Give XM a Prize, Too

Congratulations, XM Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: XMSR).

No, don't come up to give a speech. It's really just Bob Dylan who was honored with a Pulitzer earlier this month, but kudos to you as the home for Dylan's popular Theme Time Radio Hour show.

Dylan's "Special Citation" Pulitzer is an honorary one, unlike the annual award for music that typically goes to a classical music composer. Rock and Pulitzers go together about as well as mudslides and white linen tablecloths.

However, I'd like to think that a wee sliver of Dylan's recognition is thanks to the renewed interest in the rocking wordsmith that's stemmed from his XM's show runaway success. Obviously his catalog of songs is his crowning achievement, but XM has helped give Dylan exposure these days with his music show that devotes different installments to specific themes.

In a nutshell, this is why I dismiss the bearish knocks on satellite radio. Are there a growing number of alternatives to XM and Sirius Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI)? Of course. However, Internet radio and free podcasts are unlikely ever to offer the monetizing opportunities that Oprah Winfrey found with XM and Howard Stern with Sirius. As premium radio services, XM and Sirius can afford to pay for the top talent that will make headlines, shape opinions, and now even win Pulitzers.

Terrestrial-radio heavyweights like CBS (NYSE: CBS) and Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU) may serve larger audiences, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can afford to outbid satellite radio for content. Radio advertising can be fickle, and now that consumers are spoiled by a plethora of commercial-free alternatives -- and not just satellite radio, but something as simple as firing up an Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPod or streaming a portable music subscription service like Napster (Nasdaq: NAPS) or RealNetworks' (Nasdaq: RNWK) Rhapsody -- the pressure is on to minimize ad blocks.

So you have to think XM and Sirius will be able to keep putting on head-turning content like Dylan's trendsetting show. As for Dylan's Pulitzer, I'm sure XM will find ways to ride the coattails of recognition to further market its radio service.

So congrats to Dylan, even as the XM executives drink his wine.

For recent XM stories on its long courtship with Sirius:

• Why Does Goldman Hate XM?
• Fool on the Street: Before XM Kisses Sirius
• Satellite Radio Hands Out Appetizers