Sirius Satellite Radio was a
satellite radio (
SDARS Digital audio radio service (Spectrum management) refers to any type of digital radio program service. In the United States it is the official FCC term for digital radio services.
The most popular type of DARS in the U.S. and Canada is SDARS: Satel ...
) and
online radio service operating in North America, owned by
Sirius XM Holdings
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
.
Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002. It now provides 69 streams (channels) of music and 65 streams of sports, news, and entertainment to its subscribers. Music streams on Sirius carry a wide variety of genres broadcasting 24 hours daily, commercial-free, and uncensored. A subset of Sirius music channels is included as part of the
Dish Network satellite television
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
service. Sirius channels are identified by
Nielsen Audio
Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging ...
with the label "SR" (e.g. "SR120", "SR9", "SR17").
Its
business model
A business model describes how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value,''Business Model Generation'', Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, self-published, 2010 in economic, soci ...
is to provide pay-for-service radio, analogous to the business model for premium
cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...
. Music channels are presented without advertising, while its talk channels, such as
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, '' The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terr ...
's
Howard 100 and Howard 101
Howard 100 and Howard 101 are two uncensored channels on Sirius XM, a satellite radio service that broadcasts programming affiliated with Howard Stern and ''The Howard Stern Show''. Though the channels were first broadcast on September 29, 2 ...
and
Jason Ellis'
Faction talk 103
Faction or factionalism may refer to:
Politics
* Political faction, a group of people with a common political purpose
* Free and Independent Faction, a Romanian political party
* Faction (''Planescape''), a political faction in the game ''Planes ...
, carry commercials. Because all channels are free from FCC content regulation, songs are played unedited for language; talk programs may also feature explicit content if they wish. Subscriptions are prepaid and range in price from US$14.99 monthly (US$9.99 for each additional receiver) to US$699.99 for lifetime (of the receiver equipment). There is a US$15 activation fee for every radio activated. Sirius announced it had achieved its first positive
cash flow quarter for the period ending December 2006.
Sirius launched its radio service in four states on February 14, 2002, expanding service to the rest of the contiguous U.S. by July of that year. On October 16, 2006, Sirius announced that it would be launching Sirius Internet Radio, with 78 of its 135 channels being available worldwide on the internet to any of its subscribers with a valid user name and password.
On July 29, 2008, Sirius formally completed its merger with former competitor
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its se ...
. The combined company began operating under the name
Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
On November 12, 2008, Sirius and XM began broadcasting with their new, combined channel lineups. On January 13, 2011, Sirius Satellite Radio was dissolved as a separate entity and merged into Sirius XM Radio, Inc.
Early days of Sirius
Sirius was founded by
Martine Rothblatt
Martine Aliana Rothblatt (born October 10, 1954) is an American lawyer, author, entrepreneur, and transgender rights advocate. Rothblatt graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with J.D. and M.B.A. degrees in 1981, then began to wor ...
, who served as the new company's Chairman of the Board.
Co-founder
David Margolese
David Margolese (born October 24, 1957) is an Israeli entrepreneur, philanthropist, and co-founder of Sirius XM Radio, serving as chairman and CEO from 1993 to 2002.Michael Wolff"Cruise Control,"''New York'', September 25, 2000, pp. 30-32. Conside ...
served as Chief Executive Officer and
Robert Briskman
Robert D. Briskman (born October 15, 1932) is Technical Executive of Sirius XM Radio.
He was the Chief Technical Officer and Executive Vice President, Engineering of Sirius Satellite Radio since its founding in 1991.
Briskman has been involved ...
served as President and Chief Operating Officer.
In 1990, Rothblatt founded Satellite CD Radio, Inc. in Washington, DC.
[Edmund L. Andrews]
“F.C.C. Plan For Radio By Satellite,”
''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', October 8, 1992. The company was the first to petition the
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...
to assign unused frequencies for satellite radio broadcast, which "provoked a furor among owners of both large and small
errestrialradio stations."
Rothblatt had previously helped create the
PanAmSat
The former PanAmSat Corporation founded in 1984 by Reynold (Rene) Anselmo, was a satellite service provider headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. It operated a fleet of communications satellites used by the entertainment ind ...
international satellite television system, and helped launch and served as CEO of the Geostar satellite navigation system.
In April 1992, she resigned as chairman and CEO of Sirius in order to start a medical research foundation, focused on finding a cure for her daughter's illness.
Former
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
engineer Robert Briskman, who designed the company's satellite technology, was then appointed Chairman and CEO.
[Bethany McLean]
“Satellite Killed The Radio Star,”
'' Fortune'', January 22, 2001, pp. 94-100.
Six months later, in November 1992,
Rogers Wireless
Rogers Wireless Inc. is a Canadian wireless telephone company headquartered in Toronto, providing service nationally throughout Canada. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The company had revenues of just under $15.1 billi ...
co-founder David Margolese, who had provided financial backing for the venture, acquired control of the company and succeeded Briskman. Margolese renamed the company CD Radio, and spent the next five years lobbying the FCC to allow satellite radio to be deployed, and the following five years raising $1.6 billion, which was used to build and launch three satellites into elliptical orbit from
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
in July 2000.
[Simon Romero]
“XM Satellite Radio Completes Its Financing,”
''New York Times'', July 10, 2000. The company successfully bid $83.3 million to purchase their satellite radio license. In 1997, after Margolese had obtained regulatory clearance and "effectively created the industry," the FCC also sold a license to XM Satellite Radio, which followed Sirius's example.
In November 1999, Marketing chief Ira Bahr convinced Margolese to again change the name of the company, this time to Sirius Satellite Radio, in order to avoid association with the soon-to-be-outdated CD technology.
It had secured installation deals with automakers including
Chrysler,
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
and
BMW.
Sirius launched the initial phase of its service in four cities, with the first receiver sold at Cowboy Maloney's in Jackson, MS on February 14, 2002, expanding to the rest of the
contiguous United States on July 1, 2002.
[Steve Parker]
“XM plus Sirius = Satellite Radio Monopoly,”
'' Huffington Post'', July 24, 2008. In 2001 Margolese stepped down as CEO, remaining as chairman until November 2003, with Sirius issuing a statement thanking him "for his great vision, leadership and dedication in creating both Sirius and the satellite radio industry."
The first confirmed music transmission from satellite to radio receiver for Sirius was September 1, 2000 in NYC at the current HQ of SiriusXM. Ten employees were present during the first music transmission. One being current Lawrence J. Simon Current VP Business and Ground Ops (Former B2B board member for NASCAR, Director of labs for Lockheed Martin and Grumman), Paul De Lia, Current Senior Advisor for BCG ( Former CTO for L3-Harris).
Joe Clayton, former CEO of
Global Crossing
Global Crossing was a telecommunications company that provided computer networking services and operated a tier 1 carrier. It maintained a large backbone network and offered peering, virtual private networks, leased lines, audio and video con ...
, followed as CEO from November 2001 until November 2004. He remained chairman until July 2008.
Mel Karmazin
Melvin Alan "Mel" Karmazin (born August 24, 1943) is an American executive. He was the president of Infinity Broadcasting (formally known as CBS Radio now Entercom) and eventually became the president and CEO of CBS television . From 2004–2012, ...
, former president of
Viacom, became CEO in November 2004 and remained in that position through the merger in December 2012.
[Tim Arango]
“Satellite Chat – Sirius, XM Are Exploring a Possible Merger,”
''New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'', January 26, 2005.
Merger with XM Satellite Radio and company restructuring
On February 19, 2007, Sirius announced a
merger deal with competitor
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its se ...
