In 1998, several years before the September 2001 launch of XM, The Carmel Group was asked to moderate one of the first industry financial conferences looking at the new subsector called “satellite radio” (or less accurately called “DARS,” for “digital audio radio services”). This was in New York City at an early Bear Stearns event. In September 2001, when satellite radio’s actual deployment was in its infancy, The Carmel Group was hired by Sirius to assess the build-out of the industry in several key geographic areas. This 100-page report helped to define the later retail growth of the satellite radio industry in America and globally.
Since that time, The Carmel Group did numerous additional studies built around a better knowledge of the duopolistic U.S. satellite radio industry, and got to know the existing management at both XM and Sirius just that much better. This, in turn, has allowed The Carmel Group to stay at the forefront of knowledgeable analysts constantly following and studying this soon-to-be-ubiquitous national service.
Indeed, The Carmel Group was asked in 2007 by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), to conduct a study, and prepare and publish a public study on the then proposed merger of XM and Sirius. The NAB then used this study to present its position primarily before staff and other members of the U.S. House and Senate.
Satellite radio today is primarily defined as just one company, the merged XM Sirius Satellite Radio service HQd in New York, NY, and controlled by Dr. John Malone’s Liberty organization. The Carmel group continues its solid association with XM Sirius Radio, and looks forward to helping the global satellite radio industry grow and flourish.