Media Curmudgeon

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November 15, 2006

Sirius Will Win

I usually don’t go into predictions, they are like politicians, usually wrong and no one remembers when you’re right. But here’s story that I love to tell and one that relates to why in the battle for satellite radio dominance that I think Sirius might have a leg up.

Several months ago, I bought time on the two satellite radio companies—XM and Sirius—for DailyComedy.com. I bought a schedule of ten spots on each service in their comedy channels. I made the buy first on XM Satellite radio, and made it prmarily because my friend from AOL was Senior Vice President and head of Sales and Marketing. I made the purchase in a dingy office on Vanderbilt Avenue from a sales manager of some kind that my friend had referred me to. We did the rest of our business via email. When I renewed for a month, I had to contact him and renew the schedule.

I had a completely different experience with Sirius, which I will now tell you in reverse chronological order: I was leaving the Sirius offices in the modern, well lit, McGraw Hill Building on 6th Avenue, when I first person I ran into was Mel Karmazin, Sirius Radio’s CEO. I had known him at CBS and NBC in the 60s and 70s, so he’s an old acquaintance, and the first thing he said was: “Charlie Warner! Why do you hate me?” Then he went on to explain: “Someone sent a blog that you had written, and you trashed me.”

I politely said, “I don’t hate you, Mel. I was just up to your studios and bought some time.” We then went on with a ten-minute conversation about old times and old friends—he asked about my CBS pal Russ Barry. It was a pleasant conversation with a nice guy with big, white teeth. Enjoyable.

I had just come from a tour of the Sirius offices and studios given to me by the VP of Sales. I saw all of their modern, well-equipped, glass-walled studios, even the overdone, tasteless Howard Stern sanctuary (I didn’t buy Stern because his show is way too expensive for me and DailyComedy.com, plus I have an aversion to Stern, as people who read this blog know). I have also trashed Mel, and rightly so, I believe, for a mean-spirited management style. But, he was a real gentlemen the day I saw him—other than his thin skin, about my blogs. What is a big shot like that wasting his time reading my occasional blogs about him? Why should he care? But that’s Mel.

A couple of days later, Greg Binen, one of Sirius’s salespeople called me and asked me to lunch. Of course I went…I was desperate for a good meal. It was a pleasant lunch with good conversation. I’m glad I went.

I got several emails from Greg over the course of the next month. He even asked—no, pushed hard, as he should—for a renewal. I did renew for DailyComedy.com for a month, largely because he took such good care of me and because he asked. To be fair, I also renewed XM, even though no one asked. And that’s why I predict Sirius Satellite Radio is eventually going to win. Because of Mel, because they know how to sell. Their rates are reasonable and Sirius takes good care of its customers—even DailyComedy.com, a very small player, but still a customer that they valued and treated well, as Mel treated me on the street.

Posted by Charles Warner at November 15, 2006 08:57 PM

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