Nickdfresh
08-20-2006, 04:10 PM
Satellite Radio Investors Want Merger, Howard Stern Disses Gary
By Mitch Marconi
Aug 17, 2006
Investors in Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio have reportedly called for a merger of the two companies after each posted disappointing numbers, reports UPI.
On the recent Hollywood Reporter/Bloomberg 50 Entertainment Stock Index, the satellite radio companies finished in two of the bottom three positions, nudging investors to openly suggest a merger as a possible solution for the failing companies, said The Reporter.
Mel Karmazin's defection from Infinity was touted as the spark that would ignite Sirius' stock but ever since Mel became Sirius' chief executive officer in November 2004, the company's stock price has fallen from $4.72 a share to $3.75 as of Monday, causing it to come in at a disappointing third from last on the stock index.
XM has fared no better with the companies stock falling from 34.65 to $11.01 over the same time period. The suggested merger could prove to be a needed move for both sides, The Reporter said.
Industry analysts have suggested that a merger of the companies would eliminate bidding wars over high-quality entertainment. It would also allow the "company" to do away with customer rebates intended to attract subscribers. These were two major sources of losses for both companies.
Continue reading this article below
In related news, Howard Stern fans are reportedly unhappy with him after he snubbed the funeral of his longtime producer's father over the weekend.
According to the New York Daily News, fourteen thousand Stern-heads expressed their disapproval on the Web site www.sternfannetwork.com. Former Stern personality, Steppin' Out mag's Chaunce Hayden, went as far as declaring the 'King Of All Media,' "A-hole of the Week."
Howard indicated that his reason for dissing long time friend and producer Gary Dell'Abate over the weekend was because that his live-in girlfriend, Beth Ostrosky, broke her ankle while attending a recent Hamptons polo match.
The Daily News reports that many of Stern's die-hard fans are promising to cancel their Sirius satellite radio subscriptions because of the King of All Media's lack of sympathy.
A Sirius spokeswoman told the News that as of yesterday, "We are unaware of any cancellations."
[UPDATE] In fairness to Howard, we received quite a bit of mail indicating that Howard addressed this on his show this a.m. We are told Beth hurt her ankle on the way to Gary's Dad's wake.
From MarksFriggin.com:
'Howard said he was ready to go to Gary's father's wake that was to run from 7-9pm. He got ready to leave at 5:30 and that's when Beth tripped and fell 6 stairs. She ripped the tendons in her foot when she fell so he quickly called Mike the Cop who was driving them, and took Beth to a hospital. He called Gary to let him know he was on his way if they got out of the hospital on time.
Gary came in and said that Howard was very supportive through this whole thing and he did apologize to him for not making it to the wake. He left a very sweet message for him and apologized to him for not being there for him. Howard said that Beth didn't finish in the hospital until about 7:30 and they were about an hour and a half away from the wake. He had to bring Beth home and settle her in so he couldn't leave her alone.
Howard said that Beth was writhing in pain that night so he really couldn't leave her along. He said that Chaunce going around saying that 14,000 people want to cancel is ridiculous and this story is horseshit. He wasn't at a polo match like they were claiming in the article.
Howard said he stayed in touch with Gary that night and let him know what was going on. He also kept in touch with Robin and Fred letting them know that Gary's father had died so he wasn't avoiding the wake. The wake was only 2 hours long as well so he only had that window to get over there. Gary said he was upset that a stranger was commenting on their relationship when they know nothing about it. That stuff should be between him and Howard.
Howard said the story is a complete fabrication and a lie and it's just Chaunce making up yet another story. Howard said he was almost feeling friendly toward Chaunce recently but now he's blown that. He was also saying that Rush and Malloy just put that story out there like it has some truth to it when it really doesn't.
Howard said that this is like breaking up with a chick who won't leave you alone and Chaunce is the ultimate chick. He wants him to just stop listening to the show and get on with his life. He was also commenting about the SternFanNetwork in the article and he's said that people on there have made death threats toward him so he's wondering why he'd continue to visit that site. He said that article distressed him a bit because it was so untrue.
