no matter where I am. Also with football coming up, i love to be able to listen to OSU games.

[tonyho7476]

I was thinkling the same thing today.

I forgot my Sirius at home and I was driving to work and had to listen the Score.

Commercial...commercial...commercial...

I would love local programming from thr major markets. An all Chicago sports channel and even a New York/Boston sports channel...oh wait that's ESPN.

 

Thank god for my Sirius and next week when Howard comes back from vacation.

 

I'm with you on this...some sort of major market local sports channel. I don't know how they would pull it off...but maybe they could switch between NY, LA, Chicago, etc, per hour, or something. There has to be a good solution out there. Or does two cities split a channel? I don't know.

 

IM pumped that my new car will have built in sat radio so I dont need to f with the stupid installation and whatnot. XM rules solely for the fact I can listen to the games on the radio no matter where I am. Also with football coming up, i love to be able to listen to OSU games.

 

Rock, you and I have a lot of problems. Go Blue!

 

I have my radio set up with an auxilary input and it sounds awesome. That FM Transmitter s*** it for the birds. But built into the car would be cool too. What kind of car?

[Steff]

I was thinkling the same thing today.

I forgot my Sirius at home and I was driving to work and had to listen the Score.

Commercial...commercial...commercial...

I would love local programming from thr major markets. An all Chicago sports channel and even a New York/Boston sports channel...oh wait that's ESPN.

 

Thank god for my Sirius and next week when Howard comes back from vacation.

 

 

 

I sleep on the way to work when Jim listens to that s***. Even though I've heard it already, listening to the HS replay is better than 99.9% of the s*** on testicular radio.

 

 

 

I have my radio set up with an auxilary input and it sounds awesome. That FM Transmitter s*** it for the birds. But built into the car would be cool too. What kind of car?

 

 

My BMW has Sirius built in. It's so effing cool. Jim's Vette has XM. Can't wait till the toggle adapter comes out. Then we'll both have both.

[tonyho7476]

I sleep on the way to work when Jim listens to that s***. Even though I've heard it already, listening to the HS replay is better than 99.9% of the s*** on testicular radio.

My BMW has it built in. It's so effing cool.

 

This is the way to go...get it in the car...or use an auxilary input...it gives the best sound. I got a nice little sportster 4 which is real easy to move from the car. I love it.

 

Rock, did you ever dock your portable unit in the car?

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

I have my radio set up with an auxilary input and it sounds awesome. That FM Transmitter s*** it for the birds. But built into the car would be cool too. What kind of car?

 

 

The only time I have trouble with the FM transmitter is when Im in downtown Chicago. Everywhere else I go I dont have any issues with it at all.

[RockRaines]

I

Rock, you and I have a lot of problems. Go Blue!

 

I have my radio set up with an auxilary input and it sounds awesome. That FM Transmitter s*** it for the birds. But built into the car would be cool too. What kind of car?

Me and you may come to blows. I am currently looking at 3 different cars, and they all offer built in sat radio. its so effing cool. You just hit sat, just like if it was fm or am. And you are off. The sound quality is amazing!!!

[Steff]

Rock, did you ever dock your portable unit in the car?

 

I do this in the truck. I take the starmate from the truck dock, to the work dock, or the house dock.

 

The only time I have trouble with the FM transmitter is when Im in downtown Chicago. Everywhere else I go I dont have any issues with it at all.

 

 

I get some static in the BMW, also. It's not the transmitter, it's the signal. XM does it also sometimes when I am listening to it while at the Sox games.

[RockRaines]

I have the portable unit, which I dock in the car, but i do it over FM transmit, its not my favorite. I much prefer the built in units, I have a pioneer headunit in my boat that has XM built in, and it works awesome!!

[tonyho7476]

The only time I have trouble with the FM transmitter is when Im in downtown Chicago. Everywhere else I go I dont have any issues with it at all.

 

NUKE, I'm talking more about sound quality, but an auxilary input is also great for the fact you never lose a signal. You might want to look here for auxilary input adaptors for your car. Again, if you are happy, no need to mess around. But if you heard my setup, or Steff's, or Rock's, you'd really appreciate the difference.

 

Here is the link...this place is in wicker park...next day delivery on anything ordered ground, in the chicago area. And check out my cool sporster 4 while you are there...

