Satellite Radio

Hanukkah soon approaches and millions of Jewish people will celebrate the festival of lights. They celebrate the miracle of the Maccabees defeating the Greeks, with the help of their leader Judah. After three long years of war, the Maccabees defeated the huge Greek army to come home to a Temple in ruins. As the Maccabees needed oil to light their beloved Menorah, they only had enough oil for one night. But miraculously, the Menorah stayed lit for eight straight nights. The Jewish people remember Judah Maccabee, his brave men and women, and the little jar of oil that lasted eight long nights. This is my Hanukkah miracle….

The merger of XM and Sirius approaches and sixteen million listeners will celebrate the beginning of a new media revolution. They celebrate the defeat of the National Association of Broadcasters, with the help from their leader Mel Karmazan and the many shareholders and listeners who will fight for justice. After many months of filing paperwork, fighting the many powers of terrestrial radio, the pro mergers defeated the NAB and the Jacobians. They came home to radio with choice, radio free of commercials, radio free of government intervention. They came home to a la carte pricing and NFL and Major League Baseball under one platform. As the NAB and the Jacobians cried about losing millions of costomers, the XM/Sirius merger along with the brave believers lasted much more then eight crazy Sirius nights.

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to all.

The NPD data for October 2007 has been released. The NPD Group is the leading global provider of consumer and retail market research information for a wide range of industries. They provide critical consumer behavior and point-of-sale (POS) information and industry expertise across more industries than any other market research company.

The October data shows that retail sales are still down on a year over year comparison basis (30% off of last years sales). Sector sales were also down for both Sirius and XM as compared to last month. The numbers for both companies were not promising, but October true to its past trending has never been a big retail month for satellite radio.

This represents 26 consecutive months that Sirius has posted a retail advantage over XM in NPD tracked sales. The results so far for the quarter show Sirius garnering 61% of the NPD tracked sales vs. XM’s 39% share. So far the entire year Sirius maintains an NPD edge, garnering 62% of NPD tracked retail sales in 2007.

YOY COMPARISON (October 2007 vs. October 2006)

Sirius - Down 31%
XM - Down 43%

Sirius is treating you to a viewing of their new advertisement when you log onto the Sirius website. The commercial takes you through cassette tapes, 8 tracks, CD’s, record albums, and even iPods as all of these devices fall like domino’s. In the end, you are left with a Stiletto 2 and the statement, “SIRIUS…EVERYTHING ELSE FALLS SHORT”

Check it out.

Position - Long Sirius

The guys at TSS-Radio have informed Sirius Buzz that they have just received shipments of the new Stiletto 2 as well as the Sportster 5, INV2, and Stratus 4. These new radios enable you to take the next step in your Sirius experience, and TSS Radio makes getting your hands on one easy and fast. Whether you are on a budget and need an inexpensive satellite radio solution, or you want the top of the line Stiletto 2, the guys at TSS Radio have you covered. Readers can also get any kits, accessories, and parts from TSS Radio as well. So sit back and relax on Black Friday. Avoid the lines, and shop with confidence at TSS Radio.

The Stiletto 2

The Stiletto 2 combines SIRIUS radio with your own personal MP3 music library for the ultimate portable audio entertainment experience. Wherever you go. Enjoy live SIRIUS radio from our satellites or via WiFi, listen to stored SIRIUS programming, or to your favorite songs from your personal music collection Add micro SD memory for even more personal media storage or optional accessories for customized performance in your vehicle, home or office. Readers Can Order a Stiletto 2 from TSS Radio Radio Here

The Sportster 5

The Sportster 5 boasts a vivid multi-color display, simple navigation, advanced features and everything you need to enjoy SIRIUS in your vehicle. Optional universal accessory docking kits and audio systems easily allow this radio to be used in your home, boat, office or in additional vehicles. Readers can Order A Sportster 5 fro TSS Radio Here

Position - Long Sirius - TSS Radio is a Sponsor of Sirius Buzz

XM Satellite Radio announced today that the FTC investigation into XM’s marketing and customer services practices has been closed by the agency. The investigation has been 18 months in the working, and at the conclusion of the investigation the FTC decided to close the matter without any action. This is welcomed news for XM Satellite radio and sector watchers.

Position - Long XM

Duran Duran, the iconic British Band that became mainstream in the 80’s is scheduled to roll into Sirius Satellite Radio This month in a major way. The band, promoting the U.S. release of their album Red Carpet Massacre, will debut the album track by track today, November 9th, on The Pulse (channel 9) at 12:00 Noon eastern time.

