satellite radio

“Show me your boobs”.

With these infamous words Howard Stern has built and amassed a fortune as stock jock du jour over the years. But it was in October, 2004 that he made his biggest shock; that he’d be leaving Viacom for a $500 million dollar deal with Sirius Satellite Radio. On the back of that news, the underlying shares of Sirius rallied from two dollars a share to north of nine dollars. It became clear that Howard Stern wasn’t just good for radio, he was good for traders. The stock remained a darling of day traders into 2005 as well. Ah, those were glorious days. Yet, some how, in 2008 we find ourselves asking what went wrong. Hitting eighty six cents per share last week, it is shareholders this time asking to see the boobs. The boobs, however, that are at the helm of this company, and therefore perhaps responsible for a sharp decline in shareholder value. In only two months, the stock has dropped nearly 80%. That’s quite the haircut. Sure, similar percentage losses by WaMu, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, et al recently can be chalked up to the sub-prime crisis. Not Sirius though, no sir, they never loaned anything.

I wonder where XM would be if they were still a separate company?

This morning, Sirius was trading at $0.99/share.

NASDAQ could delist the company, and some institutions might be required to drop their shares. This is bad news that EVERYONE saw coming.

There are some people who think Sirius XM has a chance, and one of those people is Mel Karmazin, former CEO of Sirius, current CEO of the combined company.

Big surprise HE’s psyched, I know.

Katz Online Network, which will house the biggest batch of content from popular radio shows available. Audio streamed on the network will include that of Clear Channel Radio, Salem Broadcasting, Cox Radio, Cumulus, Air America, and a variety of internet radio sites.

The two companies merging to form Katz Online Netowork, Clear Channel Radio and Katz Media Group, boast that 33 million Americans listen to online radio a week. The Katz Online Network is counting on this, coupled with the wide variety of stations and genres available to listeners, to make the network an attractive prospect to advertisers. Those wishing to advertise on the Katz Online Network can choose to buy video, audio, banner, or display options on the network’s site.

Guess Sirius XM is even more obsolete than we thought.

Against all odds, Sirius XM Radio, Inc. is now a reality. Now, we should find out if anyone cares.

Yes, some people are hooked on their satellite radios, but only some. Guess the FCC finally realized that a monopoly isn’t really a monopoly if no one else is trying to corner the (nonexistent?) market.