It's Hard to Be Sirius 76 comments
Mark McQueen
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Perhaps satellite radio just isn’t targeted at me.
I had the chance to spend three hours driving a car, solo, with the dulcet tones of Sirius to help me along. It was my first opportunity to see what all the fuss was once about.
Spun around the dial plenty. If you like the Christinan theme, there were five stations to choose from. A few sports channels, once of which carried a PGA golf post-tournament press conference live. I could see that niche being worthy.
The one Alternative station suffered in “unknown” territory beyond the new Pearl Jam song. Could be me, though. The requisite “Best of” 60s, 70s, 80s… would fill the bill for my Dad. My Mother-in-law loves something called “The Bridge”, so there’s a fee-paying fan there.
Howard Stern was all Howard. Listening to him isn’t quite as “neat” as it was in the early 1990s when people like Sam Kinison would go on the show. Now that Howard is the biggest star in the USA, he probably has difficultly sharing the booth with anyone interesting. Other than Carmen Electra. But if you like him, I can certainly imagine why you’d get a subscription.
The Playboy channel was certainly not Playboy. Hustler, maybe. If you’re driving a truck non-stop across six states I can perhaps see why you’d want to listen to female porn actresses riding symbians. But it isn’t living up to Hef’s “Playboy” class of a station.
To my surprise, I still came across several commercials. Craig tells me it’s just commercial free “music”, and since Astral has put commercials into my Pay TV stations, this really shouldn’t have come as a shock.
And, for the same reason as we see on cable, 100 stations isn’t all that many when you toss out the ones that are directed at people with different interests than you. If you live out in the bush, there’s plenty there to choose from and a great business model. And, inter-city driving has a similar feel to living in the 'styx'. I get the idea of “taking your music with you”.
But, as with traditional radio, you’re still beholden to the playlist of someone else.
That’s why Sonos, or something like it, is worth getting excited about. If our technologists can get the network to the point where Sonos can stream two million songs to your car (or portable satellite radio) — that’s worth paying for!
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This article has 76 comments:
You're not only a bad author, but a bad liar.
Go away.
It sounds like you wanted to know what it was all about abd were looking for the next best thing to sliced bread... I don't think it works that way. Its about knowing what you want won't fade, isn't available on most FM ( baseball and CNBC ) and a little music to push me on down the road.
I agree with the above poster, what WAS the point of this article?
I imagine just to plug SONOS. Gimme a break.
Let me ask you this....I bet you're not even a sonos user, so you've obviously got an agenda pushing it. But do you even KNOW what it is? Or have you given it a whopping 3 hr "test drive" like you did with Sirius? LOL.
Sonos streams endless internet radio stations. Have you EVER streamed radio stations from itunes? It is the MOST annoying experience. Fun for about 10 minutes, until you realize that when the stations aren't dropping out, they are running the same commercials you find insufferable in the states, only with foreign voices!
Sonos does what? It is used in the home to co-ordinate your music library, internet radio and music services like Pandora and such. All things you can DO on your friggin ipod or iphone. HELLO!
XM's new "skydock" makes all that much easier in the car and gives you Sat Radio ta boot.
The WHOLE point of Sat Radio that people like you don't "get"....is that it is COMMERCIAL FREE radio with tons of live content, sports, talk, music, comedy, etc....all wrapped up in a neat little package that is EASY to use.
It's coast to coast coverage on the road beamed right into your car and beyond.
LIVE CONTENT. UNIQUE CONTENT. EASY TO USE.
What car driver wants to have a confusing endless list of internet radio from around the world???? Have you ever tried to navigate the itunes internet radio? It's a nightmare on your home computer....no imagine trying to find a station while driving down the freeway at 65 mph with a spotty signal and stations dropping in and out while running annoying commercials.
People might as well listen to regular radio for crying out loud. And they already have their ipod. Pandora and other services can be had thru your cell phone...again making sonos pointless. Plus Pandora and similar services lack all the unique live content Sirius has.
There is a REASON why people dig Sat Radio. It's Radio the way it was MEANT to be. Most people, unlike you who go on a 3 hr joyride.....fall in love with the service.
They don't want to spend endless hours loading their ipod. They don't want to listen to annoying commercials. They don't want a glorified jukebox like Pandora. They want it ALL.....and they want it easy. And Sirius gives them that.
No OTHER service is so easily installed. Has no commercials. Has EVERY sport. News. Talk. Comedy. Dedicated LIVE music channels. It's endless.
