iSIRIUS... It's Coming (SIRI, AAPL)

It looks like the long-awaited tie up from Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is happening.  This opens up a much larger market for SIRIUS XM.  The company just outlined some of the details in the conference call this morning.

SIRIUS XM will roll out an application to allow satellite radio subscribers to stream its content on both the iPhone and iPod Touch.  This is expected to be out in Q2.  The new offering looks like it will allow subscribers to access Sirius XM content without using satellite radio technology.

The application will make Sirius XM content available to roughly 7 million US iPhone users and additional iPod Touch users.  Existing subscribers will be able to subscribe and new subscribers will now be able to access the SIRIUS XM content without buying a radio.

The original plans to develop this were first disclosed at the end of 2008 which followed a series of rumors of a tie-up. New auto sales have been atrocious and the trend has poor for so long that it makes sense to offer a diverse product line-up.

We issued our first long-term call in SIRIUS XM for our newsletter subscribers two weeks ago.  This was a reversal from our prior calls which had been against the company for the better part of a year.  SIRIUS stock is responding after yesterday’s earnings.  The stock is up 5% at $0.169 right after the open.

JON C. OGG