BEST OF Programming Already Adding To Bottom Line
I write about satellite radio. I have Sirius, and have had XM. It sort of comes with the territory when you cover this sector, so when the availability of the BEST OF programming was announced, I found myself compelled to at give it a try.
This morning I put my investigative cap on and called customer service to not only add the new programming, but to ask a few additional questions as a “curious consumer” so that I could write about my experience.
Tyler – How is the response to BEST OF? Are you getting a lot of calls?
Customer Rep – Actually yes, we are getting a great response so far. I’m surprised by the number of calls adding the service. Did you want to add it month to month or pay for a full year?
Tyler – Well, how much will the service be if I do a full year?
Customer Rep – Your annual plan just lapsed a couple of weeks ago, so you are on a monthly plan right now. It would come to $186.89 if you renewed for one year with the BEST OF. This gives you 1 month free.
Tyler – I see, if I pay month to month it would come out to $203.88 for a year. Do a lot of people take advantage of the annual plan?
Customer Rep – Not everyone, but many do. You can break it up into two payments, so that makes it a bit easier for people.
Tyler Okay. Give me the full year, and break it up into two payments.
Customer Rep – Great, you have a small credit on your account, so we will apply that first. The balance will then be $177.67. Half will go onto your account now, and the other half next month. Do you want to use the credit card we have on file?
Tyler That would be fine
Customer Rep Great, you are all set. You have a Stiletto 100. When you turn it on you should see a channel update. After the update completes, power the unit off and on again, and you should be all set. If you have any problems you can always call. Can I help you with anything else, or do you want any of the other radios on your account upgraded?
Tyler – No Thanks
The conversation gave me a good feeling about what is happening with the BEST OF programming. Seeing that the passionate satellite radio subscribers are reacting well to the initiative is great news. Likely, many people are adding right to their existing plan, and therefore paying in advance. This brings cash into the door. If the reaction is substantial, it could mean millions of additional cash on hand for Sirius XM Radio as they go into Q4. Such cash would not only bolster the companies position, but give them some latitude in marketing expenses to promote not only the BEST OF, but A-La-Carte as well.
With all of the bad news of late, this little conversation gave me a bit of faith in knowing that the wheels of satellite radio are still turning, and that while the economy has many people concerned, they are still opening up their wallets to get the additional programming being offered.
In many ways, Sirius XM announcements lately have fallen victim to the overall bad news of the economy. We now have the potential of seeing the bailout package approved before the weekend, and Sirius XM to have positive things to say on October 6th. For once, the timing seems to work in the favor of satellite radio.
Position – Long SIRI
I hear u SXMinvestor….but every time the FED cut the rates this past year….all the stocks got a bump…EXCEPT Sirius.
It has been their M.O. for the last few years now. DOWN on bad news. DOWN further on GOOD NEWS.
But Vaporgold is right…this doesn’t make any sense. We are SO low right now yet have SO many subs and SO much growth potential going forward, this price isn’t justified.
ALL I can think of is the debt refinance issue. Until Mel ANNOUNCES SOMETHING…..ANYTHING concerning this….I’m afraid we are going to be left in the dark.
It is our ONE last hope. My fear is that Mel will either make another UGLY deal or worse….makes a GOOD deal….and the stock continues to go down anyway!
That would be the ULTIMATE slap in the face to the shareholders. First we hang in there for the merger only to be sucker punched when it was finally approved….and now ALL our hopes are on the debt refinancing as the HOLY GRAIL and the ONLY thing that is holding this stock down.
What if WE go down after refinancing? I don’t even want to think about that.
But how can we not? Sirius has not gone up after good news ONCE in the last 3 years. Why should this be any different?
hey tyler any news on Sirius.. thanks for your coverage
The head of Lehman Bros is testifying right now in front of a house hearing…
He is talking about how rampant Naked Short Selling spreading false rumors helped destroy any chances of surviving. He said how the more the share price got beat down, the more IMPOSSIBLE it became to raise money.
I don’t know about you….but Mel should be POUNDING ON THE SECs DOOR and DEMANDING to be PUT ON THE SHORT BAN IMMEDIATELY.
