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December 4, 2008
Introduction
XM Satellite Radio Inc. became incorporated in 1992. XM’s business
radio stations. By 1999, XM went public with an issue of 10.2 million shares
of common stock. Preferred stock issues and secured notes were completed
in the late 1999 and early 2000 to raise $750 million in capital to finance the
following:
equipment
networking equipment
Develop programming
Attract subscribers
XM’s subscriber base had grown to over 7 million, they offered over 170
2006.
and weather.
February 19, 2007, by the executives of Sirius and XM. This merge would
put an end to the very expensive bidding wars for programming and talent
2006. AM stations account for 43.2 percent and FM stations account for
owners. The stations are now coming under the ownership of a single
Stations choose a programming format such as: music, talk, sports, religious,
listeners who are willing to pay a monthly fee for mostly commercial free
programming. Signals for satellite radio are received from six satellites
which orbit around North and South America. Terrestrial repeaters are then
buildings. Along with the monthly fee, the listener must purchase a radio
receiver. Radio receiver prices range from $150 - $399. The price varies
that surpasses that of Sirius XM. These providers are not limited to any
are offered through many different providers, including Clear Channel, CBS
Radio, Yahoo and AOL. Many of these servers allow customers to customize
HD eliminates the pop, hiss, static, and fade that come with analog
and allows FM broadcasts the quality of produced CD and DVD quality sound.
with another 3000 preparing to convert. These services are offered to more
than 90% of the public, and have become another strong competitor for
have turned to their iPods to listen to music. More than 51 million iPods
were sold in 2007, while many other MP3 devices have been sold in addition
to Apple’s version. Users can plug their music into their car or home audio
radio.
Wireless phones have increased their presence in the market,
developing new technologies that can pick up radio signals and play music.
Sprint Nextel, Verizon Wireless and AT&T all have their own services that
stream audio to users’ phones, allowing them to purchase music they hear
video and audio content, AT&T has rolled out a service that allows users to
rapidly increase, wireless carriers will become an even stronger opponent for
Sirius XM.
Broad
Size of Program
Offerings
Narro
w
Local/Region Nation Glob
al al al
Scope of Global Coverage
Current Strategy
components are:
Appealing programming
terrestrial radio
feature-rich models. The company does not manufacture its own equipment;
manufacturers such as Delphi, Pioneer, Alpine and Audiovox develop the
vehicles and residential boats both in the United States and Canada. Sirius
selected 2008 models. In 2008, Sirius Travel Link was introduced in Ford
vehicles, which provides real-time traffic details, weather and movie listings
real-time traffic information and weather details through GPS devices. Their
service is provided through many Garmin GPS devices, the leader in its
industry.
and satellite televisions. Personal home units and portable units can be
Satellite services.
per month. Both Sirius and XM also provide subscribers with internet only
already being used). Several of these packages were created to fulfill the
with diverse programming, as well as cover any geographic area that has
improve its audience and advertising revenues. The company cannot control
the cost of its service, due to its agreement with the Federal
Communications Commission.
Merger
The proposed merger which the companies applied in March 2007 was
rights groups felt the merger would create a satellite radio broadcasting
XM and Sirius based on the terms that prohibited one company from owning
The executives at XM and Sirius argued that merger was in the public’s
interest due to competition from iPod, Internet Radio, and audio services
to consumers
networks’ programming
procurement
share of XM stock owned. The new company will have $1.5 billion in
approve the $3.3 billion merger. The approval was finally granted based on
Strength of Suppliers
Strength of Buyers
Substitute Products
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Financial Analysis
Since 2005, both Sirius and XM have seen rapid increases in revenues.
Before the merger, Sirius had over $1.1 billion in revenues in 2007, while XM
assets of the two companies. Neither company has ever turned a profit;
Sirius had losses of $682 million, while XM had losses of $565 million. These
losses are narrowing, along with narrowing net profit margins. Significant
for each company were just over $10 per customer. Including advertising,
this ratio trended over $11 per customer. Though both companies have
offered rebates to customers, most of those costs have been recovered from
Return on assets and earnings per share have remained negative for
both companies since 2005, since Sirius and XM have net losses. The
through convertible bonds. Long-term debt has topped more than $2 billion
equity within the company. The only positive aspect of Sirius XM’s financials
is that the company has working capital of over $200 million midway through
2008. This capital originated mainly from the sale of securities, which has
also been used heavily to fund operations. Though there is capital to utilize,
The current ratio for both companies has been below one since 2005.