 

The Sirius Store

 

I have the portable unit, which I dock in the car, but i do it over FM transmit, its not my favorite. I much prefer the built in units, I have a pioneer headunit in my boat that has XM built in, and it works awesome!!

 

yeah, but, if the car is where you listen least, then its no big deal. I listen most at work.

 

A boat? Maybe you and I need to start hanging out.

[tonyho7476]

All Hail King Stern

By Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMFBreakerRick)

July 7, 2006

 

Is the self-appointed "King of All Media" also the king of all markets? Terrestrial-radio deserter and wickedly popular morning-show radio host Howard Stern helped Sirius (Nasdaq: SIRI) close the subscriber gap with market-leader XM (Nasdaq: XMSR) for the third quarter in a row. In the second quarter, which ended last week, Sirius claims that it landed 600,460 new subscribers, while XM generated just 398,000 net additions.

 

XM can't sugarcoat the disparity. It's true that XM still commands the larger audience. The company closed out the quarter with 6.9 million subscribers, while Sirius totalled 4.7 million. Even if XM's subscriber count remains stagnant over the next few periods -- highly unlikely, of course -- Sirius wouldn't catch up until the first half of 2007.

 

The problem is that this is a momentum game, and at the moment, Sirius is the one behind the wheel. It was able to land 64% more net new subscribers during the period than it did a year earlier. Over at XM, the company suffered a 38% slide in net new additions, after claiming 640,000 new sets of ears in the June quarter of 2005.

 

XM is still growing -- reporting net new additions, not subtractions. That doesn't take away from the one thing that's now becoming painfully -- or gloriously -- obvious: Howard Stern is bigger than even he thinks he is.

 

Hugh blew it

When Sirius agreed to a five-year deal with Stern, a stock-and-cash pact valued at $500 million at the time, XM CEO Hugh Panero was critical of the amounts being bandied about for the sometimes-controversial host. David Gardner interviewed Panero last year, and this is what he had to say:

 

I don't know if it is a good move for Sirius. It is clearly a very good move for Howard Stern. He is a smart guy, and he has obviously done a deal that is very good for him. I think that there will be a number of his hardcore fans who will subscribe to listen to him in that environment.

 

Whether it is a good business deal, I think time is going to tell. It is a lot, a lot of money. I had also spoken to Howard and some of his people, and there was some interest in us doing some sort of a deal with him, but I never, ever contemplated a deal of that magnitude. That is more money than people like Oprah Winfrey make. That is more money than some of the biggest stars that exist. It is quite a gamble, but it was clearly a very good business deal for Howard Stern.

 

In retrospect, Panero was wrong. Since the day the deal was announced, shares of Sirius are only trading marginally higher; that still tops XM, which has seen its shares nearly halved in the same period. It's interesting to note how Panero singled out Oprah, a broadcasting celebrity with whom XM eventually teamed up to create a new XM channel debuting this fall.

 

Along the way, we've had downward subscriber revisions, troublesome product rollouts, and a defecting Chicken Little board member. Investors keep waiting for the other shoe to drop at XM, only to realize that XM is really Imelda Marcos in disguise. Boy, Stern would have been really convenient about now. Would we even still be in a duopoly if Sirius had let Stern slip through its fingers and into XM's hands?

 

We can argue about Stern's merits until we're blue in the face -- and I don't mean the FCC's definition of "blue" here. Whether you think he's brilliant or a potty-mouth, the numbers don't lie. Consumers have been choosing Sirius over XM since Stern made his media blitz over the 2005 holiday season.

 

Stern is the not-so-secret ingredient behind Sirius' killer recipe. I subscribe to both XM and Sirius. I love both. XM has more channels, with a lot of content overlap. You'll get a wide range of opinion on who has the best music channels, but both services are excellent substitutes to old-school radio. One can argue that XM's deal with Major League Baseball and Sirius' pact with the National Football League make each offering distinctive, but that's also what makes Sirius clobbering XM here so Stern-driven. We're waist-deep into the baseball season and a couple of months away from the start of the NFL games. All things being equal, XM should have smoked Sirius this quarter.

 

Eighteen months ago, I made a pretty ridiculous prediction. XM was trouncing Sirius, yet I proclaimed that Sirius would land more net new subscribers by the fourth quarter of 2005. It seemed outlandish at the time, but I was spot-on accurate. I'm off to hock my crystal ball, though. A year later, I predicted that XM would regain the new-listener lead in the second and third quarters. Not even close.

