Major League Baseball Appears On Sirius XM
In an interesting new development, the Major League Baseball channel has found a new home on the Sirius side of the satellite radio dial. Previously this programming was not available to Sirius subscribers because the contract prohibited it. In essence, Sirius XM had to sit down at the table and make an arrangement that would allow MLB to be inclusive in any Best Of programming packages.
The natural time for the negotiations was shortly after the merger was approved. This would have allowed the Sirius side of the subscriber pool to enjoy MLB. That never happened, which indicated that perhaps there was a gap between the folks at MLB and the folks at Sirius XM.
Okay, not a big deal right? Well, that depends on how deep you want to look, as well as how much you want to speculate. You see, there is a small issue of $120,000,000 sitting in escrow. This escrow was established between XM and MLB prior to the merger. The money is just sitting there, unused. This money would be very helpful to Sirius XM Radio right now.
So why would negotiations be happening months prior to Spring training? A logical answer is that there was more than just programming offers being discussed. Yes, this is speculation, but there exists a possibility that Sirius XM and MLB have come to an agreement that would at least make the cash flow of the deal more friendly, and could even free up at least some of the escrow money.
With major debt issues in 2009, Sirius XM Radio will be making efforts to gain a financial edge wherever they can. It could even mean discussions with the NFL to make their $45 million due this year something more friendly.
So, consumers can listen to some hot stove baseball chat, and investors can consider what other conversations the dealings with MLB entailed. Time will tell.
Position – Long Sirius XM
Rubbish.
They need to merge everything into one service – trying to milk current subscribers out of more money way less effective than attracting new subscribers with a new improved offering.
Also, making current customers happy would help in retaining existing business.
they already pissed a lot of people off by consolidating channels. so after this merger has offered no Improvements to customers unless they fork out more $$.
I’d probably cancel if I didn’t have a lifetime subscription…. ok who am I kidding.. I am addicted to Howard, but as soon as he retires, theres no compelling reason for mw to stay with Sirius…
Listen, I spend more on lunch in a day! That’s one CD a month! For $16 a month on my XMP3. I get the best music, every play by play for every team and channels dedicated to MLB, NHL and NFL.
Plus Howard and Opie & Anthony and Ron and Fez.
In my XMP3 I have 10 GBs to DL my own music and get live radio whenever I want.
Soon I will have a SiriusXM player on my Blackberry.
No Ipod or mp3 player is even close to my XMP3.
It’s such an amazing product. I do not work in any way with the company. I just really enjoy the service and products.
Marty, do you use your XMP3 in your car? If so, do you have any reception issues in areas with no terrestrial signal? Thanks.
Dixon,
I do not have an XMP3, but I do have a Stiletto. The car kits work well. The secret (that I have yet to hook up) is the direct connect. When hooked up, it goes from the car kit directly to the radio, disabling the car’s extenal antenna. This should greatly diminish terrestrial interferance.
If Im a siri subscriber will getting an xmp3 player be worthwhile? Can I get an xmp3 with siri?
Dixon,
I do use it in my car. My personel car and then, in the car I use for work all day. I do have issues, in some areas but not too many. Nothing that is in anyway a distraction. I live in NYC and so the repeaters here,might be better than elsewhere.
Inside my building at work I don’t get a signal expcept near windows so, I switch to the recorded content. A lot of it with five channels recorded all the time.
Kevin,
Get the XMP3 with Best of and you will have everything as if you had Sirius. Only one or two channels like Sirius Hits 1 you would not hear for now.
BTW… I don’t spend $16 everyday on lunch but have at times.
Tyler….
Why was the 120m placed in escrow? to guarantee payments after the merger?
In any event,renegotiating any content agreements for cost reductions has to be a priorty for SirusXM to reduce over all content operating costs.Hopefully they can get a reduction of that 120 in escrow and get part of it back for operating costs.
I would assume that as some of these content agreements expire SiriusXM will try to renew at a lower rate. They should be somewhat successful in this area because they do not have XM going after that same content provider any longer,and two the economy certainly is not what it was one to two years ago.
They very well could pay less for some content today then when Sirius-XM were battling each other and driving the content prices up in a bidding war.
I know we are speculating but it is an area that most business executives would look at for reductions.
I just don’t remember reading why the 120 was put in a escrow account.
imho
vaporgold
Hope this helps out!!
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.....cle/121118
Marty,
The reception with the portables is usually very good in areas with a terrestrial signal from the ground repeaters. I have the Inno and live in DC and have no problem in or around the city. However, when I drive up to PA, I experience an intermittant signal in some areas where I am out of range of the repeaters. This can be very frustrating, so I was hoping the XMP3 had improved in this regard.
why the escrow account??
The escrow account has been in place for some time, well before the merger. The escrow account was mandated by MLB to ensure payment to MLB. This is not something new. What Tyler is refering to is that this agreement to have MLB on Sirius is something that might be a part of a new agreement with MLB, and if so, they surely were negotiating other terms with MLB, such as not having to have an escrow account anymore (or a smaller escrow account perhaps).
Dixon,
My radio antenna is poorly mounted because I move from car t car. I use the two foot XM antenna. Little disruption and I would guess less if I had it done right.
I’d get an XMP3 in a heartbeat if they supported Mac users. I have Sirius in my truck and XM on my Blackberry so I am happy with that right now.
