RSSSatellite Radio Shows Strong Growth
By Ed Oswald | Published April 28, 2005, 1:21 PM
Both Sirius and XM this week reported strong results through the first three months of 2005, further proving that the nascent satellite radio business is taking hold among consumers. Both companies hope to continue to move toward profitability during the year.
Sirius Thursday reported it had added 305,437 subscribers during the quarter, a 237 percent increase over the year ago quarter. While the company was adding subscribers, however, its net loss widened from $144 million in the year ago quarter to $193 million this quarter.
Sirius also warned that it was raising its adjusted loss from operations to $510 million for the year, even though it was increasing expected subscriber additions to 1.6 million with lower customer churn.
XM reported earnings on Wednesday and it appeared at first look as if the larger of the two companies was doing much better financially. XM added 541,140 subscribers during the quarter, a 68 percent increase over last year's numbers. The company's net loss narrowed to $119 million from $170 million in 2004.
Looking deeper into XM's books, the company showed that it was able to acquire customers at a much lower cost than its competitor, coming in at $90 per customer versus $190 for Sirius. This was down from $106 for XM and $248 for Sirius in first quarter of 2004.
I hook up my ipod and listen to music in my using that...paying for radio..still makes me laugh lol
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|If they're digital broadcasts, then why not pay for it? Theoretically it could have equivalent or better quality than your average MP3 purchased online.
That said, there's a whole lot of shoutcasts that are free, and some of fairly high quality. Sometimes hard to find music you know, however!
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|You pay for your cable tv, don't you? I pay $10/month for XM and it's well spent. Nothing quite like having commercial free music of any variety you want at the touch of a button. Ever get sick of hearing the same old songs on your ipod? Spending time finding songs and downloading? I let XM find the songs. All I have to do is turn it on and listen. I've got two mp3 players. They're collecting dust.
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|I could not agree more. I have had XM for almost 2 years and it is by far the best $10 a month that I spend on anything. I have heard music and much more that I would have missed out on otherwise and all I have to do is turn it on. I wish them both well and renewed my subscription to XM for 3 years when it came due the last time. I would be lost without it.
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|Honestly, if I never hear local radio again....I'm happy...sirius has been a God send...just installed a streaming sirius setup in my home plus my 2 vehicles...media streaming at it's finest...lifetime subscription for sirius made it all worth it for me
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|I always laugh at folks that say, I can't see paying for Radio, I just use my IPOD. So, you getting your music for free. You can download 12 new songs a month for your IPOD and for that same money, I get commercial free digital music for almost any genre you can think of. Having the variety and not having to deal with downloads, moving files from PC to IPOD. I don't have to deal with any of that. 5.5 million subscribers between XM and SIRIUS feel its the best entertainment value going. You can't get up to the minute news, sports, entertainment. Anyone that can't see the value in Sat Radio has clearly NEVER had Sat Radio.
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|Making the comparison between satellite radio and IPod is apples & oranges other than the sound quality, which is practically the same. Remember, mp3's can be digital, but are lossy, as is sat. radio.
The question is pay radio (satellite) better than free radio (terrestrial). Of course it is! The selection is miles ahead of the crap you can't find on "regular" radio. The cable TV comparison is the best. Rabbit ears or cable? Not even a question anymore.
The IPod (portable radio) vs. whatever satellite comes up with will be the next question.
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