Sirius XM Chief Predicts Radio Domination: "We're Going To Be Bigger Than Clear Channel"

Mel Karmazin is on a mission.

Now that the creation of Sirius XM is official, terrestrial radio's formerly brightest star is after nothing short of total domination of his old medium.

"We're going to be the most successful company in radio," Karmazin said in an interview with The Post. "We're going to be bigger than Clear Channel because we're growing and they're going the other way."

That's a bold statement considering that Sirius XM's stock has lost 20 percent of its value since the merger's closing, the company has yet to turn a profit and is laden with debt.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[samlu1]

In 2005 a device was inventing and perfected in China that allows you to record, skip, edit, and store any and all radio worldwide. Just like Tivo or DVR it even knows when a station has gone to commercial and will automatically stop recording. It stores all audio, and just like Tivo, will never record the same thing twice. After a few years you can build a very impressive library of songs. Question: Who will advertise on this station?

[nastyvirus]

Bigger than Clear Channel? Perhaps. Sirius's biological and technological diversity will be added to Clear Channel when the purchase is complete.

Remember, Clear Channel is a government propaganda arm. Don't mess with them.

[Le_nombril]

Not until they get a handle on their customer service. I don't love commercial free music enough to put up with their sucky customer service. Last night, I got put on hold while they figured out my bill for "a minute or two". Fifteen minutes later, I gave up and hung up and called back to get a new rep. The guy just didn't come back. I guess he just couldn't figure it out and decided to drop me. Earlier, I had to get a replacement radio because my old one stopped working. I tried to swap one for the other. It took them three weeks to get the new one working. At one point, I was told not to worry, they would call me back in 3 to 5 business days when they got it straightened out. They never did call. I called them after a week to find out what had happened. Finally after that call and one other, they finally got my radio programmed. Then the bill screw ups started.

[Bogey907]

The question is: Will they suck as bad as Clear Channel?

[MajorKong]

I don't like Clear Channel, but I don't see how having an even bigger radio monopoly is in the public interest.

[JScott]

Another example of making one pay for what we used to get for free

[filo]

I have an MP3 CD player in my car. You can fit 8 to 10 albums on a CD. Therefore I have several hundred albums at my fingertips. Why on earth would I pay to listen to any pay radio.

[Techboy308]

Me too. I've got an iPod. What's a radio? Oh that's right, it's the thing I play my iPod thru...