Marty,
My cousin, who is an idiot, recently bought a new Accord with free X/M for 3 months. The car cost him $24,000, financed over 5 years. You get the idea. He hardly ever listened to the FREE satellite radio for the trial offer time, and of course did not subscribe. He is one of these morons that listens only to sports talk, but he wouldn’t even turn on the X/M for that. I asked him if he was thinking of reactivating the radio, and his response was “I can’t afford it.”
He has two refrigerators loaded with hundreds of bottles of beer, soda, and bottled water. He has 2 cell phones and a land line. He has a 52″ LCD TV, a $12,00.00 snowblower that he uses about 3 times a year, and a $1000.00 dollar lap top computer. Not to mention a $2000.00 dollar riding mower, 15 credit cards, and just had a new deck built that cost him $3,500.00. Everything I mentioned is payed for, except the car.
The only thing that is out of the question is the .43 cents a day for satellite radio. You would have thought that I suggested he buy a Rolls Royce by his reaction. He embodies the biggest problem that Sirius/XM faces; millions of ignorant, unintelligent, lazy, apathetic, technology challenged, low IQ, bear drinking, football watching, “Cops” watching, white trash borderline retarded assholes who will never, EVER even consider satellite radio. Why? Because they are so Goddamn fucking stupid that it makes your skin crawl just being around them.
They are everywhere! They hate satellite radio, even though they know nothing about it and won’t even give it a chance. I have never in my entire life seen such vehement opposition to a product in my life as I witness on a daily basis to satellite radio! Abortion and gun control have less of a stigma attached to them it seems. I love it, you love it, and others do as well. Unfortunately, most of the country feels differently. Good God almighty, do we ever live in a stupid, classless, low brow, junk culture of a country !!!
Steve O,
sounds like you must really enjoy the holiday family get-togethers.
Dixon,
Oh yeah! Can’t get enough of the family and fossil looking, barely breathing human antique relatives asking me stuff like “And what do you do?”, and “Are you married?”, and then having to listen for hours about how successful their douche bag kids are while I don’t have a pot to piss in.
I basically show up, gorge myself with as much food as I can possibly eat until I’m bloated, and then work the room trying to hype Sirius/XM. All of the assholes give me that bewildered look, like people who watch Hee Haw and eat at Bob’s Big Boy! Out of 25 people, the best response is usually “Oh, satellite radio? I had it for a while and then cancelled it. I can’t see paying for radio.”
At this point, I have had just about enough of the family, their stupid friends and neighbors, and the near comatose relatives. None of them have Sirius/XM, and none of them are going to get it, so fuck all of them – I slip out the back door, pee on their flower beds, and get the hell out of there. What a bunch of BULLSHIT !
steve thats really funny account of your holiday with the family…
Thanks Dread
vaporgold
This is off topic, but last night, this caught my attention on 60 minutes. I was waiting for the season finale of Survivor, but the game pushed the show forward by 1/2 hour.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/w.....d=4668112n
Whether this info is correct or not, I still lost sleep over it. My question is. Is this already baked into our investments, since the market is forward looking? The one analyst thinks so, but 3-4 more years, man I don’t know if I can take it. I want to see people going to jail for destroying our economy!!
I am just guessing, but the NASDAQ will have to extend its delisting waiver, or the NASDAQ will be delisted itself.
No affiliation with CBS/60 minutes / actually I hate CBS/60min!!
Congrats Steve 0. Nice new take on bashing… very subtle and attempts to plant the same seed that most of the overt bashers take.
Talked to my dad up in the Panhandle of Florida the other day. He was telling me that everyone in his area absolutely loves satellite radio. He’s in his mid-60’s and just discovered online banking so I don’t know.. guess I’m just not really buying your argument if it was on the up an up.
otone,
Bashing? Are you shitting me??!! I am as staunch a satellite radio supporter as any you will ever find. As far as my being on the up and up, I can assure you that the essence of what I am saying is absolutely sincere. Do I embelish things a bit? Not too much, I assure you.
Your dad sounds like an astute and sensible man. I commend him for having the good judgment to give satellite radio a try, and consequently loving it. I live in upstate New York; not exactly a cosmopolitan region of the country. There are lots of pick up trucks and lots of John Deere hats in these parts. Unlike your dad’s brethren in the Panhandle, I live in Appalachia North – where everybody is white, nobody has all their teeth, and a big night out on the town is hitting Taco Bell before loading up the F-150 with your hillbilly friends and heading for the drive In (picture show).
If Mel Karmazin promoted this service with one half the passion that I do, I wouldn’t have to be defending myself against absurd accusations like the preposterous one you make about me. Things would be a lot better, and sites like this would be rendered obsolete. If you took the time to read my last 30 or 40 posts, you would be less prone to making such a knee jerk inference.
I might be a little crass, and be a pain in the ass, but I do not bash. I am a goodwill ambassador for the company and the technology. I should move to the Panhandle and join the satellite radio love fest that has all the Snowbirds going apeshit! Thanks for very subtly planting this great idea in my head. I’m gonna grab my sportster replay, my walker and Lawrence Welk DVD’s and head for the airport, baby. I owe you one!
So, What is the up to date status of the mlb on sirius, are they negotiating or what, I’m one of the few who loves baseball and will swith to xm if sirus can’t deliver does anybody know the latest