Investor News

While at first blush this may not seem like news to satellite radio investors, it does involve competitors of Sirius XM, and by extension, Sirius XM investors will want to keep tabs on news such as this. Today it was announced the the FCC, with support from the Justice Department, is appealing a decision made by Second Court of Appeals which stated in a decision that the FCC language on their indecency standard is unconstitutionally vague.

At stake is the ability of the FCC to enforce decency standards that could vary depending on who the alleged offender is, or who is in power at the FCC at any given time. The Second Court ruling came in regard to a suit against Fox which was appealed to a higher court, and then sent back down to the Second Court.

FCC General Council Austin Schlick stated, “The FCC and the Justice Department are today asking the federal court of appeals in New York to reconsider its decision in Fox v. FCC. The three-judge panel’s decision in July raised serious concerns about the Commission’s ability to protect children and families from indecent broadcast programming…The Commission remains committed to empowering parents and protecting children, and looks forward to the court of appeals’ further consideration of our arguments.”

The issues raised in this court battle are the very same arguments Sirius XM’s Howard Stern have been making for years. It will be interesting to see how all of this pans out.

Position – Long Sirius XM Radio

The Electric Zoo Festival will kick off Labor Day Weekend in style in New York City. The festival features over 70 artists playing at four venues and all of the associated after parties. Electric Zoo honors, celebrates and brings exposure to the electric music wave that is gaining in popularity with each passing month.

Sirius XM is broadcasting special interviews with artists that will be participating in the show. The interviews give fans an inside look at electronic music, and a chance to learn about new artists and schedule which shows and venues they want to go to. Sirius XM limited run Electric Zoo Radio takes listeners inside the world of electric music each Thursday up until the actual event.

If you are planning on attending the Electric Zoo Festival then Sirius XM’s Area (Sirius 38 – XM 80) is the channel to tune into each Thursday. For additional information visit the official Electric Zoo Festival page.

Position – Long Sirius XM Radio

SiriusBuzz is pleased to announce the third edition of the Satellite Radio Round Table. Join the best bloggers on satellite radio as we break down all of the news, discuss the issues, and offer our varied opinions on all things satellite radio. The Satellite Radio Round Table features SiriusBuzz, Orbitcast, and Satellite Radio Playground and is broadcast live once per month.

Tonight’s show will feature discussion about Satellite Radio 2.0, Howard Stern, the recent analyst opinions of Maxim, auto sales, and the recent delay in the FCC decision about the spectrum leaseback. Listeners can join in the discussion by calling in to the show’s telephone number, 347-945-7995. The show also features a live chat where listeners can interact.

Satellite Radio Round Table begins at 8:00 PM EST. See you there.

Early projections for the auto sector have auto sales coming in at right around the 1 million magic number that SiriusBuzz has established as the monthly sales figure that allows Sirius XM to report good metrics across the board. In Q2 the auto industry averaged about 1 million cars sold per month and Sirius XM was able to report not only great subscriber numbers, but great financial numbers as well. July auto sales bested that 1 million mark , and it now looks as if August will as well.

The caution Sirius XM investors need to be aware of is that the auto sector news surrounding August 2010 will be in comparison to August of 2009 when the auto industry saw a big sales spike because of the cash for clunkers program. What I am noticing is a mid month push by several auto makers to advertise their 0% financing and model year end specials. For many auto companies, maintaining positive year over year comparisons is important, and it seems that some makers do not want to have a dip in their numbers. In addition, GM is anticipating a Fall IPO, and boasting good sales number would be a positive for that effort.

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Preliminary auto sales estimates are beginning to flow in and the news presents a mixed bag for Sirius XM.  Overall sales are anticipated to be lower than July.  That is the bad news.  The good news is that the number should be high enough to keep SIRI ahead of the pace required for the company guidance.

Edmunds is calling for flat sales.  JD Power sees 2010 sales being 11.6 million, down from their previous estimate if 11.7 million.  At this point SAAR is projected to be 11.8 million.

Some analysts seem to be giving weight to languages in GMs IPO proposal that speaks of risks associated with poor sales.  In my opinion the GM risk statement is boiler plate language typical of such IPOs.

While August will be slower than July, the sales are still well within the monthly average that delivered 583,000 subscribers in Q2.  Another fact not being discussed is inventory levels is that inventory is at a 7 month low.

Position – Long Sirius XM Radio

Maxim has imitated coverage on Sirius XM and established a $1.40 price target.  The firm believes satellite radio has only 8% penetration in U.S. autos with plenty of room for growth.  They also project 27 million subscribers by the end of 2014 and believe that revenue from that base will be substantial.

Position – Long Sirius XM

SiriusBuzz is pleased tro announce our 69th radio show, Satellite Radio News Show #69. The action kicks off tonight at 9:00 PM EST on our regular BlogTalkRadio show slot. Join Spencer as he breaks down and discusses all of the news in satellite radio.

Listeners can join in the the action by calling in to 347-945-7995. There is also a live chat room that listeners can use during the show.

Find out all of the latest and greatest information on SiriusBuzz’s Satellite Radio News.

Satellite Radio News Show #69

It all happened at about 9:30 AM EST on the Howard Stern Show. Lilly, a regular caller to the show, asked Stern what he liked best about his wife, Beth Ostrosky Stern. Howard, being politically correct and proper, stated that he liked everything about her, and when pressured to be more specific, said that he really liked her rear end. It was then that he revealed that he had a photo that Beth “sexted” (sexy text) showing how wonderful her rump was. Howard pulled out his Blackberry and proceeded to get the opinions of a few on the staff. The response was unanimous, that indeed, Beth Ostrosky Stern posses what could be termed as the perfect posterior.

Then the calls came in asking that they post the photo on the site. It should be noted that it is not a nude photo, and reveals nothing more than you might see in a Victoria Secret advertisement. Stern responded that if it was okay with Beth that it could go onto Howard Stern.com. Gary sprang into action and immediately tried to contact Sterns wife Beth. Beth called into the show and, ever the sport, agreed to allow the photo to be posted.

Sterns servers melted down. The Internet traffic to HowardStern.com was so immense that even three hours later the site could not be accessed. The site, which already ranks #11,989 in the world according to Alexa.com will certainly see their ranking improve to even greater levels due to what can only be called “Beth’s Beautiful Butt”.

As most are already aware, Howard Sterns satellite radio contract is set to expire at the end of the year. Sirius XM Radio and Stern have been in negotiations and Mel Karmazin has expressed hope that news on a deal will be available before the company’s Q3 conference call, but perhaps Karmazin should be pushing for a Beth O Show on the channels as well.

Beth Ostreosky Stern is certainly popular. She has appeared as a model in FHM, on several television talk shows, guest appearances on television series, and is the official spokesperson for the North Shore Animal Rescue League. She is pretty, outgoing, well spoken, and has a terrific presence on the air. She would be a natural with he own branded show on the Stern channels. She can bring an insight and perspective that the channels currently do not have, and could even improve the diversity of demographics that tune into the show.
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