XM Satellite Radio
Sirius XM Holdings | |
Website | web |
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XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three
The company had its origins in the 1988 formation of the American Mobile Satellite Corporation (AMSC), a consortium of several organizations originally dedicated to satellite broadcasting of telephone, fax, and data signals. In 1992, AMSC established a unit called the American Mobile Radio Corporation dedicated to developing a satellite-based digital radio service; this was spun off as XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. in 1999. The satellite service officially launched on September 25, 2001.
On July 29, 2008, XM and former competitor Sirius Satellite Radio formally completed their merger, following U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval, forming Sirius XM Radio, Inc. with XM Satellite Radio, Inc. as its subsidiary.[1] On November 12, 2008, Sirius and XM began broadcasting with their new, combined channel lineups.[2] On January 13, 2011, XM Satellite Radio, Inc. was dissolved as a separate entity and merged into Sirius XM Radio, Inc.[3]
Services
While the satellite receiver radio service was its primary product, XM also operated audio, data and advertising services.
Satellite radio
XM's primary business was satellite radio entertainment. XM carried music, news (both simulcast and syndicated programming), sports, talk radio, comedy (both stand-up and radio shows), and radio drama. In addition, XM broadcast local weather and traffic conditions in its larger markets.[4][5]
XM Radio Online
XM Radio Online (XMRO), XM's Internet radio product, offered many of XM's music stations and could be accessed from any Internet connected computer, or via the SiriusXM mobile app.[citation needed]
Weather and traffic
XM also provided data services such as weather information for pilots and weather spotters through its
Commercial adoption and partnerships
In 2004, JetBlue announced that XM Satellite Radio service would be available in its Embraer regional jets beginning in 2005.[6] Also in 2005, AirTran Airways began putting XM Satellite Radio on their aircraft.[7] United Airlines started carrying XM programming in March 2006.[8] Zipcar, an urban car-sharing service in the United States, initially installed XM receivers in all of their vehicles, but later announced they would be removed from its fleet in the following months due to uncertainty in the market.[citation needed]
Customer service
In contrast to its high-quality broadcasts, Sirius/XM's customer service has drawn fire from some state governments. In October 2010, Richard Cordray, Ohio's Attorney General, began investigating complaints regarding Sirius XM's policies on billing, customer solicitation, and subscription renewals and cancellations. The company informed shareholders of the probe shortly thereafter. According to news reports, Arizona, Connecticut, Tennessee, Vermont, and the District of Columbia had expressed interest in participating in the inquiry.
According to Reuters, "The investigations come as Sirius XM, home to programs by Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey, has found its footing and distanced itself from years of huge losses and questions about its business model."[9]
In a report obtained in March 2011, The Better Business Bureau reported receiving over 4,500 complaints against Sirius XM in the preceding 36 months, around half of which regarded the company's billing and collection practices.[10]
In Missouri, some people registered on the state's do-not-call list had complained about receiving repeated calls from Sirius XM workers or agents after canceling their subscriptions. Some Florida customers had reported being billed for automatic renewals of accounts they had canceled. Further, Sirius XM was sued in federal court by a customer accusing it of deceptively raising prices.[9]
The report also stated that "Sirius, in a statement, said it was cooperating with the investigations and that it believed its 'consumer-related practices comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.'"[9]
Exclusive channels
- America's Talk
- ATN-Asian Radio
- Bollywood & Beyond
- Calendrier Sportif
- Canada 360
- ESPN Xtra
- Extreme Talk
- Faction Talk (formerly: The Opie Channel)
- Fox Sports Radio
- KISS 104.1
- Laugh Attack
- Mix
- MLBPlay-by-Play
- Nashville!
- Quoi de Neuf
- ReachMD
- Rock@Random
- Talk Radio
- The Pink Channel
- XM Deportivo
- XM Scoreboard
Company history
1988–2000
The American Mobile Satellite Corporation was founded in 1988.
On May 16, 1997, American Mobile Satellite and WorldSpace officially changed the name of American Mobile Radio to XM Satellite Radio. Later that month, Lon Levin became president, a position he would hold until 1998. In October 1997, XM Satellite Radio obtained one of only two
In June 1999,
At the same time as the investment, American Mobile Satellite, still XM's parent company, reacquired the stake WorldSpace held in the company.[14] In October 1999, XM Satellite Radio issued 10,241,000 shares of Class A common stock at an IPO price of US$12.00 per share. American Mobile Satellite remained the majority holder of the public company.[citation needed]
In April 2000, American Mobile Satellite Corp. changed its name to Motient. In July, American Honda joined several private investors in a US$235 million preferred stock investment in the company.[citation needed]
2001–2005
On September 25, 2001, XM Satellite Radio launched in San Diego and Dallas–Fort Worth,[15] with nationwide expansion plans set for November.[16] The initial lineup included 100 channels consisting of sports, talk, children's programming, entertainment and news.[15]
In October 2001, Motient was heading into bankruptcy and spun off their non-XM satellite division into a joint operation with TMI Communications and Company, L.P., a wholly owned subsidiary of
In January 2003, the company underwent a re-capitalization plan, involving XM exchanging US$300 million in old debt for new debt, while deferring interest for 3-years on the notes. They also restructured payment obligations on the General Motors installation agreement, issuing a convertible bond to GM, issuing a warrant for shares to GM, and establishing a revolving credit facility with GM. The plan also included new funding coming from a placement of over US$300 million in 10% convertible bonds to a group of private investors.
