That’s the name of the new company I went to work for this morning. The company I joined almost exactly four years has been absorbed by its rival. Managers of both companies believe merger is necessary for satellite radio to reach its full potential and serve its listeners. The new company has 18.5 million subscribers and expects to be in the black next year.
What does this mean for The Bob Edwards Show? I have a guaranteed contract that has exactly two years remaining. Our company’s CEO, Mel Karmazin, met with the XM staff today and said he is a man who honors contracts. I take that to mean you’ll be hearing our program for at least the next two years, though I certainly hope to be doing it for far longer because I’m having the best professional experience of my career. The staff of our show has had no turnover for more than a year–and that’s remarkable given the uncertainties and anxieties of the past 18 months as the companies jumped through all the hoops required by government for merger approval. So I think my producers are probably going to stay with the program, too, and I can’t tell you how great I feel about that!
I think the programming offered by Sirius XM will be an unrivaled audio bonanza and a bargain at any price. I honestly don’t know why everyone who can spare $12.95 a month doesn’t have satellite radio. I look forward to having the Sirius subscribers discover The Bob Edwards Show and will do my best to help the new company grow and prosper.
Bob
Bob, this is great news. I honest-to-god chose XM over Sirius because of your show, so I’d really hate to lose it now!
Well, finally.
All my cars came with Sirius, and not XM, so I got aced out of hearing America’s Host (likes butter on toast). When is Mel going to flip the switch so we Sirius subscribers can buy ala carte programming and I can finally rejoin the Bob Edwards extended family?
Keep playin’ the hits, Bob. Looking forward to becoming a listener!
Thanks Eric. I certainly count the material on XMPR as public interest programs and I can’t imagine our new management would disagree. So I think the set-asides are a positive sign for XMPR.
Here’s hoping we continue to hear the program for years to come.
Any word on how the requirement for set-asides for "public interest" programming will affect XMPR? Thanks!