Satellite Radio

The Squeezebox Duet is a Home Run, and it’s because Logitech has covered all of the bases. Simply Stated, this is a MUST HAVE ADDITION to the sound system of any person who appreciates audio entertainment!

We got our hands on the new Squeezebox Duet for a review, and I can tell you this…No one will get this nifty device out of my hands. The Squeezebox Duet is a home run! The sleek and stylish controller and receiver fit any decor, the 2.4 inch color LCD screen allows further customization to suite whatever your mood, and that is just the beginning.

Logitech’s Squeezebox Duet allows users to access millions of songs from Internet radio or even your own play lists. All of this is in CD quality, and controlled through the easy to operate Squeezebox handheld device. Better still, one Squeezebox can let your kids listen to their tunes in the playroom, while you listen to yours in the den, and your wife her own in the living room. Want every room in the house to have the same music? With the Squeezebox system it is possible.

Logitech covered all of the bases by developing a simple user friendly Squeezebox system that will add gusto to any audio entertainment system. The Squeezebox Duet also has the ability to allow consumers to build a whole house system at a pace that fits any budget. Out of the box the Squeezebox Duet comes with one controller and one receiver and that is all it takes to get yourself started. This allows you to instantly hook up the Duet to your existing home stereo and begin enjoying all of the music that the Internet has to offer. At $399 the Squeezebox Duet will give your existing stereo functionality that you did not think possible. No more CD’s on shuffle. Instead, you music choice is only limited by your imagination.

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Stand-up comedy greats Lewis Black, Margaret Cho, Janeane Garofalo and famed comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall will be among those featured on XM Radio’s original comedy series “Unmasked” when the series kicks off a new season on May 3, it was announced today. Recorded before a live studio audience, “Unmasked” offers up candid, one-on-one interviews with both established and emerging comedic talent for an uncensored look into their creative process and the lives that shape their comedy.

Listeners to the new season of “Unmasked” will hear some of their favorite comedians recount lighthearted and sober stories alike, from Lewis Black sharing stories of his early, broke years working in the theatre, and the night he spent in jail, to Janeane Garofalo’s thoughts about her stint on “Saturday Night Live” and who is her least favorite comedian. Broadcast dates are as follows:

• Lewis Black Saturday, May 3
• Margaret Cho Saturday, May 17
• The Kids in the Hall Saturday, May 31
• Janeane Garofalo Saturday, June 14

The season premieres on Saturday, May 3 at 8 p.m. ET on XM’s uncensored comedy channel “XM Comedy” (XM 150). Additional programming information and encore schedules are available online at http://www.xmradio.com/unmasked

XM’s programming lineup features five dedicated comedy channels that offer a range of round-the-clock comic programming-uncensored comedy on “XM Comedy” (XM 150), family comedy on “Laugh USA” (XM 151), Canadian comedy on “Laugh Attack” (XM 153), short-form sketch comedy, standup and satire on “National Lampoon(TM) Comedy Radio” (XM 154) and irreverent comedy and talk from Opie and Anthony and Ron and Fez on High Voltage (XM 202). XM also offers other original comedy programming, including “Stand Up Sit Down,” which features long-form interviews and stand-up routines from a who’s who of comedians, including Lewis Black, George Carlin, John Cleese, Dane Cook, Bill Cosby, Jim Gaffigan, Gilbert Gottfried, Mitch Hedberg, Robert Klein, Larry the Cable Guy, Richard Lewis, Kathleen Madigan, Paul Mooney, Ron White and many others.

Position - Long XM

With month after month of bad news and declines in the retail channel, the trend finally seems to be turning, and it may be just enough to surprise a few analysts out there. Many analysts are building models with retail declines in the 28% to 35% neighborhood, but recent NPD data seems to be painting a different picture.

Tabulated for the entire first quarter, NPD tracked sales show that sales for the SDARS sector are down 23% on a year over year basis. This figure, should it hold true, beats estimates of most analysts covering the sector. If the companies are still having strong sales themselves, the retail channel could offer the best surprise in the coming subscriber numbers.

While retail sales are still not setting the world on fire, the steep declines seem to have been abated, and more friendly year over year comparisons may well be on the horizon.

One oft cited metric when looking at the retail channel is NPD data. Investors need to be aware of several things when considering NPD data.

1. NPD tracks actual retail sales at participating retailers. Within the scope of NPD retailers the data is very accurate.

2. NPD does not track non-participating retailers, or the sales of radios by Sirius or XM directly. When a consumer buys a radio directly from Sirius or XM, the sale is not within the market share scope of NPD.

