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.