The current ratio in 2008 has increased to 1.62 for the merged company.
This is a positive to the financial community that the company is improving
have negative working capital since 2005. In years 2007 and 2008, Sirius
XM was able to turn working capital into a positive number. This positive
the holder to turn the debt into shares of stock at a set price. These
convertible bonds have caused the company to endure negative equity for
several years, which should continue for the next several years. Though the
convertible notes due in 2009 and $230,000 due in 2011, with other long-
term debt as high as $500,000 due in 2013. Unless Sirius can cut expenses
profitable. The company is also obligated to follow all covenants of its loan
Programming Analysis
more than two dozen channels between the two networks. The eliminated
Sirius and XM. Subscribers were not made aware of the new lineups of either
network prior to the change; little information has been released about the
new lineups, other than the merger has given the companies an opportunity
that had equivalents from either Sirius or XM, not all of the stations with the
Flight 26, an XM channel, was replaced by Sirius’ The Pulse, which was the
25th most listened to station between the two networks. Sirius XM did keep
most of its more profitable channels and programs, though still has many
channels which have low audiences. Though the company was able to save
hundreds of billions of dollars in programming expenses, by merging
Issues
the company is currently facing many pressing issues. Until recently, Sirius
2007 for XM and Sirius, respectively. During 2006, 80% of revenues were
programming and the high costs for programs, including Howard Stern. The
two companies offer the same genres of programming, and in order to cut
programming costs, more than two dozen stations were eliminated from XM
have few differences, other than specific specialty programs, which can be
Sirius is facing another issue, where the company faces the possibility
of being delisted from the NASDAQ. The company’s stock price has been
under $1 since September 19th, and must meet all of the NASDAQ’s
compliance requirements within 180 days, or will be face delisting. Sirius XM
needs a stronger share price in order to refinance much of its debt due in
2009. With the share price well below the $4 needed to refinance its debt,
stock split by the end of next year in order to raise the share price.
obligations, many of which are restricting the company from turning a profit.
-2.6, due to the negative equity held by the company. After the merger of
-1.5 to -1.0. Under these conditions, it will be very difficult for the company
to create more debt financing, especially when the debt is tied to equity.
Sirius cannot incur additional debt or debt, make certain transactions with
affiliates, pay dividends, or sell or lease all of its assets. This limits many
obligations on the 9.6% notes, all of its debt will be immediately payable.
Much of Sirius XM’s success depends on the health of the auto
the auto industry, sales of satellite radios are in jeopardy of declining. Sales
of both Sirius and XM radios are directly related to the health of the
significantly. Sirius generates more than 95% of its revenues from radios
Overall retail sales of Ford vehicles are down 30% since last year, with
sales to rental agencies declining almost 40%. Sirius and XM rely on the
sales to car rental agencies, which gives both companies the opportunity for
customers to test the satellite radios in the cars. The companies use this as
programming without any risk to the consumer. Sirius XM has contracts with
installed with new vehicles, so as new vehicles are purchased, the company
consumers tend to last 3.5 years until services are cancelled. Though other
Motors and Chrysler will hurt the number of new subscriptions. Overall sales
of motor vehicles from 2007 are down 33%. Since there is a direct
media. Though Sirius and XM are increasing the numbers of subscribers, the
fall into a deep recession, potential subscribers will have less incentive to
pay for radio. According to Arbitron research, the number of radio listeners
from other internet radio providers has intensified. Internet radio provides a
own stations. Sirius and XM provide listeners with only half of their
radio has to offer. Online radio has provided opportunities for other
The satellite radio networks must also deal with rapidly increasing
sales of iPods and MP3 players. Consumers can listen to their own playlists
of music in their vehicles, and are having more products available to them
that promote greater usage of iPods in the car. Sirius XM’s portable devices
can record and store music, yet relies on the ability of the device to receive
Sirius XM must differentiate itself and find new mediums in order to produce
revenues have been flat for both Sirius and XM before the merger, with net
2007. Revenues from advertising are limited, since the companies generate
revenues primarily from commercial breaks during talk shows, news and
Internet radio providers typically use their online players for advertising
to grow at a compound rate of 25% during the next five years, presenting
satellite radio with another major opportunity that it has not fully taken
programming and channels, yet has not found a way to offset increasing
be able to fully exploit its success, thus leading to the company folding.
