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Posted by: Qarl Nov 23 2004, 02:34 PM

Satellite stocks have gone through the roof lately.

XM Satellite Radio has about 3 million subscribers - stock is up about 100% in a year

Sirius just hit 800,000 subscribers. Stock is up about 100% in a month

For those that have it answer the following...

1. XM or Sirius?
2. Pros
3. Cons

Posted by: AZ914 Nov 23 2004, 02:48 PM

Qarl,

I just made this decision about 5 months ago.

Bottom line, either one is WAY better than FM so you cannot lose. Generally, you should pick one based on the programming.

SIRIUS: More TALK channels, NFL, NBA, NHL, Howard Stern in 2006

XM: Just signed MLB, NASCAR, Opie & Anthony

Music: The type and # of music channels is about the same.

There are 3 differences that I am aware of:

1.
- Sirius is more hits based. So, if you are like me and listen to the modern hard rock channels, you will hear repeats daily. Some people HATE this, other people think its fine because they like the music.
- XM is less hits based. Their playlists go very deep. Some people love this, other people hate it because they seem to play crap that nobody wants to hear in order to avoid repeats.

2.
- Sirius has DJs (SJ's-sattelite jockeys) - They sometimes talk between songs, sometimes they don't. DJs provide info about the songs, bands, other things. Some people love this for info, other people hate it & just want the music.
- XM doesn't have much in the way of DJs... Therefore a little more time playing music.

3.
- Sirius costs $12.95 a month and includes everything. You can purchase a year at a time to save a months subscription. Once you are a subscriber, you can listen thru the internet for free.
- XM costs $9.95 a month but they charge extra for certain programming. Equipment generally costs just a bit more. Extra for internet listening.


Personally, I have SIRIUS. I am addicted to it. I cannot stand to listen to FM for more than about 10 minutes anymore due to all the commercials... Neither service is perfect, but either way you go, its well worth the $!

Each service has a 'fan' website. If you cruise XMFAN.COM or SIRIUSBACKSTAGE.COM you can get some good info. BEWARE however that there are a lot of people out there that are not objective, they only like what they have... F'ing 'mine is better' mentality.

Good luck!

Posted by: Part Pricer Nov 23 2004, 03:41 PM

The are pros and cons to both services. Programming is the key, but there are others to look at.

Programming:
Sirius wins for sports (NFL, NBA, NHL). For music, Sirius Alt Nation can't be beat.
For pure, sick, twisted entertainment, XM wins for Opie and Anthony.

Equipment:
The XM MiFi (walkman-type device) rocks.

Services:
Sirius wins here. If you have a Sirius account, you can logon to their website and listen via your PC. This is great if you are in an office where you are not near a window. You don't need to remove your receiver from the car either.

Posted by: Qarl Nov 23 2004, 03:59 PM

Buy the stock.

Remember when your neighbor told you that nobody would ever "pay" for TV?

Well, they're saying that about the radio right now.

This is only the ground level... it grow from here.

Tell your friends... invest now.

I bought both 13 months ago...

Posted by: Scott Carlberg Nov 23 2004, 05:10 PM

sorry to go alittle sideways re this thread....

but did anyone catch Howard Stern on Letterman last week?
Boy he was really fired up about going to Satellite, he's going to Sirius.
He & Dave talked about 20yrs ago no one wanted to pay for Cable... people were asking WHY would/should I pay for tv? That's crazy!
Letterman: "and now HBO rules the world".

I did Not realize the service was so in-expensive, Stern kept saying for $0.40/day you can have this great Satellite radio.

He also mentioned all the fines he keeps getting from the FCC and mentioned one instance in particular.
He said they had a show on Oral Sex, about these teenage girls in school performing oral. He said I thought we used pretty tame language.
He said he got fined $1 MILLION dollars!

He then said oprah did a similar show and used much stronger language and didn't get fined at all.

He said the FCC told him that they didn't fine her because she's loved and he's not!
True? Maybe, maybe not, with the FCC you never know.

Posted by: spare time toys Nov 23 2004, 07:29 PM

What is the ticker symbol for each of them?

