i just heard that the xm radio and sirius might go out of business or might combine forces......did anyone hear of that....

due to the HD radio is coming out and it's FREE service.????

No, they are not going out of business...however there are rumors of a possible merger.

HD Radio isn't even close to Satellite Radio.

Yep, I have heard rumors of a merger, but I think those stemmed from old info, back when Sirius was first launching and was having some money troubles, but as far as I know those were just rumors, even back in '01. Although the ridiculous amount of money they are paying Howard may put them all in the poorhouse.

Although the ridiculous amount of money they are paying Howard may put them all in the poorhouse.

Yup, that will do it! $589 Million...

Cough, cough, hack, hack......sorry, I just inhaled part of my own face! Does anyone actually think he is worth that? Honestly, can he actually justify that kind of money?

There have been rumors of a merger since Sirius launched, and for now it still is rumors. Mel Karamazin of Sirius hinted he "might" be open to the idea of a merger, and XM said no talk has been made on this at all yet, so who knows.

BUT.... Why get HD? Sure HD will pump out more radio stations to listen to, but with more mindless drivel from "Zoo" dj's, MUCH MUCH more advertising, and lots of repeated playlists. Would the advertising really support all the new stations anyways? Advertisers aren't going to start putting more radio ad money into their budgets simply because there are more stations now... Which has the better business model? I say satellite.

Cough, cough, hack, hack......sorry, I just inhaled part of my own face! Does anyone actually think he is worth that? Honestly, can he actually justify that kind of money?

Considering Howie himself once said that satellite radio hosts are washed up has been DJ's.

BUT.... Why get HD? Sure HD will pump out more radio stations to listen to, but with more mindless drivel from "Zoo" dj's, MUCH MUCH more advertising, and lots of repeated playlists.

Might HD Radio also give you true "CD Quality?" I mean, my CDs definitely sound better than satellite (maybe because I'm using Sirius and XM is better, who knows?). Theoretically, there's no reason why you can't have CD quality HD Radio except for bandwidth.

Personally, I'll stick with satellite. Aside from the commercial free music, Specialized talk channels, and sports, I enjoy being able to drive for hours (in one direction) and never lose my stations).

P.S. I really hate the fact that Pioneer dropped the ball with the Sirius interface. It's been the dark lining in the silvery AVIC cloud. I mean, my old Sportster (that I paid about the same as the SIR-PNR2) did so much more.

I think its been mentioned on the boards that Pioneer didnt make the SIR-PNR2, its just sold under the pioneer name.

Also, you have to understand Pioneer is under contract to make all sorts of radios for XM, like my new Pioneer Inno XM/MP3 walkman, and my older Pioneer Airware XM walkman.

Pioneer really isnt to blame THAT much here. I believe they chose to include some sort of Sirius integrated option, so they dont lose any money on that basis.

Cough, cough, hack, hack......sorry, I just inhaled part of my own face! Does anyone actually think he is worth that? Honestly, can he actually justify that kind of money?

No hes not worth it at all, however with all the publicity he generated for Sirius their number of subscribers shot up dramatically.

DAmn pioneer and they're XM pushing. It works though, cause I've debated getting Xm ever since getting my N3 so I can use all the extra features. Probably not going to yet though cause it will cost me extra money for new XM units.

DAmn pioneer and they're XM pushing.

Yea damn Pioneer for pushing the better and more stable satellite radio provider with more subscribers, more satellites, bigger/better ground repeater network, and of course a stock price now edging up to 5 times the value of Siri's stock

DAmn pioneer and they're XM pushing.

 

Yea damn Pioneer for pushing the better and more stable satellite radio provider with more subscribers, more satellites, bigger/better ground repeater network, and of course a stock price now edging up to 5 times the value of Siri's stock

Hmm I wonder which one you like better?

Hmm I wonder which one you like better?

Not the lil' doggy company

DAmn pioneer and they're XM pushing.

 

Yea damn Pioneer for pushing the better and more stable satellite radio provider with more subscribers, more satellites, bigger/better ground repeater network, and of course a stock price now edging up to 5 times the value of Siri's stock

"Sirius Tops XM in New Subs for Fourth Consecutive Quarter

...Sirius's revenue increased 150 percent year over year, to $167.1 million, according to the company. Cost to acquire a subscriber dropped 23 percent, and Sirius's third quarter adjusted loss from operations decreased 21 percent year over year.

