November 19, 2004

First Howard Stern, Now Mel Karmazin

In a coup for Sirius Satellite Radio, the company announced they hired the former CEO of Viacom Mel Karmazin to a five contract. I admit was skeptical a few years ago, but now that I have XM satellite radio service, I'm a believer. This business is for real.

Word of warning to Mel, don't touch the no ads on the music channel pledge. The main reason I switched is the no commercials on music channels. I know you're the advertising heavy hitter, my advice is to stick to get ad deals on the talk and news channels. If you start putting ads on the music channels, I'm sure a huge chunk of your customers will leave.

"Karmazin's announcement had almost as much impact. It added more than $1 billion to Sirius' market value. Its stock, which had closed at $4.72, soared almost 20% in after-hours trading," USA Today reported. "This is a one-two punch," SG Cowen Securities analyst Tom Watts told the paper. "Up to now, Sirius has been more of a technology company. Seeing Howard come over, and now Mel, is transforming it into show business."
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