Howard even said on the air the other day that he and Beth were rushing out of the house to get to the wake when she hurt her foot. They couldn't even get that part of the story right. '
© Copyright 2004-2005 by The Post Chronicle™ (http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_21234481.shtml#continue)
By Mitch Marconi
Aug 17, 2006
Investors in Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio have reportedly called for a merger of the two companies after each posted disappointing numbers, reports UPI.
On the recent Hollywood Reporter/Bloomberg 50 Entertainment Stock Index, the satellite radio companies finished in two of the bottom three positions, nudging investors to openly suggest a merger as a possible solution for the failing companies, said The Reporter.
Mel Karmazin's defection from Infinity was touted as the spark that would ignite Sirius' stock but ever since Mel became Sirius' chief executive officer in November 2004, the company's stock price has fallen from $4.72 a share to $3.75 as of Monday, causing it to come in at a disappointing third from last on the stock index.
XM has fared no better with the companies stock falling from 34.65 to $11.01 over the same time period. The suggested merger could prove to be a needed move for both sides, The Reporter said.
Industry analysts have suggested that a merger of the companies would eliminate bidding wars over high-quality entertainment. It would also allow the "company" to do away with customer rebates intended to attract subscribers. These were two major sources of losses for both companies.
Continue reading this article below
In related news, Howard Stern fans are reportedly unhappy with him after he snubbed the funeral of his longtime producer's father over the weekend.
According to the New York Daily News, fourteen thousand Stern-heads expressed their disapproval on the Web site www.sternfannetwork.com. Former Stern personality, Steppin' Out mag's Chaunce Hayden, went as far as declaring the 'King Of All Media,' "A-hole of the Week."
Howard indicated that his reason for dissing long time friend and producer Gary Dell'Abate over the weekend was because that his live-in girlfriend, Beth Ostrosky, broke her ankle while attending a recent Hamptons polo match.
The Daily News reports that many of Stern's die-hard fans are promising to cancel their Sirius satellite radio subscriptions because of the King of All Media's lack of sympathy.
A Sirius spokeswoman told the News that as of yesterday, "We are unaware of any cancellations."
[UPDATE] In fairness to Howard, we received quite a bit of mail indicating that Howard addressed this on his show this a.m. We are told Beth hurt her ankle on the way to Gary's Dad's wake.
From MarksFriggin.com:
'Howard said he was ready to go to Gary's father's wake that was to run from 7-9pm. He got ready to leave at 5:30 and that's when Beth tripped and fell 6 stairs. She ripped the tendons in her foot when she fell so he quickly called Mike the Cop who was driving them, and took Beth to a hospital. He called Gary to let him know he was on his way if they got out of the hospital on time.
Gary came in and said that Howard was very supportive through this whole thing and he did apologize to him for not making it to the wake. He left a very sweet message for him and apologized to him for not being there for him. Howard said that Beth didn't finish in the hospital until about 7:30 and they were about an hour and a half away from the wake. He had to bring Beth home and settle her in so he couldn't leave her alone.
Howard said that Beth was writhing in pain that night so he really couldn't leave her along. He said that Chaunce going around saying that 14,000 people want to cancel is ridiculous and this story is horseshit. He wasn't at a polo match like they were claiming in the article.
Howard said he stayed in touch with Gary that night and let him know what was going on. He also kept in touch with Robin and Fred letting them know that Gary's father had died so he wasn't avoiding the wake. The wake was only 2 hours long as well so he only had that window to get over there. Gary said he was upset that a stranger was commenting on their relationship when they know nothing about it. That stuff should be between him and Howard.
Howard said the story is a complete fabrication and a lie and it's just Chaunce making up yet another story. Howard said he was almost feeling friendly toward Chaunce recently but now he's blown that. He was also saying that Rush and Malloy just put that story out there like it has some truth to it when it really doesn't.
Howard said that this is like breaking up with a chick who won't leave you alone and Chaunce is the ultimate chick. He wants him to just stop listening to the show and get on with his life. He was also commenting about the SternFanNetwork in the article and he's said that people on there have made death threats toward him so he's wondering why he'd continue to visit that site. He said that article distressed him a bit because it was so untrue.
Howard even said on the air the other day that he and Beth were rushing out of the house to get to the wake when she hurt her foot. They couldn't even get that part of the story right. '
© Copyright 2004-2005 by The Post Chronicle™ (http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_21234481.shtml#continue)