Sirius XM Prepares Bankruptcy Filing?

MNXMFan

Member
Oct 24, 2008
95
3
8
But you can load the content onto another MP3 player. You still have your music.

Fair enough. If I can get out of carrying extra gadgets with me everywhere I go, I'm a happy camper. Whoever picks up the peices, I hope they understand we want integration, not more things to carry around.
 

no1hedberg

Member
Oct 13, 2008
335
19
18
West Virginia
If Sports PBP and Stern are gone, the whole thing might as well be gone. I agree with nearly everyone that the music programming has gotten worse since the merger, for different reasons. However the music isn't unique enough to justify subs. I and many other subscribers that most here aren't thinking of, are in situations where satrad is our only viable option for live entertainment. We all know that Martha Sterwart, Oprah, Jamie Foxx, Bruce Springsteen, Jeff Foxworthy and on and on and on.....Cost lots of money. They also add virtually nothing in terms of subscriptions. I hope whoever ultimately makes these decisions keeps those facts in mind.
 

IdRatherBeSkiing

Sherbert is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
Oct 11, 2008
31,292
16,612
168
Toronto, ON
But if your MP3 player breaks, your out the money you spent on that. Just food for thought.

Slacker might be my last forray into seperate music subscription hardware, because hopefully the next time I need something, I can go to an all-in-one solution like the iPhone, or something simular.

True. But if Creative Labs goes bankrupt tommorow I can still listen to my MP3s. The health of the company is not a determining factor as to whether I can listen to my music.
 

JoeTan

Well-Known Member
Oct 14, 2008
1,425
26
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from CNN.com

Is Sirius XM seriously toast? - Feb. 11, 2009


"Kestenbaum said the balance sheet has to be cleaned up and that the company has to stop doling out lavish contracts for programming. Before Sirius and XM merged, each paid big bucks to lure popular personalities from free radio as well as for exclusive contracts with sports leagues to try and gain a competitive edge over the other.

But Kestenbaum said the only deal that either firm made that led to enough subscriber growth to pay for itself was the one with a certain shock jock that signed a 5-year, $500 million deal in 2004.

"Someone will make a lot of money off this company when you eliminate the debt and restructure the programming contracts that are not viable," Kestenbaum said. "Howard Stern is the exception. He's worth it."
 

HecticArt

Administrator
Oct 19, 2008
53,708
19,768
168
Toledo, Ohio
If this was a booming economy, Sirius would have no problem refinancing this debt and/or converting it to some common stock. It's akin to people who banked on the value of their house continually rising.

Granted, but they were planning the merger before the economy went for poop, because they couldn't make ends meet. It's one of those we'll never know situations.
 

siriusfan

Member
Nov 5, 2008
74
1
8
The good news is that no one seems to be saying that bankruptcy means the end of satellite radio. However, it could be the end of the present ownership or ownership configuration. I feel badly for investors however, from a subscriber perspective a shakeup of the company might be a good thing. From reading this forum, I think it is fair to say that many, if not most of us have frustrations with how SiriusXM does business and messes with programming. Take for example this weekend's take over of The Bridge with yet another single artist channel. How many are happy about that? The majority if not all the postings I've read are very frustrated even angry about this change. Its not my impression that this company listens well to its subscribers. They deal with their customers with auto replies or seem to ignore them completely. If they demonstrated more interest and actually listened, perhaps there would be more than 20 million subs and in turn, they would not be in the trouble they are in. I wonder whether anyone in upper management and programming is taking some responsibility for the mess they are in? Regardless of how this turns out, SiriusXM would be wise to conduct a review of how they do business. They could start by treating every customer like a VIP. Would you send an auto reply with a lame insincere attachment about how much they care about you to a VIP? I don't think so. Part of me feels like what is happening to SiriusXM is karma.
 
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Oct 14, 2008
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Mel Karmazin is a gigantic piece of garbage. Serves him right what he did to the XM music channels. He is a failure and hopefully this will be the last we ever hear of him again. Same goes for that fat slob Tim Sabean.
 