It's included in almost EVERY new car out there. No other competition can come close to that kind of penetration.
Thursday 09/17/2009 4:15 PM ET - Pr Newswire
Related Companies
Symbol Last %Chg
SIRI 0.65 -3.82%
As of 3:11 PM ET 9/21/09
SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (Nasdaq: SIRI) announced today that it received notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market on September 15, 2009 that its common stock had closed below $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive business days and is therefore not in compliance with the Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 5450(a)(1). In accordance with Marketplace Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), SIRIUS XM may regain compliance if at any time by March 15, 2010 its common stock closes at or above $1.00 for 10 consecutive business days.
On Sep 21 02:53 PM User 486435 wrote:
> sorry i don't get it TAFT
I still don't get it. That was last weeks news
On Sep 21 03:12 PM TAFT wrote:
> SIRIUS XM Receives Notice Regarding Minimum Bid Price Rule
> Thursday 09/17/2009 4:15 PM ET - Pr Newswire
>
> Related Companies
> Symbol Last %Chg
> SIRI 0.65 -3.82%
>
> As of 3:11 PM ET 9/21/09
> SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (Nasdaq: seekingalpha.com/symbo...)
> announced today that it received notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market
> on September 15, 2009 that its common stock had closed below $1.00
> per share for 30 consecutive business days and is therefore not in
> compliance with the Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 5450(a)(1). In accordance
> with Marketplace Rule 5810(c)(3)(seekingalpha.com/symbol/a),
> SIRIUS XM may regain compliance if at any time by March 15, 2010
> its common stock closes at or above $1.00 for 10 consecutive business
> days.
>
On Sep 21 02:22 PM Rob Andrews wrote:
> I do not understand the point of this article. Thank you for your
> opinion, which, based on 3 hours of driving, may be hard to take
> Sirius.
Mr. Stupid
Stop diminishing the relative quality of Seeking Alpha.
Every bunghole has an opinion and yours isn't very relevant.
Mr. Stupid
what ugly tart from the lake made you king?
Without context, this article is meaningless.
In addition, what the heck is Sonos? I've never heard of it. Sirius XM doesn't even compete with them. I see this as a shameless plug.
I am completely fine with a reverse stock split and SirisXM will do whatever it takes to keep this company afloat. As you are aware this company was railroaded by the free radio lobby, the FCC, shorts, naked shorts and morons like you. SiriusXM is a superior product and has a solid management team that will pull us common shareholders thorugh the mud created by the aforementioned. You, McQueen and SIRI-DUMB can keep on bashing but we all, including you know it will not work.
frankly the more attn the stock gets the better
should we tell his wife he was listening to the playboy channel alone ?
or should we question his testerone level( regardless of his lack of hair) and reiterate the fact- he didnt like to listen to naked women talking?
right now there is a guy with all the facts and opinions that are of value
not!
most people (ie author) don't "get" why anyone would spend $10-15/mo on a Sirius subscription, while the 7-8% of Americans who do have a subscription (ie Siri forum posters) don't "get" why anyone would NOT get one -- they think the whole world will have a subscription, if not several, in the next few years...
fact is that the fanatical Sirius base ALREADY HAS their subscription, and there's not a significant pool of potential subscribers left.... nearly 20 millions subs and declining...
maybe Sirius will push 20 mil again, who knows - the problem is that Sirius would have to increase their base by 50%+ (and quickly) to make out from their pile of debt... and that's not going to come close to happening. As we all know it's declining right now...
Cable/Sat TV has ~65mil subscriptions.... Sirius isn't going to ever approach half of that.
On Sep 21 04:48 PM dead elvis wrote:
> is ok ....john valjean number 486435
>
> frankly the more attn the stock gets the better
>
> should we tell his wife he was listening to the playboy channel alone
> ?
>
> or should we question his testerone level( regardless of his lack
> of hair) and reiterate the fact- he didnt like to listen to naked
> women talking?
>
> right now there is a guy with all the facts and opinions that are
> of value
>
>
> not!
Mr. Stupid
On Sep 21 03:31 PM TAFT wrote:
> I can see how this blog works... They don't like any bad news about
> SIRI, even though it's a true fact. However, people here liked it
> when somebody posted about the new dock for I-phone that was rumored
> to come last month, even though it's a LIE. You guys are really living
> in denial.. keep hoping SIRI will go up someday....