.
[Richard Siklos and Andrew Ross Sorkin]
“Merger Would End Satellite Radio’s Rivalry,”
''New York Times'', February 20, 2007. If the pending merger received government approval, which was required because of antitrust considerations, it would combine the two services into a single satellite radio network in the United States and would be named Sirius/XM Radio.
On March 24, 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice approved the merger of Sirius and XM.
[Philip Shenon]
''New York Times'', March 25, 2008. Approval from the FCC cleared on July 25, 2008.
Conditions of the merger included allowing any third-party company to make satellite radio devices; producing new radios that can receive both XM and Sirius channels within one year; allowing consumers to choose which channels they would like to have; freezing subscription rates for three years; setting aside 8% of its channels for noncommercial programmers; and paying $19.7 million in fines for past rule violations.
Content
Channels
*''
List of Sirius XM Radio channels
Since 2008, Sirius XM Radio has had a similar channel lineup, with a few differences based on whether the individual has a Sirius, XM, or SiriusXM radio. For technical reasons, separate radios continue to be manufactured for the separate services ...
''
According to a Spring 2007 Arbitron report, the five channels most listened to on Sirius based on their
average quarterly hour (AQH) share were Howard 100, Howard 101, The Highway (56), Sirius Hits 1, and Octane (37).
Howard Stern
![XM and Sirius subscribers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/XM_and_Sirius_subscribers.svg)
On October 6, 2004, Sirius announced that it had signed a five-year, US$100 million per year agreement with Howard Stern to move his radio show, The Howard Stern Show, to Sirius starting on January 9, 2006. Stern said his move was forced by the stringent regulations of the FCC whose enforcement was intensified following the
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy. In the wake of the announcement of his pending departure, Stern complained that Infinity Broadcasting was making his departure more acrimonious than was necessary. The deal, which gave Sirius exclusive rights to Stern's radio show, also gave Stern the right to build three full-time programming channels. His audience had grown almost tenfold by the end of his second year on Sirius, from fewer than 700,000 subscribers to 6 million (see graph on the right). Stern now has two channels operating on Sirius, but still retains the right to a third.
Programming content
Sirius/XM's channels carried an array of programming that covered Music, News/Talk, Sports, and Entertainment. Sirius had deals with entertainers and personalities for broadcast streams. Besides Stern, Sirius had deals with
Martha Stewart
Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pu ...
,
E Street Band
The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...
member
Steven Van Zandt
Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandoli ...
,
Jimmy Buffett, and
Eminem to executive-produce streams or channels on Sirius. Van Zandt created two stations for Sirius: the ''
Underground Garage
''Underground Garage'' is the name shared by two related but different radio outlets, a syndicated show and a satellite radio station, both created and supervised by American musician Steven Van Zandt (best known as a guitarist in Bruce Springs ...
'', dedicated to
garage rock, and ''Outlaw Country'' with its focus on
alternative country music.
The majority of the company's programming was self-produced exclusively for Sirius. However, there were some shows—especially in the Talk genre—that were originally created for terrestrial radio, but then aired on conventional radio and on Sirius/XM simultaneously; one example was the ''
Eternal Word Television Network
The Eternal Word Television Network, more commonly known by its initials EWTN, is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic-themed programming. It is not only the largest Catholic television network in ...
''.
Among the hosts with Sirius/XM shows were:
* Sports figures such as
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong ('' né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 after recovering fr ...
,
NBA Hall of Famer
Bill Walton
William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American television sportscaster and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three consecutive national ...
, sports show host
Scott Ferrall
Scott Ferrall (born July 29, 1965) is an American sports talk radio personality who hosts two shows on the SportsGrid video streaming service, Scott Ferrall: Coast to Coast and In-Game Live.
Scott's father Thomas C. Ferrall was a former radio p ...
, fantasy football experts John Hansen and Adam Caplan from
FantasyGuru.com, skateboarder
Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documen ...
, skateboarder/MTV personality
Bam Margera
Brandon Cole "Bam" Margera ( ; born September 28, 1979) is an American former professional skateboarder, stunt performer, television personality, and filmmaker. He rose to prominence in the early 2000s as one of the stars of the MTV reality ...
, and skateboarder
Jason Ellis.
* Musicians such as
Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...
,
Keith Morris
Keith Morris (born September 18, 1955) is an American singer and songwriter known for his role as frontman of the hardcore punk bands Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Off!. Born and raised in Hermosa Beach, California, he formed Black Flag at the ...
of
Black Flag,
the B-52's
The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, ...
lead singer
Fred Schneider,
Marky Ramone
Marc Steven Bell (born July 15, 1952) is an American drummer. He began playing in hard rock bands in the New York City area, notably Dust and Estus. He was asked to drum for punk rock band Richard Hell and the Voidoids. He replaced drummer Tom ...
of
The Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United S ...
, and
New York Dolls singer
David Johansen
David Roger Johansen (sometimes spelled ''David Jo Hansen''; born January 9, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under ...
.
* Veteran DJs including New York City DJ
Bruce Morrow
Bruce Morrow (born Bruce Meyerowitz on October 13, 1935 or October 13, 1937) (sources differ) is an American radio performer, known for professional purposes as Cousin Brucie or Cousin Bruce Morrow. In an October 2020 interview, Morrow said he ...
, freeform radio pioneer
Vin Scelsa
Vincent Anthony Scelsa (born December 12, 1947, in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American broadcaster who was at "the forefront of the FM radio revolution" as the host of several Freeform (radio format), freeform radio show, radio programs, the best ...
,
Richard Blade
Richard Blade (born Richard Thomas Sheppard; May 23, 1952 in Bristol, England) is a British-American Los Angeles-based radio, television, and film personality from Torquay, England. He is best known for his radio programs that feature new wave ...
,
Joe Causi and
Kid Leo
Lawrence James Travagliante—better known by his on-air moniker Kid Leo—serves as both General Manager and afternoon disc jockey on Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius XM Radio (channel 21). He first began in radio in 1973 at noted ...
.
* Original MTV veejays
Mark Goodman,
Nina Blackwood
Nina Blackwood is an American disc jockey and music journalist, who was the first of the original five MTV VJs (along with Mark Goodman, J. J. Jackson, Alan Hunter, and Martha Quinn). She has been an actress and model.
Early life and career
Bl ...
,
Alan Hunter and
Martha Quinn
Martha Conrad Quinn (born May 11, 1959) is an American actress and radio and television personality, best known as one of the original video jockeys on MTV (along with Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and J. J. Jackson).
Early life ...
.
* Hip Hop superstars
Eminem and
50 Cent, along with veterans such as
Grandmaster Flash,
Kool DJ Red Alert
Frederick Crute (born November 27, 1956), known professionally as Kool DJ Red Alert, is an American disc jockey who rose to fame on WRKS 98.7 Kiss FM in New York City and is recognized as one of the founding fathers of hip hop music and cultur ...
,
Kurtis Blow
Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper ...
, and
DJ Premier
Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop du ...
.
* Such popular dance music artists and DJs as
Paul Oakenfold
Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mas ...
,
Paul Van Dyk
Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. One of the first true renowned DJs, van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly a ...
,
Liquid Todd
A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, a ...
,
Pete Tong
Peter Michael Tong, (born 30 July 1960) is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as ''Essential Mix'' and ''Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio stre ...
,
The Riddler
The Riddler (Edward Nigma, later Edward Nygma or Edward Nashton) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #140 in O ...
and
DJ Icey
DJ Icey, (born Eddie Pappa), is an American DJ, electronic music producer, and remixer, credited by Allmusic as having helped to "jump-start the increasingly fertile dance scene in and around Orlando, FL, during the '90s." ''E, the Incredibly Stra ...