Supafly

Member
Oct 12, 2008
179
7
18
Maybe SiriusXM decided to burn down the bar for the insurance money. :jj:

Satellites Destroyed in Orbital Collision

By ANDY PASZTOR

A commercial satellite owned by a U.S. company was destroyed in a collision with a defunct Russian military satellite in what NASA said was the first such accident in orbit, raising new concerns about the dangers of space debris.

The crash, which happened Tuesday in low-earth orbit, involved one of the satellites owned by closely held Iridium Satellite LLC and a crippled Russian military satellite that apparently stopped functioning years ago, according to U.S. government and satellite-industry officials.

The collision created two large clouds of debris floating roughly 480 miles above Siberia, and prompted space scientists and engineers to assess the likelihood of further collisions.

Satellites Destroyed in Orbital Collision - WSJ.com
 

Skyline

New Member
Dec 17, 2008
3
0
1
There could be some synergies between Ergen's Echostar and SiriusXM that bode well for the future. Call centers, accounting, things like that. Maybe even the respective satellites.

However, one of the things many of us like--maybe love--about satellite radio is the anything goes, uncensored nature of certain channels. Ergen doesn't seem to be on board with this quite so much, if Dish Network gives us a clue.

For example, he will not permit Logo, the gay TV network, on any tier of Dish Network. On most cable providers and DirecTV, Logo occupies either first-tier or second-tier channels. Logo is not X-rated, but it is risque. On cable and DirecTV, up until midnight, they censor George Carlin's seven words--and more. If Ergen takes over, I'd be concerned that he'd kill Sirius OutQ, just as its audience seems to be building once again, just because he's "prudish."

Beyond that niche, there are plenty of other non-music channels (besides Howard) that currently enjoy wider-than-terrestrial freedom of speech. How would Ergen's ownership affect those? I think we have a clue. Everything from Cosmo to Road Dog to Raw Dog to Foxxhole and more would be in jeopardy IMHO.
 

TheScionicMan

Last non-Hating Stern Fan
Oct 11, 2008
2,171
93
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CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Cable operator Charter Communications, weighed down by huge debt for many years, said Thursday that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by April 1 under the terms of an agreement with some of its creditors.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/charter-file-bankruptcy-april-1/story.aspx?guid={14171E23-A3D2-4740-ADDE-024BB74F80D6}
 

Jleimer

Active Member
Oct 30, 2008
1,226
13
38
Sparks,NV
There could be some synergies between Ergen's Echostar and SiriusXM that bode well for the future. Call centers, accounting, things like that. Maybe even the respective satellites.

However, one of the things many of us like--maybe love--about satellite radio is the anything goes, uncensored nature of certain channels. Ergen doesn't seem to be on board with this quite so much, if Dish Network gives us a clue.

For example, he will not permit Logo, the gay TV network, on any tier of Dish Network. On most cable providers and DirecTV, Logo occupies either first-tier or second-tier channels. Logo is not X-rated, but it is risque. On cable and DirecTV, up until midnight, they censor George Carlin's seven words--and more. If Ergen takes over, I'd be concerned that he'd kill Sirius OutQ, just as its audience seems to be building once again, just because he's "prudish."

Beyond that niche, there are plenty of other non-music channels (besides Howard) that currently enjoy wider-than-terrestrial freedom of speech. How would Ergen's ownership affect those? I think we have a clue. Everything from Cosmo to Road Dog to Raw Dog to Foxxhole and more would be in jeopardy IMHO.[/QUOTE

Another thing that may indicate Charlie is against this is because he donated money to the McCain camp and he is pretty conservative politically so this may be a bad thing if it were to occur.
 

CanuckFan420

New Member
Feb 9, 2009
26
0
1
Vancouver, BC, Canada
I really hope Sirius/XM continues on for many years to come despite their financial woes.

Never have I been so into listening to radio since I got Sirius a few years ago.

I am a huge NASCAR fan, and for those of us living in Canada or outside on the American South, it's our only form of consistent coverage. AND to have access to in-car audio for every race too? (especially now that HotPass is dead)

Please keep Sirius alive!!!