On Sep 21 05:07 PM jswede wrote:
> perhaps not a great article, but taking the article+comments together
> is a concise microcosm of this stock:
>
> most people (ie author) don't "get" why anyone would spend $10-15/mo
> on a Sirius subscription, while the 7-8% of Americans who do have
> a subscription (ie Siri forum posters) don't "get" why anyone would
> NOT get one -- they think the whole world will have a subscription,
> if not several, in the next few years...
>
> fact is that the fanatical Sirius base ALREADY HAS their subscription,
> and there's not a significant pool of potential subscribers left....
> nearly 20 millions subs and declining...
>
> maybe Sirius will push 20 mil again, who knows - the problem is that
> Sirius would have to increase their base by 50%+ (and quickly) to
> make out from their pile of debt... and that's not going to come
> close to happening. As we all know it's declining right now...<br/>
>
> Cable/Sat TV has ~65mil subscriptions.... Sirius isn't going to ever
> approach half of that.
On Sep 21 03:31 PM TAFT wrote:
> I can see how this blog works... They don't like any bad news about
> SIRI, even though it's a true fact. However, people here liked it
> when somebody posted about the new dock for I-phone that was rumored
> to come last month, even though it's a LIE. You guys are really living
> in denial.. keep hoping SIRI will go up someday....
On Sep 21 05:07 PM jswede wrote:
> perhaps not a great article, but taking the article+comments together
> is a concise microcosm of this stock:
>
> most people (ie author) don't "get" why anyone would spend $10-15/mo
> on a Sirius subscription, while the 7-8% of Americans who do have
> a subscription (ie Siri forum posters) don't "get" why anyone would
> NOT get one -- they think the whole world will have a subscription,
> if not several, in the next few years...
>
> fact is that the fanatical Sirius base ALREADY HAS their subscription,
> and there's not a significant pool of potential subscribers left....
> nearly 20 millions subs and declining...
>
> maybe Sirius will push 20 mil again, who knows - the problem is that
> Sirius would have to increase their base by 50%+ (and quickly) to
> make out from their pile of debt... and that's not going to come
> close to happening. As we all know it's declining right now...<br/>
>
> Cable/Sat TV has ~65mil subscriptions.... Sirius isn't going to
> ever approach half of that.
On Sep 21 03:31 PM TAFT wrote:
> I can see how this blog works... They don't like any bad news about
> SIRI, even though it's a true fact. However, people here liked it
> when somebody posted about the new dock for I-phone that was rumored
> to come last month, even though it's a LIE. You guys are really living
> in denial.. keep hoping SIRI will go up someday....
On Sep 21 03:26 PM Mr. Stupid wrote:
> I'm glad I sold last week. Plan to buy back at around .59. If it
> holds steady for a few days I might consider buying back at around
> .61
>
> Mr. Stupid
"But, as with traditional radio, you’re still beholden to the playlist of someone else......Wow!!with Sonos you can make your own playlist!!!!...If technology can make it possible to stream music to your car...what a revelation.......Oh...... guy never heard of Pandora, Rhapsody, etc....If youwant streaming music in your car and have a 3g signal..you can already do that!!!Sure, with radio you listen to what is being played...I'ts not the 1980's where if you want to listen to your favorite song you have to get the cassette and fast forward....Get your MP3 player when you want to hear your playlists!!!Some people like to hear professional dj's playing their music while they drive instead of a "canned" selection of songs. Not to mention, radio is more than music!!! Wait...this guy tries the service for 3 hours and gets to write an article bashing it? He says Sonos!!!!Sonos offers 0 content!!! It allows you to stream your own music through different rooms in your house....It also allows you to stream "internet radio" to different rooms in your house!!!How is this even mentioned in comparison to SIRIUS XM!!! Internet radio is already available in your car if you have a 3g signal....Playing your own playlist is already available!!!It's called an MP3 player!!! It's funny....Put SIRI in your article...and you get plenty of reads and comments....Never mind that you have no clue about what you are talking about!!!yeah....lets figure out a way to put a home network music streaming service in your car!!!That is worth paying for!!!!
the concept of playboy distributed in any form is not hard to grasp
now- who saw the bi line above this buffoon the walmart was on extinction road- doesn't that tell you why i am wasting my time on this site?
Cherry hit 1,000,000 cars per year in sales this year. Its fastest growing automaker in the world.
If SIRI and Cherry reach the deal, that could mean 1 million new subscribers per year!
g
Sorry to go off on a tangent but too often, we as society place credence in what celebrities have to say as if they well educated informed individuals. We watch/listen intently and while most people probably believe they aren’t, at least on a subconscious level, people are influenced by this. We need to be listening to well informed, educated people that have EXPERIENCE in whatever they are speaking about. Would you take investment advice from people without true knowledge or a proven track record of success? Well, maybe that’s a bad example because this site is littered with advice from people without a “pot to piss in” that have failed working in finance and now write about things they weren’t able to successfully execute in a professional environment. This applies to posters and writers.
