Opinion: Sirius XM Satellite 50 dollar subscriber bailout plan

Satellite radio subscribers are a rabid fan base. Even with both Sirius and XM finally merged, there is still subscriber programming preference. But what Satellite radio subscribers know for certain is that terrestrial radio is dead. Digital terrestrial radio will follow closely in it's footsteps without a steady revenue stream to procure new music. As beat down as Satellite radio is about all of the competition from iPods, and other portable music devices, I still believe that the average music listener is too lazy to either consistently update their music collection, or mix up their selections to stay fresh.

That is where Sirius XM excels--by providing the best on air talent, original content, and world class DJs. With all of this talk about the company not making it through 2009 because of a debt refinancing obligation due on February, what better way to ensure the survival of the company than a one time charge of $50 per subscriber, good towards any new radio or invoice in March of '09. Why refinance the 1 billion dollar debt when you can wipe the slate clean and get rid of standing inventory at the same time?

Sure, 50 bucks sounds like a lot of cash for a service that's supposed to be only 12 dollars a month. But, look at your cable bill, or cell phone bill, or a single fill-up at the gas station! Wouldn't you be willing to loan $50 to Sirius if it meant keeping all of the quality programming that you've grown accustomed to, and maybe even allow the company a bit of breathing room to come out with great new technologies and devices? Mel, you've got about 20 million subscribers that believe in what you're doing. If the banks are too gun shy, maybe you should try something a bit more unorthodox? After AIG, the government is not going to have much charity left for other companies depeding on reasonable lending practices for debt restructuring purposes. Power to the people!

Opinion: Bringing Excitement Back to the Sirius Brand...

In his Fool's post today, Rick Munarriz suggests a killer iPhone app so that Sirius subscribers don't have to cludge together some strange web-browser based streaming solution. Or my own, now outdated post describing a technique to hack the Sirius stream to run on the crippled Windows mobile platform. But to really get Sirius back in to the game it has to not just be able to deliver it's great content streams over the Internet, it has to deliver the Internet itself. Just think, if you're kids can enjoy streaming video to their seatbacks, why not Internet access? If Jet Blue can provide messaging service on Beta Blue while in-flight, why can't Sirius be an Internet Service Provider? With all of those extra channels available after the merger, it seems fitting that some be allocated to more sophisticated purposes than 24 hours of non-stop Jimmy Buffet.

Don't get me wrong, if I'm in the mood for some Buffet, the convenience of flipping over to channel 31 and getting my dosage is handy, but video like CNN, ESPN, or my own Slingbox, and email access would be better use of the wider spectrum. Now that the merger is complete, where the heck is the marketing? There are 18 million people out there that think the service and the content are good enough to put their hard earned dollars toward monthly, but the only thing the greater community knows is that the merger took a long time, the company isn't profitable, and they have huge debt obligations and stock dilution to deal with well in to 2009.

It's definitely time to shake things up and bring excitement back to the brand. Tap in to the fan base for ideas, and maybe they'll even help Sirius out on the road to recovery by banding together and building some of those killer apps that will bring more subscribers and start tapping in to the established cable/satellite/telcos that are routing consumers on rates for content that they are not even remotely interested in. Where's the FCC demanding cable offer a la carte options anyway?

Opinion: US Government Bailout of Sirius XM Satellite Radio

It's not that far fetched right?  After all, the US government has decided to bail out the banks that knowingly made bad mortgage loans that carry interest only or sub-prime rates to mostly unqualified applicants.  So, why not then do the right thing and bailout Sirius XM from their debt burdens as well?  After all, it was the FCC, a government agency in its own right, that was partially responsible for the near demise of the company; Knowingly inflicting financial harm all the while pretending to "actively" consider the deal.

Now, with the financial markets in turmoil and banks scrambling to raise capital to compensate for their own poor risk mitigation tactics exercised while snapping up repackaged home loans, Sirius XM is left swinging in the breeze trying to refinance their outstanding debt that massively accumulated during the FCC's complacency.  It's a shame that many who are responsible for the mortgage melt-down will go Scott free thanks to the good ole' tax payer bailout, but good companies like Sirius XM face a very difficult time ahead.