Forbes.com has a video news story that claims that Sirius and XM could be having their earnings reports on Monday. They say their source is Lucas Binder of UBS, but I’m not sure where Lucas got that information. Neither company has announced when they will release their 4th quarter and full year financial numbers(even though it is generally around this time), but odds are they wouldn’t release them without notice, especially together.

The only way that either one of them will be releasing numbers on Monday is either because they are filing for bankruptcy, which is very unlikely due to the large amount of financing each can easily acquire, or the M-word, which would be a surprise joint announcement from both with their fourth quarter numbers. Neither of these options are very likely, so let’s file this rumor away for now. Usually when they announce earnings, they give at least a week’s notice of when it is happening.

According to Lasar’s Letter, an FCC-oriented blog at http://www.lasarletter.net/drupal/ XM has filed a letter with the FCC, in support of a recent Sirius petitiion that requests rules be promulgated to insure that WCS technologies do not interfere with SDARS repeaters. XM appears to be fully backing the Sirius proposal which includes the following points:

• Emission limits be established for DARS repeaters and WCS transmitters. Sirius contends that the firm’s research indicates that interference from WCS transmitters higher than -44 dBM (milliwatt decibels) will block service to satellite radio subscribers.
• DARS and WCS licensees must give advance notice of their equipment rollouts. “Such notice will ensure all licensees have ample opportunity to investigate whether their operations will be affected by the new deployment and request adjustments, in advance, to avoid interference,” Sirius writes.
• Firms be permitted to establish perimeters of an agreed upon size where extra transmitters can be deployed to compensate for interference.

A couple of takeaways from this news…First, remember that at one point XM was trying to buy into WCS, to use that bandwidth to augment their own. Now that the deal has fallen through, they are free to work with Sirius to limit the damage WCS services can do to SDARS broadcasts. Next, this demonstates that even in the absence of a merger, these two companies have plenty to gain by working against common enemies, rather than beating each other up. Finally, it shows that not ALL FCC regulation is bad for SDARS; some of it might even help!

Direct link here

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According to Orbitcast, theflyonthewall.com is saying that XM and Sirius are planning to announce a merger today at the North American International Auto Show. We’ve commented on why it wouldn’t work before, so I won’t rehash it. If it does happen, look to Backstage to report the details, and thoughts on the merger. Stay tuned.

I do wonder why they didn’t announce this Monday at CES, if it is happening.

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Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday shopping chaos. With the season comes lots of new television and print ads.

XM Canada launched its first Canadian TV campaign, urging Canadians to get on the road with XM. And it’s a hit. “Panties” shows a man rocking out to a great guilty pleasure song, “Cherry Pie” by Warrant. He is singing out loud, as we all do in our cars–I know I’m not the only one–until the inevitable happens. While waiting in traffic, he’s caught in the act by three women. The man looks away, embarrassed, dejected, until three sets of panties hit him in the face. He tucks the undies in his pocket and drives off a happy man. Watch the ad here.

The campaign’s tagline is: “There’s no place like it.” “Panties” is running across Canada, except for in Québec.

Ironically, SIRIUS used “Cherry Pie” in an early advert with Pam Anderson.

Here’s a few funny SIRIUS ads on YouTube here and here. No word if these have aired anywhere. If you have info on these spots, let us know.

Via MediaPost

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According to Mediaweek, Air America Radio is talking to several parties about a possible sale and is hopeful of reaching a deal before Thanksgiving.

A lawyer for the liberal talk radio network told a U.S. bankruptcy court on Tuesday that the privately-held company was in discussions with seven different parties about a sale and was “very hopeful” of reaching a deal by Nov. 22, saying there was a “significant amount of interest.”

Air America is continuing to operate with financing from an investor group led by RealNetworks CEO Robert Glaser, who owns 36.7 percent of the company, and two other former board members.

The Young Turks, a popular liberal talk show on SIRIUS since the service launched, jumped to Air America in September. Fans are still reeling from that move. You can view the reaction here.

Rumor is that SIRIUS was supposed to be a founding partner in Air America back in 2004, earning the satellite network the opportunity to offer the progressive programming exclusively.