IF it’s not too late already. Has too much damage been done?
Sirius more than practically ANY other company has been the poster boy for short selling and naked shorting.
THEY DESERVE TO BE PROTECTED BY THE SEC. Sirius has been the victim of rampant short selling and will continue to be beaten UNTIL Mel makes a case to be added to that list.
Other non financial companies petitioned to be put on the list…why not Sirius?
today the tears.
I’m averaged over $2.85 and down $170K!!!!
there goes 15 years of savings and 2 houses !!!
Remember that terrestrial radio is still battling to win this fight between satellite and themselves and they have deep pockets. They are still throwing money at representatives to go to battle for them. This alone would potentially keep any authoritative body from doing anything.
They are promoting the shit out of the “best of” on NFL network. Wish they would do some promotions to non-subscribers.
i hear the frustration on “where’s mel” but do not agree, if he had any good news he’d be foolish to lay it out on a day like today.
wait for the storm to clear when good news can be effictive.
Partly because I am home sick…and BORED out of my skull…and partly because I am TIRED of watching the slaughter in the market…
I decided to listen to Mel’s “infamous” Merrill Lynch conference call from Sept 9th.
When Mel addressed the debt issue I suddenly perked up. Yes, I’ve heard it before…but somehow in light of the trashing the stock has taken since then…I realized something.
Mel EXPLICITLY said that he was DEFINITELY in TALKS with various Banks about securing the CASH to deal with the Feb debt. He went on to say that upon hearing that, the HOLDERS of the CONVERTS were EAGER to try to EXCHANGE that for ANOTHER piece of convert.
Mel paused and said dramatically and emphatically, “THAT IS NOT WHAT SIRIUS INTENDS TO DO. WE ARE GOING TO USE A COMBINATION OF THE 450 MILLION in CASH on hand AND A SHORT TERM BANK LOAN(2 to 3 yrs) WHICH IS “SENIOR SECURED” to refinance the Feb and May debt.
He went on to say that the Dec 09 XM converts would be dealt with later, but with forward projections of 700 million in EBITA in 2010…that should be no problem.
Anyway…he also said that UNLIKE the UGLY deal he was “FORCED” into taking to close the merger…..THIS TIME he was taking his time for the best possible opportunity….and even with the Bad Credit market feels that it will get done.
After listening to this again…it really makes sense now why the holders of the February Converts were doing everything in their power(and still are) to keep this stock down to TRY TO FORCE Mel’s hand.
He seemed pretty adamant and confident that wasn’t going to happen.
Of course things have gotten ALOT worse in the last 3 weeks. But if talks were under way with banks, combined with the fact that there is 450 million cash in reserve and the EBITDA figures above….I suddenly feel a glimmer of hope.
Maybe I am just desperate to cling to anything right now….but it’s something.
Anyway…for what it’s worth.
Peace out.
This company will make it. Not doubt about it. The question is how much shareholder equity will be wiped off the face of the earth in the meantime. The answer sadly is alot. These events have occurred numerous times in history and we’re just going through another one. It’s painful but very real.
At this point you should be invested in the company because of your love for the company and business model and not for hopes you’ll hit the lottery and make big money.
Tyler?…Brandon?…Hellooooo..Are you there
My experience was not as positive. I had XM and Siruis until 3 days ago. My free year of Sirius expired. I called customer service to inquire about the merger. It doesn’t make much sense to me that I should pay for 2 subscriptions when the companies have now merged. I was not satisfied with the response I received.
Hopefully the rate cut the Feds are discussing comes to term. This is one of many steps they will take to free up the credit freeze. We will never get out of this if banks dont start lending. We all know they eventually will. Im not concerned about Febs debt. Im more concerned of how fast the Feds can end this damn credit squeeze.
.01 PS… coming?
CORRECTION: .01 EPS coming?
Where is Mel? Where is Tyler? Where is Brandon?
