News Articles From Days Gone BySirius has announced that it will hold a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on 5 January.
(30 December 2004)
Present at the event will be Chairman Joe Clayton, President of Entertainment & Sports Scott Greenstein, Executive Veep of Marketing Mary Pat Ryan and Product Management and Strategic Planning Veep Larry Pesce. Highlights are expected to include new product and partner announcements, updates on technology, programming strategy and the introduction of new Chief Executive Officer "Mellow Mel" Karmazin.
Sirius and XM passed major milestones this holiday season.
(28 December 2004)
XM surpassed 3.1 million subscribers, Sirius one million. Both were year end goals for the satellite broadcasters. XM boss Hugh Panero celebrated the occasion, saying, "Holiday shoppers bought XM radios in record numbers, reinforcing XM's significant market leadership position in satellite radio." Sirius' "Mellow Mel" Karmazin said "It's now clear that consumers are increasingly recognizing the appeal of our programming."
XM has announced that it is using the services of Millsport as its agency of record.
(23 December 2004)
Under the agreement, Millsport will provide a mix of strategic consulting, program planning and integrated activation around XM's partnerships with Major League Baseball, NASCAR, Collegiate Sports and music. "We're thrilled to join the XM Satellite Radio team," said Millsport Prez Howard Jacobs. "XM is the leadership brand in a dynamic category, with a fantastic entrepreneurial spirit and laser focus that's simply infectious."
Sirius has announced that "The 12 Days of Christmas" will be available on RadioClassics, channel 133.
(21 December 2004)
Produced in affiliation with MediaBay , the programs run throughout the Holiday season through Christmas Day. They feature the Lux Radio Theatre productions of It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street with the original cast members. Special holiday shows also include seasonal programs from Jack Benny, Abbott & Costello and Burns & Allen.
Chrysler customers are getting more Sirius than ever.
(20 December 2004)
The automaker announced soaring demand for Sirius Satellite Radio with volumes of over 100,000 units expected and a pace consistent with a target of over 500,000 subscribers. Said Sirius veep Doug Wilsterman, "This broad and successful factory program is very exciting for Sirius, as we build our subscriber base through our exclusive partnership with DaimlerChrysler. We are pleased to participate in the continuing offensive from the Chrysler Group."
XM is going to be broadcasting all the action in the major college football bowl games this year, including the Bowl Championship Series.
(17 December 2004)
"XM fans across the country will hear every minute of the most exciting college football games of the season," said XM veep for programming Eric Logan. In addition to play-by-play, XM will also be providing scores in text on selected receivers.
The Federal Communications Commission said that they're not really sirius about indecency -- at least with respect to satellite radio.
(16 December 2004)
The FCC ruling that its indecency rules do not apply to the new medium paves the way for Howard Stern to say whatever the hell he wants once he moves to "The Dog" next year. A petition asking that the indecency rules be extended had been filed by Mount Wilson Broadcasting's Saul Levine (see below) but was rejected by the commission in a letter by FCC Media Bureau chief Ken Ferree stating that "subscription-based services do not call into play the issue o decency."
Sirius has been declared the best for satellite radio programming by Edmunds .
(16 December 2004)
The company conducted a 60-day listening test between Sirius and XM and reported the result in an article on their web site. "The Dog" had its day in five of seven sub-categories, including Rock, Hip-Hop/R&B, Country, Sports, and Talk/Entertainment. "It's always rewarding when a respected independent source like Edmunds.com conducts an extensive review and determines that Sirius Satellite Radio offers subscribers the best programming radio," said Sirius veep for entertainment and sports Scott Greenstein.
The Brix Group has introduced yet another Sirius receiver, a palm-sized unit called the Streamer GT.
(16 December 2004)
It features a three line full display and an ergonomically designed toggle control for easy channel changes while driving. Said Brix founder and CEO Harry Brix, "The Brix Group's long history in the heavy truck, commercial vehicle and car audio markets has enabled us to design and manufacture a winning product at an affordable price point for all types of applications." The unit is available at a retail price of $129.95.
Digital map maven NAVTEQ is getting Sirius.
(14 December 2004)
The company has been selected by the satellite broadcaster as the traffic data provider for Sirius traffic. The new service will provide happy commuters with information about accidents, road closings, traffic flow and other traffic-related incidents. Integrated into new in-car navigation systems, Sirius traffic will initially cover 30 markets and is expected to expand to over 50.
Sirius is getting ready to join XM in the NASDAQ-100 Index, which comprises the 100 largest non-financial stocks listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market.