Recommendations
Sirius XM desperately needs to increase its share price, which has been
at 20 cents per share. In order to prevent the company from being delisted
from the NASDAQ, Sirius executives need to approve a reverse stock split to
increase the share price. With the company regaining more control of the
will cause the price to increase. Though current CEO Mel Karmazan stated in
October that Sirius is meeting all NASDAQ standards, the company still must
find a way to raise its share price. The company has considered a 50-1
reverse stock split in order to move to the price over 50 cents per share.
The reverse split will help the long-term status of the company by increasing
earnings per share, which in turn will make Sirius appear to be a healthier
with a flow of diverse products, Sirius must find a way to diversify itself to
through global positioning systems (GPS) and its current internet radio
use Sirius’s satellites that provide real-time traffic updates to GPS devices.
47% share of the market. During 2007, more than 33 million GPS devices
were sold, three times the amount sold in 2006. Sirius can take advantage
of this growing market by offering its chip sets to Garmin to use in their GPS
units. Since Sirius XM does not manufacture its own devices, this approach
would not change the company’s current business strategy. Users will not
have to purchase additional Sirius devices, allowing consumers to utilize the
GPS units currently in their cars. Sirius would still be able to acquire the
subscription and activation fees, increasing revenues for the company in the
future. Since 10% of Americans have a GPS unit in their vehicles already,
Sirius can increase its subscriber base. The price of GPS units has been
declining as well, making the units more affordable for potential customers.
Sirius XM and Garmin also have products that are utilized for marine
companies.
further its own services. The company currently offers most of its
channels. This would make both networks more competitive with AOL Radio,
CBS Radio and Yahoo Radio. Subscribers would not have a limited selection
of channels when listening online. Since Sirius XM cannot change its prices
for its current lineups due to agreements with the FCC, the company can
Currently, the company collaborates with auto dealers and retailers to install
satellite radios in vehicles and sell devices in stores. Sirius XM should work
satellite radios while advertising new car models. Auto dealers can advertise
satellite radio as a feature of their vehicles they sell, promoting both the
vehicle and Sirius XM. The satellite company needs to expand its marketing
Facebook and MySpace develop revenues from their sites, Sirius XM could
advertisers. Retail operations could affect the rise in sales of satellite radios
used vehicles. Sirius XM can work with its current partners to have radios
installed in used vehicles, offering its partners additional royalties for this
service. This would allow the company the opportunity to take advantage of
consumers looking for cheaper vehicles who may not be able to afford new
vehicles during the current economic conditions. Sirius XM would also be
able to offset lost potential customers from the decline in new vehicle sales.
advertisements on its website and online pop-up player. The company could
should work with larger corporations that depend more on advertising, such
listeners use the radios in their car, advertisements could scroll along the
of its channels that have very low audiences. Though the company wishes to
cater to all audiences, there are channels which have few listeners. By
Conclusion
force in the radio industry. High amounts of debt and limited control over its
suppliers and customers hinders the company from becoming profitable from
change its fate, yet the company is limited to its expansion due to its
agreement with the FCC. By increasing its subscriber base and advertising
revenues, Sirius can offset its long-term debt, while preparing for the future.
If the company continues to create solutions which only temporarily ease the
C30 – C47.
July 2008.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2008/tc20080725_0600
61.htm?campaign_id=yhoo
http://www.bizreport.com/2008/03/internet_radio_33m_us_listeners_each_we
ek.html
http://www.allaccess.com/assets/editorial/raw/SP07_National_Satellite_P12.p
df
http://www.stateofthenewsmedia.org/2008/printable_radio_audience.htm
http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2008/05/gps_brands_market_share_data_f.php
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-04-25-gps-market_N.htm