RIAA meets with Commissioner Tate

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 9:40 AM
Filed under: Deborah Tate, FCC, Merger, RIAA

Sirius, XM MergerThe Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) met with FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate last week to discuss the merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

Mitch Bainwol, the Chairman and CEO of the RIAA, and Steven Marks, RIAA Executive VP and General Counsel, held a telephone conversation with Commissioner Tate on July 17th, according to a recent filing.

The RIAA discussed their "concerns with the merger and its impacts on the recording industry" as well as some recent conversations with Sirius about them. The RIAA was sure to highlight that Sirius failed to respond to the RIAA about those "concerns."

[Read Filing (PDF)]

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XM earnings rise nearly 15 percent

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 6:10 AM
Filed under: Earnings, Subscribers, XM, XMSR
XMRevenue for XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. rose nearly 15 percent year over year to $318 million in the second quarter, the company said today.

As announced yesterday, XM's subscribers grew 17 percent to 9.65 million for Q2, compared to 8.25 million subscribers at the end of second quarter 2007. Net OEM subscriber additions of 360,000 more than offset the loss of 38,000 net retail subscribers.

Second quarter 2008 adjusted operating loss narrowed to $37 million, compared to a loss of $47 million in second quarter 2007. XM's second quarter 2008 net loss improved to $120 million, compared to a second quarter 2007 net loss of $176 million.

In 2Q08, XM's subscriber acquisition costs (SAC) improved year-over-year to $65, compared to $75 in the period last year. Cost per gross addition (CPGA) came in at $100 and down from $121 in the second quarter 2007.

XM reported that Q208 conversion held at 53.4 percent, compared to second quarter 2007 conversion of 52.7 percent. Second quarter 2008 churn improved to 1.67 percent, compared to second quarter 2007 churn of 1.84 percent.

Full financials after the jump...


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Mel Karmazin, Gary Parsons, Nate Davis met with FCC

Monday, July 21, 2008 at 6:48 PM
Filed under: FCC, Gary Parsons, Mel Karmazin, Merger, Nate Davis, Satellite Radio, Sirius, XM
FCCDiscussions continue to heat up with FCC Commissioners over the merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., only this time  top executives from both companies were present.

On Thursday, July 17th, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin met with Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein to discuss the conditions and objections to the merger. Karmazin also discussed possible modifications to the voluntary commitment letter previously filed by Sirius-XM.

On the same day, representatives from Sirius and XM met with Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate and Amy Blankenship to discuss the merger as well as matters pending before the Enforcement Bureau.

Also on July 17th, XM chairman Gary Parsons and CEO Nate Davis, alongside others from XM and counsel for Sirius. met with Catherine Bohigian, Chief of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis.

[View FCC Filings: 1, 2, 3 (PDF)]


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ABBA Radio continues on Sirius

Monday, July 21, 2008 at 5:55 PM
Filed under: ABBA Radio, Channels, Sirius
ABBADue to popular demand, Sirius is extending its ABBA Radio channel through July 25th, the company said today.

The limited engagement channel launched on Sirius on July 7th in celebration of the release of MAMMA MIA! The Movie. The film, released in North America on July 18th, set a record for the strongest debut of a musical, earning an estimated $27.6 million at the box office.

ABBA Radio (ch 3) will continue to feature celebrity fans sharing their favorite ABBA music and personal stories, including stars from MAMMA MIA! The Movie.

The exclusive channel run has also featured guest deejay sessions by Martha Stewart, singer Dionne Warwick, New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, Neil Sedaka, songwriter Desmond Child, Randy Jones of The Village People, among many others.

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Adelstein wants "independent monitor" for Sirius-XM deal

Monday, July 21, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Filed under: Adelstein, FCC, Merger, Sirius, XM

FCC

FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said Friday that he wants an "independent monitor" to ensure that Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. comply with the agency's conditions if they are allowed to merge.

The Commissioner said this in the Bloomberg Television interview late last week.

Adelstein, one of two Democrats on the five-member FCC, said he hopes to meet with the two companies next this week.

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XM surpasses 9.6 million subscribers

Monday, July 21, 2008 at 6:26 AM
Filed under: Subscribers, XM, XMSR

XM

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. surpassed 9.6 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2008, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of record OEM gross additions.

XM added 322,000 new net subscribers in the second quarter of 2008 for a total of 9,653,000 subscribers, that's a 17% increase in subscribers since the end of the second quarter of 2007.