.
* Political commentators including
Bill Press
William H. Press (born April 8, 1940) is an American talk radio host, podcaster, liberal pundit and author. He was chairman of the California Democratic Party from 1993 to 1996, and is a senior political contributor on CNN. He hosts ''The Bill ...
,
Andrew Wilkow
Andrew Steven Wilkow (born August 18, 1972) is a conservative political talk radio host on the Sirius XM Patriot channel on SIRIUS channel 125 and XM channel 125. Until July 2006, Wilkow had been on WGY in Schenectady, New York, (weekday morni ...
,
Mike Church,
Rusty Humphries
Rusty Humphries (born August 29, 1965) is an American broadcaster, conservative political commentator and songwriter. He hosts the ''Rusty Humphries Rebellion'' podcast. Humphries' former nationally syndicated radio show, ''The Rusty Humphries ...
,
Mike Malloy
Michael Dennis Malloy (born July 1, 1942) is a progressive American radio broadcaster based in Atlanta. Previously his show has been carried by WSB (AM) Atlanta, WLS (AM) Chicago, the I.E. America Radio Network, the Air America Radio network, ...
,
Lynn Samuels,
Glenn Beck,
Michael Smerconish
Michael Andrew Smerconish ( ; born March 15, 1962) is an American radio host and television presenter, political commentator, newspaper columnist, author, and lawyer. He broadcasts ''The Michael Smerconish Program'' weekdays at 9:00 a.m. ET ...
, and
Sean Hannity
Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of '' The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commen ...
.
* Comedians and satirists including
Harry Shearer
Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...
,
Duane Cahill,
Mojo Nixon
Mojo Nixon (born Neill Kirby McMillan, Jr.; August 2, 1957) is an American musician and actor best known for his humorous, irreverent Novelty song "Elvis Is Everywhere" which was an alternative staple on MTV. His style can generally be defined ...
, and
Jim Breuer
James E. Breuer (born June 21, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, and radio host. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 1998 and starred in the film '' Half Baked'' (1998).
Early life
Breuer was born ...
.
* Entertainment such as Cosmo and Maxim Radio featuring Covino and Rich.
Sports
Sirius also broadcast sports content. It had exclusive satellite radio broadcasting rights to all
NFL,
CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
and
NBA games. In December 2005, Sirius announced a multi-year deal with the NBA.
The agreement also created a 24-hour NBA Radio Channel.
Sirius aired Full Court Press, an all-NBA show. On November 12, 2008, NBA games switched to XM and were replaced by
Sporting News Radio
SportsMap is a sports radio network that is distributed by Gow Media.
The SportsMap Radio Network supplies its network affiliates with a 24-hour schedule of sports programming, including call-in shows and sports updates. Over its history, through ...
.
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
games were shared with XM for the 2005–2006 season, and in 2007 Sirius/XM gained exclusive rights to NHL games. Sirius also had full
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
coverage, including a weekly show hosted by now-retired driver
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is ...
. In 2009, Sirius/XM was the first to carry live coverage of the 24-hour road race from
Le Mans.
Sirius/XM also had the rights to a number of major college sports teams, including teams in the
Big East
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
,
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
and
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
s, as well as
The University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...
. Beginning in 2005, Sirius also had exclusive radio rights to cover the
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. In August 2004, Sirius launched ''
Sirius NFL Radio
Since 2008, Sirius XM, Sirius XM Radio has had a similar channel lineup, with a few differences based on whether the individual has a Sirius, XM, or SiriusXM radio. For technical reasons, separate radios continue to be manufactured for the separat ...
'', a 24-hour radio stream for covering the NFL.
Sirius also had the only national
Horse racing talk show, ''At the Races'', hosted by noted racing handicapper, Steve Byk.
''The Hardcore Poker Show'', hosted by Rob Pizzo and Chris Tessaro, was the only syndicated poker talk show in North America.
Sirius also broadcast select
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
matches. On September 27, 2006 Sirius announced a deal to add
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
soccer to their lineup. Sirius had exclusive radio rights to broadcast the ESPN television feed of the Euro 2008 championships. Sirius also aired a soccer talk show called "The Football Show" with former Metrostars GM
Charlie Stillitano
Charlie Stillitano is an American sports executive and radio presenter. He currently serves as the Executive Chairman of Sports, the company that hosts the International Champions Cup, and as a host of ''The Football Show'' on SiriusXM FC 157 wh ...
and former International Italian star
Giorgio Chinaglia
Giorgio Chinaglia (; 24 January 1947 – 1 April 2012) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with Swansea Town in 1964. He later returned to Italy to ...
. On Saturdays and Sundays during premier league season, Sirius aired Radio ''
606
__NOTOC__
Year 606 ( DCVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 606 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...
'', a classic radio call-in show from the UK discussing all of the days top matches.
On September 15, 2008,
Chris Russo
Christopher Michael Russo (born October 18, 1959), also known as Mad Dog, is an American sports radio personality best known as the former co-host of the '' Mike and the Mad Dog'' sports radio program with Mike Francesa, which was broadcast on ...
launched his own show called ''
Mad Dog Unleashed''.
After the merger between Sirius and XM was completed,
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
games remained exclusive to XM Radio as a result of an arrangement dispute between MLB and Sirius XM, which prevented Sirius subscribers from listening to games. However, on August 19, 2013, Sirius XM reached an agreement with MLB allowing all customers with both Sirius and XM receivers to hear the games with a premium subscription.
SiriusXM for Business
In August 2003, Sirius partnered with
Clearwater, Florida-based
Applied Media Technologies Corporation
Applied Media Technologies Corporation (AMTC) is a Tampa, Florida-based provider of commercial sound equipment, "on hold" messaging to US and Canadian businesses under the brand name TelAdvantage, and background music for businesses as a partne ...
, a provider of telephone "on hold" messaging.
AMTC provides Sirius service in a package branded as ''Sirius Music for Business''. For US$29.95 per month, AMTC provides all of Sirius' streams of commercial-free music, and pays all performance royalties to
ASCAP,
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 20.6 mill ...
, and
SESAC, so that business owners may legally play Sirius' music in their establishments.
Unlike the music services
Muzak
Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name has been in use since 1934, and has been owned by a division or subsidiary of one or another company ever since. In 1981, Westingho ...
/
DMX Music
DMX, A Mood Media company, is a "Multi-sensory" branding agency based in Austin, Texas. DMX also provides music for cable and satellite television networks worldwide, including DSTV in Africa. It was the first company to offer music by satelli ...
or
Music Choice
Music Choice (abbreviated as MC) is an American television music service that digitally broadcasts audio-based music channels and video-related content to cable television providers in the United States. Music Choice reaches 65 million househol ...
, the SiriusXM for Business service uses the same channels and
SDARS Digital audio radio service (Spectrum management) refers to any type of digital radio program service. In the United States it is the official FCC term for digital radio services.
The most popular type of DARS in the U.S. and Canada is SDARS: Satel ...
delivery platform as the consumer Sirius service. The SDARS delivery platform, on the other hand, is more reliable than any of the other services in that it is not subject to satellite dish
rain fade. The
highly elliptical orbit
A highly elliptical orbit (HEO) is an elliptic orbit with high eccentricity, usually referring to one around Earth.