Mel DIDN’T make ONE appearance today on tv, internet or radio to announce the BEST OF. In light of the INSANE day in the market, I guess I understand why…but considering how far the pps has fallen, how battered the shareholders are and HOW Mel PROMISED how AFTER THE MERGER(that we voted for) he would stay in constant contact with the shareholders.
If NOW doesn’t constitute a TIME when our CEO needs to speak to his troops…I don’t know WHEN would be.
Now Tyler & Brandon don’t owe us anything. This is just a place where us Sirius shareholders/customers come for sanctuary from the INSANITY that is the YAHOO board and for alittle honest straight talk.
I don’t know what there is to say…but to have Tyler silent since last Thursday’s radio show and Brandon silent even longer since he missed the radio show….
we are all alittle lost. drifting. Our CEO is MIA and our friendly voices on the internet Tyler and Brandon have gone silent as well.
It’s nice to talk amongst ourselves….but the fact that we are without ANY leadership either from our company or our online sanctuary….is quite disheartening.
🙁
Where is Mel? Where is Tyler? Where is Brandon?
Mel DIDN’T make ONE appearance today on tv, internet or radio to announce the BEST OF. In light of the INSANE day in the market, I guess I understand why…but considering how far the pps has fallen, how battered the shareholders are and HOW Mel PROMISED how AFTER THE MERGER(that we voted for) he would stay in constant contact with the shareholders.
If NOW doesn’t constitute a TIME when our CEO needs to speak to his troops…I don’t know WHEN would be.
Now Tyler & Brandon don’t owe us anything. This is just a place where us Sirius shareholders/customers come for sanctuary from the INSANITY that is the YAHOO board and for alittle honest straight talk.
I don’t know what there is to say…but to have Tyler silent since last Thursday’s radio show and Brandon silent even longer since he missed the radio show….
we are all alittle lost. drifting. Our CEO is MIA and our friendly voices on the internet Tyler and Brandon have gone silent as well.
It’s nice to talk amongst ourselves….but the fact that we are without ANY leadership either from our company or our online sanctuary….is quite disheartening.
🙁
Can Shareholders ask for vote of confidenec or a meeting with MEL to explain what is going on?
Is it me getting blind or MEL bailed out
I went to http://www.sirius.com site — NOT even a single FLASH about the freggin new service or any news – updates about what is going on
Then I found MEL, in a pic on wall street from January 2007 on investor relations link — Is this the most they can do
Where is the F*** $ 4 billion in synergies he indicated when he declared merger in Feb 2007. Where is the Adds that he said will come out.
MEL, good news – an add on your website does not cost you a penny or soon does not cost you a share
I noticed on Nasdaq after hours trade at 16:47 1,184,545 shares at .50…anyone know if this was a buy or sell transaction by an institution?
I’ve written and called Investor Relations with no response but form letters…and no concrete answer when i call.
We are COMPLETELY in the dark.
That wouldn’t be as bad if us Sirius Shareholders WEREN’T IN THE FRIGGIN DARK FOR NEARLY 2 YEARS DURING THE MERGER DELAY.
Mel PROMISED he would stay in contact with us. He ALLUDED TO A “SHAREHOLDER” CONFERENCE CALL after the MERGER….BUT that NEVER came. Instead we got a conference call at Merrill Lynch that was strangely and abruptly cut short. In that conference call he said that Sirius would launch the BEST OF on October 6th.
That date is here…and there has been ZERO advertising for it to non subscribers. NO ONE that isn’t a subscriber probably knows who Sirius and XM are…let alone that they MERGED…and now offer the BEST OF!!!
And Mel didn’t hold ANY tv time today for himself to announce the BEST OF.
I KNOW. I KNOW. There are bigger things out there. But Mel owes his shareholders some communication.
To quote our CEO….THIS REALLY “SUCKS!!”
Hey SiriusHope….Brandon usually knows the answer to those questions. But he is MIA too.
This is getting creepy scary silent around here.
How many here would take a buyout now for $1.50 instead of Mel declaring bankruptcy?
At this point I would.
If it came to either or….what choice would we have?
OK — I get it
No advertisment cuz Mel is still celebrating the new year
Thanks Friggin…
I am in at 1.46 avg for 8000 shares and would like to see at least 2.00 for all the last few weeks pain.
