Está forte a aliança entre o satélite e os fabricantes automóveis

O fabricante de automóveis General Motors acaba de anunciar que vai incorporar milhão e meio de auto-rádios com adaptadores de recepção para uma das duas empresas de rádio por satélite nos EUA, a XM Satellite Radio. Isto é muito importante para o mercado rádio, porque mostra que o satélite é uma alternativa credível.

"General Motors Increases Commitment to XM Satellite

Massive auto manufacturer General Motors has recently increased its in-dash commitments to XM Satellite Radio. The company just indicated that it would place 1.55 million XM-compliant, factory-installed receivers in its 2006 models, a 90 percent saturation rate. GM previously shipped 1.4 million XM-ready automobiles in 2005, and 1.17 million in 2003. "GM was out in front of the satellite radio movement and our customers have benefited enormously," said GM North America vice president Mark LaNeve. "We equip more GM vehicles with XM than any other manufacturer. Nobody else comes close."
For XM, the GM relationship couldn't be more important. The satellite leader recently crossed the five million subscriber mark, and a substantial number are coming from the GM partnership. For the satellite radio industry overall, the trend is becoming increasingly obvious, as car manufacturers are now including a satellite-ready receiver in a large percentage of new models. Whether that alone will create a long-term industry is unclear, though the automobile pre-installations lower the barriers tremendously for new subscribers. Most notably, a pre-installed, in-dash system means that consumers can instantly activate service over the phone or internet, a development that will help to move both XM and Sirius past the early adopter."