Examples of inclined HEO orbits include Molniya orbits, named after the Molniya Soviet communication satellites which used them ...
of the Sirius satellite constellation can pose difficulties for the reliable delivery of the signal to stationary antennas in certain parts of the country. To eliminate this potential problem, Sirius launched a new
geostationary satellite
A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitude ...
, FM-5, to improve service to non-mobile customers such as those of SiriusXM for Business. The service can also be accessed online using Sirius' online streaming technology, allowing any business with a broadband Internet connection to overcome any potential reception issues. Additionally, Sirius applied for repeaters in Hawaii and Alaska and has already been granted authority for 20 repeaters covering the island of
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
by the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
(FCC).
Sirius Backseat TV
In March 2007, Sirius announced the availability of its first video service called "Backseat TV". In August 2007, the company revealed details of the first receiver, the SCV1, was originally offered exclusively through Chrysler OEM factory units. The service includes streaming video from three "family" television channels:
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
,
Disney Channel and
Cartoon Network Mobile. There is a single screen (or a dual screen option in the
Chrysler Town and Country and
Dodge Grand Caravan
The Chrysler minivans are a series of minivans that have been produced and marketed by the American automaker Chrysler since the 1984 model year. Currently in its sixth generation, the model line is marketed worldwide, primarily in North Ameri ...
) for back seat passengers to watch while front seat passengers have the option of simultaneously listening to any normal Sirius radio channel. The service is reported to cost an additional US$6.99 per month on top of the standard Sirius subscription price.
The MSRP of the factory installed units is US$470 and the aftermarket unit has an MSRP of US$299.99. Both were made available in the fourth quarter of 2007.
As of 1 January 2016 the service has been discontinued.
Other content
In June 2005, Sirius signed an agreement with
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
in the UK to rebroadcast the station to an American audience. In August 2011, Sirius dropped
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
, but a week later they announced that the channel would return online.
Sirius also had exclusive satellite radio rights to
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, carrying two separate streams. The Sirius NPR NOW programming didn't include the popular programs
All Things Considered
''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
and
Morning Edition
''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...
.
With the launch of Sirius Canada in December 2005, American listeners gained five Canadian-produced stations including
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of C ...
,
CBC Radio Three
CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music.
The service, which lanu ...
and
Iceberg Radio, and ''
Première Plus'',
Énergie2, and ''
Bande à part'' for French listeners. Iceberg Radio is programmed by
Standard Broadcasting Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object t ...
, which also provides a number of additional channels exclusive to Canada; the other four come from the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
. After a delay and outcry from Canadian subscribers, Sirius Canada added Howard Stern's Channel 100 to their lineup in early 2006.
Channel 101
Channel 101 is a non-profit monthly short film festival in Los Angeles, which has a sister festival in New York City, Channel 101 NY. Channel 101 is a creation of Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab in which participants submit a short film in the format ...
, Stern's other channel (featuring
Bubba the Love Sponge
Bubba the Love Sponge Clem (born Todd Alan Clem, April 23, 1966) is an American radio personality who hosts ''The Bubba the Love Sponge Show'' on the radio station WWBA in Tampa, Florida, and the subscription service Bubba Army Radio. He can al ...
,
Scott Ferrall
Scott Ferrall (born July 29, 1965) is an American sports talk radio personality who hosts two shows on the SportsGrid video streaming service, Scott Ferrall: Coast to Coast and In-Game Live.
Scott's father Thomas C. Ferrall was a former radio p ...
, and other personalities), were made available in late June 2006.
Talk radio content recently added onto Sirius Satellite Radio include the ABC News and Talk channel 143 (since having ceased operations), including live feeds of Sean Hannity and Larry Elder's syndicated radio shows, Patriot Talk channel 125 (which includes Michael Reagan's syndicated radio show) and Fox News Talk channel 145 (which includes syndicated radio hosts such as Alan Colmes and John Gibson).
On March 14, 2006, Sirius added
Cosmo Radio
Cosmo Radio was a channel on Sirius XM Radio. The station launched on March 14, 2006 as a collaboration between SIRIUS Satellite Radio and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine. The programs featured everything that ''Cosmopolitan'' offered like advice on ...
,
Playboy Radio
Playboy Radio was an internet radio station originally launched on XM Satellite Radio on September 1, 2002. Its programming was dedicated to similar topics and celebrity personalities found in its parent publication, Playboy Magazine. It was ...
, and returned the audio simulcast of the Fox News Channel TV feed, which was previously removed during a contract dispute. The service also added Fox's satellite talk radio channel,
Fox News Talk.
In April 2003, Sirius launched
Sirius OutQ
OutQ was a news, talk and entertainment channel on Sirius XM Radio, targeted for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender audiences. The channel was available to Sirius and XM subscribers in both the United States and Canada.
Personalities associ ...
, the first-ever 24/7 talk channel designed for the
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
audience. Personalities associated with the channel include
Frank DeCaro,
Michelangelo Signorile
Michelangelo Signorile (; born December 19, 1960) is an American journalist, author and talk radio host. His radio program is aired each weekday across the United States and Canada on Sirius XM Radio and globally online. Signorile was editor- ...
,
Derek Hartley, and
Romaine Patterson.
In addition to the audio programming, the Sirius broadcast stream also carries a ''Data Services'' channel that is utilized by capable receivers and graphical display hardware. Some of the data services offered are traffic speed and flow, marine weather, and fuel prices to name just a few. Examples of capable hardware are the
Raymarine
Raymarine is a manufacturer and major supplier of electronic equipment for marine use. The company targets both recreational and light commercial markets with their products, which include:
* GPS Chartplotters
* VHF Radios
*Digital Fishfinders ...
SR100 Satellite Weather receiver and the Alpine NVE-N872A Satellite Traffic Ready navigation system.
Exclusive channels
*''
The Howard Stern Show
''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...
'' aka Howard 100 and Howard 101
*
Elvis Radio
Since 2008, Sirius XM Radio has had a similar channel lineup, with a few differences based on whether the individual has a Sirius, XM, or SiriusXM radio. For technical reasons, separate radios continue to be manufactured for the separate services ...
*
Iceberg Radio
*
CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music.
The service, which la ...
*
Rock Velours
*
Énergie2
*Sports extra
*
Hardcore Sports Radio
*Sports express
*ESPN All Access
*Radio Korea
*NPR Talk
*
RCI +
*
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of C ...
*
The Weather Network
The Weather Network (TWN) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language weather information specialty channel available in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. It delivers weather information on television, ...
Satellite Radio Service
*
Sporting News Radio
SportsMap is a sports radio network that is distributed by Gow Media.
The SportsMap Radio Network supplies its network affiliates with a 24-hour schedule of sports programming, including call-in shows and sports updates. Over its history, through ...
Technology
The Sirius signal is separated into three carriers, one each for the two satellites, and the third for the terrestrial repeater network where available. Sirius receivers decode all three 4 MHz carrier signals at once to achieve
signal diversity. This is in contrast to XM which uses six carriers and decodes three 2 MHz carriers to economize on receiver power consumption and complexity at the cost of channel-changing speed. There is an intentional four-second delay between the two satellite carrier signals. This enables the receiver to maintain a large buffer of the audio stream, which, along with
forward error correction, helps keep the audio playing in the event that the signal is temporarily lost, such as when driving under an overpass or otherwise losing
line-of-sight of any of the satellites or ground repeater stations.
A third, separate signal is uplinked to the AMC-6
Ku-band
The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally german: Kurz-unten), because it is the lower part of the ori ...
satellite and received by
satellite dishes for the ground repeater network. This third signal is broadcast on a third segment of the signal.
