It seems as the SP plummets this forum is becoming a ghost town!!!???
Is everyone panic selling???
Long Sirius~~~
SIRIUS XM SATELLITE RADIO FORUM
It seems as the SP plummets this forum is becoming a ghost town!!!???
Is everyone panic selling???
Long Sirius~~~
Technologizer links to Charles' article too...
http://technologizer.com/2009/01/21/...ates-to-go-up/
SIRIUSly Expensive: Satellite Radio Rates to Go Up
By Harry McCracken | Posted at 11:15 am on Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Sirius Buzz is reporting that merged satellite-radio monopolist Sirius XM is planning a price hike in March for…its best customers. The cost of getting satellite radio on additional devices beyond the first one you own go will apparently go up by $2 a month; in addition, the streaming Internet service that’s now free will cost $2.99 a month.
When the FCC approved Sirius and XM’s merger last year, it was famously based in part on promises of a three-year price freeze for service. That guarantee apparently applied only to the basic $12.95 a month charge, leaving Sirius XM able to jack up other prices associated with its service. With no direct competitor, there’s less pressure to keep prices low for fear the other guy will undercut them.
Well, maybe. Satellite radio is in dire danger of being rendered irrelevant over the next few years by cell phones that stream a bevy of music, news, and talk stations for no cost beyond standard monthly data fees. Already, my iPhone gets Pandora, Last.FM, Slacker, AOL Radio, NPR, and a whole lot more. The company’s betting that locking up exclusive rights to stuff like Howard Stern and major-league sports will keep its services attractive, but that sounds like an expensive proposition for everybody involved.
News about price changes comes a few months after Sirius XM sprung channel changes on its customers without warning, driving some of its most faithful customers bonkers. (Take a look at the comments on the story Ed Oswald wrote at the time.) I’m still getting used to the combined company’s substitution of something called SIRIUSly Sinatra for the old High Standards station I enjoyed, and really, it’s the prospect of the Red Sox in the spring more than anything else that’s keeping me from defecting to the Internet. And the company’s apparent intention to continue with two separate brands with similar-but-not-identical channel lineups is incredibly kludgy; it leaves DJs having to give two channel numbers each time their identify the station they’re on.
I was hooked on XM for years, and would love to see satellite remain a viable, appealing broadcasting option. But Sirius XM is in a tight spot, and while raising rates may help whip its shaky balance sheet into shape, you’ve gotta think that it’ll prompt some longtime customers–especially those who own iPhones–to dump it.
I'm still here and I'm not selling.....Originally Posted by Hopeful
In spite of that rouge trade that spiked SIRI down to .10 a few minutes ago, I think SIRI closes flat or possibly green today...but I could and have been wrong before...
i thinkpeople are just trying to ingore it till feb, its easier than following it :O
Entertainment Weekly links to Charles' article too...
http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009...-xm-raisi.html
Get Latest Headlines
Sirius XM raising costs? Vive le monopoly!
Jan 21, 2009, 02:31 PM | by Mike Bruno
Some six months after last summer's merger between Sirius Satellite Radio and rival XM Radio, we're now seeing reports that the new Sirius XM is raising prices starting March 11, charging $2 more per month for additional subscriptions, and $2.99 a month for online streaming (formerly part of the base package). This move is seemingly in line with the FCC merger agreement because technically, the company is not raising its base price -- if you have one receiver and don't stream online, you're not affected. What's more, if you call Sirius XM customer service, someone will explain to you that you can lock in the current rate if you sign up for a three-year subscription (which in satellite radio years, is like, well, a decade). Still, the post-merger move feels like a disconcerting harbinger of price increases to come.
I've personally never been a Howard Stern fan (seems every day there's fewer of those around), and at home, I plug my Internet-connected laptop into the stereo to listen to various online radio as well as my MP3 collection. That means the only place I really listen to satellite radio is my car or at work via the Internet. I like having Sirius on my four-hour road trips to see my Boston-based in-laws, but I think I might just stick with terrestrial radio and my iPod (connected via an inexpensive yet adequate-at-least-in-rural-areas FM modulator) for car rides and ditch the satellite radio rather than pay an extra 3 bucks a month just to listen at work. Yes, it's about saving cash. But it's also about saying screw you to this monopoly before it bites me in the behind.
Anyone else gonna chuck their satellite radio if this price-jacking rumor is true? How do you listen to radio these days? Or perhaps radio really is a dead medium...?
Ok, so the markets are in rally mode with the DOW up 224 and SIRI is having a hard time participating in the party, but that could change going into the close......or not. SIRI is up off it's lows though...
An hour left to go....
http://www.reuters.com/article/marke...48965620090121
UPDATE 2-Sirius XM to raise some prices as debt looms
Wed Jan 21, 2009 3:02pm EST
(Adds debt and FCC background, stock details, byline)
By Franklin Paul
NEW YORK, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Sirius XM Radio Inc (SIRI.O) plans to increase prices for subscribers with multiple accounts and begin to charge for its online music feed, moves that may help the pay-radio service meet looming debt payments.
While it is keeping its core rates unchanged -- a condition to which Sirius and XM Satellite Radio agreed last year in order to close their merger -- the move could also anger subscribers still raw from a series of programming changes enacted in November.
Starting March 11, users with more than one account will pay about $9 for additional accounts, up from about $7, a customer service representative for the New York-based company said Wednesday.
Also, subscribers will have to pay about $3 a month for the online version of the service. Currently, it is free for subscribers.
Users will be able to defer the increases if they sign up for a long-term annual contract extension, or pay up to $500 for a lifetime subscription, representatives said. They added that there is no plan to change the standard monthly subscription price.
An official spokesman for Sirius, one of the largest U.S. subscription services with about 19 million subscribers, did not return calls for comment.
Sirius agreed with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to not raise for three years the retail prices on its basic $13 per month subscription package, and other programming packages such as a la carte; "best of both"; its news, sports, and talk package; and a discounted family-friendly programming package.
Increased revenue derived from the new charges and long-term commitments would come at a crucial time for Sirius XM, which entered the year with about $1 billion in debt due to mature in 2009.
According to Standard & Poor's, Sirius has $175 million of convertible notes maturing next month, $350 million of secured bank debt due May 2009, and $433 million in convertible notes due December 2009.
Last month, Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin said that while the tight credit market has made it difficult to get optimal terms, he is confident the company can refinance the debt. He also forecast double-digit revenue growth for Sirius in the fourth quarter.
Shareholders may not be as optimistic. Sirius shares fell 4.27 percent to 10.5 cents at mid-afternoon, down 8 percent this month and off 95 percent in the past six months. (Reporting by Franklin Paul; editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Richard Chang)
Thanks Demian for your support, all you do for the forum and sticking around! I also enjoy when you go after SiriusOwner, I don't dislike the guy it's just fun to watch! It looks like your prediction may be holding true!!!
I agree Tripping, I guess there's not much to talk about until then!
Donations accepted.........
I don't "go after" SO - I have just pointed out inconsistencies that I have noticed in his posts. I don't dislike SO and feel that he does have something to offer, although I have disagreed with some of his views. Haven't heard from SO in awhile...
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