On Sep 22 09:22 AM dead elvis wrote:
> Reality siris guy?girl
>
> the concept of playboy distributed in any form is not hard to grasp
>
>
> now- who saw the bi line above this buffoon the walmart was on extinction
> road- doesn't that tell you why i am wasting my time on this site?
This should also keep sentiment positive for SIRI no matter what the 3rd Qtr. release entails, as much of this benefit will come in the following quarter and through 2010. Trading in SIRI has now moved past the caution of the last few weeks, based on sentiment that was unduly influenced by the irresponsible reporting of that period, and is now entering the new phase of psychology focused on the positives to be announced in coming months. This should keep SIRI technically strong through this period, and see upside testing gradually become more pronounced.
Obviously, China would be a tremendous opportunity but the economics are not remotely the same and no one seems to be talking about this.
On Sep 22 10:02 AM Orlik wrote:
> Chineese automaker Cherry, is talking about making Sirius XM a part
> of their package on new cars.
> Cherry hit 1,000,000 cars per year in sales this year. Its fastest
> growing automaker in the world.
> If SIRI and Cherry reach the deal, that could mean 1 million new
> subscribers per year!
dont know nuthin bout dat china place, u must be one dem door to door guys selling all kindsa combs brushes and dem new fangled vacuums- cant spell cylopedia dough.
my mom had some purty blue wedgewood plates once-chikin tasted better on em.
dat good nough fer u?
just for your verbal abuse- im going to Im going to listen to Howard today mabe hell have a kind word about you and your half brother "Mark"
better still better why don't you write for alpha/ maybe you could spell the word "Christian" unlike that queeny guy
of all -you -are the most erudite, believable person
take the compliment and do something with it
Thanx
Satellite is a great product and I choose to pay for it and listen to those stations that I like. I do like playboy and I don't like the christian so I choose not to listen to that. I had this service before Howard Stern but he is only a bonus. Long live the NFL on Sirius.
Ok, I can go on forever!
position for McQueen - Don't buy (satellite)
I explained why I didn't agree with playboy being worthy on the radio. Was that hard to grasp. The other part was a general statement about the statement of the general public. Which is why it is obviously written using general statements. Relax buddy, I wasn't arguing with you. I don't know you from Adam and frankly I don't care. A little overly sensitive are we? However, if you do listen to playboy for any sort of advice outside of their "wheel house" it does apply to you.
I won't even bother responding to the rest of your insecure nonsense.
On Sep 22 02:23 PM dead elvis wrote:
> Dad?
>
> Sorry to go off on a tangent but too often, we as society place credence
> in what celebrities have to say as if they well educated informed
> individuals. We watch/listen intently and while most people probably
> believe they aren’t, at least on a subconscious level, people are
> influenced by this. We need to be listening to well informed, educated
> people that have EXPERIENCE in whatever they are speaking about.
> Would you take investment advice from people without true knowledge
> or a proven track record of success? Well, maybe that’s a bad example
> because this site is littered with advice from people without a “pot
> to piss in” that have failed working in finance and now write about
> things they weren’t able to successfully execute in a professional
> environment. This applies to posters and writers.
>
> pot to piss in? Failed?- what a well educated -very tightly wound
> personality you exhibit! What's a dazzling well dressed urbanite
> like yourself slumming in such a bucolic setting?
>
> What litter non recyclable advice have I given? -"we as society"-
> don't be so inclusive
>
> anger management class starts at 7pm- dont spit out your haldol and
> give to Hal
>
> humble class begins after that at 9pm pal.- thats eastern time- dont
> be late
>
>
>
You're funny. Insecure, but funny.
My only question is how a reputable forum like SeekingAlpha would allow this kind of article to be published. Honestly, using Sirius' popularity to promote a service that nobody's even heard of is kind of like some skinny ghetto kid chest-thumping on the camera after Mike Tyson's walked away from the press conference.
I have an iphone 3g that streams Pandora/Slacker/Internet radio.. No reason to pay $14/month for SIRI and their BS.
And I love Howard but that was the beginning of the end for the co. Too much $$ changed hands the wrong way in that transaction.
