Sirius / XM is filing for bankruptcy. Will we loose satellite radio?

psst, it’s lose!

Bankruptcy? That’s hilarious, seeing as JetBlue is plugging a XM radio and service as a prize in their 9th anniversary promotion.

No I think they will just be forced to play commercials on their premium channels. Satellite radio should be around for a long time.

I hope not. XM is adding the Fireman (A Paul McCartney channel) pretty soon and I’m looking forward to that. I’d really miss my XM, although it was better before the merge with Sirius.

Though, it would be funny to see Howard Stern go back to “regular” radio with he tail between his legs…

Satellite radio never made any sense to me whatsoever. IMO, the iPod made SR obsolete before it even got started. Why would I want to pay a monthly fee to listen to crappy radio when I could bring my entire personal music collection with me whereever I go for free? Anyway, the iPhone has even widened that gap because with it, you can not only bring your own collection but also steam music from anywhere via the Internet (including many of the same sources that are on SR). So, ya, SR is gonna die? Oh well. They milked it a lot longer than I thought they would be able to.

And if idiots like Howard Stern dissappear along with it, so much the better.

As 3G & WiFi coverage becomes more and more common you should see the demise of satellite radio as new car radios will pick up Internet radio. Autos in Germany are already starting to come equipped with Internet radio.

You guys got HD radio in your markets? It’s free and could potentially grow to replace satellite.

Would HD radio have gotten underway at all without satellite leading the charge? I doubt it. Gotta love the free market competition.

Sirius and XM though had these crazy startup costs (satellites ain’t cheap) that they hoped to finance over a long, long term with low interest. The current economy is kinda killing that. It was a risky business move. Some risks just fail. That’s why they’re risky.

Wonder about the poor saps who bought lifetime subscriptions to Sirius, too.