Maybe it's just me, but have you noticed the XM and Sirius Satellite Radio competitors are running far fewer national ads? Sure, Howard Stern still stumps for Sirius on Letterman (giving away hard-to-find Stilettos in the process), but that's because he's the King of Self Promotion.
My guess is the two companies have gotten awful quiet because, as the NY Post is reporting today, they plan on making beautiful, non-terrestrial music together.
The Post is hedging its bets, saying this could all fall apart at any moment, but an equal-partners merger could save both companies millions of dollars a year and it should end a lot of consumer confusion and, perhaps help improve both services. It could also make my old prediction come true. Buh-bye Opie and Anthony!
UPDATE: It's official--pending shareholder approval--XM and Sirius will merge in a huge, $13 billion dollar deal. Listeners will get Howard and Oprah, but the real winners appear to be Mel Karmazin and Gary Parsons. Here's how a release I read put it:
Mel Karmazin, currently Chief Executive Officer of SIRIUS, will become
Chief Executive Officer of the combined company and Gary Parsons, currently
Chairman of XM, will become Chairman of the combined company.
Bill Howard has a good analysis of the merger and what it'll mean to the consumer at TechnoRide.com.
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February 19, 2007 12:24 PM
I wholeheartedly welcome Opie & Anthony into the SirXM family. Hoo hoo!
February 20, 2007 12:36 PM
Wow - the prediction comes true! :D I have to admit, this certainly makes choosing which satellite provider to have installed in the car I'm eventually going to buy much much easier.
Problem though: no competition? I hope prices don't go up and selection drops because of this....
February 21, 2007 6:29 AM
Buh Bye O and A? Really Lance?
Are you aware that O and A are a huge hit on XM? Apparently not. Are you aware that O and A are the number 1 most listened to channel on XM? Apparently not. Are you aware that Opie and Anthony currently have more listeners on XM alone than Howard has on Sirius? Well? Do you do research or are you one of those Stern Zombies that blindly follow him around although he has lost all relevance and hipness? Howard was a huge, costly mistake for Sirius. He did not bring with him the throngs of listeners that they counted on. Howard himself attests to that fact. But then again facts are not your strong suit are they Mr. Ulanoff.
IF and I stress IF this ill fated merger occurs, The Opie and Anthony show will find itself nestled deeply to the bosom of the new company. Only a fool would dump a highly rated and successful show to appease the EGO of one irrelevant old washed up Shock jock and his lacky CEO buddy Mel.
February 21, 2007 7:15 AM
These O&A fantards are something else. Some of them actually believe that O&A have more listeners on XM than Stern has on Sirius. Wouldn't an amazing accomplishment like that have made the news?
February 21, 2007 7:37 AM
"hese O&A fantards are something else. Some of them actually believe that O&A have more listeners on XM than Stern has on Sirius. Wouldn't an amazing accomplishment like that have made the news?"
What news is that? The FACT that Sir paid $500 million over 5 years to Howard? How does that make any relevant buisiness sense? XM paid $650 million for 11 years of baseball. Thats over 500 games a year! Not off all weekend and every friday. How many days is that bag of bones live on the air this week? Not monday, not tuesday, today? maybe, tomorrow? maybe, not friday. not a bad work week. Not great support for his fans though. What kind of sense did that buisiness signing make? Fact-XM stock-$15.41, Sir-$3.92. O&A on free FM and killing! Howard....not on free FM, not on live enough to care. Bubba the love sponge is gone btw.
February 21, 2007 7:50 AM
"Fact-XM stock-$15.41, Sir-$3.92. O&A on free FM and killing"
Those are facts?? The fact is that Sirius, with less subs, is worth 20% more than XM. As Bloomberg states, Sirius is buying XM. And O & A are killing on Free FM?? More like getting killed. Floundering in NYC with a 1.7 rating while Stern had an 8+ when he left. That's typical of all of their markets, they are among the lowest rated shows in each. O & A have done a great show in the past, but the move to Free FM has not gone well.
February 21, 2007 8:21 AM
"As Bloomberg states, Sirius is buying XM."
Is it?
From the XM SEC Filing
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=115922&p=irol-sec
"Is this a 50/50 merger?
Yes, this is a merger of equals. "
Your calling the posters here fanboys when the amateur "reporter" also seems pretty fanboyish.
Its far too early to say who goes and who stays.
And has anyone noticed where Howard was on arguably the biggest day in Sirius's history? Oh, a vacation day. Typical.
February 21, 2007 12:50 PM
Wow! Whay a shocker. The Stern fanboy writes an article about OandA going "buh-bye." It disturbs me that the computer nerd is such a Stern zombie he would actually write an article expressing his loyalties to Hoo-Hoo Howie. It's a radio show. If you like it, great. If not, turn the dial, listen to Stern, and shut up about it. It sounds like you are bitter about the trash cannings and wedgies you got as a kid. I kinda feel sorry for you.
February 21, 2007 1:08 PM
Of course they'd dump O&A. This whole merger is actually about the egos of Mel, Howard and O&A. The stockholders won't mind dumping the top talent at XM for being too popular. Space just isn't big enough for that much talent.
February 22, 2007 12:23 PM
I think that after the 12(b)-1 Fee, there will be a 50 Day Avg. Daily Volume. Also the After Hours Best Ask & After Hours High will cover the Annualized Dividend. With Xm's Dow Jones Industrial Average the EBITDA will be FANTISTIC!
However Sirius' Family of Funds is significantly low in regards to Long Term Gain.
My final word on this is SELL SELL SELL.
February 22, 2007 8:08 PM
But BoardRoom Jimmy you forgot, the DOW is for queers.
February 24, 2007 6:24 PM
O&A are nothing but a boring Howard Stern tribute band. The other day, I tuned in and was treated to a horrible a 10-minute long segment called "boardroom Jimmy" that had to be the worst hack radio bit ever.
But then again, hack radio is par for the course for these clones. No wonder their FreeFM ratings are tanking. No wonder XM has only half the retail share of Sirius.
February 24, 2007 7:14 PM
Obscure and Apathy are failures, and the sad part is that hardly anyone cares that they have failed:
1). On their own premium channel. Kicked off because they only drew 30k listeners.
2). Forced to sell and farm out their exclusive content to FreeXM because they did not draw enough subs.
3). Failed in their own hometown with a pathetic 1.7 rating and 23rd place overall.
February 24, 2007 10:22 PM
Who the heck are O&A?
February 25, 2007 1:26 PM
The ass that wrote this is probably 60 years old which is the average age of a Stern listener.
March 4, 2007 9:22 PM
hey ManUpPussies
your just upset your radio god stern has fridays off, dont put down a clasic moment in radio history. all you got is o and a are hack and boring radio? stern was boring people to death with his hacky hoohoo drunk midget strippers for too long and it is about time he wakes up and sees hes #2