There is speculation that Limbaugh may get picked up by Sirius/XM satellite radio. Sirius is not commenting on it but they are not denying it and have tons of cash,
In a recent interview on CNBC’s “Mad Money” Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin did not comment on Limbaugh but did say that the company was generating free cash flow in the hundreds of millions and would have “between a $1.2 billion and a $1.5 billion of cash on our balance sheet” at the end of this year.
“The competition we are facing today, terrestrial radio, is not investing in new content. They're not going to get bigger. On the I.P. side of the house, don't know who is going to win. I think that you know, today we are the number one radio revenue company,” Karmazin said.
And apparently some analysts think it would be a great move like these two,
Brett Harriss, Gabelli & Co.
“Would be fantastic for Sirius if they could get Rush. They have plenty of capacity to add content to their offerings”.
Mattew Harrigan, Wunderlich Securities
“When you get people to pay, you have to have people passionate about the program.” And in this case, “even if it’s a small percentage of the population, the economics might work. I’m not saying they would do it, but they would have to take a cursory look at it”
Well, it is time to nip this turkey of an idea in the bud. I am an XM subscriber and I have notified Sirius/XM that if they sign Limbaugh I will cancel my subscription. Here is the message I sent them,
I have heard that Sirius may consider signing Limbaugh. Please be advised that if you do I will cancel my subscription and will urge everyone I know to do the same. There is no place for a man with such hateful views on the radio, whether satellite or terrestrial
I urge all subscribers to do the same. If you are not a subscriber you can still voice your objections and make clear that you will never subscribe if he becomes part of their programming. The time to act is now.
You can contact Sirius/XM here.