Sirius-XM will link with WorldSpace
As predicted by Rapid TV News Sirius-XM Satellite Radio is expected to participate in Liberty Media's international pay-radio plan for a revitalised WorldSpace.
Sirius' CEO Mel Karmazin, speaking at the Reuters Global Media Summit in New York, said Sirius could team up with Liberty Media Corp to take its satellite radio offerings global through a partnership with WorldSpace. WorldSpace is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and a Liberty Media subsidiary now effectively controls WorldSpace.
"We understand that Liberty has expressed an interest in WorldSpace," Karmazin said at the Reuters Summit. But if a partnership with Liberty did come about, Sirius would not invest any money. "We would put our expertise and experience in the pot and Liberty would put their money in the pot," Karmazin said.
Liberty Media is controlled by John Malone, who rescued Sirius from its own flirt with near-bankruptcy earlier this year with a loan of $520m. Liberty has a 40% stake in Sirius.
Most of WorldSpace satellite radio's subscribers are in Asia and Africa. "So one would think that if Liberty were to do something there that they would want as strategic partner somebody who has successfully done satellite radio in 5 percent of the world," Karmazin said. Such a partnership could involve Sirius bringing its relationships with car makers and expertise in building satellite radio gear to WorldSpace's operations, he added.
But there are some major problems to be overcome if Liberty's WorldSpace plan is to proceed. First up, ‘New WorldSpace' would have to work hard to re-build relationships and staff internationally. The reputation of ‘old' WorldSpace internationally stinks. Staff have quit, debts and other contractual obligations ignored and relations with major auto-makers severely damaged.
Besides these problems, there is the clear progress being made over Europe by Ondas Media. Of course, if ‘New WorldSpace' is to limit its operations to India, Africa and the Far East then Ondas will be free to pursue its own ambitions.
