King of All Trades » Mel Karmazin

Mel Karmazin and Greg Maffei Add Flavor to Sirius XM’s Future

king1 — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:42:52 +0000

Yesterday CITI had a Global Entertainment and Media Conference, in which Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) and Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media (NASDAQ:LINTA) spoke. There was no formal presentations by these gentleman but they were on board for answering some really good questions. This conference helped answer some important questions investors had about the company. Greg and Mel were very frank and offered valuable information investors can use to make better decisions about their investment with the company. First let us look at what Mel had to say. The first thing Mel offered was information on Q4 subscriber totals.

Mel Karmazin and Greg Maffei Add Flavor to Sirius XM’s Future King of All Trades

Look You Dumb Journalists, Liberty Is Not Acquiring Sirius XM, They Already Own It

king1 — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:49:50 +0000

For the life of me I can't understand why "journalists", and I use that term exteremely loosely here when considering the coverage of Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI), cannot understand simple math and simple facts. If I hear the NOL's mentioned one more time as why Liberty would take over Sirius XM, I'm going to scream and throw something. NOL's are 100% for Sirius XM to use, will be used 100% by Sirius XM, and has no value directly to Liberty. This is from comments from Frear (CFO of Sirius XM), Mel Karamazin (CEO of Sirius XM), and Greg Maffei (CEO of LCAPA). There is NO SCENARIO PERIOD that allows Liberty to benefit from them except as an indirect 40% stakeholder in Sirius. It gives their holding more value, as profits are protected till around 2020. That's it. That is the only benefit to the company and Liberty. LCAPA can't spin off, spit off, crunch off, roll off, spit off, or any other form of off to make them any other way. So stop it. Stop it right now. Stop your incessant babbling and learn how to understand simple concepts. And they are not valued at 8 billion, its more, and its around 3 billion in cash value. NOT 8!!! There is no magic way to add 8 billion to the asset line. It comes in small chunks as savings on profits that would have been paid to IRS.

Look You Dumb Journalists, Liberty Is Not Acquiring Sirius XM, They Already Own It King of All Trades

2012 is a Year of Decisions for Sirius XM Radio

king1 — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:03:14 +0000

According to Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI), 2008 was "the merger year" for Sirius XM Radio and 2010 was the year of transitioning to profits and free cash flow growth. Then I say 2012 is the year of decisions. 2012 will hold vital decisions on the next few years and future of the companies structure and leadership. There are many important decisions coming from the Board of Directors and possibly Liberty Media (NASDAQ:LINTA). Last week we got a glipse into what that future might hold as Greg Maffei commented on such things at the UBS Global Media Conference on Monday Dec. 5th. This conference also had David Fear, CFO of Sirius XM, speak as well. Also Mel has been beating the drum on making a decision about his future as well, as his contract will expire in December of 2012. Postering is already beginning on that front as well.

2012 is a Year of Decisions for Sirius XM Radio King of All Trades

Liberty Media Has No Plans To Add Stake in Sirius XM

king1 — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:07:54 +0000

Sorry get rich quickers. Liberty is not going to be making a large tender offer for the entire company anytime soon. Irresponsible journalism is running rampant again on issues we have been discussing for years now. According to Reuters, Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) CEO Mel Karmazin stated that no offer has come and he doesn't expect it too.

Liberty Media Has No Plans To Add Stake in Sirius XM King of All Trades

Sirius XM Float Reduced by 200 Million Upon Lent Share Return

king1 — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:47:50 +0000

On October 19th, 2011, Sirius XM filed a 8K report stating that in October, Morgan Stanley returned the borrowed shares in the 2014 convertible bond offering, issued in 2008. These shares were mostly the reason the deal was considered "toxic debt", as their stated purpose would be to "hedge" a bond position. The shares were shorted and Sirius XM went from $2.70 a share in 2008 to .05 cents in 2009. Since then the stock has recovered to as high as $2.44 in 2011 but has been experiencing some rough trading as of late and now trades at $1.77 a share. This is now a non issue as Morgan Stanley no longer considers needing these shares to hedge. This could have been hindering forward movement of the stock. This could help stabalize the price as well as allow higher prices to be more achievable. This removes a major headwind on the mechanics of the stock trading. As for the fundamental model, it doesn't affect anything. Here is what the filing stated.

