Sirius and Fox News Channel are acting friendly again. The two companies have announced a “new long-term agreement to carry Fox News and Fox News Talk channels beginning March 14th.” Sirius has apparently agreed to Fox’s terms, namely that the satellite radio provider offer the Fox News Talk channel.
The previous agreement expired at the end of 2005. For the last month and a half, XM has offered Fox News and Fox News Talk, but Sirius hasn’t.
Sirius president of entertainment and sports Scott Greenstein chooses his words carefully in the press release:
“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with FOX to bring back its news service to SIRIUS and to add what is a compelling talk channel,” he said. “Our goal was to negotiate a new agreement that would be in the best interest of our subscribers and shareholders, and the new agreement fulfills that objective.”
A letter from Sirius to one of the listeners who had complained about losing Fox is after the jump…
> Jan. 5: Fox will talk if Sirius calls
> Jan. 2: Sirius drops Fox News feed
> Oct. 28: Talks break down
“Dear Valued Customer: Thank you for recently contacting us to express your point-of-view regarding FOX News. At that time, we were still in discussions with FOX and working diligently to come to an agreement to be able to continue to offer FOX News. We are pleased to tell you that we have successfully secured FOX News as part of our lineup. On March 14th, you will see it on Channel 131 and additionally you will also find FOX News Talk on Channel 145. Thank you for being a SIRIUS subscriber; we look forward to serving you for years to come. Stay tuned for future programming updates, as we continue to listen to your feedback and work hard to ensure our complete programming offering provides all of the value and options that our subscribers deserve. Respectfully, Michael Moore Vice President, Customer Care”