Signal architecture and early prototypes
The technology for Sirius Satellite Radio receivers as well as some of the uplink equipment, and the studio encoder, originated at Bell Labs in the late 1990s and subsequent years. The studio encoder was a result of Bell Labs' efforts in statistical multiplexing of perceptual audio coded signals, a cousin of the MP3 standards. The waveform design for the terrestrial and satellite signals, as well as the early prototype receivers, were implemented in an
FPGA logic and tested in the field to verify the performance of the receivers. This work was contracted by Sirius to
Lucent Technologies
Lucent Technologies, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey. It was established on September 30, 1996, through the divestiture of the former AT&T Technologies business u ...
, at the time a spinoff of AT&T. Early prototypes were followed by a number of generations of
ASIC custom designed chipsets, supplied at first by Agere Systems and later supplied by Agere Systems and their competitor STMicroelectronics.
Three signals from three different sources (satellite, satellite, and terrestrial) are therefore combined in the receiver as radio signals, (not as audio signals). The three signals need to be combined constructively (avoiding situations where bad signals pollute good signals) in the receiver before being decoded. Heavy error correction is applied to the signals. All three signals contain the same audio content on all the channels that the receiver can receive, with the exception of one audio program waveform being transmitted ahead of the other two by approximately four seconds. With this time skew, the signals, once realigned, need to see an 8-second obstruction of overpass fade in order to lose audio content. This increases the robustness of the signal delivery in most driving conditions.
In order to recover meaningful signal and error-free audio from a signal impaired by interference and fading, the receiver uses concatenated Reed-Solomon block coding and Forward Error Correction encoding and decoding (codec). This technique was proven in the early days of satellite modems in the late 1970s. Linkabit, then run by Irwin Jacobs prior to his involvement with Qualcomm, offered such a codec for rack mounting in satellite earth stations. The Sirius signal uses more robust error correction on control channels than on the audio content, trading off error correction and bandwidth differently for separate categories of bits in the signal waveform.
The terrestrial carrier is an OFDM QPSK signal, and cousin to WiMax and LTE, with the particular feature that more than one transmitter operates on the same frequency, forming a single frequency network. A number of transmitters can be placed around a city to create coverage that is less subject to fading than if a single transmitter were used. The satellite signal is QPSK. Both satellite and terrestrial signals have hierarchical modulation superposed on the original signal, a measure created to add bandwidth at a small expense in the satellite link budget for decoding the core audio content.
This architecture has worked remarkably well in avoiding drop out of audio signal when driving under highway overpasses, and when scintillating (very deep and frequent losses in signal strength caused by radio fading from trees) conditions exist. Since Sirius and XM separately entered the market with incompatible waveforms on the satellite, one would logically conclude that the merged company will eventually evolve the signal format again to take advantage of their size, but this is a speculative statement. The use of a satellite and terrestrial combined service has been adopted by the
DVB-SH
DVB-SH ("Digital Video Broadcasting - Satellite services to Handhelds") is a physical layer standard for delivering IP based media content and data to handheld terminals such as mobile phones or PDAs, based on a hybrid satellite/terrestrial dow ...
standard, and companies such as ICO communications who cooperated with Alcatel-Lucent on system design and field trials. ONDAS, a Madrid-based company, also adopted this pioneering system architecture.
Receiver technology
The receiver is designed to mitigate and retain signal quality in hostile signal conditions and the relatively weak signal levels from distant satellites. Because the satellites are not all geostationary they appear and disappear over the horizon. Terrestrial signals are present only in major cities to augment the satellite signals.
Approximately five chipset versions were built by Agere and approximately 4 versions were built by
STMicroelectronics after the initial prototypes, although all of the early receivers included an Agere chipset known as Northstar. This platform enjoyed the highest volume of chipsets to date, representing the bulk of total production from 2002 to 2010. As of 2010, most of the chipsets are produced by STMicroelectronics.
At the heart of a Sirius receiver is a custom application-specific integrated circuit (
ASIC) chip called the ''Baseband Integrated Circuit'' currently the STA240, which is produced by STMicroelectronics. The chip contains embedded
ARM7TDMI
ARM7 is a group of 32-bit reduced instruction set computer, RISC ARM architecture, ARM processor cores licensed by ARM Holdings for microcontroller use. The ARM7 core family consists of ARM700, ARM710, ARM7DI, ARM710a, ARM720T, ARM740T, ARM71 ...
and ARM946E-S microprocessors synthesized from
IP core
In electronic design, a semiconductor intellectual property core (SIP core), IP core, or IP block is a reusable unit of logic, cell, or integrated circuit layout design that is the intellectual property of one party. IP cores can be licensed to ...
s. Every baseband has a unique Electronic Serial Number (or Sirius ID). Another major section of a Sirius receiver is the tuner. The tuner is also a custom
ASIC, the STA210. The tuner connects to the antenna, and receives the incoming satellite and terrestrial signals at 2.315 GHz and downconverts them to
intermediate frequency signals at around 75 MHz. The strength of the signals is approximately −50dBm in clear-sky conditions. The IF signals are fed to the STA240, which are digitized, demodulated, error-corrected, de-interleaved, and decrypted using specialized circuits on the chip. The baseband processor utilizes a 16MB
SDRAM memory to buffer four seconds of one of the satellite signals in order to bring it into time coincidence with the other for
Maximal-ratio combining. On newer receivers with a "pause" feature, a dual-port PSRAM is employed to store up to 60 minutes of the selected channel. The baseband processor outputs digital audio over a Serial Peripheral Interface, which is fed to a D/A converter to produce the analog audio signal. The front-end of a Sirius receiver is called the ''head unit'', required to display descriptive text (such as the category, channel, artist, and song name) and provide controls to the user. This is implemented by the third-party designers of Sirius-ready receivers, using a microprocessor of their choice.
Sirius offers car radios and home entertainment systems, as well as car and home kits for portable use. The Sirius receiver includes the antenna module and the receiver module. The antenna module picks up signals from the ground repeaters or the satellite, amplifies the signal and filters out any interference. The signal is then passed on to the receiver module. Inside the receiver module is a chipset consisting of eight chips. The chipset converts the signals from 2.3 gigahertz (GHz) to a lower intermediate frequency. Sirius also offers an adapter that allows conventional car radios to receive satellite signals.
Sirius broadcasts using 12.5 MHz of the
S band between 2320 and 2332.5 MHz. Audio channels are digitally compressed using a proprietary variant of
Lucent
Lucent Technologies, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey. It was established on September 30, 1996, through the divestiture of the former AT&T Technologies business u ...
's
Perceptual Audio Coder compression algorithm and encrypted with a proprietary
conditional access system. Sirius has announced that they intend to implement
hierarchical modulation
Hierarchical modulation, also called layered modulation, is one of the signal processing techniques for multiplexing and modulating multiple data streams into one single symbol stream, where base-layer symbols and enhancement-layer symbols are sy ...
technology to economize on bandwidth up to 25%.
Each receiver must be connected to an external antenna, which is included with the receiver. Antenna placement is crucial to receiving a clear signal. In some locations users have experienced difficulty receiving the Sirius programming because the signal is not consistently strong. For the best reception, antennas should be placed such that they have an unobstructed view of the sky (preferably on rooftops without overhanging
eaves or trees). If this is not an option, the antenna should be placed on an exterior wall. When placing on an exterior wall, the antenna should be mounted to a wall which faces the southern continental United States in order to minimize the likelihood of the building itself blocking the signal.
Satellite technology
Sirius' satellites are named Radiosat because there is already a fleet of satellites named
Sirius
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CM ...