(14 December 2004)
"The addition of Sirius to the NASDAQ-100 underscores the confidence afforded to us by our institutional and retail investors," said new Sirius boss "Mellow Mel" Karmazin.
Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental are offering XM in thousands of vehicles nationwide.
(14 December 2004)
In the announcement by Vanguard Car Rental, operator of both rental companies, customers can expect to receive XM for no additional charge on all 2005 model Chevrolet Cobalts, Pontiac G6s, and Buick LaCrosses. Select Chevrolet Monte Carlos, Chevrolet Impalas and Pontiac Bonnevilles are also expected to be equipped with XM. XM veep of OEM commented, "We're very excited that the broad, diverse base of customers who rent National and Alamo vehicles can now experience XM Satellite Radio."
Expressing the confidence currently building for satellite radio, the NASDAQ-100 index has added XM beginning 20 December.
(11 December 2004)
"We are honored to be included in the NASDAQ-100 and listed among the leading technology companies in the world," said XM boss Hugh Panero.
Terk is shipping XM Direct Smart digital adapters for Pioneer, Sony and Kenwood car stereo head units.
(11 December 2004)
Operating in conjunction with an XM Universal Tuner, they permit users to receive the XM channels using existing particular manufacturer car stereo controls. The unit is expected to sell for $49.99.
Chairman Joe Clayon of Sirius says he company would love to bring Howard Stern on board before his contract with Infinity expires next year.
(8 December 2004)
Avoiding any suggestion that his company might be interested in buying out the remainder of the shock jock's current deal he said "If it's in Infinity's best interest and in Sirius' best interest, perhaps something could evolve." Meanwhile, "The King of All Media" has said that he has no immediate plan to get Sirius. In a related development, Saul Levine of Mt. Wilson FM Broadcasters has filed a Petition for Rulemaking to amend Part 25 of the FCC's pending satellite radio rules to include an indecency provision. Although unlikely without pressure from Congress, the adoption of Levine's petition could make life a little more difficult at "The Dog," whose stock price has declined almost 25% in response to concerns over the company's overpaying for Stern's services and its recent NFL contract.
Toyota is getting sirius about satellite radio.
(7 December 2004)
The automaker has announced deals with both XM and Sirius to make the technology available as either a dealer or factory installed option. The Sirius deal calls for post production and dealer installed receivers in Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles beginning in February. Toyota has also selected XM as its supplier for satellite delivered data services for the same vehicle lines as well as a factory-installed option in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. XM boss Hugh Panero said of the event, "We are delighted that Toyota has chosen to make our satellite radio and data services available as a factory-installed feature for its millions of customers." The first vehicles with factory-installed XM radios will be available in 2006.
Sirius is participating in two conferences being held this week, one financial and one media-oriented.
(6 December 2004)
Chairman of the Board of Directors Joe Clayton and CFO David Frear are presenting at the Credit Suisse First Boston 2004 Media and Telecom Week Conference in New York today at 1:30 PM. They're also presenting on Thursday, 9 December, at the UBS Media Week Conference. A webcast of the latter conference is being made available at the Sirius website.
XM listeners can get a little more out of their systems with Connect, a new product that allows MP3 or WAV files to be recorded from XM Direct car stereo tuners.
(3 December 2004)
The TimeTrax Technologies product lets users save broadcasts from any of XM's 120 digital streams using the same technology originally designed for the now-discontinued XM PCR device, which receives satellite broadcasts on a personal computer. TimeTrax CEO Elliot Frutkin said of the new product, "We are very happy with the speedy user acceptance of TimeTrax, and are excited now to offer TimeTrax to an even broader market of XM users."
As if hip hop lyrics weren't X(m)-rated enough, rap star Snoop Dogg is getting his own original series on XM.
(2 December 2004)
"Welcome To Da Chuuch with Big Snoop Dogg" premiers this Friday, 3 December at 8 PM ET on The Rhyme (Channel 65). Said XM Chief Programming Officer Lee Abrams, "Welcome to Da Chuuch With Big Snoop Dogg is exactly he kind of broadcast event we strive for, and it's a thrill to be working hand in hand with an artist of this stature."
Tie-dye and vegetarianism are behind him now.
(1 December 2004)
Bill Walton is finally Sirius. He's hosting a music show exclusively on "The Dog's" Jam_On channel (17) starting 4 December. "One More Saturday Night with Bill Walton" features music by the Grateful Dead and other of his favorite artists and will air on Saturdays from 9 PM until Midnight ET. It will be re-broadcasts on Wednesdays in the same time slot.