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Tyler - With cell phones now having MP3 capabilities and the new iPhone its very obvious that cell phones are going to be a humongous player in mobile audio entertainment.
With the extreme success of the iPod, I was so happy to see Sirius and XM come out with portable radios/mp3 players. Tell me what is the future cell phone strategy for these companies? There has to be a fully functional satellite radio/cellphone, no? Where is the strategy?
The RIAA is one issue. I think that these companies want to see what will transpire with the RIAA prior to getting much more involved in this process.
satellite radio should ultimately cross over several platforms, and their content deals should make that happen.
Taking on the likes of Verizon, AT&T, etc. is no small task. A unified platform (merger) will make it easier in my opinion.
Massive delivery of data and content to cars will happen one of these days, and the money makers will be those that control distribution, and those that control content.
People kind of laugh off WIMAX right now, but they wont be laughing in 5 to 10 years!
Tyler I understand your points, but this quote I have an easy answer for. You don't take on these companies, you partner with them. No way Sirius is in the phone business. But Verizon or Sprint or any of the big phone companies partnering up with Sirius on a fully functional satellite radio receiver/cell phone is most logical don't you think?Quote:
Originally Posted by TSavery
Another question Tyler. In the future, why will anybody spend a dime to buy an iPod if they can just play all their MP3's on their cell phone anyway? The iPod becomes a totally unnecessary expense if a person's cell phone can do the exact same thing at no extra cost for the functionality. I see the cell phone as iPod's biggest competitor and quite likely taking most of the market share away from the iPod.
To me thats the reason Apple came out with the iPhone. Apples saw the cell phone competition coming. To me that signals what satellite radio should do. Strike a deal for a combination player just like Apple did.
Sirius and XM have already partnered with cell companies, but it has done little to help them. The reason IMO is that the content provided is not unique.
In order to get their attention, you need to be the one that has something they, or their customers want.
The problem here is that contracts for such content do not exist.
The NFL has a deal with Sirius, but also has deals with verizon for example.
Even Howards deal allows him to do Howard TV.
Once they get to a point of a more profitable relationship, they can call more shots. A merger helps them get there.
Tyler I am absolutely not talking about just providing cell phones with music the way Sirius and XM do now. I am talking about a fully functional satellite radio ( ie Stiletto) with the entire channel lineup, integrated with a fully functional cell phone. To me this is a no brainer and I'm not quite sure why it hasn't happened yet.
I understand the contracts question Tyler but the exact same issue exists on the internet and look at Sirius' internet offering. It does not just consist of music. Its a very comprehensive lineup. I can't see that issue stopping a Sirius cell phone.
Can you imagine listening to Howard on a cell phone? Its a no brainer just like putting Howard on the net was.
At this point I think that the size of satellite radio simply does not make such a deal condusive at this point. The merger will help with that situation. Right now SDARS needs cell companies more than cell companies need SDARS. At least that is the perception, and until that changes, we likely will not see such a device developed. Apple had the "guns" to make it happen.
I think the next few years, post merger are critical.
That is an excellent point that I had not considered. The leverage to make a deal.Quote:
Originally Posted by TSavery
Tyler - We know how many cars are on the road in this country - 230 million. I want to know the number of cellphones in use in the US. Its got to be a massive number as well. Would you have that number?
If I am not mistaken there are over 200,000,000 cell phones in use in the U.S.
here is an interesting story - the number was 203 million in 2006:D
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06075/671034-294.stm
Thanks Tyler. Now if Sirius and XM can get some good quality content on cell phones (ie Howard) and eventually get just a 5% penetration rate you are talking another 10 million subscribers.
Cell phone audio entertainment will make the iPod obsolete within a few years. The iPod is history.
So basically as we head into 2008 there are probably just as many cell phone subscribers in the US as there are cars on the road - 230 million.
Cell phones are a distribution channel that just cannot be ignored.
1. Cars
2. internet
3. Cell Phones
Its a no brainer for radio distribution.
Tyler - I would like to see you write an article on the whole cell phone strategy from satellite radio. From what I have read Sirius has a deal with Sprint and XM has deals with AT&T and Alltel. I would like to see some insight into future moves, the possibility for satellite chipsets in cellphones and maybe even an interview with people from the 2 companies.
Here is a Forbes article from 2006 on this topic. It has comments from analyst David Bank from RBC
http://www.forbes.com/markets/econom...markets03.html
Another article from About.com entitled -
The Cell Phone-Satellite Radio Connection
When The Two Finally Converge, Satellite Radio will Come Into Its Own
http://radio.about.com/library/weekly/aa071503a.htm