, launched by Sweden's NSAB (Nordiska Satellitaktiebolaget, or Nordic Satellite AB, and known today as
SES Sirius
SES Sirius, formerly called Nordic Satellite AB (NSAB) was the owner and operator of the two Sirius satellites, which provide the Nordic countries and the Baltic states, with TV, radio, data and communications solutions. The company is today entir ...
) and used for general telecommunications and
satellite television
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
throughout
Sweden and the rest of
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
.
The current primary uplink facility for Sirius, which was formerly used as the uplink site for
Western Union
The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company cha ...
's
Westar
Westar was a fleet of geosynchronous communications satellites operating in the C band which were launched by Western Union from 1974 to 1984. There were seven Westar satellites in all, with five of them launched and operating under the Westar ...
fleet of communication satellites from the early 1970s to the late 1980s, is located in
. The original facility was located on the roof of the building housing the Sirius studios in
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
but has since been decommissioned.
Sirius' spacecraft Radiosat 1 through Radiosat 4 were manufactured by
Space Systems/Loral
SSL, formerly Space Systems/Loral, LLC (SS/L), of Palo Alto, California, is a wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Maxar Technologies.
SSL designs and builds satellites and space systems for a wide variety of government and commercial cus ...
. The first three of the series were orbited in 2000 by
Proton K
The Proton-K, also designated Proton 8K82K after its GRAU index or SL-12 after its model number, 8K82K, was a Russian, previously Soviet Union, Soviet, launch vehicle, carrier rocket derived from the earlier Proton (rocket), Proton. It was built ...
Block-DM3 launch vehicles, with the final three-satellite constellation completed on November 30, 2000. Radiosat 4, built as a ground spare for the now-decommissioned elliptical mission, was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution's
National Air and Space Museum in October 2012. It is on display at the
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous ...
. The satellites are based on the Space Systems/Loral 1300 platform. Before the elliptical satellites were decommissioned, all three satellites broadcast directly to the consumer's receiver, but due to the highly elliptical orbit only two of them broadcast at any given time. Today the satellites are located in the southern sky in the United States.
Satellites Radiosat 1 through Radiosat 3, now decommissioned, fly in
geosynchronous
A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...
(not
geostationary)
Tundra orbit
A Tundra orbit (russian: орбита «Тундра») is a highly elliptical geosynchronous orbit with a high inclination (approximately 63.4°), an orbital period of one sidereal day, and a typical eccentricity between 0.2 and 0.3. A satelli ...
s. Like the geostationary orbit, the tundra orbit has a period of 23 hours, 56 minutes (one
sidereal day). Unlike the geostationary orbit, the tundra orbit is elliptical, not circular, and is inclined with respect to the
equator rather than orbiting directly over it. The eccentric orbit ensures that each satellite spends about 16 hours of each day high over the
continental United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
. At least one satellite is always visible, with another often visible as well. The orbit's high inclination places
apogee
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion.
General description
There are two apsides in any ell ...
just west of
Hudson Bay in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, providing a much higher elevation angle for most of the country than is possible from a geostationary orbit. This was intended to reduce blockage from tall buildings in urban areas, allowing a much smaller terrestrial repeater network than does sister network XM, which uses geostationary orbits. This system has since been decommissioned in favor of newer geostationary satellites located at 96.0° and 116.15° that support both the Sirius and XM platforms.
On June 8, 2006, Space Systems/Loral announced that it was awarded a contract for the fifth Sirius spacecraft.
The new spacecraft features a nine-meter unfurlable reflector. The first four Sirius spacecraft used more traditional parabolic reflectors. The new satellite has been designed for geostationary orbit, unlike the other satellites in the constellation; the different orbit has the stated purpose of allowing for more consistent reception for fixed location users (many subscribers have reported having to regularly reposition their antennas for optimal reception). Radiosat 5 (FM-5) is in a
geostationary orbit at 96.0° West. It was launched June 30, 2009, and announced to be in service as of September 9, 2009.
On October 14, 2010, the XM-5 satellite was launched aboard an
International Launch Services
International Launch Services, Inc. (ILS) is a joint venture with exclusive rights to the worldwide sale of commercial Angara and Proton rocket launch services. Proton launches take place at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan while Angara is l ...
(ILS)
Proton vehicle. It was placed into a geostationary orbit at 85.2° West to serve the eastern half of the United States. It is named XM-5 because it serves as an in-orbit spare that can replace both the Sirius Radiosat satellites and the XM satellites. The satellite was manufactured by Space Systems/Loral and was fully operational on December 3, 2010.
On February 29, 2008, the launch service provider International Launch Services (ILS) announced a contract which includes a launch of the SIRIUS FM-6 satellite on a Proton
Briz M launch vehicle.
The launch planned for March 6, 2012, was canceled due to concerns with a design defect in the solar panel deployment. The Radiosat 6 (FM-6) satellite was launched on October 25, 2013, and was put in a geostationary orbit at 116.15° West which services the western half of the United States.
Satellites
*
Sirius FM-1
CD Radio 1, also known as Radiosat 1, was an American communications satellite which was operated by Sirius XM Radio, previously Sirius Satellite Radio. It was constructed by Space Systems Loral and was based on the LS-1300 satellite bus. Launch oc ...
(Radiosat 1). Launch occurred on 30 June 2000.
*
Sirius FM-2
Sirius FM-2, also known as Radiosat 2, was an American communications satellite which was operated by Sirius XM Radio, previously Sirius Satellite Radio. It was constructed by Space Systems Loral and was based on the LS-1300 satellite bus. Launch o ...
(Radiosat 2). Launch occurred on 5 September 2000.
*
Sirius FM-3
Sirius FM-3, also known as Radiosat 3, was an American communications satellite which was operated by Sirius XM Radio, previously Sirius Satellite Radio. It was constructed by Space Systems Loral and was based on the LS-1300 satellite bus. Launch o ...
(Radiosat 3). Launch occurred on 30 November 2000.
*
Sirius FM-4
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CMa ...
(Radiosat 4). Ground spare, was not launched into orbit. Donated to Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in October 2012.
*
Sirius FM-5
Sirius FM-5, also known as Radiosat 5, is an American communications satellite which is operated by Sirius XM Radio. It was constructed by Space Systems Loral, based on the LS-1300 bus, and carries a single transponder designed to transmit in the ...
(Radiosat 5). Launch occurred 30 June 2009.
*
Sirius FM-6
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CMa ...
(Radiosat 6). Launch occurred October 25, 2013.
Receivers
, Sirius receivers were available for various new
Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
Th ...
,
BMW,
Chrysler,
Dodge,
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
,
Jaguar,
Jeep,
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...
,
Lexus
is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...
,
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
,
Mazda
, commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan.
In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...
,
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
,
Mercury,
MINI
The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
,
Mitsubishi,
Scion
Scion may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
*Scion, a playable class in the game '' Path of Exile'' (2013)
*Atlantean Scion, a device in the ''Tomb Raider'' video game series
*Scions, an alien race in the video game ''B ...
,
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
(except
Corolla),
Porsche,
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...
, and
Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
vehicles, and the service plans on adding availability for portable use.
Subaru offers Sirius on the Forester and Impreza. Starting in 2006, all
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
vehicles sold in the United States came with a Sirius radio and lifetime subscription as standard equipment. Sirius had an exclusive contract for VW and Audi vehicles from 2007 through 2012, and with
Kia Motors
Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...
from 2008 through 2014, with an optional extension to 2017. Beginning in the 2007 model year,
Bentley vehicles have had Sirius as an option, and it became standard equipment in several models beginning in 2008.
