Cindy Ord/Getty Images

Anthony Cumia

If you're upset, don't tweet.

On July 4, SiriusXM announced that it fired Anthony Cumia, one half of the of "The Opie & Anthony Show," after Cumia fired off what the company called, "racially-charged and hate-filled remarks on social media."

The previous day, Cumia was taking pictures in Times Square and was assaulted by an African-American woman who didn't want her picture taken, according to a report by TheWrap.

Cumia then fired off a series of tweets, which have since been deleted, and was fired the following day.

But while this firing might upset some fans of Opie & Anthony's show, it probably isn't a big deal for the stock.

Opie & Anthony fans upset with Sirius' decision to fire Cumia are drawing a correlation between the company's value and its subscriber base. As of March 31, Sirius reported that it had 25.8 million subscribers, up from 24 million the prior year.

But the real value of Sirius lies in its FCC spectrum licenses. According to its latest 10-Q, Sirius owns more than $2 billion worth of FCC licenses. The licenses, which Sirius is "reasonably certain" it can renew and extend "at minimal cost," could be valuable either to Sirius or a company that could seek to acquire Sirius in the future.

Sirius is majority owned by John Malone's Liberty Media, which was among the companies seeking to take over Time Warner Cable — in which Liberty Media already had a minority stake — earlier this year.

In a Wall Street Journal report late last year, The Journal's Maureen Farrell noted that Malone has, "made no secret," of his desire to consolidate the cable industry, and in 2013 made no less than $19 billion worth of deals. To broadcast cable television or radio, you need spectrum.

The stock market was closed over the long weekend, but shares of Sirius XM have fallen 2.6% over the first two days of this week.

On Twitter, some of Opie & Anthony's fans have been trying to take out their anger over Cumia's firing on shares of Sirius XM.

Look for $SIRI stock to fall following the firing of @AnthonyCumia and mass cancellations of subscribers #StandWithAnt

— Scoop Stanton (@AmericanScoop) July 7, 2014

I cancelled @SIRIUSXM sold my $siri stock because their actions are "wholly inconsistent" with my values. #StandWithAnt

— Craig (@ebenalien) July 8, 2014

I repeat! $SIRI SELL! SELL! SELL! #StandwithAnt

— Jameson Kinley (@JamesonKinley) July 8, 2014

Sirius XM shares might suffer a small PR hit in the near-term following Cumia's dismissal, as TMZ noted the pair have been broadcasting together 1995.

But if you're investing in Sirius, you're investing in a media conglomerate and what Liberty might do with its assets in the future, not a couple of shock jocks.





More From Business Insider