 

Another shoe tumbles

This doesn't end here, of course. Anyone with a calculator and a penchant for train wrecks can see that XM may let us down one more time. Back in May, XM announced that it intended to close out the year with 8.5 million subscribers. It had originally planned to end 2006 by lapping the nine-million mark.

 

On the other hand, Sirius expects to wrap up the year with 6.2 million subs. In other words, over the next six months, XM expects to land 1.6 million more net new users, with Sirius projecting just 1.5 million net new subscribers.

 

How? If the baseball-charged second quarter didn't do it, how will XM outmuscle Sirius when the playing fields of choice go from diamonds to gridirons? XM will have "its Oprah moment" in a few months, but that's a wildcard, since Oprah's emphasis will remain with her syndicated television show.

 

What would it take for XM to avoid another heartbreak? Will next month's earnings report bring that 8.5 million year-end target to a round 8 million, or will announcement come in early October instead?

 

Things don't have to be that bleak. As logic goes, the more time that Stern spends entrenched in satellite radio and away from the mainstream spotlight, the less of a factor he becomes in moving new receivers. True Stern fans would have made the migration already. But the strong second quarter, months after Stern's first show for Sirius, throws that theory into the wood-chipper.

 

Maybe the thinking is that XM stars Opie & Anthony, pioneers in taking their controversial morning show to satellite radio, will be successful ambassadors. XM began syndicating part of the show to Stern's former haunt at CBS (NYSE: CBS). If lightning can be caught in a bottled-up radio show twice, XM may be on to something. But the early XM migration numbers don't seem to have panned out that way.

 

I still believe in XM. I even recommended the stock to Rule Breakers subscribers last year. I'm realistic, though. A year ago, I was wondering why XM had a lower market cap than Sirius. Now I understand. Still, XM's attractive valuation, and the upside potential of the niche, keep me glued to the possibilities.

 

Stop dropping shoes, XM. And if you've got platform shoes in there, try them on. We can all use the lift.

 

Rick recommended XM to Rule Breakers subscribers last year. The stock is currently in the red, though the average newsletter service pick is currently beating the market. See David Gardner's full list of growth-focused picks with a free 30-day guest pass.

 

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is a Sirius and XM subscriber, but he does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. The Fool has a disclosure policy. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.

[StrangeSox]

My mom won a"tailgate" prize package from Icehouse that included a Sirius radio and a free 1-year subscription. I've been listening to it online at work this summer.

 

After listening to it, I'm not interested in paying $10 a month. Yes, regular radio blows ass, and this is a lot better, but its still so god damned repetitive. I listen to "classic vinyl 14" a lot. They play music from about a 20 year period, yet I'll hear the same songs by the same artists every day. Yeah, I like the Beatles--play more than 5 songs by them. I was hoping it would be better than that. With the HUGE selection of music from that era, there's no reason to hear the same song twice in a MONTH if they really want to mix up the variety. Instead, I've just heard "Smoke on the Water" for about the 20th work day in a row. Lame.

[tonyho7476]

My mom won a"tailgate" prize package from Icehouse that included a Sirius radio and a free 1-year subscription. I've been listening to it online at work this summer.

 

After listening to it, I'm not interested in paying $10 a month. Yes, regular radio blows ass, and this is a lot better, but its still so god damned repetitive. I listen to "classic vinyl 14" a lot. They play music from about a 20 year period, yet I'll hear the same songs by the same artists every day. Yeah, I like the Beatles--play more than 5 songs by them. I was hoping it would be better than that. With the HUGE selection of music from that era, there's no reason to hear the same song twice in a MONTH if they really want to mix up the variety. Instead, I've just heard "Smoke on the Water" for about the 20th work day in a row. Lame.

 

I can't say I've had that experience, but I mix up my music a lot. I have a friend here at work who loves Indy/College music, and he did a lot of checking on repeating of music, and he was pretty happy with their selection and repeat-ability.

 

And I did a song search for 'Smoke on the Water'...and you exaggerated a little...remember, this channel is classic vinyl...they do also have a deep cuts channel...this plays more of the classic hits.

 

"Smoke On The Water" by Deep Purple played on...

