Sirius Xm

The music in any Quentin Tarantino film is an adventure unto itself, a tradition that continues with “Django Unchained,” Tarantino's movie opening on Christmas Day. The soundtrack album was released a week ahead of the film itself, and Tarantino took time to walk listeners through the music in a Sirius XM satellite radio special, “Quentin Tarantino Unleashed,” that aired Dec. 14 on Little Steven's Underground Garage show, which Tarantino...

This post has been updated. See note below for details. Longtime “Breakfast With the Beatles” host Chris Carter will expand the musical scope of his weekly Sirius XM satellite radio presence with a new show, “Chris Carter's British Invasion,” drawing from a half century of British rock and pop beginning Sunday, April 7. The three-hour show will continue airing on Little Steven's Underground Garage Channel 21, created and produced by...

This post has been updated. See note below for details. Longtime “Breakfast With the Beatles” host Chris Carter will expand the musical scope of his weekly Sirius XM satellite radio presence with a new show, “Chris Carter's British Invasion,” drawing from a half century of British rock and pop beginning Sunday, April 7. The three-hour show will continue airing on Little Steven's Underground Garage Channel 21, created and produced by...

The music in any Quentin Tarantino film is an adventure unto itself, a tradition that continues with “Django Unchained,” Tarantino's movie opening on Christmas Day. The soundtrack album was released a week ahead of the film itself, and Tarantino took time to walk listeners through the music in a Sirius XM satellite radio special, “Quentin Tarantino Unleashed,” that aired Dec. 14 on Little Steven's Underground Garage show, which Tarantino...

Sirius XM Radio has tapped James Meyer as its interim chief executive officer while the search for a permanent replacement for Mel Karmazin continues. Meyer, currently president of sales and operations, has been with the satellite radio broadcaster since 2004. He will also take Karmazin's spot on the Sirius XM board of directors. Karmazin, who announced his plans to resign earlier this fall, had said he would stay with Sirius XM until February. However, with the appointment of Meyer, Karmazin's resignation as CEO and board member takes effect immediately.

Liberty Media informed the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday that it had acquired more than 48% of Sirius XM Radio's shares and intends to push that amount above 50% in order to take control over the New York satellite radio company. Liberty disclosed the plan several months after it failed to persuade the Federal Communications Commission to grant it control over Sirius based on its ownership of 40% of the company's shares.  Sirius' chief executive, Mel Karmazin, rebuffed the takeover attempt at the time, saying Liberty's argument that its 40% stake was sufficient to gain control was akin to proclaiming "Forty is the new 50. " Liberty's chairman, John Malone, might have taken that barb to heart.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. Chief Executive Mel Karmazin will resign from the satellite radio broadcaster on Feb. 1. The move was not unexpected. Liberty Media, the largest shareholder in SiriusXM, is in the process of taking control of the company and Karmazin had previously indicated he would likely leave as a result. Karmazin's contract with SiriusXM expires at the end of this year. He said he is staying on an additional month to ensure a smooth transition. He will also resign from the SiriusXM board.

After the coffee. Before packing in case the Mayans are right. The Skinny: It's cold here! What's up with that? Wednesday's headlines include Time Warner Cable dropping the little arts channel Ovation and a review of "Zero Dark Thirty. " Also, satellite radio broadcaster Sirius XM names a new interim chief executive. Daily Dose: If you can't find a big TV to watch the Super Bowl, fear not. The NFL will again make the big game available. Also being streamed will be the wild card playoff games and the Pro Bowl.

The nation's only -- and ailing -- satellite radio company is drawing interest from two moguls of space-based entertainment. Sirius XM Radio Inc. said Friday that it might be forced to file for bankruptcy as early as Tuesday if it fails to restructure its debt. As the deadline nears, speculation is growing of a possible bidding war over the company, which was formed last summer by the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio.

As an XM subscriber, I wish I shared David Lazarus' enthusiasm for the Sirius-XM merger. ("Listening to reason on radio merger," Consumer Confidential, March 26.) It seems awfully naive of him not to believe that prices will rise substantially over time in otherwise seemingly painless increments, just as they have with cable TV. As for a la carte pricing, my prediction is that the least-ordered channels will be jettisoned for lack of interest. Joel Engel Westlake Village If our Justice Department truly believes a Sirius-XM merger will be good for the customer, I'd like to have some of what they're smoking.

Sirius XM Radio has tapped James Meyer as its interim chief executive officer while the search for a permanent replacement for Mel Karmazin continues. Meyer, currently president of sales and operations, has been with the satellite radio broadcaster since 2004. He will also take Karmazin's spot on the Sirius XM board of directors. Karmazin, who announced his plans to resign earlier this fall, had said he would stay with Sirius XM until February. However, with the appointment of Meyer, Karmazin's resignation as CEO and board member takes effect immediately.

