Autoblog

When it signed Howard Stern last year, Sirius radio picked up a lot of subscribers, but the satellite radio provider still couldn't catch rival XM which sits atop of the subscriber satellite radio heap. Sirius' new six million subscribers represented a huge jump, but XM is closing out 2006 with 7.9 million. The New York Times is now reporting that Sirius might follow the old adage: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

Sirius has apparently supported the idea of a merger for a while, but XM has refused to comment thus far. Because there is a lot of overlap in their offerings and because they have similar organizations, merging would lower costs and help boost the stock price, presumably. And that's where these decisions tend to be made, in the accountants' ledgers.

More info after the jump.

[Source: New York Times via Kicking Tires]

Having just reviewed an Audi A3 with Sirius satellite radio and an active subscription, I can honestly say that I seriously enjoyed listening to Howard Stern again after months of being cut off cold turkey. It turns out millions of people followed the shock jock to his new residence on Sirius satellite radio, and the company saw a 64-percent growth in new subscribers versus the first quarter of last year. That amounts to 600,640 new subscribers, versus rival XM's addition of 398,000 new subscribers during the same period

Some would say that's a huge gain for Sirius, but XM's total subscriber base still dwarfs that of Sirius at nearly 7 millino versus 4.7 million. Either way, this was the first time I ever considered setting down my iPod and iTrip and picking up the phone to order satellite radio. But then I had to give the Audi A3 back and forgot to call.

For those interested in purchasing a vehicle with the audio entertainment of their choice preinstalled, the following links will take to you a list of automakers offering each technology as a factory installed option.
Sirius Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
iPod integration

[Source: Reuters

Earlier this week, Kia Motors Co. and SIRIUS Satellite Radio announced that the Korean automaker will be carrying the digital provider for all Kia vehicles starting with 2008 models. The agreement will run through 2014, with an optional extension.

Such announcements are not new. Volkswagen, for example, will also be carrying SIRIUS exclusively for its vehicles, including Audi. But what makes this news interesting is that Hyundai Motors, which owns Kia, has chosen XM Radio because it found its consumers were "not comfortable with programming from Stern."

No mention of the Hyundai/Stern imbroglio was mentioned in the announcement. For our part, we can't wait to hear Stern's reaction when he gets wind of this piece of news.

[Source: United Press International]