Posted by: Series9 Nov 23 2004, 07:33 PM

Qarl,

XM carries 'Monsters of the Midday'. Since I'm from Orlando, and now live in New Mexico, that's a selling point for me...

Posted by: Brad Roberts Nov 23 2004, 07:44 PM

I'll be headed to Sirius...

Look back in some old posts of mine... I knew Stern would go to satellite before he knew...LOL

Once again I missed the boat.


B

Posted by: Qarl Nov 23 2004, 09:14 PM

Sirius = SIRI closed at $6.71 today... However it has jumped A LOT in the past 10 days... not sure if it will correct itself or keep going.

Here is the 30-day performance chart

http://data.moneycentral.msn.com/scripts/chrtsrv.dll?Symbol=siri&C1=0&C2=0&C5=1&C6=2004&C7=1&C8=2004&C9=0&CE=0&CF=0&D3=0&D5=0&E1=0

XM = XMSR closed at $36.66 today per share

Here is the 30-day performance chart

http://data.moneycentral.msn.com/scripts/chrtsrv.dll?Symbol=XMSR&C1=0&C2=0&C5=1&C6=2004&C7=1&C8=2004&C9=0&CE=0&D3=0&D5=0&E1=0

My Dad got me into these two stocks a year ago. XMSR was $11 per share, and Siri was $2.80.

He was watching XMSR when it was $2+ per share, but thought it was going to go under, so he chickened out. He bought in about $10.

Both are long term, but will be good investments in my opinion. But don't quote me on it.

What happened last year was a surge from around mid-November until January. Basically the holiday shopping spurred the excitement on the stocks. People bought or received satellite radios and thought, "Wow, this is cool. I should invest in the company." Also, more and more auto manufacturers were making them available with car audio packages. Each time a new manufacturer announced an alliance, the stock jumped. After January, the stock corrected itself. That was last year. Not sure if we will see the same pattern this year.

Posted by: monkeywrench Nov 23 2004, 10:48 PM

went with xm

liked the hardware better and the wife liked the stations better. It is hard to say who will come out the winner. I hope I didn't buy the wrong one....

Right now I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Posted by: Lou W Nov 23 2004, 11:07 PM

I've had XM for about a year now, listen to Fox News Channel live on the way home from work while it's on TV. Listen to NASCAR, etc. Very Happy with it, you can add additional receivers for $6.99 a month. I'm going to add one in my other car too. Great on trips.

Posted by: smooth_eddy Nov 27 2004, 11:48 AM

I just read an article in Popular Mechanics December issue comparing the two. Looks like it comes down to programming. They break down the stations and seem to think you can't go wrong with either choice.

Posted by: Rhodes71/914 Nov 27 2004, 04:10 PM

Very timely thread Qarl, with the holidays coming and all people will be buying these.

When this first came out my reaction was the same who wants to pay for radio, I just listen to my cds if I get tired of the ads.

Well a few months ago dmy sattelite provider (dish network) added all the SIRIUS music channels to my programming package. I loved Alt Nation and was hooked immediately. Now I skip around to different channels.

Now I am considering a purchase for the car, guess the partnership with DISH worked on me.

Haven't heard XM but I do like the DJs that SIRIUS has and they don't stay on that long, also like the free internet streaming.

Hope daddy get a SIRUIS radio fo xmas, I think my wife has gotten the hint by now.

Posted by: sgomes Nov 28 2004, 12:05 AM

Did I read the XM site correctly????? No NPR????? WTF????

That would be a deal breaker for me.

Posted by: sgomes Nov 29 2004, 12:27 PM

Couldn't get an answer from XM radio, "While it's not possible to respond to each email..blah blah blah"

Anyone out there who has XM know if there is an NPR station?

Posted by: Demick Nov 29 2004, 01:23 PM

Yeah, but just wait. Pretty soon, your 'basic' satellite radio will cost twice what it does now, and it will be full of commercials just like FM. Then you'll have to pay extra on top of that for the premium music stations that don't have commercials.

Yeah, just like cable.