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Politics is center stage on Tuesday February 5th, and XM’s P.O.T.U.S. 08′ channel 130 has all of the action covered. Twenty-Four states are participating in primary elections, and nominations for both political parties are on the line. XM Satellite Radio’s political coverage heats up like never before, so tune into XM 130 to catch the latest and greatest Super Tuesday Primary news.

Position - Long XM

Satellite Radio subscribers would be in for a treat if Vinnie Politan gets a morning drive slot.

In March of 2006 Sirius Satellite radio entered in a content relationship with Court TV to create Court TV Radio. The channel was an outstanding example of the wide array of programming that satellite radio could offer listeners. In my opinion, the highlight of the channel was the Vinnie Politan Show which aired weekdays from 6:00 am to 9:00 am. Politan was a breath of fresh air on radio airwaves, and his experience as an attorney brought a combination of real world experience and topical information to listeners across the nation.

Vinnie Politan came to Sirius through his position at Court TV. This past December Court TV went off the air and was replaced by Tru TV, a new network seeking a new direction. With the disappearance of Court TV, the Vinnie Show went off of the air. This event, while frustrating for listeners and fans, could well be a blessing in disguise, as it frees up Vinnie Politan to negotiate directly with Sirius, and would allow Sirius to market Vinnie in an entirely new direction.

While Howard Stern is indeed popular, and carries a large audience, there is not much of an alternative for those that would rather listen to a less “edgy” yet highly topical show. Vinnie Politan is charismatic, carries a great radio voice, and puts on a terrific show. Free from the confines of a pure “Court” theme, it is my opinion that Politan could become even a bigger radio commodity than he was under the Court TV brand.

It is my opinion that Sirius is missing something important in the morning drive slot. A viable alternative to Howard Stern. Sirius’ flagship station, Sirius Stars offers Angels On Call, Jane Radio, Judith Regan and Candice Bushnell in the morning drive time-slot. Now, I am not trying to speak down about these shows, but it is my feeling that a mixed bag in the Sirius Stars morning drive slot is not the caliber of programming that it takes to hold a morning drive slot. Listeners want something consistent to enjoy with their morning coffee. With Vinnie Politan free to create a new Vinnie Politan Show that is not typecast into a court themed show, there is a potential to create an alternative to Howard Stern that can have a much wider appeal than a show such as Angels On Call.

Politan has a fan base of Sirius subscribers that would like to see him return to the air, and I would agree that Sirius should find a way to bring Vinnie Politan back in a way that is even better than before. 110ers.com has done a great job of following Vinnie Politan, and has also been instrumental in getting the word out about the show, and showing support.

Sirius Buzz contacted Vinnie and his agent Julie Eckhert and they were kind enough to give us an interview about Vinnie’s experience on satellite radio, what he is doing now, and his desire to return to the radio airwaves on a national basis. For merger watchers, we even got Vinnie’s opinion on the proposed transaction between Sirius and XM. Interview after the jump…

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Yet another top 10 terrestrial radio market is dropping the Opie & Anthony show. According to Inside Radio, the XM shock Jock duo will no longer be aired on Washington D.C.’s WJFK FM. The Opie & Anthony show is being replaced with “The Junkies”.

in 2006 XM Satellite Radio decided fore go exclusivity with Opie & Anthony, and sell the morning show to terrestrial radio stations. Since that time, CBS has opted to remove Opie & Anthony from several major markets. Sirius, which had always indicated that they wanted to keep content exclusive, allowed Howard Stern afternoon man Bubba The Love Sponge to cut a terrestrial deal with Cox Communications. Bubba does a morning show with Cox, and an afternoon show with Sirius. So far, Cox is choosing to air Bubba in a couple of Florida markets.

Position - Long Sirius, XM

XM Satellite Radio at one time had both Ellen and Oprah. Oprah still has a channel on XM, but Ellen and XM parted ways several months ago. Now, in a poll released today, Reuters is reporting that Ellen DeGeneres has ousted Oprah Winfrey as America’s favorite television personality. Did XM make the wrong decision by parting ways with Ellen? Did they bet on the right female talk show host? Should they have kept Ellen?

These questions have many potential answers, but in short, it is my opinion that XM’s Oprah channel has a stronger base, and more diverse line up than what Ellen brought to the table. Oprah’s channel has many shows, which serve a diverse audience and opinion. Ellen never brought that to the table with XM. While Oprah is likely a more expensive than Ellen, she brought more to the plate. More experience, more personalities, and more “accessory star power”.