On Sep 21 02:54 PM Bubba-Ho-Tep wrote:
> I can understand someone thinking Sirius wasn't for them....but COME
> ON. When reading this column I imagined the sad sack voice of the
> cartoon character DROOPY DOG. Could this guy have any LESS energy?
>
>
> I agree with the above poster, what WAS the point of this article?
>
>
> I imagine just to plug SONOS. Gimme a break.
>
> Let me ask you this....I bet you're not even a sonos user, so you've
> obviously got an agenda pushing it. But do you even KNOW what it
> is? Or have you given it a whopping 3 hr "test drive" like you did
> with Sirius? LOL.
>
> Sonos streams endless internet radio stations. Have you EVER streamed
> radio stations from itunes? It is the MOST annoying experience. Fun
> for about 10 minutes, until you realize that when the stations aren't
> dropping out, they are running the same commercials you find insufferable
> in the states, only with foreign voices!
>
> Sonos does what? It is used in the home to co-ordinate your music
> library, internet radio and music services like Pandora and such.
> All things you can DO on your friggin ipod or iphone. HELLO!
>
> XM's new "skydock" makes all that much easier in the car and gives
> you Sat Radio ta boot.
>
> The WHOLE point of Sat Radio that people like you don't "get"....is
> that it is COMMERCIAL FREE radio with tons of live content, sports,
> talk, music, comedy, etc....all wrapped up in a neat little package
> that is EASY to use.
>
> It's coast to coast coverage on the road beamed right into your car
> and beyond.
>
> LIVE CONTENT. UNIQUE CONTENT. EASY TO USE.
>
> What car driver wants to have a confusing endless list of internet
> radio from around the world???? Have you ever tried to navigate the
> itunes internet radio? It's a nightmare on your home computer....no
> imagine trying to find a station while driving down the freeway at
> 65 mph with a spotty signal and stations dropping in and out while
> running annoying commercials.
>
> People might as well listen to regular radio for crying out loud.
> And they already have their ipod. Pandora and other services can
> be had thru your cell phone...again making sonos pointless. Plus
> Pandora and similar services lack all the unique live content Sirius
> has.
>
> There is a REASON why people dig Sat Radio. It's Radio the way it
> was MEANT to be. Most people, unlike you who go on a 3 hr joyride.....fall
> in love with the service.
>
> They don't want to spend endless hours loading their ipod. They don't
> want to listen to annoying commercials. They don't want a glorified
> jukebox like Pandora. They want it ALL.....and they want it easy.
> And Sirius gives them that.
>
> No OTHER service is so easily installed. Has no commercials. Has
> EVERY sport. News. Talk. Comedy. Dedicated LIVE music channels. It's
> endless.
>
> It's included in almost EVERY new car out there. No other competition
> can come close to that kind of penetration.
On Sep 22 05:31 PM User 486435 wrote:
> oo
On Sep 22 05:15 PM RacerX wrote:
> ..but yes this article was stupid. Dumping Sat-radio for SONOS is
> def. the wrong direction.
You heard it first right here,
Mr. Stupid
On Sep 23 12:53 PM Mr. Stupid wrote:
> Glad I sold last week. Plan to buy back cheap price. Gonna count
> my 1000% gain and add some shares back at .59. Siri is gonna have
> some attractive numbers for Q3 but until then stock will dip a little
> for a run after quarterly numbers surface. Suggest you do same...
>
>
> You heard it first right here,
>
> Mr. Stupid
Mr. Stupid
On Sep 23 01:22 PM jmsithy wrote:
> lol you are going to slit your throat on that thinking, but if you
> still think that good for you. Today isnt your average pull back
> and the last time this even hit .59 was over a week ago the resistance
> is at .67 / .66
On Sep 23 03:27 PM Mr. Stupid wrote:
> Well we'll see if your prediction holds true. Predictions are like
> wandering minds and can be detrimental to the kind folks that think
> alike.
>
> Mr. Stupid
Of course satellite radio won't be for everyone so don't react like children. Disclosure: I'm not in a position of subscribing, just playing with the stock. If I wanted to listen to 50s and 60s music, are there maybe two channels there? How many hours of listening before the repeat cycle starts, and then continues forever? I'm involved with some music programming on websites. If there isn't a plan for constant refreshing ... I don't know. Yes in Canada the lineups are not exactly the same.
You want balanced coverage in comments ... but none negative? No consideration about a reverse split. Precious little consideration of manipulation. Is that the kind of talk that gets articles banned at AOL?
These are not pleasant boards to be involved in, but I can't keep my fat mouth shut.