Posted by: Qarl Dec 3 2004, 09:12 PM

Siri is up 12.5% since I posted the numbers last week...

XMSR is up 2.15%

Don't say I never gave you nuthin!

Posted by: MarkV Dec 3 2004, 09:19 PM

Yea I've been watching, sold TIVO today & bought SIRI. Hope it keeps going.

Posted by: MarkV Dec 3 2004, 09:20 PM

bought it at @ $7.42

Posted by: Qarl Dec 3 2004, 09:27 PM

Disclaimer:

No promises...

But, I think we'll still see some rise during the remainder of the holidays.

I'd love to see SIRI at $10 and XM at $40

Posted by: Qarl Dec 7 2004, 09:16 AM

Wow!

I posted the stock prices two weeks ago.

SIRI is hovering around $8.80 to $8.90 right now. You coulda made 35% return in two weeks.

Posted by: Eddie Williams Dec 7 2004, 02:05 PM

Yepper, i got in at 2.97!! It's at 9.10 right now!! 195% gain, in 9/29. Lovin it. I should have gotten in on XM a year or so ago when Quarl was squawking about it.

Sirius is also included in Dish network services, so that helps get them some additional exposure.

On the subject of NPR, Anthony Edwards or Edward Anthony or what ever his name was on NPR, was recently dismissed from NPR, and has signed an exclusive deal with XM. XM is also pushing a new Starbuck's lifestyle channel, and will be piped in through all the stores. I never knew there was a "Starbuck's Lifestyle".

Posted by: Lawrence Apr 23 2005, 07:47 AM

I'm thinking about doing this. Buying one receiver and swapping it between vehicles. Anyone else tried this?

Also, are any of these XM receivers compatible with MP3 players, etc?

Posted by: BMartin914 Apr 23 2005, 08:01 AM

QUOTE

I'm thinking about doing this. Buying one receiver and swapping it between vehicles. Anyone else tried this?

I've done it. No problem. I ditched the XM after I started messing with it every other song. There were so many channels, I could never find one I wanted to stay with. Got annoying so I ripped it out.

Posted by: meares Apr 23 2005, 08:03 AM

i've had both...i switched to Sirius solely for Howard Stern! they are both FAR better than FM!!!!! Sirius also has all NFL games

Posted by: Lawrence Apr 23 2005, 08:18 AM

I can do without Stern and NFL. Stern is like Zois on steroids, minus the class Mikey has.

If I'm going to experience a game, I'd like to actually SEE it.

-Rusty

Posted by: Rotten Robby Apr 23 2005, 10:58 AM

I bought XMSR at about $3.00 a share a couple years back. I also bought the hardware and subscribed at a reduced rate for 5 years. XM does have NPR it is called XMPR and I am not sure what channel it is on. Sorry.
When I heard a rumor that Howard Stern was going to Sirius I bought 1000 shares. When it was actually announced that he was going to Sirius the price spiked to $9.45 a share. The next day a few of the analysts poo-pooed the stock and it fell back.
I think that it will go up dramatically when Stern actually joins them.

I really was sold on satellite within minutes when I first heard it. You do not realize how intrusive the commercials are in your life until they are suddenly gone. Instead of hearing about car dealerships I hear about the history of the music or the artists.

Look carefully at the programming. Pick the one that most fits your needs. You CANNOT lose.

Rob

Posted by: tnorthern Apr 23 2005, 11:29 AM

I have XM and I love it! Service is up to 12.95 a month if you don't do a yearly contract but internet access to ALL channels and Opie and Anthony is free now. I drive about 45,000 miles a year in my pick up and did the books on tape for a couple years but I must admit I have never looked back once I got XM. No real experience with Sirius so I can't speak to thier service but I can't STAND Stern anymore. I listened the other day because I was driving a rental and he is doing the same things he did 10 years ago.

Onto the SIRI stock... I personally think it's too diluted... there sure are a lot of shares out there. I would say Yellow/Roadway/USF corp (YELL) would be a great buy, I personally know some people over there and they have a good plan for increasing revenues in the next year (read: raising rates) but hey you can argue all day about stock!