Ellen’s popularity can not be cast aside, but perhaps her popularity stems from the type of show she delivers. Ellen is more upbeat where Oprah is more serious. Ellen is more happy go lucky, where Oprah has more depth. Oprah is simply a more mature program, and in today’s economy, people gravitate towards more light personalities as an escape from reality. Oprah has gotten more political, and more serious, and that may have held her back in a popularity contest.

XM had a hit on their hands with the Oprah channel. With Ellen, they had the ability to put her picture on brochures. Oprah brings regular and consistent listeners. Ellen was more of a program that you stumbled upon. Oprah’s channel is designed for radio. Ellen’s was her television show. Simply stated, it is my opinion that XM was smart is saving dollars on Ellen, and continuing to work with Oprah.

So while the most recent poll may measure popularity on television, a similar poll about the radio careers of Oprah and Ellen would be no contest at all. Oprah would win hands down. I wish nothing but the best for Ellen, but in the land of satellite radio, XM has a winning channel with Oprah.

via Reuters

Position - Long XM

The political scene kicked off last week in Iowa and we highlighted XM’s POTUS ‘08 channel. Now the political winds are blowing in New Hampshire, and Sirius Satellite Radio is right there to give you the latest and greatest news from the left as well as the right.

Sirius’ political coverage comes to listeners through channels such a Sirius Left 146 , Sirius Patriot 144, and many standard news stations such as Fox News. For satellite radio, the political races could mean a wealth of advertising dollars hitting the coffers throughout 2008.

In the early hours this morning, the New Hampshire town Dixville Notch came out in support of Obama (D) and McCain (R), but as experienced political watchers know, there are not a lot of votes to be had in Dixville Notch. The community boasts 17 registered voters. Listeners can catch all of the political action in New Hampshire on Sirius. Sirius Buzz readers can comment on the events in the Sirius Buzz Forums Politics section.

Position - Long Sirius, Long XM

Clarion Corporation of America, a leading manufacturer of mobile electronics, announces that two of their key mobile multimedia source units now offer SIRIUS Satellite Radio direct connection.

Clarion’s MAX385VD double DIN multimedia center offers SIRIUS direct connect where no black box or adapter cable is required. Simply plug in the SIRIUS tuner (SCC1) into these Clarion source units and you’re good to go. The MAX385VD boasts a 6.5 inch monitor with touch panel control, MP3/ WMA playback, iPod audio control and iPod video playback with Clarion’s USB iPod cable (CUIPOD1).

The MAX385VD’s sleek 2-DIN design also features rear AUX input and 6 channel 2 volt RCA output to round off its already awesome system capabilities.

“We are very excited to introduce this new feature in 2008,” says Ralf Engelbrecht, Senior Vice President of Retail Sales at Clarion Corporation of America. “The new Sirius direct connect feature increases the value of our products to customers by eliminating the need for for a translator box.”

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It was a deal that was supposed to bring XM exposure, and access to the crowd that frequents the coffee giant. The deal generated an XM channel called XM Cafe, and while the channel was popular, the exposure generated for XM satellite radio seemed to be minimal, and perhaps not worth the expense invested into the venture.

Starbucks, as part of the break-up has the right to sell $22,000,000 worth of XM stock, or about 1.85 million shares. If Starbucks does not get $22,000,000 for their sale, XM may be forced to pony up additional shares to make up the difference. The deal was originally scheduled to last through 2009. XM stock took a big hit on the news, but as is often the case, perhaps an overreaction is happening.

This latest news highlights an issue that has been surrounding satellite radio for a number of years. Expensive deals. Satellite radio, in order to get off of the ground needed to enter into some expensive deals. Whether from a content perspective, or an OEM perspective, there are deals out there that are simply very expensive. XM parting ways with Starbucks should be a blessing in disguise. Likely, XM did not get $22,000,000 in value from the deal, but at least they will no longer be paying for something that does not generate a reasonable return in either exposure or cash.

The original deal was announced in August of 2004, and at the time was heralded as a good marketing move for both companies.

Hugh Panero, President and CEO, XM Satellite Radio at the time stated, “XM’s presence at Starbucks locations will greatly accelerate awareness of our popular satellite radio service. This is an exciting marketing alliance matching Starbucks, one of the world’s best known and respected brands with a huge and loyal customer base, with XM Radio, one of the hottest entertainment products to launch in the last 20 years. The Starbucks customer and the XM customer share similar lifestyles and music passions, and it is only natural that they share a latte and listen to music together.”

After slightly over three years, the winner in the deal seems to be Starbucks. Going forward, the winner will be XM shareholders, as they will no longer be saddled with a costly deal that brings little in return.

Position - Long XM