Porsche switched to
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its se ...
on their vehicles beginning with the 2007 model year. Currently, only Toyota (including its Lexus and Scion divisions) and Subaru offer both Sirius and XM contracts (however both companies usually equip vehicles with XM).
Sirius also makes several receivers for aftermarket installations such as the Sportster4, Starmate Replay, Sirius S50 with a built-in 1GB MP3 player, and the Sirius One. Radios from Sirius include:
* Sportster 5 – plug and play radio with a color screen and one hour of storage
*
Sirius Stiletto 100 – the first portable Sirius radio that allows subscribers to listen to live Sirius programming. The Stiletto boasts a 2 gigabyte memory, which is roughly equivalent to 100 hours of recording time. The unit's batteries give the user approximately 30 hours of life. The unit also features Wi-Fi technology, which is used as a backup to stream music from the Internet when a clear signal strength is not readily available from the built-in antenna. Sirius' partnerships with Napster and Yahoo Music provide additional content for Stiletto users.
*
Sirius Stiletto 10 -The "feature"-lite version to the Stiletto 100. The Stiletto 10 offers all that the Stiletto 100 offers but does not offer Wi-Fi, MP3/WMA playback and only offers 256 megabytes of storage space (about 10 hours of Sirius programming). The Stiletto 10 offers Artist and Song Seek – Not featured on the Stiletto 100 or Stiletto 2. This seek function watches for a driver's favorite artists and songs that he or she wants to hear and will let him or her know when they are playing on any other station.
*
Sirius Stiletto 2
Sirius Stiletto was a brand of satellite radio portable media player, portable media players from Sirius Satellite Radio. The original model, the Stiletto 100, was launched in October 2006. (A predecessor, the Sirius S50, was portable but was un ...
– the newest portable Sirius radio. A slimmer, improved version of the Stilleto 100. Has a microSD slot behind the battery for storing MP3/WMA files and playlists (not Sirius content). Wi-Fi support expanded to handle WPA and WPA2 (non-Enterprise) with passcodes.
* Sportster 3 was the first radio to use the new universal dock station.
* Sirius S50 – the first portable Sirius radio – which is not a LIVE portable, it has to be plugged into a home or car dock where content can be downloaded for later listening. The RIAA through its efforts to amend the Audio Home Recording Act and its lawsuit against XM Radio has crippled the S50 as it tried to limit the number and quality of downloads available to consumers.
* Sirius Starmate ST1 (note: ST1C is the Canadian version)
* Sirius Starmate Replay ST2
* Sirius Sportster Exec. Docking Station Package
* Sirius Sportster Radio with Boombox Package
* Tivoli Sirius Table Radio
* Kenwood H2EV Radio with Car and Home Kits
*
Clarion Calypso Sirius Radio with Car Kit
* XACT XTR1 Radio with Car Kit
* SiriusConnect for Pioneer SIR-PNR1 which can be modified to provide a Serial or USB Serial interface to control the radio.
On-line media streaming options
For an additional fee, Sirius subscribers are also able to access all of the proprietary music channels and most of the talk stations via
streaming media through Sirius.com. A standard 64 kbit/s and "Premium" 128 kbit/s feed are available.
Alternatives to the browser-based player are available such as a
Yahoo! Widget (designed to look like a miniature Sportster model receiver), and SIRIUS Internet Radio Player (based on Windows Media Player and available as a plug-in or standalone application). Both alternatives have gained popularity with streaming listeners, and offer artist and track name information updated in real time, which is an improvement from the online Sirius player.
Recently, SiriusXMStream has come available as a replacement to uSirius. It offers a server capability to stream Sirius and XM programming to game consoles and mobile phones as an alternative to the iPhone And Blackberry app.
NiceMac LLC, creator of the StarPlayr and StarLightXM product lines have created clients for Mac, PC, Windows Mobile and iPhone. The company merged with Millard Software and released a private beta of uSirius StarPlayr, a Sirius XM iPhone client, but on March 8th, 2009 the beta was discontinued. Early 2019, StarPlayrX, an accessible and open source
Swift
Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to:
* SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks
** SWIFT code
* Swift (programming language)
* Swift (bird), a family of birds
It may also refer to:
Organizations
* SWIFT, ...
version was released to Apple's App Store.
CatPig Studios Inc. has also released
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rathe ...
for Mac, a general-purpose internet radio player that supports XM and Sirius. In early 2010, Rogue Amoeba software released Pulsar, a standalone Sirius-XM player for Mac OS X.
In addition to being available through Sirius.com, Howard Stern's website offers a
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
application that streams the two Stern-themed channels. The site also states that Stern-specific video and audio clips would be made available at a later date.
Apple iOS app
Sirius XM has developed a software application for use on the
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
iPhone,
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating ...
and
iPod Touch devices that allows its subscribers and users of those devices to listen to its programming. The application was released and available for download on the evening of June 17, 2009. The Sirius XM app is available at the iTunes App Store. Also integrated into the app is a "click to buy" function where if a user clicks any song title playing on Sirius XM they are given the option to be taken to the iTunes Music Store where they can purchase the track or album. Due to the terms of a new contract, the Howard Stern channels were added on Tuesday, December 21.
Android app
Sirius XM has developed a streaming
app for the
Android Smartphone platform. This app is available free of charge in the market, and requires an additional US$3.49/mo to subscribe to. The app features all of the content available on a standard Sirius receiver.
BlackBerry app
Sirius XM has also developed an application for use on certain
3G-enabled Rim
BlackBerry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...
smartphones. Much like its Apple counterpart, it features a restricted 120-channel lineup featuring most of the music channels and selected talk programming. As with the Apple app, some select programming, including MLB Play-by-Play, NFL Play-by-Play, SIRIUS NASCAR Radio are not available on the Blackberry. Shortly after signing a new contract, Howard Stern began promoting the mobile app, and his content was added to the mobile offerings.
Blackberry smartphones currently compatible with the Sirius app:
*
BlackBerry Bold The BlackBerry Bold is a line of smartphones developed by BlackBerry, Ltd. The family was launched in 2008 with the 9000 Model. In 2009 the form factor was shrunk with the 9700 and the Tour 9630. In 2010 BlackBerry released the 9650 and 9780 refr ...
(excluding the 9900 and the 9930)
*
BlackBerry Curve 8330
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
1
*
BlackBerry Curve 8500
BlackBerry Curve is a brand of professional smartphones that were manufactured by BlackBerry Ltd from 2007 until 2013.
Early series
Curve 8300 Series
The BlackBerry Curve brand was introduced on May 3, 2007 with OS version 4.5 with the Curve 8 ...
*
BlackBerry Curve 8900
BlackBerry Curve is a brand of professional smartphones that were manufactured by BlackBerry Ltd from 2007 until 2013.
Early series
Curve 8300 Series
The BlackBerry Curve brand was introduced on May 3, 2007 with OS version 4.5 with the Curve 8 ...
*
BlackBerry Storm
*
BlackBerry Storm 2
*
BlackBerry Tour
The BlackBerry Tour is a consumer smartphone developed by Research In Motion and is part of the 9600 device series. This high-end messaging phone combines the multimedia features of the Curve with the global roaming of the 8830 (with the addition ...
