Good thing Comcast and General Electric plan to name NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker as head of their proposed joint venture, because Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin doesn’t want the job. Not that he wouldn’t be a good candidate to run a merged Comcast-NBCU. Because as Karmazin himself told Fox Business Network’s Neil Cavuto, he’d be an excellent choice.
Sirius XM Radio’s financial position is improving. Sadly, the same cannot be said for its subscribership. Reporting earnings this morning, the company broke even in its third quarter. Good news, but it was tempered with a bit of bad. Because Sirius’s subscriber growth is slowing.
iPhone sales are trending well in the September quarter and Apple has app developers and its rivals to thank for it. This according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who says those two groups are doing a great deal to reinforce Apple’s brand.
As of this week, pretty much anyone can tell you–“Skank” blogging just doesn’t pay. Unless your $15 million privacy lawsuit against Google ends up going your way, that is. Rosemary Port, the person who used Blogger to anonymously insult former model Liskula Cohen, was unmasked last week after months of speculation and promptly sued Google for turning over her information. Hilarity ensued, complete with dueling morning TV appearances.
The rumors were true. At an invitation-only media event in New York City this morning, Sirius XM debuted the first-ever radio dock for the iPhone and iPod touch. Dubbed SkyDock, the $119.99 peripheral transforms Apple handsets into full-fledged satellite radios. And it gives users access to all XM and “Best of SIRIUS” channels–even Howard Stern.
Long-suffering Sirius XM investors who’ve held onto the company’s stock despite its troubles are being rewarded for their perseverance. Sirius shares are up over 13 percent today at 68 cents. And they’re up about 26 percent for the week. Why? A few reasons. The government’s “cash for clunkers” program and rumors of new iPod dock.
Despite some glaring omissions in its channel lineup, Sirius XM’s new iPhone app has earned considerable traction in the iTunes App Store. It was downloaded more than one million times in the first two weeks it was available–this despite the fact that the app doesn’t include access to Howard Stern, the personality Sirius often claims is responsible for driving more subscriptions than any other.
Bad news for Sirius XM shareholders hoping for a change in management: Mel Karmazin’s five-year contract as CEO of the satellite radio provider has been extended through December 2012. And he’s been given a raise and new stock options to boot.
Sirius XM fans will see their subscription rates rise by nearly $2 this summer. According to an employee training document, the company plans to pass on to subscribers the cost of increased performance royalty rates for satellite radio instituted by the Copyright Royalty Board in 2007. Sources say the increase will amount to about $1.98-per-month when it is implemented on July 29.
Is it too late for Sirius XM? CEO Mel Karmazin and John Malone, whose Liberty Media just tossed the foundering satellite radio outfit a $530 million lifeline, clearly don’t believe so. So do the company’s long-suffering investors, who continue to stand by it, though their faith has been sorely shaken. But the same cannot be said for Martine Rothblatt, the entrepreneur who founded Sirius nearly 20 years ago.
It’s taken far too long, but Sirius XM is coming to the iPhone. During a conference call to discuss the fourth-quarter results it posted last night, the satellite radio operator said we can expect an application that will stream its service to the iPhone and iPod touch to debut sometime in Q2.
Investors holding shares in foundering satellite radio outfit Sirius XM just received a bit of welcome news. The company has closed its investment deal with Liberty Media, resolving the “uncertainty” surrounding its debt maturing in 2009. Good thing too, because that uncertainty was pretty worrisome.
John Paczkowski has been poking fun at the tech industry and the personalities that drive it since 1997. From 1999 to 2007, he wrote the award-winning tech news Web log Good Morning Silicon Valley for the San Jose Mercury News, Silicon Valley's daily newspaper. Read more »
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
12:58 AM: Breakfast: Two schools of fish from Tokyo Bay. Calories: 782,000. How I was feeling when I ate this: confused, irradiated, hating my size.
11:37 AM: Exercise: “Taxi Stomp” (alternating legs, for 30 blocks). Calories burned: 148,900,183.
1983. The Beatles announce their first tour in thirteen years, but likewise announce that Michael Jackson will be going on tour with them as a one gigantic mega-concert event.
Best video mashup ever.
A Facebook Memorial
Wow.
Worth it for the Rickrolling photo alone.
Excellent.
Flughumor!
… you vacuous, toffee-nosed, malodorous perverts
Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine meet the kakapo — a fat, flightless and very randy rare parrot.
D is unlike any other executive conference. Since its debut in 2003, D has brought to life the energy and excitement of the digital revolution in an unscripted, upfront and unparalleled way. Read more »
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