X

Sirius TV on the way

Sirius Radio moving into satellite TV for cars.

Brian Cooley Editor at Large
Brian Cooley is CNET's Editor at large and has been with the brand since 1995. He currently focuses on electrification of vehicles but also follows the big trends in smart home, digital healthcare, 5G, the future of food, and augmented & virtual realities. Cooley is a sought after presenter by brands and their agencies when they want to understand how consumers react to new technologies. He has been a regular featured speaker at CES, Cannes Lions, Advertising Week and The PHM HealthFront™. He was born and raised in Silicon Valley when Apple's campus was mostly apricots.
Expertise Automotive technology, smart home, digital health. Credentials
  • 5G Technician, ETA International
See full bio
Brian Cooley

Sirius Satellite Radio may start beaming video through its service by end of next year, according to comments made by boss Mel Karmazin at a media summit this week in New York. Don't expert to see Howard Stern and his naked guests; The company will initially focus on video content that keeps the kids quiet in the back seat. That's probably the easiest sell to current users and a fairly affordable type of content for Sirius to license.

Sirius to offer satellite TV service in late 2007
CNET Networks

Bits is bits, so sending video shouldn't be much harder than audio with the main difference being that the car will need to have a back seat monitor or two. New car dealers will love that because it gives them a nice lever to sell more vehicles with lucrative rear seat entertainment (RSE) packages.

Sirius is doing this because the video service will drive a separate subscription fee around $13 a month, increasing average revenue per existing user while video serves as bait to attract users who so far aren't impressed by sat radio alone.

BTW, if you're waiting for Sirius and XM to merge, don't. This week FCC types told an investors conference "the public is well served with the current setup", meaning two separate but very similar sat radio companies.