Rumors

Major League Baseball may find its way to the Best of XM package for Sirius subscribers. Let me start by saying that this is speculation with some serious smoke signals indicating that it is true. Various telephone calls to customer service at Sirius seem to indicate that an announcement will be made regarding an upgrade to the Best of XM package for people that subscribe to Sirius. That upgrade is Major League Baseball.

A SiriusBuzz reader contacted me with the news this morning, and with a few phone calls, there seems to be some legitimacy to the rumor. Whether there will be additional fees to consumers who wish to get baseball has not been made clear. Also unclear is if there are additional costs to Sirius XM associated with the move.

One thing is certain. The addition of baseball would be a good thing for those that get the “Best Of” programming, and from a consumer standpoint it will add value to the package. I would have preferred to see this news prior to the season beginning, but getting baseball at all on Sirius in 2009 is a win for consumers, and a demonstration that merger synergies are happening.

With a slumping economy, satellite radio, as much as baseball can benefit from this. The more subscribers that buy the “Best Of” programming, the better. Speculation is that the programming will not start until June, but perhaps, with the leak having happened we will hear something at the Q1 conference call or the annual meeting.

“Best Of” includes NFL for XM. The inclusion of MLB on Sirius’ “Best Of” will be a major victory.

According to customer service reps, they received and email saying that “We are hoping to have MLB baseball on the Best of XM Package by the second week in June”

Thanks Muscle
Position – Long Sirius XM Radio

When I first read up on rumors that Sirius XM was considering price increases on certain packages, my initial reaction was that they must be false. I then questioned to myself that a potential loophole may exist and thought I had better research the possibility before coming to any conclusions.

Although many of the rumors sources seem to extremely credible, my opinion is now that they cannot be true. With the loss of Kevin Martin and the expectation of a democratically controlled FCC, Sirius XM would be risking their licenses if they were to increase prices in the time frame rumored. The FCC memorandum makes it abundantly clear that:

1. No price increases can occur for 3 years:
2. The company may ask for a review 6 months prior to the 3 year anniversary:
3. That the 3 year price freeze applies to all tiers and packages that the company already offers:
4. That the FCC must approve any price increases

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Over the last couple of days we have received numerous reports from credible sources inside of Sirius XM along with a few followers from Twitter that a rate hike is coming March 11th. Even though at this point none of this can be officially confirmed, it is quite suspect that these reports are coming from various sources yet, all have the same date and prices attached.

What is being said is that subscribers can expect to see a $2 increase on additional subscriptions bringing them to $8.99/month along with a loss of the free internet radio account. Instead, users will now have to pay an additional $2.99 for an online account, with no word on whether or not that includes the premium 128k feed.

At a time when subscribers are just starting to settle down over the recent channel changes and censoring of the sacred Howard 101 it looks like Sirius XM is ready to stir up the customer backlash storm once again.

It is also interesting how these new prices increases might just dance right around those merger concessions put in place by the FCC. What happened with this merger being great for the consumers?

For the record, we had a little bit of back and forth about this topic yesterday on twitter… all the more reason for you to follow us @siriusbuzz!

A seemingly boring, news-free Saturday night changed drastically this evening when a memo was circulated that was allegedly sent out this evening to Ford dealers. From message boards to blogs the story captures the imagination. The opening line is the reason for the buzz. It states that “SIRIUS will be changing the format of their broadcast on July 22, 2008 to allow for additional programming.”

Also of note is that this is a firmware update that will take 5 hours to complete. Speculation is running rampant as to what this could mean. There is talk that it may be preparation for Sirius to broadcast some Xm channels while others think this could be the first real case of interoperability. I personally like the interoperability argument as most of the meetings involving Commissioner Tate with Sirius and Xm executives seemed to center around enforcement matters. Proving the existence of interoperable radios could go a long way towards satisfying those critics who say that Sirius did not comply with the interoperable mandate.

[ Ford Memo ]

Thanks crfceo.

In case you were not aware, there is now a great show on Stern 101 Friday mornings. Jay Thomas has become the defacto Friday morning host, and will now carry a regular show on the Stern network. In his first show as a permanent Friday host, Jay Thomas had the good fortune of being able to deliver some additional news regarding the Artie Lange saga that unfolded yesterday.

Artie is indeed in Amsterdam. The news was confirmed with a live call from Jason Kaplan of the Strern Show as he sat at an Amsterdam cafe. Kaplan confirmed that both Artie Lange and Teddy made the trip. Kaplan has not yet seen Artie but has placed a couple of phone calls to him.

Robin Quivers, a Stern how staple, called into the live segment of Jay Thomas’ show and offered additional insight, and is in fact on the air as I write this piece. Shuli, also a member of the Stern Show staff, and frequent participant with Jay Thomas added a bit more information on Artie. In a text message, it was confirmed that Artie was on the same plane with Teddy. At one tense moment as Teddy boarded the plane, he had to pass by Artie who was seated in First Class. The pair exchanged glances. Teddy says that he and Artie have not spoken, and Teddy stated that he is making it a point to avoid Artie during the trip.

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Last week Page Six reported that an unidentified person doing a photo shoot happened to find himself in the Master Bathroom of Howard Stern and reported to the New York Post Gossip column that on the bathroom counter were Howard Stern’s dentures. Nothing was reported about other bathroom amenities attributed to the King of All Media, but the denture story got published.

Howard, being on vacation could not respond until today, and respond he did. Stern stated that there were three individuals were at his house in the Hamptons doing a photo shoot for a feature story on Beth Ostrosky, Stern’s Fiancee. During the shoot one of the individuals went inside to use the bathroom, and apparently took it upon himself to take a tour of the Stern residence, and decided to answer natures call in the Master Bathroom.

Today, Stern stated that he was angered by the invasion of privacy, and then explained that the “dentures” in question were actually a mouthpiece which is worn by Stern during the night so that he does not grind his teeth. Thus, Efferdent got a free plug on the Stern show as a product that can not only clean your dentures, but your mouth guard as well.

Mystery solved.

WCBS FM in New York was an oldies staple for what seemed to be forever. Long Time DJ Cousin Brucie (Bruce Morrow) was a fan favorite, and the radio station enjoyed good ratings for quite some time. All of that changed in two years ago when WCBS decided to forego the oldies format in favor of a newly developed format called JACK FM. JACK FM did not use on air personalities, instead opting for pre-recorded sound bites. The format, designed to compete for the ears of the i-Pod crowd, was dubbed “your i-Pod on shuffle.”

Cousin Brucie, and other on air personalities were let go with the switch, but Morrow was not out of work long. The DJ quickly found a home at Sirius Satellite Radio, and currently has one year left on his contract. Now, he seems to have been vindicated in a decision by WCBS FM to return to an oldies format.

WCBS, according to the New York Times, has decided that a the loss of half of their audience share, and a trimming of 30% in ad revenue in 2006 was simply too much, and they are returning to an oldies format. That switch will come without Cousin Brucie who still spins the tunes for Sirius.

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Chief Executive Mel Karmazin expects Sirius Satellite to offer a live television service in cars by late 2007, and deals with content providers for the TV stations may be set as early as January. It is estimated that the new television service will set back current customers and additional $13 per month, a price well worth keeping the kids from bouncing around the backseat on any trip.

Rival XM says that they will wait for signs of a significant market before it rolls out such a service. It seems like what was once the forerunner is now clearly taking a backseat in the satellite radio game.

Via [Reuters]