Liberty Media rescues Sirius XM from bankruptcy
[Via Denver Business Journal, thanks Michael]
XmRadio posts

You've gotten a face full of the Pioneer-built Inno XMp3, but aren't you eager to find out how the bugger performs? Knowing that your head is wildly bobbing up and down as if to say "yes," we present to you CNET's take on the latest portable XM Radio. Overall, the compact unit fared pretty well in testing, as it proved to be easy to operate, easy on the eyes and just downright easy to live with. The only knocks came from the lack of photo / video viewing (yes, that includes album art for library music) and the occasional reception issue. It should be noted, however, that this "reception issue" is kind of a big deal given the nature of the device, and that quirk alone knocked it from the ranks of the elite. Still, critics felt the unit was a worthwhile purchase if you're willing to deal with a few drops, and the way we see it, those just give you ample opportunities to hone your freestyle skills. Word?
As the constant battle between the National Association of Broadcasters and nearly everyone else continues on over the potential XM / Sirius merger, the entity is now asking the FCC to put a stop on the 180-day clock for considering the junction. Reportedly, all the NAB wants is "time to go through documents it said it is getting through a Freedom of Information Request filed in March," and it seemingly feels that some of the articles it's still waiting for contain proof of "serious apparent wrongdoing by XM and Sirius executive and senior-level employees regarding the operation of FM modulators / translators and / or terrestrial repeaters." Of note, both of the aforementioned sat radio providers shot back by stating that the NAB's "allegations are unfounded and its recent filing is just an attempt to stall the process." From the outside looking in, we'd say that sounds just about right. [Warning: PDF read link]
For the XM Radio subscribers who haven't patiently waited to hastily cancel your subscription just yet, we're sure you're well aware that the outages from yesterday are still lingering on. Reportedly, "software problems resulted in the loss of one of the network's four satellite signals," and while it expected to have everything back to normal by last night, sometime today is looking more likely. The company stated that "the problem occurred during the loading of software to a critical component of the satellite broadcast system," and while XM has urged listeners to tune in online if possible, we all know this doesn't solve much. Notably, analysts are already pondering just how much loyalty (and cashflow) XM will lose from such an outage, and while we won't bother to guess, each passing minute of dead air won't do the customer satisfaction surveys any favors.








