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Karmazin chases a Sirius dream |
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Monday, 25 April 2005 |
Karmazin
chases a Sirius dream
CNN International
- USA
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Combine the iPod with satellite radio and what do
you get?
"The killer app," said Kit Spring, an analyst with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company.
Spring isn't the only one who thinks so.
iPods and satellite radios are the hottest electronic gadgets on the market
today. Consumers can buy their favorite songs using an iPod and they can listen
to their favorite genre, be it classic rock or country, on subscription
satellite radio.
But they can't do both on a single device.
"The iPod is the biggest, baddest thing around and satellite radio is this
small, cool device," said Steve Mather, an analyst with Sander Morris Harris.
"Put them together and it's the ultimate."
There's no evidence that such a dream machine is in the works. Earlier this
year, Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin said he had approached Steve Jobs,
the chief of iPod maker Apple Computer, about a possible deal but said Jobs
wasn't interested.
Undeterred, the hard-charging Karmazin has explored similar combos with
developers of other portable music players (MP3 players), cell phones, and
handheld video games, a Sirius spokeswoman confirmed. The companies involved
include Sony Corporation and Motorola.
Analysts say it's likely that MP3 makers Creative Technology (Research), Dell
Inc. (Research), and Digital Networks North America, a subsidiary of Japanese
home entertainment company D&M Holdings, are all in active discussions with not
just Sirius but also its larger rival XM Satellite Radio.
"Everyone's talking to everyone," said Spring.
And at least one analyst thinks Apple (Research), which has sold millions of
iPods, is an active participant notwithstanding its public indifference.
"There's got to be a ceiling on the size of the iPod market so Apple clearly has
to be thinking about its next step," said Aram Sinnreich, a music industry
researcher at the University of Southern California.
It may not be Apple-Sirius or Apple-XM Satellite, but some analysts think it's
only a matter of months before a deal between one of the satellite radio
operators and either a portable device maker is announced.
"We don't know who it will be, but one such deal will be announced before the
end of the year," predicted Spring.
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