12 ms·

SiriusXM has no competition in the satellite radio space as far as I know.

by eric_cc 7y ago

unixhero 7y ago
US and Canada only.. sigh
- m4rtink 7y ago
  This might actually be the one case where this limitation is not entirely artificial. :-) The SiriusXM sattelites are in an inclined eliptical orbit with the highes point being over the norther hemisphere. This is the so called Molniya orbit, named after the first Soviet sattelites using it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molniya_orbit https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molniya_orbit (Soviet Union had a lot of territory in higher latitudes where geostationary sattelites do not work well & the Molniya orbit needs less energy to achieve.) So in the SiriusXM case, the sattelite would be much too low to provide useful coverage when over the southern hemisphere. And even when. As for not covering EU/Asia - this could be due to either the highest point of the orbit being always over US (guessing there) or due to ground station coverage when the sattelite is not over US.
  - johannes1234321 7y ago
    And in addition population density is higher in Europe than U.S., menajng that the density of FM radio (and modern attempts like DAB/DAB+ etc.) and mobile cell base stations is also higher, thus those provide more competition.
  - wcfields 7y ago
    In 2016 Sirius discontinued broadcasting from tundra orbits. Their newest FM-5 uses geostationary. [1] Satellite radio was tried a few times in other geographies, but only in North America did it succeed. [2] In 1999 Worldspace launched for EMEAI, and looks like it collapsed in 2008. MobaHo! was a mobile satellite digital audio/video broadcasting service in Japan whose services began on October 20, 2004, and ended on March 31, 2009. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tundra_orbit#Spacecraft_using_Tundra_orbits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tundra_orbit#Spacecraft_using_... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_radio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_radio
    - m4rtink 7y ago
      Interesting, I totally missed that they use GEO now! Still pretty cool that one can receive digital radio without a directional antena from a satellite all the way up 36000 km in GEO. Though looking at the article about Tundra Orbit you have linked it was 25000 x 39000 km already, so not that much of a difference.
Pigo 7y ago
Don't they have some kind of deal with auto manufacturers, putting their system into every car coming off the line?
- mszkoda 7y ago
  Yes, they have different programs with different manufacturers. Almost all of them include between 3-12 months of free service (I think specific lines in Chrysler's lineup across brands are the only ones with 12, Alfa Romeo I know of specifically). A lot of vehicles it's actually considered an "upgrade" to the stereo system and is only included with the more premium package. A lot of people buying cars usually ask about it having Sirius or Satellite radio; they've been adding a lot of new shows and stations like comedians and they have a lot of sports. Their comedy channels are very similar to comedy podcasts and they've been growing this lineup. Having it all integrated into your vehicle without having to plug in your phone is still a big feature with older people and even some younger ones.
ivl 7y ago
They also own Pandora.
Kneecaps07 7y ago
Yeah but their real competition is streaming audio services.
kingbirdy 7y ago
It used to be that Sirius and XM were two separate companies providing competing services. Unfortunately in 2008 the US DoJ allowed them to merge on the basis that FM & internet radio were sufficient competition.
- tdhoot 7y ago
  I don't think they were wrong. Sirius or XM may not have survived on their own. XM was on the verge of bankruptcy as it is.
- nolok 7y ago
  Is the DOJ ever denying merger anymore though? European here so probably biased but I feel like US regulatory tools have taken a serious step back the last 15 / 20 years
  - tdhoot 7y ago
    The DOJ sued to stop the merger of AT&T and Time Warner (DOJ lost). The DOJ sued to stop the merger of T-Mobile and AT&T when they tried a few years back (AT&T backed down). It also sued to stop the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint (DOJ settled).

SiriusXM has no competition in the satellite radio space as far as I know.

unixhero 7y ago

US and Canada only.. sigh

m4rtink 7y ago
This might actually be the one case where this limitation is not entirely artificial. :-) The SiriusXM sattelites are in an inclined eliptical orbit with the highes point being over the norther hemisphere. This is the so called Molniya orbit, named after the first Soviet sattelites using it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molniya_orbit https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molniya_orbit (Soviet Union had a lot of territory in higher latitudes where geostationary sattelites do not work well & the Molniya orbit needs less energy to achieve.) So in the SiriusXM case, the sattelite would be much too low to provide useful coverage when over the southern hemisphere. And even when. As for not covering EU/Asia - this could be due to either the highest point of the orbit being always over US (guessing there) or due to ground station coverage when the sattelite is not over US.
- johannes1234321 7y ago
  And in addition population density is higher in Europe than U.S., menajng that the density of FM radio (and modern attempts like DAB/DAB+ etc.) and mobile cell base stations is also higher, thus those provide more competition.
- wcfields 7y ago
  In 2016 Sirius discontinued broadcasting from tundra orbits. Their newest FM-5 uses geostationary. [1] Satellite radio was tried a few times in other geographies, but only in North America did it succeed. [2] In 1999 Worldspace launched for EMEAI, and looks like it collapsed in 2008. MobaHo! was a mobile satellite digital audio/video broadcasting service in Japan whose services began on October 20, 2004, and ended on March 31, 2009. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tundra_orbit#Spacecraft_using_Tundra_orbits https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tundra_orbit#Spacecraft_using_... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_radio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_radio
  - m4rtink 7y ago
    Interesting, I totally missed that they use GEO now! Still pretty cool that one can receive digital radio without a directional antena from a satellite all the way up 36000 km in GEO. Though looking at the article about Tundra Orbit you have linked it was 25000 x 39000 km already, so not that much of a difference.

Pigo 7y ago

Don't they have some kind of deal with auto manufacturers, putting their system into every car coming off the line?

mszkoda 7y ago
Yes, they have different programs with different manufacturers. Almost all of them include between 3-12 months of free service (I think specific lines in Chrysler's lineup across brands are the only ones with 12, Alfa Romeo I know of specifically). A lot of vehicles it's actually considered an "upgrade" to the stereo system and is only included with the more premium package. A lot of people buying cars usually ask about it having Sirius or Satellite radio; they've been adding a lot of new shows and stations like comedians and they have a lot of sports. Their comedy channels are very similar to comedy podcasts and they've been growing this lineup. Having it all integrated into your vehicle without having to plug in your phone is still a big feature with older people and even some younger ones.

ivl 7y ago

They also own Pandora.

Kneecaps07 7y ago

Yeah but their real competition is streaming audio services.

kingbirdy 7y ago

It used to be that Sirius and XM were two separate companies providing competing services. Unfortunately in 2008 the US DoJ allowed them to merge on the basis that FM & internet radio were sufficient competition.

tdhoot 7y ago
I don't think they were wrong. Sirius or XM may not have survived on their own. XM was on the verge of bankruptcy as it is.
nolok 7y ago
Is the DOJ ever denying merger anymore though? European here so probably biased but I feel like US regulatory tools have taken a serious step back the last 15 / 20 years
- tdhoot 7y ago
  The DOJ sued to stop the merger of AT&T and Time Warner (DOJ lost). The DOJ sued to stop the merger of T-Mobile and AT&T when they tried a few years back (AT&T backed down). It also sued to stop the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint (DOJ settled).