Sirius Raises the Bar on Internet Offerings with Football Content

Sirius XM (SIRI) announced last Friday that it will carry all Notre Dame football and basketball games over the Internet. Sirius has enjoyed a relationship with Notre Dame football since 2004, and this latest offering via the Internet certainly raises the bar. The company press release states:

SIRIUS Internet Radio will be the exclusive online home of every Notre Dame regular season football game and will carry every Fighting Irish regular season men’s basketball game live. It marks the first time that radio broadcasts of live sporting events are available on the SIRIUS Internet Radio platform.

On Thursday night, during our weekly SiriusBuzz radio show, I made a case for the rumor regarding the new version of Apple’s (AAPL) iPod to include Sirius XM. We will all know on September 9 when Steve Jobs takes the stage. My main point of contention is that the slowdown in iPod downloads has been due to a perceived lack of content by critics.

In viewing many posts from past discussions between Apple and Sirius from 2005, the idea had been rejected by Steve Jobs in the past due to what he called, insufficient content. Not only is that not the case anymore, but Sirius and XM are the content distribution leaders. In fact, Tony Wible sees a shift in the business model to more of a content provider through new media devices.

This latest exclusive Internet offering of Notre Dame sports certainly makes a union more likely. At the very least it demonstrates Sirius XM's desire to increase penetration of its service through the world wide web, which I discussed recently in another article.

Rumors aside, this is a further sign of the globalization of satellite radio.

Disclosure: Long SIRI

Comments

[Edster:]

Another bit of good news for SIRIUS-XM. Will the good news once again cause the stock to go down?

2008 Sep 07 12:21 PM

[SIRI, go up!:]

日！

2008 Sep 07 12:28 PM

[tech man:]

mel is getting ready to rock and roll. all has been to quite, and the planning about to take action. hold on folks. good things are brewing. t.m.

2008 Sep 07 05:20 PM

[relmor:]

Only good news I want to see is there credit rating get another upgrade, and they dont dilute shareholder value anymore. Then I want to see proof of positive cash flow in under one year. Then the stock will take off. A union with Apple would help a lot!!!

2008 Sep 07 11:47 PM

[mekalis:]

You know....seeking alpha could say jesus is coming and he's going to give sirius xm 20 million new listeners, and it wouldn't do a bit of difference to the stock price. Out of the hundreds of postive articles I have read from seeking alpha nothing has happend, so why do you do it if know one take you seriously? Please stop, no one is listening to you.

2008 Sep 08 01:37 AM

[Siriphone:]

mekalis, articles do not, and are not intended to, create fluctuations in share price. These articles are purely a resource for new information, public opinion, and entertainment. I hope you are not buying and selling based on Seeking Alpha threads alone. There are many more important variables to research before looking at these articles when selecting a company to invest in!

2008 Sep 08 06:41 AM

[RReagan:]

Yes the market is up over 200 points and down goes SIRI .04 down!! Is there any hope?

2008 Sep 08 11:26 AM

[sirius guy:]

It's not just sirius taking a down turn, almost all stocks are taking a hit!!!
We need more positive sentiments and no negative rumors or news. The media focus on BAD instead of the Good. That's what is driving the market. Propaganda!!!!

2008 Sep 08 11:43 AM

[DELPHI-LONG:]

Hasn't everyone heard: the bond bullies are in charge. Until they have to return the loaned shares and we get good stats, the stock is going nowhere. Just an observation from a non-financial guru.

2008 Sep 08 11:48 AM

[ARI D K:]

There is no doubt in my mind that this price is manipulated by the MMs and fund managers. The company is growning every day.

2008 Sep 08 12:08 PM

[cos1000:]

ari d k ... I couldn't agree with you more. With no significant news announcement, no short or long term guidance presented, yet the cars keep coming of the assembly line with increase penetration and what looks like a better than expected annual auto sales rate. (13 -13.5 Mil vs 12 -12.5 Mil units) I do feel there is some good news on the horizon, but I've felt that before. The overall economy is negative and most families are feeling pretty negative on the economy.

2008 Sep 08 05:42 PM