Advanced Television

Digital Radio

Sirius-XM adds 446,000 subs

Pay-radio operator Sirius-XM is on a roll. Its Q3 results show that its subscriber base grew by a record 446,000 to a new record total of 23.4 million.  Revenue grew 14 per cent to $867 million. The company paid down $107 million of debt, helping reduce the broadcaster’s overall debt level to the lowest since […]

November 1, 2012By Chris Forrester

WorldSpace Radio gets Airtel DTH carriage

Twelve channels of the revived Worldspace Radio format have now been added to Bharti Airtel’s DTH service over India. Now dubbed iMusicSpace the channels cover an extensive collection of latest and retro Hindi songs, as well as regional music channels. Customers can now enjoy 24X7 radio on their TV in their native dialect be it […]

October 30, 2012By Chris Forrester

Karmazin to step down from Sirius-XM

Pay-radio service Sirius-XM Radio has announced that CEO Mel Karmazin will be leaving the company on February 1, 2013, following the expiration of his current employment agreement and after a transition period. Karmazin will also leave the Board of Directors at that time. The move comes as John Malone’s Liberty Media is looking to take […]

October 24, 2012

Spotify on Samsung TVs

Samsung will become the first TV manufacturer to bring music streaming service Spotify to connected TVs with the launch of a new app later this year. Spotify offers on-demand access to a library of more than 18 million songs, and will be available on Samsung connected TVs across Europe through the partnership.

October 10, 2012

Top Up backer invests $130m in Deezer

Warner Music-owner Len Blavatnik has invested $130 million in subscription streaming service Deezer. Blavatnik’s Access Industries, which also holds stakes in Top Up TV and digital sports company Perform, has taken an undisclosed stake in Deezer. Deezer, which has its roots in France and counts mobile phone giant Orange as a shareholder, would only say […]

October 9, 2012

Standalone iPlayer radio

The BBC has launched iPlayer Radio as it revamps online audio.The new service will see audio separated from the existing BBC iPlayer and offered as part of an individual service on desktop and mobile. An iPhone app is to be launched soon – however apps for other devices, such as Google’s Android, are not yet […]

October 8, 2012

7digital on Toshiba connected TVs

7digital, the digital media company, has been selected as a key digital music partner on all Toshiba TVs equipped with the Toshiba Places platform. The 7digital Toshiba Edition web store allows users to browse 7digital’s catalogue of over 20 million high quality tracks, create playlists and stream music directly though their television. The store has […]

August 31, 2012

‘Liberty Satellite Radio’: What’s next for Malone?

Here’s a conundrum: Pay-radio operator Sirius-XM is making very useful operating profits in its US division (and minority stakes in its Canadian operation also help out). Last week, Sirius-XM paid off $681 million of debt almost a year ahead of time, such is its sound financial position. John Malone shrewdly bailed the business out from […]

August 26, 2012

Sirius cracks 50m radio installs

Pay-radio operator Sirius-XM says its satellite radios are now installed in more than 50 million vehicles, although not all are subscribing to its services. Sirius-XM units are now factory installed in close to 70 per cent of all new vehicles sold in the USA. “We are proud that SiriusXM has reached this major milestone since […]

August 23, 2012By Chris Forrester

Shareholders sue Sirius-XM

Liberty Media has made no secret that it wants to absorb US pay-radio broadcaster Sirius-XM, and eventually consolidate it into one of its companies. However, a group of disgruntled existing shareholder have issued writs in a Delaware court arguing that Sirius’s existing directors are not doing enough to resist Liberty’s advances. Specifically, their action argues […]

August 22, 2012By Chris Forrester