• Ad Age, Wednesday, January 11, 2006 10:45 AM

Neither a bashful man nor a modest one, Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin is predicting that his company will be a $600 million advertising market by the end of this year. He made his statements this week as Howard Stern, radio's most publicized act, began broadcasting on Sirius' channels. While Howard's first day was commercial-free by design, he has since begun airing commercials. Six spots ran yesterday, including ones from Heineken beer and the Vermont Teddy Bear Company. According to Karmazin, 10 percent of Sirius' revenue will eventually come from advertising. It's possible Sirius could even attain that goal in 2006, Karmazin told a group of Wall Street analysts gathered in Phoenix, although he declined to offer that figure as official guidance. "Howard is getting us a tremendous amount of attention and we are capitalizing on it," Karmazin told his audience. "He was a big driver for us, but it's also enabling us to sell our other commercial-taking channels."

Read the whole story at Ad Age »