Sirius iPhone App: No Stern? No NFL? No MLB? No Way. [UPDATED]
by John Paczkowski
Posted on June 18, 2009 at 5:00 AM PT
The too-long-in-coming Sirius XM app for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone and iPod touch showed up in the App Store today and sadly, it’s more noteworthy for what’s missing than anything else.
Absent from the new Sirius app are a number of the broadcaster’s more popular channels, among them Howard Stern’s, which Sirius often claims are responsible for driving more subscriptions than any other. Also missing: MLB Play-by-Play, NFL Play-by-Play and Sirius NASCAR Radio.
That the company calls this app “Sirius XM Premium Online” when it fails to include much of the broadcaster’s more popular content is ironic. That it expects subscribers to pay an additional $2.99/month to access it after a week-long free trial is silly (Note: If you are already a Sirius XM Internet subscriber or subscribe to the company’s Premium Online service, Sirius waives that fee). Without Stern and those other channels, there’s really no reason to. There are far too many other ways to listen free music on the iPhone that don’t require a monthly subscription fee–Pandora, for example. Or Last.fm. And NormSoft’s Pocket Tunes app has been streaming Stern for months now.
Surely, Sirius knows this. So why not include Stern et al? Did a rights issue prevent Sirius from doing so? Did it convince itself that Jimmy Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville and Oprah Radio were compelling enough reasons to download the app? Or perhaps the company is planning a standalone Stern app for which it will charge separately. Or maybe Stern is working on that himself.
And seriously, doesn’t Sirius XM pay Stern too much not to include him?
In any event, the app is an enormous disappointment. Which is too bad. Because Sirius really could have used the few additional subscribers Sirius XM Premium Online might have attracted. With the souring economy weighing heavily on the auto industry–-a mainstay of Sirius’s business–-and partner Chrysler navigating bankruptcy, the struggling company is bracing itself for nasty subscriber losses this year.
If this is all that Sirius XM has to offer on the iPhone, it would have been wiser to do what Netflix (NFLX) did with its Watch It Now online streaming service–provide it gratis to active subscribers as a loyalty bonus. Without Sirius XM’s top-tier content, there’s little to differentiate its iPhone app from Pandora and Last.fm. And Pandora and Last.fm are free.
UPDATE: A quick review of the Sirius Internet Radio FAQ reveals that it is indeed licensing restrictions that prevent Sirius XM from offering NFL, MLB and NASCAR via the Internet and presumably via the iPhone as well. Those same restrictions, however, do not seem to apply to Howard Stern’s channels, which all appear in the Sirius Internet Radio lineup.
UPDATE: Sirius XM has declined comment on the Stern issue beyond what was already said in this morning’s press release.
Comments
Get a life! Your speculating everyone in the world is dwelling on Howard, MLB and Nascar. When Stern was on terrestrial radio I was a fan. I purchased Sirius to continue listening to him but guess what, I stopped. Why, well the music content is far superior than I could imagine and the majority of those who have it feel the same way. Maybe your just pissed because it is continuing to succeed when the numbers don’t make sense. The reason for this…….it’s a great resource for today’s people. Haven’t you people ever looked back at how the satellite television of the early 80’s was few and far between and now most every home has one. Man you guys on wall street must get paid strictly to belittle!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Scott Livingston at June 18th, 2009 at 6:35 amI believe the programming shortfalls are rights/intellectual property issues. As for Siri worrying about Chrysler, landing Toyota will more than make up for any Chrysler/Fiat worries. This is a good development and it did take too long. I am looking forward to a RIMM app in the future and perhaps PALM too. This is a step in the right direction for this sock.
Posted by Scott Dort at June 18th, 2009 at 6:49 amThe App comes with a free Drama reality Channel with all the characters. Stay tuned, Heidi and Spence may be signed soon.
Posted by Jeff Stevens at June 18th, 2009 at 7:12 amBTW doesn’t Howard love his Blackberry.
XM was without Stern before the merger and had almost 9 million suscriber. Sirius had 7 million subscribers and a little more than a million used to listen to Stern on Sirius. We dont care about Stern and he was the reason why Sirius almost went to BK. Sirius did good using him to gain consumers exposed to SATRAD in 2006. Now, throw him out.
Posted by Fawaz Nayeem at June 18th, 2009 at 7:21 amI’d have to agree, this app sounds pretty lame. I’ve subscribed to Sirius on 3 radios for 4 years. The music selection offered by Sirius is great when you’re in the car and have no access to wi-fi or streaming music like Pandora. With the iphone, I can’t see any reason to download this app, let alone pay a subscription fee without Howard, NFL, or MLB. The music available for free on the iphone, ie Pandora, is better and more diverse. Jim U talks about “When licensing fees need to be paid by Pandora”… This is a moot point because they currently aren’t. Sirius stock, which I also own, went up something like 22% yesterday on the news. I find this ridiculous. I’d be surprised if this even adds to subscriptions base. Needless to say, I’m very disappointed.
Posted by Kevin Meyers at June 18th, 2009 at 7:40 amI have no interest in Howard Stern, but here is my struggle: downloaded the app and logged in. Discovered I needed AN ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION to use it. Bought that for $2.99 and still cannot log on. Tried calling the help line and after 5 minutes of stupidity with an automated phone response, I got a live person, which put me on hold for 5 minutes whereupon I hung up.
No wonder they are going bankrupt.
Posted by David Owens at June 18th, 2009 at 7:42 amAnyone who is an advocate of Howard is disrespects women and my 3 little girls.
Posted by Raymond Tracey at June 18th, 2009 at 8:37 amI’m gonna wait and let the hedge funds drive the price down again thanks to their helpers at Sirius giving them the perfect opportunity and buy back low. I starting to wonder if Mel isn’t working with the hedge funds and all the stock he bought was just a cover. I’m sure he could probably have done made his money back if he was shorting. Remember how buddy buddy Jim Cramer and him used to be?
Posted by kevin lamb at June 18th, 2009 at 9:22 amHere is the issue whether you like Howard Stern, NFL, MLB or not. If you pay the $2.99 per month you CAN listen to Howard Stern, NFL and MLB on the internet stream for sirius. So why is it blocked on the iphone & itouch. Even worse, if you are an internet only subscriber which is $12.95/mo you can listen to all the the channels on the internet stream but if you pay again you can’t listen to Howard, NFL and MLB on the Apple App?? Why NOT, this makes no sense, I could understand if it was blocked on the internet too and were driving people to by radios to get Howard, NFL & MLB but they aren’t….. This is just crazy
Posted by jason peters at June 18th, 2009 at 10:12 amGlad I sold, look at it plummet! How could they be so stupid? These people are supposed to be the experts on how to run a media company? They have no clue! Seems their always just trying to find another way to get a dollar out of your pocket. It’s to the point I think their running this company into the ground on purpose.
Posted by kevin lamb at June 18th, 2009 at 1:06 pmmy UPDATE 2
Posted by Jeff Stevens at June 18th, 2009 at 5:44 pmThe iPhone gives a free trial for 7 days. Which makes the Stern program illegal. That’s why he isn’t on free radio!
It’s for mature audiences.
He is available on the internet link because you already proved your over 18.
All of the people saying that they don’t listen to Howard are in the minority. They did a study and found that almost 60% of subscribers listen to Stern on a weekly basis. Those numbers are too big to ignore. I love the music on Sirius too and listen to it quite often, I also listen to Howard. I think they made a mistake excluding Howard from the app, but if they release a Howard only app, they would probably make more money.
Posted by Bill Curran at June 19th, 2009 at 7:13 am