SIRIUS offered to front startup costs, studio space and even the chance to sydicate content in select cities. Instead, Air America decided to go it alone, and ended up bringing XM into the loop. SIRIUS did not carry Air America at launch; and for months, refused to give Air America it’s own channel as a punishment for that move.

While it makes sense for XM to buy Air America, SIRIUS may be hungry enough to firm up their liberal talk lineup on the cheap.

Comment here.

The upcoming Zing player is said to feature SIRIUS Satellite Radio over WiFi.

Orbitcast is now reporting the Microsoft’s Zune player may support XM streaming content over WiFi:

XM Radio: The WiFi antenna also will help Microsoft to support XM radio on the Zune, something they’ve been looking into. If Zune is to kill the iPod, they need something big that the iPod doesn’t have; this may or may not be it, but they’ll need all the firepower they can get. With the iPod lacking even an FM radio, this could be a big advantage.

It remains to be seen if XM shows up as a dedicated application, or if it’s just wishful thinking on the part of Associated Content. There are several layers of authentication and interface issues to overcome.

At this point, the SIRIUS Zing partnership is much more of a sure thing and we can expect a more polished solution as a result.

Read the full Orbitcast article here.

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NAB To FCC: Recall Satellite Receivers
Continuing its attack on satellite radio, the NAB, through Pres./CEO DAVID REHR, sent a letter to FCC Chairman KEVIN MARTIN on FRIDAY urging that all sales and distribution of satellite radio receivers and other FM transmission devices that do not comply with Part 15 emissions standards be halted and receivers already in consumers’ hands be recalled.

“Action is necessary to prevent even more disruption to listeners’ use and enjoyment of free over-the-air radio services,” REHR writes, “including new digital services, and the Commission has clear authority to vigorously enforce its rules regarding noncompliant devices.” The letter does not address disruption of subscribers’ use of satellite radio if a recall is ordered.

From: AllAccess.com

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Former spokesperson for the RIAA, Ms. Rosen now leads a consulting group whose clients include XM. In this interview with Wired magazine, she talks about DRM and how recording rights ought to apply to SDARS services like XM and Sirius. She makes references to Sirius including this part in regards to the earlier announced settlement:

“There’s been a lot of bad information reported about this, both on what the device does and the business choices XM has made. People have said, well Sirius chose to pay additional monies for their devices but XM didn’t. That’s not true. XM did offer to pay additional monies, in fact, at greater levels than what Sirius is paying, but the record companies, I think, were just looking for a lawsuit on this one because they’re hesitant about these devices going forward.”

I thought it was interesting from a wider angle of music-lovers, but also applicable to SDARS fans (like us).

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SIRIUS and XM have long used FM-modulators to make the installation process ‘foolproof’ and easy for the average Joe.

While it’s not an issue for satellite-enabled OEM cars, or people with SIRIUS-Connect headunits, the FM-modulator has long been the achilles heel of satellite radio. Sure it’s easy to use and satisfactory for most users, yet there are countless others who experience static, bleed-thru and poor audio quality.

Orbitcast points out that XM plans to do something about it, by piggy-backing on HD Radio to transmit a digital signal from the satellite radio receiver to the car’s radio.

While this will be a great improvement, there’s practically no cars with HD Radios on the market to begin with. In the mean time, factory installations continue to grow each day.

Regardless, any engineering feat that will improve the integrity of the signal and audio quality is noteworthy.

Comment here.

The RIAA has sued XM over their Pioneer Inno device, saying that it allows for “massive wholesale infringement”, according to the RIAA. The suit is seeking damages of $150,000 per song downloaded from XM’s service using the device. Our take on this: it’s a BS claim. Odds are they will settle out of court. BUT, it might mean either a delay in sending out the Sirius live portable expected out later this summer, cutting back features it will have, or both. If the new live portable has a very strong FM transmitter as well, it could mean the odds of a delay have increased after what happened earlier today with XM and their Audiovox Xpress being pulled due to problems with their FM transmitter.What you can do though, is take the issue to your congresspeople. Tell them that you don’t want your music to be so tightly controlled. It is against your rights to not be able to make a recording of a live broadcast for your own personal use. Go to Congress.org and put in your zip code to find out who your congresspeople are. Write to your senators and your representative in the house. If you want to know who should be your highest priority, find out if one of the senators is running for election in November, this is the time when they listen to the people most.