Total gross additions for the quarter came in at 1,081,000 - that includes a record 857,000 gross additions from the automotive (OEM) sector - the fifth consecutive quarter of record OEM gross additions. Retail gross additions were 224,000 for the quarter.

Churn also improved in Q208 to 1.67 percent. Compare that to both second quarter 2007 churn of 1.84 percent and to first quarter 2008 churn of 1.77 percent.

XM also said that subscription revenue for second quarter 2008 is expected to be in the range of $283 - $288 million, and that adjusted operating loss is expected to be in the range of $32 - $38 million (excluding the impact of any FCC settlement). Conversion rate for promotional subscribers is expected to be in the range of 52.7 percent to 53.4 percent.

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Sirius-XM merger costs approach $100 million

Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Filed under: Merger, NAB, Satellite Radio, Sirius, XM
Sportster 5 vs Xpress RC
The merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc has collectively cost the companies at least $69 million, according to filings with the SEC.

XM disclosed expenses through the end of 2007 totaling to $29.5 million. Sirius on the other hand disclosed merger-related expenses amounting to $29.4 million, and just over $10 million through the end of March.

Of course, the NAB has something to say about this.

"Given the satcasters' exorbitant spending reported so far, it is well within reason to assume their combined merger-related expenses are approaching 100 million dollars," said NAB's Dennis Wharton.

"From the beginning, we knew XM and Sirius would say anything to gain blessing for a government-sanctioned monopoly, despite their years of brazenly abusing FCC rules," Wharton added. "Now we know they will spend anything as well. But they are also finding that government-sanctioned monopolies apparently don't come cheap."

The NAB obviously ignores the fact that this merger has extended on for an astounding 17 months, but that doesn't make for good PR-spin, now does it?

[Radio Online]

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Video: FCC Commissioner Adelstein speaks

Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 2:04 PM
Filed under: Adelstein, FCC, Merger, Videos
FCC Commissioner Jonathan AdelsteinBloomberg News featured an in depth interview with FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein about the merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings INc. yesterday.

One interesting note: Adelstein cites the proposals made by DirecTV-EchoStar, back when they tried to merge, as the reason for asking that Sirius-XM provide 25% of spectrum for non-commercial/minority use.

It's a good interview, and highly recommended.

[Watch Video]

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Spotted: XM at MLB All-Star FanFest

Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Filed under: All-Star Week, MLB, MLB Home Plate, XM
XM was all over the MLB All-Star Game in New York this past week, including the All-Star FanFest at the Javits convention center in Manhattan.

The MLB Home Plate (ch 175) channel played host to a long line of baseball stars and legends, including Hall of Famers George Brett and Whitey Ford, who taped episodes of "Baseball Confidential" in front of live crowds. Lots of other XM channels broadcast from the site, even the POTUS '08 presidential election channel, which mixed sports and politics with sportswriters and politicos.

The last XM show from Javits was "60/20 Sports" with James Carville and Luke Russert, who did double-duty on the POTUS channel, then hopped over to his own show to interview Bob Costas and Greta Van Susteren, then walked out onto the field at Yankee Stadium with his mother Maureen Orth for a pre-game tribute to Luke's late father Tim, in recognition of his support and advocacy for baseball.

Quite a week.

POTUS: Luke Russert and Joe MathieuPictured: Luke Russert (right) talks about the drive to get young people to register to vote with POTUS '08 host Joe Mathieu.

Check out more photos after the jump...

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XM to air the ESPYs, plus exclusive Red Carpet Specials

Friday, July 18, 2008 at 12:54 PM
Filed under: Danica Patrick, ESPN, XM, XM Radio Sports

Danica PatrickXM will air the 2008 ESPYs award show in cooperation with ESPN this Sunday night. No, this has nothing to do with the merger.

The show will be simulcast on XM from 9-11pm ET, and XM will also air pre- and post-awards specials produced by ESPN exclusively for listeners. ESPN Radio's Jason Smith hosts the XM specials 8-9pm and 11-midnight ET from the red carpet at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, the entertainment complex in downtown Los Angeles.

XM's coverage of The ESPYs will air nationwide on ESPN XTRA (ch 141).

If you're wondering about the photo, as you should be, one of the ESPYs presenters is XM host (and history-making race car driver) Danica Patrick. So I see that as more than enough reason to post another photo of this upstanding radio journalist/athlete.

Hosted by Justin Timberlake, the 2008 ESPYs bring celebrities from sports and entertainment together to commemorate the past year in sports by recognizing major sports achievements and honoring the leading performers and performances.

 

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