MLB Puts The Heat On XM…

Tuesday, May, 27, 2008 by Mel Phillips.

The announcement from FCC head Kevin Martin that there could be a decision on the XM-Sirius merger by the end of June couldn’t come fast enough for XM.  What XM is going through now is a convincing argument against carrying sports.   Since announcing its deal to carry Major League Baseball in 2004, XM has forked over roughly $180 million of the total package of $650 million due MLB before the deal has concluded in 2015.  Now XM is struggling to maintain a required $120 million escrow account which is part of its agreement with MLB…

With money now tighter than ever, XM, having a tough time coming up with the dough may have to issue more stock which will hurt existing shareholders.  In the meantime XM is having discussions with MLB about the escrow and related matters.   Sensing impending capital problems for XM, Wall Street analysts have been telling their clients to sell their XM and Sirius shares because should the merger be approved by the FCC, the joint satellite company might need to raise $500 million to $1 billion in additional capital by early next year…

How bad will the capital problem be should XM and Sirius merge?  Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Wienkes suspects that XM’s cash balance will go from about $53 million now to negative $129 million in the first quarter.  Sirius would go from $133 million to negative $115 million in Q1, making this XM problem with MLB a minor distraction and distant memory… 

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1647]  Witchy woman:   Alse Young  becomes the first person executed as a witch in America when she is hanged in Hartford (CT).  What?  You can’t be a witch???
2. 1668]  New England justice:  Three colonists are expelled from Massachusetts for being Baptists.  Lighten up people!!! 
3. 1932]  Debuted on this date:  Massachusetts Governor Joseph Ely signs a bill making Sunday baseball possible at Fenway Park…1933]  The Walt Disney Company releases the cartoon “The Three Little Pigs” which featured “Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf“…1937]  The Golden Gate Bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin County opens to “pedestrians only“.  On May 28th it opens to traffic…
4. 1941]  Sink The Bismarck:  The British naval and air forces do!  2,300 are killed on the German battleship…
5. 1960]  Catch this!  The Baltimore Orioles debut a giant catcher’s mitt, the size of Rhode Island, to help Clint Courtney  catch Hoyt Wilhelm’s knuckleball…
6. 1968]  Papa Bear hangs up his paws:  George Halas  retires after 48 years as coach of the Chicago Bears…
7. 1969]  Disney discovers Florida:  Construction of Walt Disney World begins in Orlando.  The theme park will open in 1971…
8. 1995]  Superman upended:  Christopher Reeve is paralyzed when thrown from his horse during a jumping competition in Charlottesville (VA)…
9. 1997]  The Supes Rule:  The Supreme Court rules that Paula Jones can pursue her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton while he is in office.  Paula passed this lie-detector test for Fox…
10. 1998]  Guilty as charged:  The government’s star witness in the Oklahoma City bombing case, Michael Fortier  is sentenced to 12 years in prison for not apologizing for not warning anyone about the deadly plot…

Music Memories:

• 1957]  Released on this date:  “That’ll Be The Day” - The Crickets…1962]  “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” LP.  From the LP:  “Blowin’ In The Wind“…

Commentary:

The list of hit movies he directed was quite impressive:  “Absence of Malice“, “Tootsie“, “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”, “Out Of Africa” and “The Way We Were“ but he was also a good actor, most recently appearing in “Michael Clayton“.  Sydney Pollack passed away over the weekend after losing his battle with cancer at 73.  Hollywood also lost the wacky half of the Rowan and Martin comedy team - Dick Martin at 86.  Martin had lost the use of one of his lungs as a teenager and needed oxygen for most of the day in his later years.  “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” was must-see TV in the 60s with its innovative approach to comedy and who can ever forget Richard Nixon’s “sock it to me” appearance?  Happy Trails to both men and thanks for all the happy memories you produced…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”:

Todd Bridges (43), Peri Gilpin (47), Cynthia McFadden (52), Bruce Weitz (65), Cilla Black (65), Louis Gossett Jr. (72), Lee Meriwether (73), Ramsey Lewis (73), Sumner Redstone (85) and Henry Kissinger (85)…

Timeline Countdown:  19 days until Father’s Day, 26 days until summer and 39 days until July 4th… 

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