The band will take over Sirius’ Super Shuffle for three days beginning November 13th at noon, and continue their influence on Sirius’ satellite waves by hosting Glam As You Can on Sirius’ First Wave (channel 22). Topping it off, Duran Duran will take the mic each weekday at noon on The Big 80’s (channel 8), the station station dedicated to the music when the band first became a smash hit.

Duran Duran fans have something to look forward to in November.

Position - Long Sirius

While driving this afternoon I was tuned into Sirius’ Jay Thomas show, which as usual was quite entertaining. At one point during the show, Sirius ran an advertisement for the Catholic Channel, and I found the ad to be informative, as well as quite well done. The ad expressed that the Catholic Channel was more than Hallelujah’s and Amens. The ad stated that the while Catholic Channel does carry Mass from St. Patrick’s Cathedral, they also have family programming, sports programming such as Notre Dame Football, and are even sponsoring a contest involving the NFL’s Saints vs. Cardinals game (dubbed the Holy Bowl), where a fan can win a trip to New Orleans to catch the game!

Now, admittedly, I have never listened to the Catholic Channel, and in point of fact am not even Catholic, but the advertisement compelled me to take a few minutes to look up what the channel was all about, and frankly I was quite surprised. The channel has featured comedian Bobby Collins, and Johhny Carson sidekick Ed McMahon. The channel seems to be a blend of tradition and modernism. A mix of heavy talk and lighter talk. A place where people can learn about religion in a non threatening and inviting manner.

This type of programming is one of the staples that makes satellite radio so special. Cross promotion of channels allows listeners to catch a glimpse of something that otherwise would remain unfamiliar, and I feel this is great. For some, religion is a taboo topic. For others, it is a passionate topic. However you feel, having access to such programming is something that we can all be thankful for, and with a merger, the opportunities for additional programming of this type increase.

The point of this piece is not to promote the Catholic Channel, but to show you that no matter which satellite radio service you have, that there is plenty of exploring that a consumer can do, and that as consumers we should consider ourselves lucky to have an audio entertainment medium willing and able to air diverse and fringe content.

As satellite radio fans we should step back and take a moment to celebrate the content that Sirius and XM offer, and further we should consider all of the potential that a merger will bring.

Position - Long Sirius, XM

XM Satellite Radio announced today that they would carry an exclusive Led Zeppelin Channel. The channel will be named XM LED: The Led Zeppelin Channel will be channel 58 on the service. As with other such channels on bot services, the entire audio catalog of music, exclusive interviews, and even previously unreleased material will featured. As an added bonus, XM listeners will get treated to the U.S premier of “The Song Remains The Same”.

Led Zeppelin, an iconic band from the 1960’s has maintained a popularity that has transcended decades despite being disbanded following the death of John Bonham in 1980. Led Zeppelin has been honored many times, and is considered one of the legendary bands of Rock N’ Roll. XM subscribers will be treated to as much Zeppelin as they can handle, and the channel is certain to be popular with XM’s recordable devices such as the Inno and Helix.

XM LED: The Led Zeppelin Channel is set to take off on November 8th.

Position - Long XM

The NPD data for September 2007 has been released. The NPD Group is the leading global provider of consumer and retail market research information for a wide range of industries. They provide critical consumer behavior and point-of-sale (POS) information and industry expertise across more industries than any other market research company.

The September data shows that retail sales are still down on a year over year comparison basis, but the trend is improving. Sector sales were up in September over August. Sirius sales in September showed a 16% increase over August. XM’s sales in September showed a 9% increase over the previous month.

This represents 25 consecutive months that Sirius has posted a retail advantage over XM in NPD tracked sales. The results for the quarter show Sirius garnering 64% of the NPD tracked retail channel, which is the second highest quarterly percentage Sirius has ever had (Q4 2006 was 65%).

MARKET SHARE FOR September 2007

Sirius - 65.5%
XM - 34.5%

YOY COMPARISON (August 2007 vs. August 2006)

Sirius - Down 25%
XM - Down 38%

MONTH OVER MONTH (September 2007 vs. August 2007)

Sirius - Up 16%
XM - UP 9%

YEAR TO DATE MARKET SHARE

Siri - 62%
XM - 38%

Position - Long Sirius, Long XM

The full color Sportster 5 is starting to show up at retailers in limited supply as the stores change over display units to prepare for the 2007 holiday season. Over the coming weeks, inventory of the new Sportster will increase, and consumers can also anticipate getting a hands on look at other new releases such as the Stiletto 2.

Position - Long Sirius