Sirius XM Float Reduced by 200 Million Upon Lent Share Return King of All Trades

Sirius XM vs. Pandora/Internet Radio: Apples and Oranges?

king1 — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 19:44:09 +0000

Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) has many competitors. In this series of articles, first of which was Sirius XM vs. HD Radio, I look to find which competitors are valid and which are fiction. I was going to write individually about Pandora (NYSE:P), Spotify and I Heart Radio, but I decided there is no point. In 6 months I'd have to talk about another start up or existing internet service that is going to "crush Sirius XM". So in lieu of rewriting this article every 2 weeks, I have decided to just include all internet services in this comparision. First we must clearly define what this segment of the competition offers.

Sirius XM vs. Pandora/Internet Radio: Apples and Oranges? King of All Trades

What Exactly Does Sirius XM’s 2012 Guidance Actually Mean

king1 — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:08:53 +0000

Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) CEO Mel Karmazin on September 14 announced during the BOA Media Conference their guidance for 2012. His presentation was almost entirely new information, which was a bit of a surprise to the media present and investors who were listening. In years past these conferences held tidbits and hints of information but this time Mel was candid and forthcoming with news on Sirius 2.0, the upcoming price increase, plans for the future, and in fact guidance for 2012 earlier than promised. Mel had stated that guidance for 2012 would come during the third quarter conference call in November. Why did Mel release this information earlier than planned? I’m sure at the time Mel knew he was presenting at the Bank of America conference. It could be possible Mel was so excited about the news of 2012 and what it meant for the company (2012 was a targeted crucial year in Sirius XM’s recovery) going forward. Apparently from the lack of upgrades, price target increases, and general malaise about the presentation, I apparently am needed to explain just what exactly Sirius XM is guiding. It is more than just some numbers on a piece of paper. But first let us address some of the other aspects of the conference and what we learned from his discussion other than guidance.

What Exactly Does Sirius XM’s 2012 Guidance Actually Mean King of All Trades

Liberty Starz Battle with Netflix Could Have Larger Ramifications to the Future of Media

king1 — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:10:43 +0000

Is Netflix(NASDAQ:NFLX) now officially “dying”? The first mortal wound on a paper tiger has been struck. And look at who is in the center of it all. John Malone, Founder of Liberty Media (NASDAQ:LINTA). Since 40% of Sirius XM is owned by Liberty Capital (NASDAQ:LCAPA), Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) investors always try to listen to what Liberty Media is saying about their company and Liberty’s future plans. Well one of those plans became painfully obvious to those here at KOAT, even before Malone offered a bare bones explanation. Starz Media has declined to be part of Netflix going forward, as of right now, in any form. Money was no option. Netflix offered 10 TIMES the old contract price and still Starz said no thank you. You’re no longer going to compete with our services by allowing us to give you our exclusive content at wholesale rates. Your nothing but a monster that was created by one instant in times collective greed by content providers. Did they envision what Netflix would become? I seriously doubt it, or these media companies never would have signed the original agreements. No existing content provider creates a Netflix on purpose. They would have said, why didn’t we just do that? Dahh!! Ya, exactly idiots, why didn’t you? Well someone has finally taken a stand and said no more. You offer NOTHING we can’t offer people at some point in the future. Hence bye bye.

Liberty Starz Battle with Netflix Could Have Larger Ramifications to the Future of Media King of All Trades

Sirius XM Shifting Gears on Subscriber Metrics

king1 — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:44:17 +0000

Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) is the king of the dashboard. No other company has a greater presence there. Ford Sync and other automaker gadgets that allow easier access to the internet isn’t really designed to benefit any one company. AM/FM radio in the car benefits a large multi company conglomerate of terrestrial radio stations, but no one company. Sirius XM has much of their success tied directly to the automobile dashboard and the “drive time” consumer. Sirius XM is in over 60% of every vehicle sold in the USA and has deals with every major car manufacturer. This is all great and good for the new car market, but what about all those used cars on the road and on lots with radios in them that are not activated. Can Sirius XM create a “second net” to catch even more subscribers than simply from a new car purchase? Can we start to see proof of success in the Q2 filings?

Sirius XM Shifting Gears on Subscriber Metrics King of All Trades

Sirius XM 2nd Quarter Conference Call Proves Synergies Still Strong and Growing

king1 — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:28:10 +0000

Recently I was struck aghast by a journalist commenting that Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) synergies were "baked in" and mostly over. I responded with an article noting expected synergies from the company and what time frame they were expected in. That article was written a few weeks ago and can be found here, http://www.kingofalltrades.com/2011/07/24/sirius-xm-major-synergies-finally-being-realized/. On August 2nd, during Sirius XM's conference call and subsequent 10Q filing, I was able to also find newer support that they are indeed still growing and being realized every quarter.

Sirius XM 2nd Quarter Conference Call Proves Synergies Still Strong and Growing King of All Trades