Reports: DirecTV in talks with Sirius XM

It appears Sirius XM Radio is seeking some sort of an investment from Liberty Media, which controls DirecTV, according to several media reports quoting anonymous sources close to the matter.

A deal between the satellite radio giant and the largest U.S. satellite-TV provider could help for Sirius fend off bankruptcy and an unsolicited takeover attempt from satellite company EchoStar, which has bought up Sirius' debt.

The Wall Street Journal, citing a person familiar with the matter, wrote that "though the talks between Sirius and Liberty are advanced, a deal remains far from certain. It wasn't clear how much Liberty would be willing to invest in Sirius and whether it would end up with control." Liberty Media Chief Executive John Malone is "known as a careful negotiator and is unlikely to cut a deal in haste," the Journal added.

Time is of the essence, however, for Sirius: $175 million in debt payments come due February 17. "The company is unlikely to be able to meet those obligations," The New York Times wrote.

Bloomberg cited an analyst at Stanford Group who said both EchoStar and DirecTV could use Sirius' satellite capacity to integrate radio and television services.

And PaidContent.org noted that "DirecTV already has a relationship with the satellite radio company, offering XM channels in its own packages." It added that Liberty is "in the midst of its own reorganization to gain value for assets that include DirecTV, Starz Entertainment, and Liberty Sports Holdings."

[palewook]

"DirecTV already has a relationship with the satellite radio company, offering XM channels in its own packages."

Echostar/Dishnetwork has the same relationship. Offering Sirius among its own channel packages.

[mikehill33]

Sirius content is great, a little bump in the road with the merger, but still worth every penny over free radio.

Sirius the COMPANY, and their inept billing, activation and customer service support could definitely benefit from a merger with a solid company like DirecTV who has a better track record of supporting (not just selling) to customers.

[ibeetle]

Well, it is becoming quite apparent the tech pundits and analyst were, once again wrong, and satellite radio will not go off the air anytime soon.
They couldn't pay the debt. They knew this and so now they are talking to the likes of Echostar and Dish Networks. It wouldn't surprise me if ClearChanel (which SiriusXM also has financial and business relationship with) is next on the who to call list.
There are even rumors that News Corp and Time/Warner are interested in at least talking to the satellite radio service.
There sure seems to be a lot of interest in a business that is on the verge of bankruptcy and nobody is interested in.

[subslug]

I only had Sat. radio for the year that it came free on a new car I bought a couple years ago. It was nice on road trips to be able to listen to the same station all the way but, I could do that with my mp3 player too plus, I could select everything that was played on the mp3 player.
When the renewal time came I just decided it was one of those things I really could live without and honestly haven't even missed it at now. I suspect with the economy like it is now, a lot of people will probably consider it the same.
I wonder if not for rental car companies putting these systems in their cars, if Sat. radio would have even lasted this long?
I don't know of one person who considers sat. radio a must have, nor do I even know one person with sat. radio. Pay to listen to Howard Stern? lol I don't think so

[jman3001]

Pay to Listen to Howard Stern......YOU BET!!! Howard has the best guests and interviews of anyone in Radio today. You can't program everything that Sirus Satellite offers. In fact, you can't even come close to the variety of music, talk, and sports.

I live in a city with NO clue on what good radio is. Thank God, when I moved here for a job, I got to bring Sirius Radio with me. My city may not be sophisticated, but my radio listening experience keeps me on the cutting edge.