In 2004,
On October 4, 2004, "shock jocks"
On May 28, 2005,
2006–2010
In January 2006, XM began broadcasting Fox News Talk.[20] On January 9, XM won top honors at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show. On February 9, XM announced a US$55 million, three-year deal with Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions.[21][22]
In May 2006, XM Satellite Radio was sued by the
On July 24, 2006, Nate Davis, formerly of
On January 18, 2007, the
On March 24, 2008, the
On February 10, 2009, XM prepared to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[33] SIRI had a $1 billion debt obligation in 2009 and $175 million immediate obligation due February 17, 2009.[34] On November 12, Gary Parsons resigned as chairman and was replaced by Eddy W. Hartenstein, as the new non-executive chairman.[35]
On November 24, 2010, XM Canada and Sirius Canada announced plans to merge.[36]
2011–present
On April 11, 2011, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved the merger of the Canadian companies, Sirius and XM, into Sirius XM Canada.[32]
Technology
XM provided digital programming directly from two high-powered satellites in geostationary orbit above the equator: XM Rhythm at 85° west longitude and XM Blues at 115° west longitude[37] in addition to a network of ground-based repeaters. The combination of two satellites and a ground-based repeater network was designed to provide gap-free coverage anywhere within the contiguous U.S., the southern tip of Alaska, and in the southern part of Canada. The signal could also be received in the Caribbean Islands and most of Mexico (reports have stated that areas north of Acapulco were able to receive a steady signal[38]); however, XM is not yet licensed for reception by paid subscribers living in these areas.
The original satellites, XM-1 ("Rock") and XM-2 ("Roll") suffered from a generic design fault on the Boeing 702 series satellite (fogging of the solar panels), which meant that their lifetimes were shortened to approximately six years instead of the design goal of 15 years.[39][40] To compensate for this flaw, XM-3 ("Rhythm") was launched ahead of its planned schedule on February 28, 2005, and moved into XM-1's previous location of 85° WL. XM-1 was then moved to be co-located with XM-2 at 115° WL, where each satellite operated only one transponder (thus broadcasting half the bandwidth each) to conserve energy and cut the power consumption in half while XM-4 ("Blues") was readied for launch. Subsequently, XM launched ground-spare XM-4 ("Blues") ahead of schedule on October 30, 2006, into the 115° WL location to complete the satellite replacement program. On December 15, 2006, XM-1 was finally powered down and then drifted back to its original location at 85° WL, where it remained as a backup to XM-3. XM-2 was similarly powered down and remained as a backup to XM-4. This makes the current active satellites as XM-3 "Rhythm" and XM-4 "Blues" with two in-orbit spares.[41][42]
On June 7, 2005,
XM-5 was to feature two large, unfurlable antennas. Sirius' Radiosat 5, also to be built by Loral, was slated to have a similar single large antenna.In American and Canadian metropolitan areas, XM and its Canadian licensee "Canadian Satellite Radio" (CSR) and operating as Sirius XM Canada, owned and operated a network of approximately 900 terrestrial repeater stations, meant to compensate for satellite signal blockage by buildings, tunnels, and bridges. In the United States, XM owned and operated approximately 800 repeater sites, covering 60 markets; in Canada, CSR was installing approximately 80 to 100 repeaters that were planned to be owned and operated by CSR in the 16 largest Canadian cities. The actual number of repeater sites varies as the signal is regularly tested and monitored for optimal performance. The actual number of sites in the United States has dropped from the original 1,000 installed when the service first launched in 2001. The repeaters transmit in the same frequency band as the satellites. A typical city contains 20 or more terrestrial stations. Typically, the receiver owner is unaware when a terrestrial station is being used, unless he or she checks antenna information from the receiver being used. Due to a FCC filing in October 2006, the latest list of XM's US terrestrial repeater network was made available to the public.
