By Brandon Matthews

It seems as if anything I write is met with both harsh criticism, and loud applause. Sometimes that criticism is not even relevant to an article. As an example, I could write about Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) being installed in Ford (F) vehicles, and a number of critics will insist on commenting that Sirius XM Radio spends too much on “overpriced” talent. It will have nothing to do with the topic but none the less, they persist. This weekends focus of such comments seems to have landed on Sirius XM’s newest acquisition, Rosie O’Donnell. This despite the fact that Rosie’s contract terms have never been disclosed. Of course this opens the door to further criticism regarding Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Walters and Martha Stewart channels and contracts.

For years Sirius and XM as separate entities fought furiously for listeners. The fiercest fighting came from professional sports leagues, Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Bubba “The Love Sponge” and basically anything that appealed to 30 year old plus males. Most people are aware of this and some have suggested that the company should direct its attention to a younger audience, which it has now in fact done by becoming a mobile player through the new Apple (AAPL) iPhone and iPod Touch app. The problem with the younger generation of course is that its disposable monthly income pales in comparison to its elder generations. Women for the most part have been ignored.

If the potential market for Satellite Radio is an assumed 350 million subscribers, the lack of female marketing would then reduce that potential to only 175 million potential male subscribers, given a 50/50 male/female population split. Make no mistake about it, women are not only as important to Sirius XM’s success as their male counterparts but I would argue more so.

The first and most obvious reason is the basic demographic itself. If more women subscribe to Sirius XM the better off the company will be. It is much deeper than that that however. By making the product more female friendly, it is more likely that families with multiple cars will upgrade to a family plan. If Dad’s got Satellite Radio in his car, and Mom has it in her car, it’s a pretty safe bet that Junior will want it in his car in the years to come, especially if the girl he likes happens to have it as well.

Appealing to a female demographic opens the door to new advertising revenue potential, not only for products that appeal to women only but for products and services that would appeal to families and children.  It also will result in lower subscriber acquisition costs (SAC), greater ARPU and lower churn and deactivation rates.

Finally, when a family sits down to go over a monthly budget during hard times, it is likely that a lone male will be over-ridden on his desire to maintain a Satellite Radio subscription by a wife who sees no value in the product. This concept can also be applied to the purchase of a new car or truck. Do I even need to explain this concept? If you don’t understand it, you are probably single.

The bottom line is that Sirius XM needs to appeal to all of the people, all of the time, or as close as it can get. Sirius XM has yet to spend even a fraction of what it spent to reach its male audience on reaching a female audience, and now that it has merged, will not have to.

Welcome to the future of radio, Ms. O’Donnell.

Position: Long SIRI, F

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