After the coffee. Before packing in case the Mayans are right. The Skinny: It's cold here! What's up with that? Wednesday's headlines include Time Warner Cable dropping the little arts channel Ovation and a review of "Zero Dark Thirty. " Also, satellite radio broadcaster Sirius XM names a new interim chief executive. Daily Dose: If you can't find a big TV to watch the Super Bowl, fear not. The NFL will again make the big game available. Also being streamed will be the wild card playoff games and the Pro Bowl.

After the coffee. Before seeing if the Dodgers need a tweeter. The Skinny: There is a great article in today's Wall Street Journal about all the distractions people face every day at work. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with ADD. Wednesday's stories include a look at the Screen Actors Guild nominations, speculation about who will run satellite radio broadcaster Sirius XM and obituary of Ravi Shanker. Daily Dose: Fox Business Network still likes Don Imus in the morning.

After the coffee. Before ignoring a new version of the iPad. The Skinny: For some reason my DVR blew off recording Fox's "New Girl" last night. Any other Time Warner Cable subscribers have the same problem or is mine just possessed? Wednesday's headlines include Mel Karmazin's plans to leave SiriusXM, Netflix stock tumbles after it posts disappointing results, and the National Geographic Channel movie “SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden" gets some last-minute editing.  Daily Dose: The World Series starts Wednesday night in San Francisco and Fox is hoping a Tigers-Giants battle will deliver.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. Chief Executive Mel Karmazin will resign from the satellite radio broadcaster on Feb. 1. The move was not unexpected. Liberty Media, the largest shareholder in SiriusXM, is in the process of taking control of the company and Karmazin had previously indicated he would likely leave as a result. Karmazin's contract with SiriusXM expires at the end of this year. He said he is staying on an additional month to ensure a smooth transition. He will also resign from the SiriusXM board.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. Chief Executive Mel Karmazin said he would likely leave the company when Liberty Media takes control of the satellite radio broadcaster. Liberty, the largest shareholder in SiriusXM, currently holds just under 50% of the stock and has already told the Federal Communications Commission that it plans to acquire more than that and would like the regulatory agency to approve it as the outright owner when that happens. Speaking at the Merrill Lynch Media, Communications and Entertainment Conference in Beverly Hills on Wednesday, Karmazin said he is willing to talk about staying but added, "If I were Liberty I would say, 'I'm not sure we need Mel.'" Karmazin's contract with SiriusXM is up at the end of the year.

Reggie Jackson remembers hitting the home run, rounding the bases, looking up and seeing a shower of candy bars. It was April 1978, and the New York Yankees had welcomed fans to their home opener by handing out Reggie! bars, a chocolate, caramel and peanut confection named after the Yankees' slugger. How good was the Reggie! bar? Jackson's teammate, Catfish Hunter, famously remarked that when you take a bite out of one, it tells you how good it is. But when Jackson looked up and saw that torrent of chocolate rain, he wasn't sure that commendation was enough.

After all his threats to leave, and others' speculation on where he might go, Howard Stern is staying put at Sirius XM. The loose-lipped shock jock announced on his show Thursday that he has signed a new five-year contract with the satellite radio company. The deal, which runs through the end of 2015, provides that Sirius XM can now transmit Stern's show to mobile devices. No other terms will be disclosed, the company said. Stern had been locked for months in stormy negotiations as his original five-year contract with Sirius radio, worth a breathtaking $500 million, neared its expiration just days from now. Sirius and then-rival XM radio merged in 2008.

Liberty Media has raised its stake in SiriusXM Radio to 48.8%, bringing the Englewood, Colo., media company closer to majority control of the New York satellite radio company. The increase in ownership, from 48.1%, was reported in a regulatory filing late Tuesday by SiriusXM. Liberty's steady march toward full control of SiriusXM is not surprising. The company has publicly stated its intent to acquire a majority share of SiriusXM and is now attempting to follow through with its promise.

As the second of USC's practices began Friday afternoon, an old rival sat nearly alone in the stands watching. "I recruited almost all those guys," said Rick Neuheisel. The former UCLA football coach who was fired in November after a four-year run with a 21-28 record is now working as a co-host on Sirius/XM radio's college sports talk station, capping a cross-country tour of camps to advance his coming weekday talk show with Jack Arute. Neuheisel has previously reviewed the Trojans at a practice and said he's "very impressed," particularly with the offense directed by Trojans quarterback and Heisman Trophy favorite Matt Barkley.