The XM signal used 12.5 MHz of the
XM NavTraffic, an optional service, transmitted coded traffic information directly to vehicle navigation systems using
Audio channels on XM were digitally compressed using the
The XM radio signal was broadcast on 6 separate radio carriers within the 12.5 MHz allocation. The entire content of the radio service, including both data and audio content, was represented by only two carriers. The other 4 carriers carried duplicates of the same content to achieve redundancy through signal diversity. The data on each carrier is encoded using time-delayed and error-correction schemes to enhance availability. Effectively, the total radio spectrum used for content is a little over 4 MHz.[45]
Each two-carrier group broadcast 100 8-kilobit-per-second streams in approximately 4 MHz of radio spectrum. These streams were combined using a patented process to form a variable number of channels using a variety of bitrates. Bandwidth is separated into segments of 4-kilobit-per-second virtual "streams" which are combined to form audio and data "channels" of varying bitrates from 4 to 64 kilobits-per-second.[46]
XM preprocessed audio content using Neural Audio processors that are optimized for the
In the past, the
Satellites
- XM 1 (Rock). Launch occurred May 8, 2001.[47]
- XM 2 (Roll). Launch occurred March 18, 2001.[47]
- XM 3 (Rhythm). Launch occurred February 28, 2005.[48]
- XM 4 (Blues). Launch occurred October 30, 2006.[49]
- XM 5 Launch occurred October 14, 2010.[50]
Clear Channel programming agreement
In 1998,
Seen as a blow to XM's 100% commercial-free music channel status, XM Executive Vice President of Programming Eric Logan released a programming announcement to XM subscribers on the company's website that reiterated XM's commitment to commercial-free music while noting that XM still had the most commercial-free music and that more commercial-free music channels will be added in the near future to ensure that XM will still have more commercial-free music than competitor Sirius Satellite Radio. On April 17, 2006, XM launched US Country (XM17), Flight 26 (XM26), XM Hitlist (XM30) and Escape (XM78) to provide commercial free music in the formats of the Clear Channel programmed music channels which were going to begin airing commercials. In response, Sirius has advertised that they are the only satellite radio provider that has 100% commercial-free music channels. Both XM and Sirius air commercials on their news, talk, and sports channels.
The Clear Channel forward sales agreement with Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc was terminated on August 2, 2006. The termination resulted in Clear Channel Investments, Inc. paying Bear Stearns a total of $83.1 million, which was the value of Clear Channel's stake in XM. The accreted value of the debt was $92.9 million, and the fair value of the collar was an asset of $6.0 million, which resulted in a net gain of $3.8 million for Clear Channel.[52]
PCR and DirectPCR
At the heart of the TimeTrax controversy was the XM PCR: a computer-controlled XM Receiver. Unlike the other receivers, which could be used in the car or home stereo, the XM PCR required a computer to run. A software application on the computer acted as the radio's controls and display, which led to a flurry of third-party developers who wanted to make a PCR replacement. Many of them received Cease and Desist letters from the XM company[failed verification]. Once the PCR was discontinued, for the reasons listed above, people found that the XM Direct, a receiver intended to be used in satellite-ready car stereos, can be connected to a computer with a very simple adapter cable. Some people have dubbed the entire kit, with receiver, cable, and software, the Direct PCR. While the original PCR software does not control the XM Direct receiver, several community developers have continued to develop PCR replacement software.
Merger with Sirius Satellite Radio and company restructuring
On February 19, 2007, XM announced a merger deal with competitor Sirius Satellite Radio. The merger combined the two radio services and created a single satellite radio network in the United States and Canada.[53]
The United States Department of Justice announced on March 24, 2008, that it had closed its investigation of the merger because it "concluded that the evidence does not demonstrate that the proposed merger of XM and Sirius was likely to substantially lessen competition."[54]
On June 16, 2008, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told The Washington Post that he had decided to approve the XM-Sirius Merger after the companies agreed in the previous week to concessions intended to prevent the new company from raising prices or stifling competition. Martin issued an order to approve the merger, according to The Wall Street Journal – setting the stage for a final vote which could have occurred any time after his recommendation was circulated.
The XM–Sirius merger gained its final governmental approval from the Federal Communications Commission on July 25, 2008, with Martin and commissioners
iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry and Android applications
XM developed a software application for use on the Apple iPhone and Apple iPod Touch devices that allowed XM subscribers to listen to its programming over the Apple devices. The Sirius XM iPhone App became available in the Apple iTunes Store on June 17, 2009.
All SiriusXM Internet Radio subscribers are able to download the application from the Apple
On February 4, 2010, SiriusXM released an app for the
SiriusXM is also available for download on Android devices through Google Play.
The applications carry most of the XM music, talk, sports and entertainment programming, as well as some exclusive Internet-only content. The mobile applications also carry a select number of channels from the "Best of SIRIUS/XM" packages, dependent on the subscriber's subscription level.
Canada
In November 2004,
On June 16, 2005, the CRTC approved all three applications. The decisions were appealed to the Canadian federal cabinet by a number of broadcasting, labor, and arts and culture organizations, including the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, CHUM Limited, and the National Campus and Community Radio Association. The groups objected to the satellite radio applicants' approach to and reduced levels of Canadian content and French-language programming, along with the exclusion of Canadian non-commercial broadcasting. After a lengthy debate, Cabinet rejected the appeals on September 9, 2005.
XM's Canadian channels appeared on US receivers on November 17, 2005. On November 29, 2005, XM Canada officially launched.
See also
- Boeing Satellite Systems
- Sirius Satellite Radio, a satellite radio company
- 1worldspace, a satellite radio company
- Sirius XM Satellite Radio, a satellite radio company
- List of Sirius XM Radio channels
- XM Radio Canada
- XM Satellite Radio channel history
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{{cite web}}
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