Sirius Satellite Radio
Essay title: Sirius Satellite Radio
SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO
Company Analysis
Marketing 495
Dr. Geoffrey L. Gordon
Fall 2005
Table of Contents
Company Analysis
3-4……History of Company
4-15……What They Do Now
15-28…Financial Analysis
28-29….Company Strengths & Weaknesses
?….Conclusion
Industry Analysis
30-31….Description of Industry
31-34….Critical Success Factors
External Environment Analysis
?….External Environment Analysis
35……..Appendices and References
SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO HISTORY
(Material for this section came from the SIRIUS website and the SIRIUS 10-K)
Have you seen commercials for satellite radio lately on TV? Wondered about the companies that started this trend, do you know much about satellite, wondering if its going to be around for a while? Lets talk about the forerunner in the Satellite Radio market, SIRIUS Radio.
SIRIUS Satellite Radio, a New York City based corporation, began business in 1992 when the FCC allocated a spectrum in the “S” band (2.3 GHz) for broadcasting of satellite-based Digital Audio Radio Service. SIRIUS paid more than $80 million for their broadcast license.
Initially, SIRIUS began business under the name CD Radio. SIRIUS utilizes three geosynchronous satellites in orbit above North America (with a fourth satellite in storage as a backup.) SIRIUS satellite provides customers with 65 programming streams of music and 55 streams of sports, news and entertainment.
SIRIUS took their corporate name from the star SIRIUS, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major. Sirius (the stars) name was derived from the Egyptian god Osiers, who was depicted as a dog. SIRIUS Radios corporate logo is a dog that bears the nickname “Mongo.”
SIRIUS radio operates satellites in orbit over the continental United States. A recent partnership with the Canadian Broadcast Company will also make SIRIUS available to Canadian customers.
In 2001 and 2002, many car manufacturers began offering satellite receivers as upgrade equipment options in some vehicles. In 2004, even more manufacturers began offering satellite receivers in vehicles. SIRIUS has a partnership with Ford and Daimler-Chrysler to offer satellite receivers in vehicles.
Since October 2003, SIRIUS has also had the right to broadcast live play-by-play broadcasts of up to 40 NHL games each week, as well as the Stanley Cup playoffs and finals, as part of the standard programming package. As a result of the current NHL labor dispute, the 2004-2005 NHL season was cancelled and SIRIUS was unable to provide those games to their listeners in 2004. SIRIUS’ agreement with the NHL provides for an extension of their broadcast