SIri News 2-14-02
DJ Four US Cities To Get Sirius Satellite Radio
DENVER (AP)Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) is set to offer its 100 commercialfree stations Thursday in four cities, launching a battle against a competitor that beat it to the market.
The challenge is persuading listeners to pay $249 for a receiver and antenna and a $12.95 monthly fee to hear the music.
The launch comes after months of delays that let competitor XM Satellite Radio (XMSR) roll out its service nationwide last year for $9.99 a month. XM now has more than 30,000 subscribers with 350,000 expected by the end of the year. Sirius won't be national until Aug. 1, although it is airing its programs over the Internet.
Lehman Brothers analyst William Kidd said the satellite sector has had some highprofile failures, but XM's launch is encouraging.
"The future of satellite radio is far from proven, but XM's start is better than all of the recent forays that we've seen," Kidd said. "It harkens back to the days of DirecTV's launch."
Sirius has raised about $1.8 billion to offer its music, news and sports channels in Denver, Houston, Phoenix and Jackson, Miss., by Thursday, senior vice president Doug Wilsterman said. XM has raised $1.6 billion.
Sirius is available only in vehicles but the company is developing a system that could be heard in buildings. XM is available in both vehicles and buildings.
Executives say their research suggests residents in the launch cities are more willing to spend money to try new technology.
Sirius CEO Joe Clayton was sold on satellite radio after he took it for a test drive with his wife and five children from Rochester, N.Y., to Detroit. His wife listened to swing music, his children heard hip hop and Clayton got to hear his bluegrass without static or having to change stations from state to state.
With Sirius, he's using the same plan he used to launch DirecTV while he was with the TV service's codeveloper, Thomson Multimedia even including DirecTV launch city Jackson, Miss., among Sirius launch cities.
Yet DirecTV is backing XM and announced Wednesday it was offering special deals to customers to get satellite radio service.
Sirius plans to entice listeners with moneyback guarantees, equipment rebates and price breaks for fullyear subscriptions.
XM also offers deals on its Web site to lure subscribers.
"Being first doesn't guarantee success," Clayton said.
Sirius says its technology offers better sound than XM's without commercials. Besides hits and obscure finds, its vaults include 170 live performances recorded in Sirius studios in New York.
"Where we're the same is we both sell nationwide service," said Wilsterman of Sirius. "It ends there."
XM rebroadcasts a few conventional stations, such as KROQ in Los Angeles, and listeners occasionally hear commercials. But it has 1,000 repeaters to make sure signals beamed from its satellites to subscribers' radios don't get blocked by buildings or other obstacles. Sirius has 88.
Both have exclusive deals with carmakers. GM plans to make XMready radios an option in 23 models next year. Sirius has lined up agreements with Ford (F), BMW (G.BMW)and DaimlerChrysler (DCX).
Receivers for each service cannot be used to pick up the other company's signal, although the companies say that could change in the next decade.
At Sirius, programming from New York is sent to satellites that beam signals back to users' receivers.
In a model displayed in a BMW X5, a touch screen mounted above where the car radio should be displays programming menus, preset buttons, and song and artist names.
Kidd said Sirius and XM both have the potential to do well.
"We really think we can do for radio what cable did for TV," said Steve Cook, XM's executive vice president of sales and marketing.
