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 […]
Apple looks set to launch its iTunes Radio streaming-music service in the US in September. iTunes Radio’s exact launch date has not yet been announced by Apple, beyond promising a debut in the autumn – but advertising industry site AdAge suggests that September will be the US launch for the service after claiming that McDonald’s, […]
In time for the weekend’s action Stateside, Sirius XM Radio and rights-holder Dorna Sports revealed an agreement to make SiriusXM the exclusive North American radio broadcaster of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix (MotoGP), marking the national US radio début of the world’s premier motorcycle racing series. SiriusXM’s coverage started over the weekend […]
Bauer Media UK has announced its digital radio station Kiss Fresh is to broadcast into almost 20 million homes on the Freeview platform, effective immediately. Andy Roberts, Group Programme Director at Kiss, said: “This increased distribution for Kiss Fresh is firmly in line with our ambition to grow the Kiss brand across multiple platforms. Kiss […]
SiriusXM is borrowing $600 million which it will largely use to pay down existing debt. The bonds will only be available outside the US. The bonds will offer interest of 5.70 per cent, and used to pay down debt due in 2015 with an interest rate of 8.75 per cent. There is no suggestion – […]