The Mel-Man Speaketh…

Wednesday, October, 15, 2008 by Mel Phillips.

There is no better radio salesman than Mel Karmazin but this time he’s hyping a wounded Wall Street - a Wall Street on life support and in intensive care.  Can the Mel-man’s magic still work?  When he gave the keynote at the Media & Money Conference yesterday, Karmazin painted a Picasso - ”The company is well on its way to becoming profitable.”  Karmazin is apparently the only person who thinks so.  CNET News has a different take.  “The merger was long and costly, landing the company with $2 billion in debt.  Both Sirius and XM footed huge bills for personalities like Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey.  And lagging new car sales are shrinking one of the company’s best bets for new subscribers.” …

According to the Mel-man, “If only 12 million cars are sold next year (a low estimate), 6 million will leave the assembly line with satellite radio.  Surveys show that 50% of the people who are offered satellite with their new car take the option.  That will get us to $300 million revenue growth even if Detroit has a very bad year.”  It’s a fact that 95% of the company’s revenue comes from subscription fees.  Where does the other 5% come from?  I’m sure it’s not from Howard or Oprah donating part of their salaries…

Many analysts consider satellite radio as a pricey experiment that has failed.  I must confess that my last two rental cars contained XM which I sampled.  The verdict?  It was good company on long drives.  Good enough for me to pay for?  No.  I still like local radio.  The Mel-man claims that the music and service features you get with Sirius-XM are worth the price of admission.  Not for me…  

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1951] Premiered on this date: “I Love Lucy” starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. This all-time classic will run 10 original seasons and in re-run forever.  This is a clip of the pilot…1959] “The Untouchables” starring Robert Stack. Let’s not forget the narration by Walter Winchell. The original series only runs for 4 seasons…1969] MSG-TV carries its 1st NHL game (Rangers vs. North Stars)…1973] “The Tomorrow Show” with Tom Snyder debuts.  Snyder is seen here interviewing John Lennon…
2. 1962] Series Saver: Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson grabs Willie McCovey’s line drive for the final out as the Bronx Bombers win their 20th World Series over the SF Giants in 7 games.  This clip contains highlights of the WS…
3. 1964] Curtains: Nikita Krushchev is removed as Soviet Premier and replaced by Alexei N. Kosygin. To wish the new premier good luck, Krushchev pounds Kosygin in the head with his shoe…
4. 1964] “Happy Trails“: Cole Porter dies of kidney failure at 73…
5. 1969] Peace & love, man: Peace demonstrators stage activities across the country, including a candlelight march around the White House to protest the Vietnam War…
6. 1976] Veeps get into it: Walter Mondale and Bob Dole face off in the first VP debate…
7. 1986] Mets marathon: The Mets beat the Houston Astros 7-6 in 16 innings (the longest postseason game in history at the time) to win the NL Pennant and will win the World (Bill) Series (Buckner) over (Bill) the (Buckner) Boston (Bill) Red Sox (Buckner)…
8. 1991] By a hair: The Senate narrowly confirms the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court (52-48)…
9. 2002] Guilty as charged: ImClone Systems founder Sam Waksal pleads guilty in New York in the biotech company’s insider trading scandal…
10. 2003] Ferry disaster: A Staten Island Ferry slams into a maintenance pier, killing 11…

Music Memories:

• 1968] Premiered on this date: Led Zeppelin make their maiden voyage in England.  In December they will perform in Spokane, Washington…
• 1971] Getting the last laugh: Rick Nelson is booed when he performs new material at an oldies show at Madison Square Garden. He gets revenge by writing this hit…
• 1977] Released on this date: “Rumours” LP - Fleetwood Mac…1977] “Slip Slidin’ Away” - Paul Simon (with the Oak Ridge Boys)…
  1977] Number One on this date: “You Light Up My Life” - Debby Boone (#1 for 10 consecutive weeks)…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”: Emeril Lagasse (49), Sarah Ferguson (49), Richard Carpenter (62), Penny Marshall (66), Linda Lavin (71), Barry McGuire (73), Mickey Baker (83) and Lee Iacocca (84)…

Timeline Countdown: 10 days until the World Series opener, 16 nights until Halloween and 17 nights until Standard Time (back one hour)…

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