source DUMBEST THINGS ON WALL STREET THIS WEEK
Mel Karmazin can't play CEO, so he's playing disc jockey instead.
The Sirius XM Radio(SIRI Quote - Cramer on SIRI - Stock Picks) chief told reporters at the Reuters Media Summit in New York last week that the satellite radio company is reducing its offerings as part of a $400 million cost-saving program. Karmazin said he will decide "the best channels" from now on, taking the best of breed in each music channel genre from either Sirius or XM.
"You as a subscriber, though you may miss your channel, you need to make sure we make money because you want us to be around so we can invest in programming and we can provide you with all these services," said Karmazin, whose company's stock trades around 16 cents a share, giving it an equity value of $510 million.
Yes, Sirius subscribers, Uncle Mel, whose 2007 compensation topped $5 million, says it's your duty to keep his company afloat and his lofty paycheck coming. Not to forget Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey and all the talent he signed to expensive contracts.
What makes Karmazin's pleas most galling, however, is the fact that he sold the merger between XM and Sirius to regulators on the grounds that it would provide consumers with "a broader selection of content." In February 2007, when the combined market cap of the two satellite radio operators was $13 billion, Sirius announced the merger saying, "The combined company is committed to consumer choice, including offering consumers the ability to pick and choose the channels and content they want on a more a la carte basis."
Not anymore. Karmazin is calling the tunes from here on in.
At least until the company's crushing $3.4 billion debt load turns his airwaves to static.
Dumb-o-meter score: 95 -- Mel is spinning stories and tunes at the same time. In other words, he's just spinning.
:soapbox: MEL NEEDS TO GO ASAP :soapbox:
Mel Karmazin can't play CEO, so he's playing disc jockey instead.
The Sirius XM Radio(SIRI Quote - Cramer on SIRI - Stock Picks) chief told reporters at the Reuters Media Summit in New York last week that the satellite radio company is reducing its offerings as part of a $400 million cost-saving program. Karmazin said he will decide "the best channels" from now on, taking the best of breed in each music channel genre from either Sirius or XM.
"You as a subscriber, though you may miss your channel, you need to make sure we make money because you want us to be around so we can invest in programming and we can provide you with all these services," said Karmazin, whose company's stock trades around 16 cents a share, giving it an equity value of $510 million.
Yes, Sirius subscribers, Uncle Mel, whose 2007 compensation topped $5 million, says it's your duty to keep his company afloat and his lofty paycheck coming. Not to forget Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey and all the talent he signed to expensive contracts.
What makes Karmazin's pleas most galling, however, is the fact that he sold the merger between XM and Sirius to regulators on the grounds that it would provide consumers with "a broader selection of content." In February 2007, when the combined market cap of the two satellite radio operators was $13 billion, Sirius announced the merger saying, "The combined company is committed to consumer choice, including offering consumers the ability to pick and choose the channels and content they want on a more a la carte basis."
Not anymore. Karmazin is calling the tunes from here on in.
At least until the company's crushing $3.4 billion debt load turns his airwaves to static.
Dumb-o-meter score: 95 -- Mel is spinning stories and tunes at the same time. In other words, he's just spinning.
:soapbox: MEL NEEDS TO GO ASAP :soapbox:
