Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) originally supported the merger between satcasters SIRIUS and XM, but the New York congressman has had a change of heart.
Meeks indicated he was swayed by Georgetown Partners LLC’s argument against the merger.
He voiced his opposition to the merger in a letter to the FCC.
Meeks writes, “By allowing a minority-controlled entity to be the lessee, the Commission would serve the public interest by achieving diversity of ownership in this large medium as well as enhanced minority media ownership in general - two areas that the Commission has been asked to address.”
Posted by trn |
1 Comment »
XM Canada satellite radio service announced today it has achieved 350,000 subscribers as of the end of its first quarter ended November 30, 2007. The number of subscribers increased by 86 per cent over the first quarter of last year.
As part of the company’s continuing efforts to align its definitions more closely with industry norms, XM Canada’s subscriber numbers now include rental cars installed with XM Canada’s service for which the Company receives compensation. Excluding rental cars, XM’s subscriber base was 338,000 this quarter and 306,300 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2007.
Posted by trn |
No Comments »
It’s the big buzz in satellite radio and all the players concerned wait patiently for the decision to come down. I’m talking about the merger, of course. Today, XM’s chairman said he remains “hopeful” the deal will close this year.
The chairman of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. said Wednesday he remains “hopeful” that the company’s $5 billion acquisition by rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. will close this year, although he acknowledged that time is running short.
Read the full story here…
Posted by trn |
No Comments »
XM Chairman of the Board Gary Parsons is scheduled to present at the 35th Annual Global Media & Communications Conference in New York, N.Y. today, December 5, from 2:30 pm to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Yesterday, David Frear presented for SIRIUS Radio. Of note, Frear told the UBS that he expects to close the Sirius-XM transaction by the end of the year.
Posted by trn |
1 Comment »
David Frear says he expects to close the Sirius-XM transaction by the end of the year.
Frear argues that the so-called “original rule” that prohibited XM and Sirius from merging when the original licenses were granted by the FCC, was of a different time, not relevant to the music/media market today. He says former FCC chairman Reed Hundt, who created the initial rule, agrees.
Check out more of Frear’s address to the UBS’s Global Media conference here…
Posted by trn |
1 Comment »
The Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) has released its decision on royalty rates for satellite radio. The info contains specific royalty rates as well as XM Radio’s response to the news. Sirius will likely release its own statement shortly.
Under the terms of the CRB Satellite Radio Services, XM will pay a performance license rate of 6.0% of those gross revenues subject to the fees for 2007 and 2008, 6.5% for 2009, 7.0% for 2010, 7.5% for 2011 and 8.0% for 2012.
The revenue that is subject to royalty fees includes subscription revenue from our subscribers and advertising revenues from channels other than those that use only incidental performances of music.
(more…)
Posted by trn |
No Comments »
Shock jocks Opie & Anthony are being sued by a TV reporter over a prank that he says left his ears ringing.
WABC-TV’s Anthony Johnson was doing a live report about snow when he says an Opie & Anthony fan waved a bumper sticker and blew an air horn.
Opie & Anthony had launched an “Assault on the Media”campaign that encouraged listeners to draw attention to their show during live news broadcasts.
Johnson claims the incident caused him to miss two weeks of work. He also saye he suffered permanent ear damage from the prank.
The suit also names the listener who carried out the prank and XM Satellite Radio.
In addition to Johnson, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of his wife, WNBC-TV reporter Pat Battle.
Posted by trn |
1 Comment »
Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.’s purchase of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. may not be approved by a Tuesday deadline, according to one analyst.
More on this story here…
Posted by trn |
No Comments »
XM Satellite Radio will air all five Bowl Championship Series (BCS) football games in January 2008.The Allstate BCS National Championship, FedEx Orange Bowl, Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, and AllState Sugar Bowl are all broadcast by XM thanks to a multi-year agreement with FOX Sports. Find out more here at Orbitcast.com.
Posted by trn |
No Comments »
Sirius Satellite Radio will offer a new Sirius data service called Travel Link as standard with Ford’s new navigation system, the company announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Ford will be the first auto manufacturer to offer the service.
XM had navigations news too, they announced at the show that its NavTraffic navigation service will be available on the Nissan Murano.
Sirius Travel Link offers much more than the current Sirius Traffic service. The new Travel Link offers five-day weather forecasts; fuel prices at more then 120,000 gas stations, sports scores and game schedules, and movie listings from more than 4,500 theaters in addition to real-time traffic “flow” data and rerouting.
It will be available on multiple Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles in 2008.
The data is broadcast through Sirius’ existing satellites and repeaters.
This summer, the 2009 Lincoln MKS will be the first vehicle in its class to offer Travel Link services integrated into a voice- activated navigation system.
The data is broadcast through Sirius’ existing satellites and repeaters and is accessed and managed in the vehicle using a new high-mounted, 8-inch touchscreen menu.
XM announced its audio service will be offered as a factory option on the second-generation Nissan Murano, and XM’s NavTraffic real-time traffic service will be offered on Murano vehicles with navigation.
Posted by trn |
No Comments »
Orbitcast.com has a neat post on a new XM commercial out called the “XM-erator.” It’s ‘pretty neat’ writes Orbitcast, and we at Talk Radio Nation agree. Check it out for yourself here, and tell me what you think.
Posted by trn |
1 Comment »