“Satellite radio powerhouses Sirius and XM said this week they hope to tie the knot and merge into a single mammoth provider, a move which could simplify integration of the radio service in iPods sometime down the line,” Aidan Malley writes for AppleInsider.
Malley writes, “Tellingly, Sirius and XM agreed in the announcement that their primary rivals weren’t each other, but instead other formats. The announcement specifically called out the threats from ‘iPods and mobile phone streaming,’ reflecting the increased pressure to compete with not just radios, but with the digital music players that replace them.”
“The news resurrects the possibility of iPod integration with satellite radio, an idea previously killed off by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The Apple frontman shelved the idea after negotiations with Sirius chief Karmazin failed to impress, saying that a lack of interesting content was a key obstacle — an obstacle now at least partly removed by a near doubling of channels,” Malley writes.
Full article here.
Mary DeSade writes for Howard Seriously that some “suggest that the merger of XM and Sirius might make it more likely that the iPod will carry satellite radio broadcasts, but in fact, the merger makes it less likely. At least in the short run.”
“Because what both reporters failed to understand is the fact that the iPhone WILL BE SIRIUS ENABLED. It will be able to receive Sirius broadcasts. Apple has nothing to do with it. Sirius doesn’t need Apple’s permission,” DeSade writes.
“The iPhone has a full featured web browser which allows it access to the entire internet including Sirius’ web broadcast. (And XM’s by the way.) Apple would have to actively prevent the iPhone from getting Sirius. If Steve Jobs tried to do that, prevent web users from accessing specific content, all hell would break loose. Especially given the fact that iPod and satellite radio are viewed as competitors. Sirius could easily sue them and win,” DeSade writes. “Moreover, it simply doesn’t hurt Apple if their iPhones can receive Sirius web broadcasts. If anything, it will simply help iPhone sales.”
Full article here.
Related articles:
SIRIUS and XM to combine in $13 billion merger – February 19, 2007
Sirius shares spike in volume on ‘chatter of potential Apple partnership’ – October 18, 2006
Apple iPod+Sirius Satellite Radio? – July 06, 2006
Sirius would like to work with Apple; Howard Stern Sirius podcasts for sale via iTunes? – December 09, 2005
Apple iPod combined with Sirius Satellite Radio would be a music revolution – May 27, 2005
Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Karmazin discusses Sirius-enabled Apple iPod – May 25, 2005
Sirius CEO Karmazin looks to add satellite radio to Apple iPod; no deal – yet – February 10, 2005
Sirius has approached Apple on adding service to iPod – February 09, 2005
Analyst throws cold water on Apple iPod – Sirius Satellite radio deal – December 16, 2004
Analysts: Apple iPod + Sirius Satellite Radio ‘technologically unfeasible right now’ – December 15, 2004
RUMOR: Apple to add SIRIUS Satellite Radio (and Howard Stern) to iPod in mid-2005 – December 10, 2004
Amazing how every news story has an Apple angle to it….or just lack of real apple news to fill the MDN daily feed????
MDN, These two companies existed before they announced the merger…this iPhone info is not new.
And one has to pay to use their service….enabled does not mean free.
Doesn’t the sirius site use windows media player? If so then it might not work on the iPhone.
on an unrelated note….
Warner is trying to take over EMI again….
I guess Warner’s CEO did not like EMI’s idea of releasing DRM free music.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/with-another-emi-bid-warner-still-hopes-for-a-hollywood-ending/
Just as FYI, the source site might not be work friendly depending where you work.
MDN should give a warning if possible. Just my 2 cents…
It’s true that XM and Sirius programming can be had over the web if you’re a subscriber. The only problem, at least for XM, is that many of the talk and news channels aren’t available online.
Two questions:
1. Is the EDGE network capable of streaming the radio content?
2. How much will it cost to stream the content over the Cingular network?
Thanks.
All news can have an “Apple angle”- Just like everything can be blamed on Bush…
“JetBlue Airline continues cancelations… Free iPods might soothe upset passengers…”
Sirius subscribers can access MOST of their programming, including Howard Stern, through the internet. The only real question would be “Can the iphone sustain the required bandwidth to support streaming content without having to constantly rebuffer?”
Eddie the one said: “Amazing how every news story has an Apple angle to it…”
Sometimes MDN is reaching. Not this time. If you can’t see the “Apple angle” to this story, loosen your helmet and take deep breaths again.
Rock on Steve!
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It won’ work on the iPhone, at least not immediately. To listen to either Sirius or XM on the Web, you need Windows Media Player or the Flip4Mac Quicktime component installed. Apple is not allowing 3rd party developers for the little phone guy (at least not without clear permission by Apple). All you can do is navigate to the Web site, but not listen to anything. Even if they do allow Telestream to develop the WMP component for Quicktime on the iPhone, Telestream, while great for stepping in when Microsoft told us Mac users to jump off a cliff regarding WMP, is not exactly known for the speediest execution of its projects (and, again, I say that as a fan of the work the Flip4Mac team does). So, Apple doesn’t need to block anything–unless Sirius and XM change their formats, which I doubt they will, by default the iPhone won’t play anything from either of their Web sites.
So Sirius and XM want to create a satellite radio Monopoly.
They have been trying to do this for years. The only way they will be allowed to do that is if one of them declares bankruptcy first.
You haven’t heard the last of this merger attempt.
Flip4Mac will work for the iPhone. Apple would be crazy to block it; that would p/o a lot of Mac users. Even if Telestream needs an extra 6 months or so to tweak it for the iPhone, no big deal. There’s just no way they would need more than 6 months, because iPhone will run OSX and this would certainly be a priority for them (assuming the iPhone is a hit).
If Apple is smart, one of their first priorities for 3rd party apps will be the various Quicktime plug-ins, such as DivX, Flip4Mac, and the rest. Full browser internet access, not the crippled kind on most phones, will be a KILLER app for the iPhone.
While the iPhone is web-enabled, I believe Apple’s already said it doesnt (yet, officially) support JAVA or FLASH, so.. it probably would NOT have access to the streaming content from XM or SIRIUS.
Right?
I’m curious as to whether this epiphany of MDN’s came to them before it came to me.
<a >I mentioned satellite radio via iPhone in the comment section of yesterday’s announcement.</a>
Damn quotes.