Channel # Channel name Date Time

14 Classic Vinyl July 7, 2006 01:19 PM

19 BuzzSaw July 7, 2006 09:59 AM

19 BuzzSaw July 6, 2006 04:30 AM

12 Super Shuffle June 30, 2006 01:13 PM

19 BuzzSaw June 30, 2006 12:04 PM

14 Classic Vinyl June 30, 2006 01:02 AM

147 Road Dog Trucking June 29, 2006 02:44 PM

19 BuzzSaw June 29, 2006 06:34 AM

14 Classic Vinyl June 28, 2006 04:30 PM

19 BuzzSaw June 28, 2006 12:47 AM

14 Classic Vinyl June 27, 2006 08:42 AM

19 BuzzSaw June 26, 2006 10:01 PM

14 Classic Vinyl June 24, 2006 05:06 PM

Edited July 7, 2006 by tonyho7476

[StrangeSox]

Yes, I exaggerated a little, but I do hear it about every other day. I mainly listen to buzzsaw or classic vinyl from 8am until 430pm. There's just so much music that they could be playing. Just like regular radio, they'll get into cycles where they'll play the same couple of songs by an artist and slowly phase over to a new set.

 

It doesn't have to neccesarily be "deeper" cuts. How many hit songs did the Beatles have? Dylan? Clapton? Zepplin? Yet I hear the same 5 or 6 all the time.

Edited July 7, 2006 by StrangeSox

[tonyho7476]

Yes, I exaggerated a little, but I do hear it about every other day. I mainly listen to buzzsaw or classic vinyl from 8am until 430pm. There's just so much music that they could be playing. Just like regular radio, they'll get into cycles where they'll play the same couple of songs by an artist and slowly phase over to a new set.

 

In those rock channels, a lot of music fits into several groups, especially a song like that.

 

And the satellite appeal is more than just the music. Now, online, you are limited to music, so...I could see how you aren't getting the full effect.

 

Another thing to note...no commercials, means more music, which means more likely a repeat will be heard.

Edited July 7, 2006 by tonyho7476

[StrangeSox]

In those rock channels, a lot of music fits into several groups, especially a song like that.

 

And the satellite appeal is more than just the music. Now, online, you are limited to music, so...I could see how you aren't getting the full effect.

 

Another thing to note...no commercials, means more music, which means more likely a repeat will be heard.

 

What is there available on one of the radio units that isn't available online? More channels?

 

No commericials is great. Its the best thing about it. Like other have said about the Score, I tried listening for a while one day. When they came back from commericial to tell me they were going to another commercial, I switched it off. I'll never listen to it again aside from game broadcasts.

 

I guess I was just sort of let down. I hadn't listen to FM radio in years because it was so crappy. The same stations playing the same crap songs over and over again. Sirius is indeed better than that, but I guess I was hoping for even greater variety. I do enjoy listening, but I just can't see spending $120/year on it.

[tonyho7476]

What is there available on one of the radio units that isn't available online? More channels?

 

No commericials is great. Its the best thing about it. Like other have said about the Score, I tried listening for a while one day. When they came back from commericial to tell me they were going to another commercial, I switched it off. I'll never listen to it again aside from game broadcasts.

 

I guess I was just sort of let down. I hadn't listen to FM radio in years because it was so crappy. The same stations playing the same crap songs over and over again. Sirius is indeed better than that, but I guess I was hoping for even greater variety. I do enjoy listening, but I just can't see spending $120/year on it.

 

Well, you are getting none of the sports...the comedy (which is great)...the news...the talk...

 

Listen to Deep Tracks a little...its not up my alley, but you might like it...or Super Shuffle can be interesting...but that is Top Hits...new/old, from different generations of music and different genres.

 

If you like the Dead and that style...check out Jam On...

 

And have you tried Little Steven's channel....Underground Garage? I know that is pretty popular.

 

HEre is a link to the Rock channels....Sirius Rock

Edited July 7, 2006 by tonyho7476

[StrangeSox]

Well, to be honest, the sports, news, and talk don't interest me too much so I don't really miss them. I wonder why they don't broadcast them online?

 

I've jumped around channels, and I'll occasionally wander on down to UG.

 

I guess I was a little harsh on Sirius, but I am disappointed in the repeats. Its not enough to make me stop listening for free, but it hasn't convinced me to start paying $10 a month once this free period runs out.

[tonyho7476]

Well, to be honest, the sports, news, and talk don't interest me too much so I don't really miss them. I wonder why they don't broadcast them online?

 

Its a question of bandwidth...

 

And it sounds like you'd be more of an IPod kind of person.

Edited July 7, 2006 by tonyho7476