May sound crazy but..I am going to buy another 2000 shares and hopeful that pps will eventually go to at least 2.50 within the next year or so.
Does anyone know if mel has a golden parachute? And if so, how does it compare to the value of his 8.5 million shares?
As far as merger news, I brought my new Cobalt in for repair ( GO GM! ). And I asked my dealer about Sirius XM and when , if he knew, both services would be installed in GM vehicles. Of course I didn’t expect him to know that, but he was still clueless that the merger had been approved. Oh boy.
172 comments is out of control. There are a lot of good questions here so, head over to the forums and post them. Who the hell wants to read a mile long page? It took my 58 full screen scrolls on my 21 inch monitor to get to the bottom of this page.
Not sure about the parachute, but Mel gave us shareholders a golden shower. I wonder if Tyler will show up with some good news soon. Maybe Mel called him to the office.
I hear u SiriusHope. I got in at $6.50 over 3 years ago…and have averaged down to about $2.50.
It friggin pains me to admit that. If I had held all my “averaging downs” until this week instead of over the past year….my average would have been about a buck.
But I have neither the stomach nor the funds to average down anymore….even at these all time lows.
I remember I was going to pull out of Sirius back in January of 07….for a loss….and put it into First Solar. But the VERY day I was seriously contemplating this….they ANNOUNCED the FRIGGIN MERGER….and I didn’t.
FSLR went on to go from $28 a share to over $300 in the same time period(it has since pulled back, but I would have cashed out for sure).
And Sirius of course went from $4 a share to .46 FRIGGIN CENTS!
I had many other times I thought to sell….like BACK in NOVEMBER of 07….and the VERY DAY I was going to do this….those ANALYSTS started screaming MERGER IMMINENT!!!
I now know that those analysts sensed the sell off…and made that announcement to KEEP suckers like me in.
It’s been this kind of analyst and bashers being in cahoots that have made this the most manipulated stock I have EVER seen.
And like clock work…EVERY time I averaged down…after a drop….it DROPPED even lower the minute I bought. WITHOUT FAIL.
The last time I was going to sell was right after the merger…and we ALL know what happened THEN.
Yet UNBELIEVABLY I averaged down ONE LAST TIME at $1….with my last 4 grand.
Goldman had set the $1 price target….and once it was hit…I bought.
Of course Goldman immediately lowered their target to 50 cents…WHICH they just hit today.
So as much as I’d LOVE to average down again(if I HAD the money)….I just KNOW that as soon as I did Goldman’s NEW target would be 25 cents.
Now I am truly stuck like alot of you.
SiriusHope – That trade was through what is known as a TRF, which stands for Trade Reporting Facility. It is something that allows for trades (or exchanges of shares) on something other than an exchange (Nasdaq, NYSE, etc.)
It’s hard to say if it was a solid block of institutional buying or selling but more than likely many trades by many smaller investors through a clearing house that ultimately needed to be reported.
I know it’s not the answer you were looking for but I hope this helps.
All CEO’s get golden parachutes. That the industry protocol.
I actually bought 50,000 shares today at 47cts. My plan is to listen to the earnings call next month and continue buying if the info disclosed is not to bad. This buy brings my average pps down to 3.00… I want it under 2.00 and I will average in until I get there unless something concrete from the company changes my mind. Mel K is smart to stay quiet here, as much as we all would love some direction, it would do the stock no good at all. Hope the feds OUTLAW naked shorting… in the meantime the rev/expense equation inside the company gets better as the pps gets worse. We will do OK here.
WOW
I went to BestBuy, CircuitCity, SAMS, COSTCO — not a single news flash about SiriusXM services — Is this MEL’s idea of advertising for the company before shopping season starts
Did he fire his Media dept or they all bailed out befor closure !!!!!!!
Seems like you and I are in the same boat Krypto…with nearly identical average prices.
U are a braver man than me tho. I’d LOVE to pull the trigger again to average down to under $2….but I can’t do that for a multitude of reasons. Not the least of which is that I don’t have ANY more money to average down with…LOL. But also because I have been BURNED every damn time I’ve averaged down.