Meanwhile, XM Satellite Radio saw third quarter revenue increase 57 percent year over year, while cost to acquire a subscriber grew from $53 in Q3 05 to $60 in the third quarter of this year. Net loss was reduced by 36 percent.

XM added more than 2.8 million subscribers this year to date. According to Hugh Panero, CEO of XM, the "significant revenue growth" and narrowing losses mean the company is on track for positive cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter of this year.

XM finished the third quarter 2006 with a total of 7,185,873 subscribers, representing a 43 percent increase over the number of subscribers at the end of the Q3 '05. For the third quarter 2006, XM recorded net subscriber additions of 286,002.

Sirius ended the third quarter with 5,119,308 subscribers, 135 percent above third quarter 2005 ending subscribers. During the third quarter of 2006, Sirius added 441,101 net subscribers, a 23 percent increase over third quarter 2005 net subscriber additions.

For the fourth consecutive quarter, Sirius led the satellite radio industry in net subscriber additions, capturing 61 percent of total satellite radio net additions in the third quarter...."

mmmkay?

I like the little doggy. And I can't imagine where Sirius would be right now without Howard and the listeners he brought over. Probably in Chapter 11.

Lately, the damn XM Navtraffic gets me stuck in traffic and I listen to Sirius until I get home. Ironic isn't it?

mmmkay?

Your Howie math may seem logical, but 2 million more subscribers isnt something to overlook

I like the little doggy. And I can't imagine where Sirius would be right now without Howard and the listeners he brought over. Probably in Chapter 11.

I've read quite a few analysts' stories,and yes Howie did bring a significant amount of subscribers over to Sirius, but that was a year ago. The last quarter's growth in Sirius was not because of HooHoo, but because of the NFL. I truly believe NFL and Nascar saved Sirius, HooHoo is just dragging it down.

I can't see where they can justify $589 million for a DJ. The satellite radio business must be very lucrative, indeed.

For the fourth consecutive quarter, Sirius led the satellite radio industry in net subscriber additions, capturing 61 percent of total satellite radio net additions in the third quarter...."

You do know that Sirius counts unactivated radios as subscribers, right?

That's kinda dishonest when you give that information to the shareholders, hmmm? Didn't Enron teach anyone anything?

Both companies have dishonest subscriber numbers. XM counts the free preview that comes in new cars with factory XM, whether they intend to continue the service and actually spend money on it

His $$$ also does include certain salaries and production costs for Howard 100 and 101. He wouldn't have made 589,000,000 alone without those two ridiculously large bonuses. Oh well, not our money and I am happy he is there for me to listen to while flipping from channel to channel when XM gets me stuck in traffic

I can't see where they can justify $589 million for a DJ. The satellite radio business must be very lucrative, indeed.

Hmmmmm...........sneaky.

Both companies have dishonest subscriber numbers. XM counts the free preview that comes in new cars with factory XM, whether they intend to continue the service and actually spend money on it

You are quite wrong my friend. Read the Yahoo stock boards or whereever. XM counts active subscriptions. Yes even the free ones that OEM's gave free for a few months. As Jason said, Sirius counts unactivated tuners, especially in OEM cars as they sit in the lot unsold. To Sirius, an unactivated radio sitting in a box still counts as a subscriber because "one day someone will buy the damn thing".

He wouldn't have made 589,000,000 alone without those two ridiculously large bonuses..

Youre right, it would have been only 500,000,000 without the bonuses. Which is still WAY too much for a "washed up has been" DJ since that's what Howie used to call satellite radio DJ's.

Oh well, not our money and I am happy he is there for me to listen to while flipping from channel to channel when XM gets me stuck in traffic.

Thats cool with me. Just don't believe everything you hear on Sirius 100 or 101. Of course he is going to say exactly what makes him and Sirius sound good. Like we always say here, search is your best friend. Google.com will enlighten you, not someone who doesn't care about the fans anymore. just money.

Just read that FCC announced today it would be illegal for the two companies to merge, so now Mel Karamazin and all his Siriots can stop whining about a merger.