So last year’s merger of Sirius and XM Satellite radio was supposed to save that particular segment of the broadcast industry. Ain’t happening: Sirius-XM CEO Mel Karmazin sounds positively desperate to avoid bankruptcy, but nevertheless the company’s drawing up the papers to go the Chapter 11 route.
What happened? Lots of things: launching not one, but two, satellite radio networks is hella-expensive. That initial capital outlay has never been recouped. Secondly, Sirius itself bet the farm on talent – the only person that’s made money out of satellite radio is Howard Stern, and he’s been laughing all the way to the bank. Continue reading “Sirius-XM: Wall Street, We Have A Problem”