The price is getting low enough were it is tempting. I mean to lose 50% it’d have to go to 25 cents…and then after that…what? ZERO?
No…with my luck I’d average down at this price and INSTANTLY Mel would declare BK or a Reverse split. Lol. I KNOW it.
Anyway…what date next month is the EARNINGS CALL?? Any announcement yet?
During the hearings in DC today, every CEO said it was lack of confidence that mainly brought their company down 🙁
Mel, do you have any confidence, are you gonna put some in your hsareholders’ mind?
No Mel!
No Tyler!
No Brandon!
Maybe they are sequestered because of a huge announcement that is going to be released on Sirius Buzz?
Maybe they are just fed up with everything that has and hasn’t been happening?
Maybe it’s time to either sell, average down or better still to forget about Mel, the FCC,
Goldman, Weinkes, Cramer and ‘everything Sirius’? Try this for an hour, a day or better still a month in Tahiti.
Mel better not get another big freaking bonus this year!!
I happened to catch part of Cramer’s show. He was blowing about how this was the worst market he’s ever seen and that people who need their money within 5 years should at sell 250k of stock and put it in an FDIC insured savings account!!
He “SORT OF SAID THAT”.
Basically he said put your money in safe stocks, you know the usual products you can DRINK SMOKE EAT CLEAN and MEDICATE with. Meaning the stuff in your fridge, medicine and kitchen cabinets.
He also said the market could get better or ALOT worse…and even dropped the “D” word a couple of times. He said if you aren’t prepared to ride it out for 5 years…to just put your money in the bank now that they are insured for up to $250k now instead of $100k.
He said there are some REALLY great buys out there…but he wasn’t willing to say BUY BUY BUY just yet. He also said sell the bad companies….but hold the good ones. And again, if you aren’t willing to hold for up to 5 years…to just put it in the bank.
Peace.
JESUS you guys are depressing the shit out of me, today I added a sick amount to my position yes 100K shares, I needed to avarage down enough to make ok just in case of a buyout at approx. 1.50 or so. Today I had a 40 min conversation with IR and I was told they are added 3000 agents to satellite offices in Iowa and DC. I was kind of shocked at the timing but He told me they are modifying the best of package xm package to accept MLB, in any case i did mention to him that it’s pretty embarrassing flirting with 45 cents a share and he repeated that the timing of the merger was bad but they are still hiring.
MIKE
Mike,
The he you refer to was out of the office for a few days. I spoke to Shirley of IR today. Further, no one at IR would speak to you for 40 minutes.
Thanks Friggin and Getitstraight for your responses.
We ALL need to hang tough…it’s better in numbers that we ALL do. These times will pass even though they do look bleak today. Just a matter of time that the sun shines on sirius stock pps. Please keep the faith for all us fellow investors depend on eachother.
frigginregan I feel like we are the same person as i read over your comments…Hang in there…I would be happy taking a loss with a buyout than it going BK..if they make it throught the rough times I don’t care if it takes me 3-5 years to make my money back. I am try to psych myself into thinking that it is already lost
Here’s a radical idea, but sometimes doing the right thing has it’s virtues. Why not charge NOTHIHG for the “Best of” channels. The two companies merged and promised LOWER prices, and now, to get a few measly additional channels, they want peple to fork over more money. Here’s what you do, Sirius/XM; give people MORE value for their hard earned dollars! Not LESS!!! I saw some of the salaries that the companies executives are making and almost fell out of my chair! Give people a really good deal and they will flock to almost anything in droves. Everybody is so GODDAMN GREEDY these days; it is disgusting. They need to jump start this thing, and the way to do it is by making people an offer they can’t resist. Like buy one, get one free at the Chicken Ranch. This is supposed to be ONE company, but you still have to deal with two seperate and distinct entities – it’s like they never merged. There is only one word to describe the situation. That word is BULLSHIT !!!! If they would GIVE more, they would RECEIVE so much more in return……. like tons of subscriptions. Isn’t that what it’s all about?