A group of UK radio station owners representing 80 commercial radio stations in the UK has published a strategy paper warning of the risks of a government-enforced digital radio switchover for UK listeners. In December 2013, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, Ed Vaizey is expected to announce Government’s plans and timetable for […]
A giant Proton rocket has successfully launched SiriusXM’s FM-6 satellite which, once in-orbit testing is wrapped, will start transmissions from its 116 degrees West orbital slot. The actual location is in the Pacific Ocean, west of the Galapagos Islands and due south of Baja California. The satellite is and one of the heaviest commercial satellites […]
A fault at a South African satellite tracking station has forced International Launch Services to delay launching a Sirius-XM satellite for at least 24 hours. The craft, Sirius-FM6, was due to be launched on a Proton rocket late on October 20th. The 6.6 tonne satellite is now rescheduled to blast off late on Monday evening […]
US pay-radio’s next satellite Sirius FM-6 will launch on the night of October 20th. International Launch Services (ILS) will take care of the task using its Proton M/Briz-M rocket and upper-stage booster combination. The launch will take place from ILS’ Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Built by Space Systems/Loral, the satellite will go to 116.5 degrees […]
North American pay-radio operator Sirius-XM has promised a $500 million pay-cheque to Liberty Media. The cash will come from a $2 billion stock buy-back that Sirius-XM will organise. This is on top of a similar scheme announced a year ago, and which has now been concluded. The new buy-back plan allows for Liberty Media to […]
A proposed Class Action lawsuit against Liberty Media by investors in pay-radio operator Sirius-XM cannot proceed, ruled a Delaware court. The action was based on complaints that Liberty Media Corp failed to offer a premium to investors or hold a shareholder vote when it acquired Sirius-XM in 2009. Delaware Chancery Court Judge Leo Strine ruled […]
Willi Steul, director of Deutschlandradio, has called for a discussion amongst broadcasters to evolve a clear policy towards future transmissions of FM radio, and the adoption of DAB+ in the nation. Talking at a recent PKTO event in Berlin, he discussed having an agreed switch-off date sometime between 2020 and 2025. “This would give a […]
Satellite pay-radio service Sirius-XM is many weeks away from declaring its Q3 numbers, but the signs look good following on from record US new vehicle registrations for August. New auto sales touched 1.5 million in August, although following some dismal sales in recent years. It also suggests to observers that the US could shift 16 […]
SoundExchange, a non-profit organisation for collecting digital royalties for music artists has sued Sirius XM Radio for at least $50 million for underpaying on recordings, including ones from before 1972. The lawsuit is filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia and claims from 2007 to 2012, Sirius XM “systematically” underpaid SoundExchange […]
Pandora Radio is an on-line and wireless automated music recommendation service. It offers two subscription models, a free service with advertising support, or a paid-for service without ads. Just over a year ago at its IPO it had 800,000 song titles on offer, and millions of users in the USA. Today’s count (as at July […]