1 If OS version is above 5.0.239
In Canada
In November 2004, a partnership between Sirius,
Standard Broadcasting Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object t ...
and the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
filed an application with the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to introduce Sirius in Canada. The application was approved on June 16, 2005. The decision was appealed to the
Canadian federal cabinet by a number of broadcasting, labour, and arts and culture organizations, including the
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting (FRIENDS) is a Canadian advocacy group that monitors developments in the Canadian television and radio broadcasting industries. The group promotes expansion of public broadcasting, investment in Canadian content, a ...
,
CHUM Limited
CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in 1954. CHU ...
, and the
National Campus and Community Radio Association
The National Campus and Community Radio Association/L'Association nationale des radios étudiantes et communautaires (NCRA/ANREC) is a non-profit organization of campus radio and community radio stations in Canada.
It represents the interests of t ...
. The groups objected to Sirius’ approach to and reduced levels of
Canadian content
Canadian content (abbreviated CanCon, cancon or can-con; ) refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requirements, derived from the Broadcasting Act of Canada, that radio and television broadcasters (includ ...
and French-language programming, along with the exclusion of Canadian non-commercial broadcasting. After a lengthy debate, the cabinet rejected the appeals on September 9, 2005.
Sirius Canada
Sirius Canada was a Canadian company, a partnership between Slaight Communications, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Sirius Satellite Radio, which was one of three services licensed by the CRTC on June 16, 2005 to introduce satellite ra ...
was officially launched December 1, 2005.
In 2006 it offered a lifetime plan to subscribers that for a $549 fee it would unlock the top tier channels for unlimited use on any Sirius device, including the Internet and phone. However, the company currently only offers at maximum, a three-year subscription.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has reported poor reception in
northern Canada.
In Puerto Rico
In September 2009, The Federal Communications Commission agreed to Sirius XM's request for a
special temporary authority to operate 20 terrestrial repeaters for the satellite radio service in Puerto Rico.
The commission did so over the objections of the
Puerto Rico Radio Broadcasters Association (Asociación de Radiodifusores de Puerto Rico), who said the approval expands the Sirius XM reach outside its authorized coverage area and would allow Sirius XM to compete with terrestrial broadcasters for listeners.
After receiving communications by public officials in opposition to the broadcasters, such as
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock, in rejecting those arguments, the commission said Sirius XM's footprint already covers the island but the signal is weak and blocked by tall buildings and foliage. As for the impact on competition, the FCC said it has considered these arguments before and "declined to find that" satellite radio would harm local broadcasters.
The Sirius full terrestrial coverage is available in select sites in the cities of San Juan, Carolina, Bayamón, Cataño, Caguas and Ponce. In the rest of Puerto Rico, coverage is provided by Sirius' constellation of satellites.
Sirius Internet Radio
In October 2006, Sirius announced that it was launching a new service named Sirius Internet Radio (SIR) that offered approximately 75 of the 135 Sirius channels worldwide to people other than subscribers to its satellite radio service. Prior to this, Sirius subscribers who had a satellite radio were also able to access many of the Sirius channels via the Internet, using a special password, but the service operated at 32
kbit/s
In telecommunications, data-transfer rate is the average number of bits (bitrate), characters or symbols (baudrate), or data blocks per unit time passing through a communication link in a data-transmission system. Common data rate units are multi ...
and was only available to those who purchased a satellite radio receiver. Sirius Internet Radio is an Internet-only subscription, allowing worldwide listeners to listen to the content without having to purchase a satellite radio receiver, the internet subscription can also be heard on
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wav ...
-enabled Internet radio for consumer and business purposes such as those designed by
Grace Digital
Grace Digital Inc is a consumer electronics company based in San Diego, with research and development locations in Cambridge, England; Taipei, Taiwan; and Seoul, Korea. It was founded in 2007 by James D. Palmer and Greg Fadul. The company’s mai ...
. The service also expands the number of channels that are available to
Sirius Stiletto
Sirius Stiletto was a brand of satellite radio portable media player, portable media players from Sirius Satellite Radio. The original model, the Stiletto 100, was launched in October 2006. (A predecessor, the Sirius S50, was portable but was un ...
100 users via Wi-Fi.
Liberty Media Corporation investment
As of February 11, 2009, Sirius XM had $3.25 billion in total debt and had until February 17, 2009, to repay $175 million in bonds held by
EchoStar. EchoStar has been buying Sirius XM's debt since an unsuccessful December 2008 takeover bid. Shares of Sirius XM had been trading for less than $1 from September 10, 2008, until February 2010.
The company announced in early February 2009 that it may file for bankruptcy "as early as" Tuesday, February 17, 2009.
On February 17, 2009, Sirius entered into an investment agreement with
Liberty Media Corporation
Liberty Media Corporation (commonly referred to as Liberty Media or just Liberty) is an American mass media company controlled by chairman John C. Malone. The company has three divisions, reflecting the company's ownership stakes in Formula On ...
. Sirius received $550 million to pay maturing debt in exchange for 40% of its convertible preferred stock.
Class action lawsuits
SiriusXM has been involved in several high-profile
class action
A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
lawsuits.
* Hooker v. Sirius XM radio was settled with a settlement pool of US$35 million in response to claims that SiriusXM denies that the company used
robocalling techniques targeting non-subscribers that had received calls from SiriusXM after leasing or buying a car.
* Blessing v. Sirius XM Class Action Suit – On August 25, 2011, the Court presiding over the lawsuit, ''Blessing v. Sirius XM Radio Inc.'', approved a class action settlement. A federal judge approved a US$180 million class action lawsuit settlement with SiriusXM Satellite Radio that accuses SiriusXM of breaking the law by raising subscription rates following its 2008 merger. The settlement provided a number of benefits to current and former SiriusXM subscribers, including one free month of service.
* Turtles v. Sirius XM – SiriusXM paid up to US$99 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed by
The Turtles
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
after the satellite radio company spent years broadcasting songs recorded before 1972 without compensating labels or artists.
See also
*
Applied Media Technologies Corporation
Applied Media Technologies Corporation (AMTC) is a Tampa, Florida-based provider of commercial sound equipment, "on hold" messaging to US and Canadian businesses under the brand name TelAdvantage, and background music for businesses as a partne ...
– Primary distribution partner for SIRIUS commercial accounts
*
Commercialization of space
Commercial use of space is the provision of goods or services of Commerce, commercial value by using equipment sent into Earth orbit or outer space. This phenomenon – aka Space Economy (or New Space Economy) – is accelerating cross-sector i ...
* Digital Satellite Broadcasting Corporation, a SDARS license auction participant
*
Dish Network
*
Primosphere Limited Partnership
Primosphere Limited Partnership was one of four companies bidding for Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service, or SDARS, licenses in the United States. The service would have been an advertisement-supported digital audio service with an emphasis o ...
, a SDARS license auction participant
*
WorldSpace
1worldspace, known for most of its existence simply as WorldSpace, is a defunct satellite radio network that in its heyday provided service to over 170,000 subscribers in eastern, southern and northern Africa, the Middle East, and much of Asia w ...
, a satellite radio company
*
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its se ...
, a satellite radio company
*
Sirius XM, a satellite radio company
References
External links
* Sirius Satellite Radi
Official website(United States)
* Sirius Satellite Radi
Official website(Canada)
* Sirius Satellite Radi
All access channel guide* Sirius Satellite Radi
Printable channel guide
* FCC Spectrum Awar
{{Authority control
1994 initial public offerings
American companies established in 1990
American companies disestablished in 2011
Defunct companies based in New York City
Defunct radio broadcasting companies of the United States
Mass media companies established in 1990
Mass media companies disestablished in 2011
2008 mergers and acquisitions
1990 establishments in Washington, D.C.
2011 disestablishments in New York (state)