The "Grand Illusion"..............that's why people have to constantly dig things up here to make everybody else feel better and give them "Hope and Change", lol, don't be bamboozled or hood winked.... No more 8 years of the same..... Keep an eye on this hand, while the other one does something else.. But come to think of it....neither hand does anything.Originally Posted by SiriusBuzz
You guys don't think launching satellites into orbit is doing anything...
pathetic really to knock SXM for not doing anything....
lets see what "HAVE" they done...
Launched what 7 satellites?
Acquired the biggest names in Content...yes, even the hip hop channels has DJ Green Lantern, Eminem, N.O.R.E, Static selekta, Cypress hill and many more..major names in hip hop.
They have internet radio (hello? they have internet radio)
The reason we "speculate" is because SXM has already outdone anyone on the planet in the radio business and from here all we can do is speculate.
END OF RANT
ok one more, (in whiny voice) oh boy they don't have an iphone app what a terrible company, boo hoo...
as it has been stated many times before...you can get sxm on pocket tunes
I even had sxm on my instinct using orb and usirius...
SXM will launch whatever they want to launch when the timing is right...timing is everything
well, the members have changed but it is the same stuff here.
Where's the Demian's, the APEX's and the other guys ? I guess these discussions became more boring than before ? Or is it because there's nothing amusing in the horizon for SIRIUS ?
Anyway, I'll pay a visit again in a few weeks...
The "Free" vs. "Not Free" Debate
Okay, it seems that there are two differing opinions on the free trial debate.
What we need to do is step back and see the dynamics at play.
Sirius XM is launching an iPhone application. Applications are judged by popularity as much as they are about what that application delivers. Getting on iPhones popular list is paramount to the success of an application. Sirius XM needs to get on that list when they launch their application. How do they ensure that this happens?
1. Make the application download free.
2. Make the value of that application enough that people will want to download it.
In order to get the downloads, the consumer needs to perceive a benefit. 1 or two weeks free will not likely be enough to get the consumer to try. 1 month is okay, but is it enough? The company can not afford to launch with too short a free trial only to then switch it. It would not bode well.
The three month free trial is an established trial period in the OEM channel. With OEM's, Sirius XM is paying for chipset subsidies, installation subsidies, royalties, as well as revenue share. This is an expensive model, but it does deliver subscribers to Sirius XM. The problem is that they have to remain subscribers for a long time before they "pay for themselves".
With the iPhone application, the company saves on chipset subsidies, saves on installation subsidies, has no revenue share, but does pay royalties. This makes the model for an iPhone subscriber more profitable much faster. Think of Apple as an OEM, and you can see why the free trial makes sense.
If we look at the retail channel, there are many issues right now. It is for this reason that the iPhone application should not follow a typical retail model.
With the 3 month trial, the company ensures that they are on top of the iPhone application list. It is also a timeframe that the company and customer service reps are familiar with as they try to convert the free trials to self paying subscribers. How does customer service respond to someone who is just coming off of a two week trial? They will turn around and let the person continue with a free trial to give them yet another chance to hear all of the content. Customer service expenses are expensive to the bottom line, and if the lines are clogged with "two-weekers", existing customers get poorer service.
Three months is enough to make one final effort with a consumer, and if it does not work they can cut the strings, knowing that the person is simply not a good candidate for an ongoing subscription.
The key is exposure, and conversion. What delivers the most exposure, and what timeframe of a trial produces the best conversion.
Tyler Savery
Satellite Standard Founder
as i recall xm at one point even said we are working on the phone device! but it was a couple of years back maybe even longer..........well times up....
like sirius said we will build the best "online lifestyle site" ever! a place for everybody a place for all things related to our industry. well times up.
they have been a day late and a dollar short on many items and never ever went back to tell the user or shareholders what derailed the plan! times up.
its broke and needs fixed...mel wanted xm for the spectrum period.
turn on the deactivated units get some promotional content rolling advertise for your partners on a national basis.
eat into the competitors bottom line! force the consolidation of the other broadcaster get aggressive be proactive in a very public fashion.
that said i still think sdars and a cell partner or partnership would be a kick-ass distribution platform going forward.
funny the old broadcasters are hard at work on forcing themselves into the cell phone heres the link
Smulyan, during a segment of BIA's Winning Media Strategies conference in Washington on Thursday (May 21), said cell phone manufacturer Nokia "has put FM chips in 700 million phones around the world, at a cost of about 50 cents a chip."
Smulyan said radio in mobile phones is a "perfect solution." And, he adds, "We think it is a tremendous opportunity for our industry. When you do it with a chip, you compete in your own market where you do about 90 % of your local business."
Smulyan, who spent Thursday morning leaning on politicians on Capitol Hill, tipped his hat to NAB technology gurus Lynn Claudy and David Layer, along with executive VP of radio John David, for their lobbying assistance on the Hill. Claudy tells R&R that, to date, Sprint has not activated any FM chips in its phones, and Verizon has activated the chips in only one line of its mobile telephones.
Smulyan said the goal is to first push FM chips, then AM chips and then HD Radio chips after that.
Last edited by tim wallick; 05-22-2009 at 12:09 PM. Reason: added info on fm/am chip efforts for cell phones
worth reading on radio from ken dardis. guess i should say it mentions a combined sirius/xm chip not being available till october based on a bmw dealer
At What Point Will Radio Respond With Action?
Words are wonderful. Get the combination of words correct and you console, motivate, enlighten, or reprimand. Use the wrong words and you may get slapped, scorned, or ignored. Or worse, words can create deceit. May I suggest that radio executives and radio trade publication publishers reconsider their use of words when talking to those who are in, or servicing, the radio industry. All too often words used by them are chosen more for covering the true extent of damages incurred over the last few years than for charting a new course.
I have nothing against "hope", a noun defined as "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best." Nor is the verb "aspire" something I'll shy away from, "to long, aim, or seek ambitiously." But to watch a hopeful aspiration continually brought up in conversation by radio industry executives and to see articles in trade publications that lean towards this end with no basis in fact generates angst. When will words spoken match actions taken?
Last edited by tim wallick; 05-22-2009 at 12:54 PM.
That is very well thought out.
First of all, you make it sound like Mel built it and hit the launch button.
The issue we have is that their technology is stagnant. Their deals are stagnant.
I have been using this great Sirius XM internet radio you speak about and it hasn't changed in 3 years, same old crappy, browser incompatible, interface. Yet, all of the other companies are evolving and adding to their already better from day 1 offerings.
Their hardware is OK, I have never been wowed like I have with other devices but, I guess you can say they are par if you are OK with that fine.
How about expanding outside of waht they have been offering for years now? Where is their announcement that they are partnering to get into the xbox, or into windows media player?
You can make your counter arguement but, you gave them an F for marketing... I bet if they were running commercials and press releases about stuff like that, you would give them an A. Sometimes I wonder if the marketing sucks or if the company itself doesnt throw them a bone with anything new to talk about/market.
Charles LaRocca
SiriusBuzz Founder
I'm just curious. Does anybody think Sirius management reads through
these different forums, to get a feel for what is being said out there?
Or do you feel they have their heads in the sand (or worse) and
are oblivious? There are so many good ideas out here, it's frustrating
day after day to read of their incompetence. This company has
so much potential that is being wasted while everybody else
in the race leaves them in the dust. My vent for the day.
I hope everyone has a safe memorial weekend. Thanks
to our troops.
Julie
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