9:01am -- waiting for the call to begin...

9:03am -- here we go. Sirius' investor relations head intros the exec. team that will handle the call today.

9:05am -- over 561,000 net subscriber additions for the recent quarter. 7.14 million subscribers now have Sirius service. Almost 1.1 million new customers were added in the first half of the year. Q2 numbers include a 51% increase in revenue from the year ago quarter to $226.4 million.

9:08am -- 2007 full-year outlook:
-- Total revenue approaching $1 billion
-- More than 8 million subscribers at year-end
-- Average monthly subscriber churn of approximately 2.2% - 2.4%
-- SAC per gross subscriber approaching $100

9:10am -- the company's net loss improved by 44% to ($134.1) million, or ($0.09) per share, for the second quarter of 2007, from ($237.8) million, or ($0.17) per share, for the second quarter of 2006. The adjusted net loss for second quarter 2007 (adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation) improved to ($117.1) million, or ($0.08) per share, down from ($159.6) million, or ($0.11) per share, for second quarter 2006.

9:14am -- Mel goes over new additions to company's lineup: Jamie Foxx's 'The Foxxhole', and 'SIRIUSLY Sinatra' that brings the voice of Frank Sinatra onto Sirius. Also, The Grateful Dead Radio Channel will launch soon.

9:17am -- Q2 promotions with OEMs are being discussed as it relates to growing the subscriber base of Sirius. It seems like almost every vehicle maker has some sort of agreement with Sirius, from Ford and GM and Volkswagen and Aston Martin.

9:22am -- Q2 expenses are being discussed now. Programming and content expenses increased $8.2 million to $53.1 million for the second quarter of 2007 from $44.9 million for the second quarter of 2006. The increase was primarily attributable to license fees associated with new programming agreements.

9:24am -- Revenue share and royalties increased $12.8 million to $29.8 million for second quarter 2007 from $17.0 million for second quarter 2006. The increase was primarily attributable to growth in the company's revenues as well as an increase in the mix of the company's OEM subscriber base.

9:27am -- $429 million in cash was on hand at the end of the quarter, and Sirius has plenty of liquidity to continue funding the business.

9:28am -- Sirius 6, the company's sixth satellite, is expected to be launched in 2010 and is being built by Loral Systems as a "double power" satellite compared to all other Sirius satellites except for Sirius 5.

9:31am -- Karmazin now begins talking about the Sirius / XM merger. He says that the company is expecting it to pass scrutiny, and that competition will be preserved once it goes through. He also talks about the "ala carte" pricing plans that the company will have available post-merger, with subscription plans starting at $6.95 per month.

9:33am -- the analyst Q&A begins. First question: on the ala carte pricing scheme: are there customer wants for tier pricing and how will this affect ARPU (average revenue per customer) for the company? Answer: these prices will offer lower prices and more choice, and that "substantially" more consumers than in the past. Mel does not answer the question directly about how this will affect Sirius' ARPU. He does say the customer boost will offset any concerns about ARPU.

9:36am -- second question: what churn percentages are expected compared to previous guidance, as XM says that it has 2.2% to 2.4%. Answer: no real large changes. Sirius is not spending as much trying to manage customers (customer service), and XM is.

9:40am -- next question: if the merger is approved, when will the integrated chipset (for Sirius and XM compatibility) be available with OEM customers (automakers)? Within 6 months is the answer from Karmazin -- he says by Father's day next year, and that the ala carte pricing options would be available by Christmas 2008.

9:44am -- next question: what portion of the OEM customer base is still counted on the original OEM subscription? Answer: Ford runs six months and most others like GM and Mercedes last one year. Also, how many customers does Sirius convert from free, promo subscriptions that come with new vehicles to paying subscribers? Answer is not given citing competitive reasons, but it is tracked internally.

9:49am -- next question: merger filings last week showed that satellite penetration into areas without good terrestrial radio coverage was very strong -- does Sirius consider this a strong part of the argument in that there will not be a "non-competition" piece for certain segments of subscribers? Answer: Karmazin says that tons of stuff is competitive, from terrestrial radio to digital audio players to internet radio in cars to technical ability of the company to combine two incompatible radio systems. He's right -- the competition is huge for in-car entertainment. Combining XM and Sirius is *in no way* a threat to competition, and regulators and lawmakers (many of whom are generally clueless on technology) may someday see this.

9:55am -- last question: what is Sirius communicating to the Department of Justice to ensure the merger's success beyond what Sirius has told the FCC? Answer: talking to the DOJ requires less transparency, and Sirius sent "gigabytes" of digital files to the DOJ, as well as paying over a million just in photocopying costs to supply the DOJ with all the information it requested.

10:00am -- that's it! Sirius continues to make great strides even though it is still losing money.
If it can really get to a billion in revenue this year, and the merger is approved, profitability will follow right behind both.