Another day, another election coverage press release from Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI).
This morning's release is about Hollywood hotshot Jamie Foxx hitting the campaign trail, broadcasting live today from the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Foxx is one of the many celebrities that have their own satellite radio channel, in his case it's The Foxxhole (channel 106 on Sirius).
The press release follows several publicized presidential election programming notes on Sirius and XM in recent days.
You're no doubt cynical enough to know that press releases are rarely about the information they contain. Few people will rush out to buy a Sirius receiver today to hear Foxx at Invesco Field as Barack Obama accepts his party's nomination. The press release would have been issued weeks ago if that was its primary objective. No, Sirius is putting out the news to let people know that:
- Sirius is once again in the electoral coverage hotbed.
- Foxx is on Sirius, if you didn't know already.
- This is the type of content that only premium satellite radio subscribers are privy to.
It's all about content, really. It's no coincidence that Sirius began to close the gap with XM in total subscribers after it signed up Howard Stern. We may never have a quantifiable number of subscribers that satrad celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, or Bob Dylan have brought in, but it's clear that satellite radio is that much more relevant with them around.
Can the talent signings continue?
This morning's WSJ.com Deal Journal column isn't so sure. It points to Stern's record-breaking stock and cash deal, and the impact of Sirius XM Radio's faltering share price on landing future eardrum magnets.
"Unless Sirius wants to pay cash or boost its stock price, it may have trouble luring more talent," concludes columnist Heidi N. Moore.
I disagree. Do you think star talent is going to be wooed by stock options being offered by floundering radio broadcasters like Cox (NYSE: CXR), Cumulus (Nasdaq: CMLS), or Beasley (Nasdaq: BBGI)? If you think Sirius XM's share price is low, some terrestrial radio networks like Citadel (NYSE: CDL), Regent (Nasdaq: RGCI), and Radio One (Nasdaq: ROIAK) couldn't even make it on a dollar menu these days.
Stock as legal tender may not seem all that appealing at Sirius XM, but it's all relative. Besides, at least Sirius and XM continue to grow their respective subscriber rolls. Sirius XM expects to tack on another three million subscribers next year. At least there's the perception of growth. If the merger's synergies result in material cost savings -- and how can they not, really -- the company's bottom line will improve as well.
In short, the talent will keep migrating to satellite radio.
In shorter, it's a Foxx hunt.
More news than static before the ultimate Sirius-XM hookup:
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