Sirius could shut down by mid-decade

Channel98

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This is an excerpt of an article on Matthew Keys' media/journalism/technology blog The Desk. (Los Angeles DJ & Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In announcer Gary Owens once defined an "excerpt" as a former cerpt.) The complete article is linked below.

SiriusXM could sunset Sirius platform by mid-decade, CEO says

SiriusXM could shut down one of its two satellite radio platform by the middle of the decade, the company’s chief executive remarked this week. Speaking at an investor’s conference on Monday, SiriusXM Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Witz said the company was moving forward with the rollout of its next-generation, Internet-connected satellite radio hardware, while at the same time considering plans to shut off one of its older satellite radio platforms.

Prior to 2008, SiriusXM existed as two separate companies, Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Radio. After the merger, SiriusXM began to lessen its reliance on the Sirius platform, choosing to use the XM platform for new plug-and-play radios and so-called “SiriusXM Radio” aftermarket radios. Witz said car radio subscriptions “will continue to remain the foundation of our business” but added that newer technology allowed the in-car experience to evolve into one where “sometime in the coming years we’ll only really need one of our two broadcast systems to deliver the current business.”

One of those technological advancements is SiriusXM’s next-generation broadcast platform 360L, which marries its traditional satellite radio delivery through the XM Radio platform with an expanded lineup of channels, Pandora-like stations and on-demand content offered through its streaming service. SiriusXM expects 25% of new cars that are capable of receiving satellite radio will have their units powered by SiriusXM 360L. The company projects that number could grow to 80% of new cars with satellite-capable radios by 2025.

Witz didn’t specify which of the platforms SiriusXM was considering for shutdown but the company continues to rely on the older XM platform and its fleet of satellites for the newer-model 360L radios and all SiriusXM aftermarket radios sold post-merger, strongly suggesting the Sirius platform would eventually be closed. Shutting down the Sirius platform would have significant advantages for SiriusXM. The company would be able to concentrate its attention on just one fleet of satellites. It would also free up spectrum used by Sirius, which could allow SiriusXM to increase the bit rate for channels on its traditional radio service or expand the number of channels offered on the satellite platform, or a combination of both.

 

scotchandcigar

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I'm not sure what they're saying. The Sirius satellite platform may go away, but the XM satellite will remain? Satellite via internet? I need a Cliff's Notes version.
 

JHDK

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Soooo...If I'm reading that correctly they are just going to get rid of the Sirius satellites and use the XM ones but the XM satellites are now the Sirius satellites since the merger. I don't really get it.

Streaming is the future.

I agree, once it's super easy to get wifi in the middle of some nowhere highway in like Nebraska then they won't need satellites.
 

Jon

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Soooo...If I'm reading that correctly they are just going to get rid of the Sirius satellites and use the XM ones but the XM satellites are now the Sirius satellites since the merger. I don't really get it.



I agree, once it's super easy to get wifi in the middle of some nowhere highway in like Nebraska then they won't need satellites.
Most cars have Wifi hotspots that work most everywhere. (Mine does). Verizon covers about 95 percent of my state with at least 4G, even 5G in my little hole in the wall. There's a 5G tower right across the street from my office. Streaming Sirius or anything else in my area isn't an issue.
 

Jon

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Soooo...If I'm reading that correctly they are just going to get rid of the Sirius satellites and use the XM ones but the XM satellites are now the Sirius satellites since the merger. I don't really get it.

Basically the technology has improved that they really only will need one set of satellites, then they'll have all that bandwidth to handle more channels and/or streaming capacity, or both.
 
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IdRatherBeSkiing

Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
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Most cars have Wifi hotspots that work most everywhere. (Mine does). Verizon covers about 95 percent of my state with at least 4G, even 5G in my little hole in the wall. There's a 5G tower right across the street from my office. Streaming Sirius or anything else in my area isn't an issue.
In Canada, there is no way I would pay what is required to stream by a LTE or 5G network through my cellphone. SXM or FM or my iTunes playlist is what I would do.
 

Jon

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Used to be pricey but they've come down considerably, not including what I'll be paying for the 13, and what I'm now paying for the iPad from Verizon, my bill is about $100 including unlimited.
 

IdRatherBeSkiing

Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
Oct 11, 2008
29,094
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Toronto, ON
Used to be pricey but they've come down considerably, not including what I'll be paying for the 13, and what I'm now paying for the iPad from Verizon, my bill is about $100 including unlimited.
Canadian cellphone providers have not come down at all in price. And I would never pay $100/month (thats about $130 in Canadian $) for a cellphone plan. I have a plan that I pay about $68/month for 3Gb data, unlimited Canadian long distance and calls. My wife has 6Gb for about $56. They are both plans through my work and only one person per employee can have the big data plan. There is no such thing as unlimited plans up here. Usually the biggest you can get is 10Gb, Some say unlimited but throttle you to 1G after 10Gb. And most on the big providers are pricey. My son has an unlimited (10Gb then throttle) including US data for $50/month. A plan they no longer offer but honour as long as he stays subscribed. But reception is spotty so its less useful.
 

Jon

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Dec 16, 2008
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Canadian cellphone providers have not come down at all in price. And I would never pay $100/month (thats about $130 in Canadian $) for a cellphone plan. I have a plan that I pay about $68/month for 3Gb data, unlimited Canadian long distance and calls. My wife has 6Gb for about $56. They are both plans through my work and only one person per employee can have the big data plan. There is no such thing as unlimited plans up here. Usually the biggest you can get is 10Gb, Some say unlimited but throttle you to 1G after 10Gb. And most on the big providers are pricey. My son has an unlimited (10Gb then throttle) including US data for $50/month. A plan they no longer offer but honour as long as he stays subscribed. But reception is spotty so its less useful.
I think my throttle point is like 33GB or something. I've only reached that a couple of times and haven't noticed a significant difference. I'm actually surprised how good my reception is out here. My folks are still on AT&T and their signal sucks!
 

scotchandcigar

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This dropped today.

FWIW, there's no actual information in the article regarding Stern's upcoming decision.
 

geosync

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Ya. Cohen is going another way, those three other dudes won't be doing their show for long and Coco is doing pretty much nothing by playing old comedy shows. But they have howards face and shoulder shrug about tight. HA
 
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IdRatherBeSkiing

Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
Oct 11, 2008
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I'm not sure what they're saying. The Sirius satellite platform may go away, but the XM satellite will remain? Satellite via internet? I need a Cliff's Notes version.
XM platform will remain. They have updated XM hardware (codeword 360) to be able to handle more stations (like internet stations and such) and can use that in the future. My interpretation of a poorly written article. Likely because the reporter did not 100% understand him/herself.
 

scotchandcigar

All I wanted was some steak
Feb 13, 2009
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XM platform will remain. They have updated XM hardware (codeword 360) to be able to handle more stations (like internet stations and such) and can use that in the future. My interpretation of a poorly written article. Likely because the reporter did not 100% understand him/herself.
Thank you for responding to my comment from 3 years ago. I've been counting the minutes.
 

IdRatherBeSkiing

Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
Oct 11, 2008
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Thank you for responding to my comment from 3 years ago. I've been counting the minutes.
When I opened the thread I got to post #1 so I assumed it was posted today. Who the fuck bumped it?

This explains why they were speaking of the middle of the decade like it was some time away.