In my last article I concentrated on why
I was so excited to see a DISH(NASDAQ:DISH) Network executive on the Sirius XM Board after being recently appointed. Having given you an idea of how synergies can and will be achieved from a Dish perspective with Sirius XM(NASDAQ:SIRI), I will now explain how Liberty Media(NASDAQ:LCAPA) needed to be part of the picture.
DMX Music Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corp. DMX offers media and music production and distribution services for the music and entertainment,
advertising and marketing industries. The company is international leader in
multi-sensory branding, DMX has been creating unforgettable brand experiences
for commercial environments since 1971. The first music service to license and
program original artist music, DMX has rigorously researched and tested the
effects of music, video, messaging and scent on human behavior. By integrating
them into a single compelling experience, DMX helps clients drive repeat business
and build brand loyalty with the consumer.
Sonic Tap is a DMX project whose digital music service is touted as the future of music discovery. Sonic Tap does the work for you, compiling playlists from millions of DRM free songs for every mood, atmosphere, environment or experience. Sonic Tap claims that no matter what type of music you like or what you need music for, their staff of Pros has created the perfect playlist. For those of you who do not remember, Direct TV dropped Sirius XM on its programming in favor of Sonic Tap back in 2009. Liberty, through DMX and sonic tap, has had a listening audience of over 300 million people worldwide for music. They have the technical and legal experts as well as some licensing needed to make a smooth transition and expansion to other markets and streamlined operations.
In any event, as you can see if you read part one of my 2 part article, there are some interesting possibilities relating to synergies between Sirius XM, DISH Network and Liberty Media now that cannot be simply coincidence. We have seen Sirius XM in recent months become much more aggressive in distinguishing its internet radio service from the satellite service. We have seen Sirius XM add value with internet only channels as well as adding Howard Stern to the premium internet experience if that is your primary subscription. We have heard of Teleca doing work on the new edition of Sirius XMs digital library which should be a part of the 2.0
launch. We have seen ROVI providing services to Sirius XM, and recently we have seen a Board Member from DISH network come to Sirius XM as well as a former Cable company executive.
What we are also witnessing is consolidation of Sirius XMs satellite spectrum. The company appears to be much further along to this regard than previously anticipated, as the new channel lineup starting May 4th suggests. Freeing up the NGSO Sirius satellites and a good portion of their spectrum appears to be the direction the company is taking. This will mean that the Sirius NGSO satellites
and their associated orbital slots in the short order, perhaps months, will have room for expansion of services in the future. Perhaps this will tie in with the DISH/DBSD situation. We now have three companies who all use satellites and satellite technology to broadcast their medium of media entertainment sitting on the Sirius XM board. In my revue of these companies, there are several overlaps in content and capabilities on a large scale that can be shared thereby reducing costs and CAPEX across all three companies. They also can share technology in a synergistic fashion which will reduce R&D costs to all three companies, and
finally, combined, this new media team will be able to capture a large portion of the social network through its dynamic lineup of programming and features which will be leveraged across home and mobile gateways and any future technologies as they become available. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have after reading the article.
Disclosure: Long Siri, no positions in any other company mentioned at this time
By Steve Garcia
