John Eggerton

Help From Above
July 20, 2007

XM and Sirius are looking to the heavens for some help, appropriate enough for satellite radio.

In the one-upmanship battle with terrestrial broadcasters for high-profile backers of their respective positions, XM and Sirius Friday were touting the support of a respected cleric.

"XM Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: XMSR) and SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) today announce the support of His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan, the Archbishop of New York, for their pending merger," the companies crowed.

The Archbishop sees the merger as a way to extend the reach of Sirius' Catholic Channel. In an op ed Friday in the New York Post,  he called the deal a "unique opportunity to extend the reach and breadth of religious programming. It is also an unmatched opportunity to strengthen this new medium and position satellite radio to compete with the ever-growing list of audio entertainment providers."

That is a pretty strong endorsement though, curiously, Sirius and XM chose not to feature that in their release, picking the rather less emphatic “The Catholic Channel and SIRIUS Satellite Radio present a unique opportunity for the Church to speak with people – Catholic and non-Catholic alike.  I would urge all those who are considering the merger between SIRIUS and XM to see to it that this dialogue of faith can continue.”

Either way, it's "tag, your it" for NAB.

Posted by John Eggerton on July 20, 2007 | Comments (0)