Sirius Passes 3 Million Subscribers

By the Betanews Staff | Published December 27, 2005, 2:55 PM

Sirius said on Tuesday that it had recently passed 3 million subscribers, and expected to finish the year on a positive note. The company, which is attempting to make up lost ground to XM, is banking on the addition of Howard Stern to place itself on a more even footing with its competitor. Stern moves to Sirius on January 9.

The service has added almost 2 million subscribers during the year, more in line with the number of subscribers XM has signed up during the same period -- approximately 2.5 to 3 million. Rival XM had 5 million subscribers as of the end of the third quarter, with expectations to surpass 6 million by year's end.

Comments

View comments by with a score of at least

my local sports talk station is enough radio for me. i dont need to pay for radio i will never listen to.

Score: 0

|

I was actually willing to pay for radio if I don’t have to listen to commercials long before Satellite radio come out. I just hate listing to ads that runs longer then the music. Local radio stations have very poor choices. In Southern California radios stations play mostly RAP or Spanish Programs and the rock stations have mostly ads. I have A.D.D. and I need more choices Darn it!

For what I pay for Sirius Satellite Radio, it is well worth it for me.
Oh... there is one exception, I do listin to Coast to Coast on the AM radio once in a while.

Score: 0

|

All i got to say is O&A PARTY ROCK!!!!!!!!!

Score: 0

|

they should be able to get another million now that Canada can subscribe to this legally.

Score: 0

|

"I think comparing XM and Sirius is like Pepsi & Coke, Ford & Chevy, Direct TV & Dish Network. They all have their pros and cons. It all falls in to personal preference."

I disagree that it is like comparing Direct Tv and Dishnetwork. When talking about tv channels, you are correct it does fall a bit to preference because in large part you are talking about the same channels (MTV, ESPN, TnT, Comedy Central). However with sat radio it is fair to compare the two services and have some degree of objectivity because right now there is very little if any over lap in channels and I think repception is a very fair critique as well.

Score: 0

|

I subscribed to Sirius when they only had less then 25,000 subscribers. I had great luck with the service and enjoyed the programs very much. I enjoyed them so much, I purchased a second unit for my brother and even referred my boss to subscribe, He enjoys it too, especially the old time radio shows that Sirius offers. The reception here in Southern California has been very good even under bridges and some structures. I do get drop-out spots but they are very rare. I think comparing XM and Sirius is like Pepsi & Coke, Ford & Chevy, Direct TV & Dish Network. They all have their pros and cons. It all falls in to personal preference.

Score: 0

|

XM sound is betterm channels are better, reception is MUCH better. But I really like my Kenwood unit (has Sirius built in)and I need my Stern.

Life is never fair.

P.S. XM has better reception in part thanks to ground based transmiters. In fact most of the time you're listening to that signal, not sat. I wish Sirius would do the same!

Score: 0

|

3 million at large or 3 million including people who signed up, tried it, hated it and then no loonger pay?

Score: 0

|

I agree. I believe they HAD 3 million members. That doesn't mean that they HAVE 3 million ACTIVE members now. I was one of the 3 million. I had XM and wanted to try Sirius for a change, but it was a mistake. Their DJ's and music sucks! So, now I got XM back. Not only that, but Sirius reception is very bad. I couldn't get anything under a bridge; with XM, I can (believe it or not).

Score: 0

|

Stern quit doing relevant radio 10 years ago. Sirius should focus on quality programming instead of looking for the most media attention by signing the largest names.

Score: 0

|

I have Sirius...it sounds like 96kbps mp3s. I had XM..it sounded better. This is what they need to fix.

Long live Stern!

Score: 0

|

I ordered sirius here up in Canada,then I found out I couldn't get Stern on it ..Dam CRTC.up here has banned him even on a pay as you go. Sorry bubba booy.:(

Score: 0

|

Commies!!!

Score: 0

|

They will inevitably merge at some point, so it's better to go now with what you prefer (baseball, stern, football, etc.) Sirius seems to have the cheaper, broader options, though.

Score: 0

|

Cheaper? They're both $12.95 a month. For signing Howard Stern, I'd expect Sirius to have 5 million subscribers by now. Just goes to show how much of a non-threat Howard is. Or just how bad shape Sirius is in.

Score: 0

|

Howard's best days have been over since the late 80's. The masses did not follow Stern as they expected and they are in panic mode now. If you want real humor, go to XM 202, Opie & Anthony (also on DirecTV 879). XM now leads in all areas - superior hardware, better programming, and better quality.

Score: 0

|

Palm posts third quarter results: disappointing sales, more net loss

Palm may be doing better this year than it did last year, but with only 42% sellthrough for the quarter, there's plenty of room for improvement.

Kindle for Mac released: Is Amazon's e-reader moving away from hardware?

Today, Amazon announced Kindle for Mac, the latest addition to the family of free Kindle software.

Microsoft cuts and pastes an egg

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: We've listened to our mobile customers, said Microsoft, and cut-and-paste isn't what they want? Uh-huh. Right.

Google improves Maps for Android, rolls in bonus features

The search provider has improved page listings in Maps 4.1, adding a Latitude widget and live wallpaper.

Will Viacom's public airing of YouTube's dirty laundry change the Web forever?

If Viacom wins its summary judgment, will video services everywhere have to police their content for anything that may belong to a copyright holder?

Let the rejections begin: Apple opens first round of submissions for iPad App Store

In a message sent to developers today, Apple announced that it is now accepting iPad apps for the iTunes app store.

Viacom and YouTube: Timeline of pertinent events

The billion-dollar legal battle between Viacom and YouTube is in its third year, but the video site's run-ins with Viacom stretch back more than five years.

A tale of two "red alerts:" Which Windows warnings should you heed?

A pair of malware warnings are circulating worldwide, but after reading so many, they all seem alike. Sophos tells us to read them all more carefully.

Nvidia admits GeForce drivers responsible for fan problems, issues updates

It's the type of driver error you see less and less frequently, but after a few video cards were smoked, Nvidia has issued what it hopes will be a fix.

Netflix axes 'friends' feature due to unpopularity

After mysteriously disappearing from the Movie Detail page on Netflix, the Friends feature is in the process of being removed.

Preliminary results: IE9 tech preview performs 7.8 times better than IE8

There are indeed significant improvements made to the efficiency and processing power of Microsoft's next browser, though they're not across the board.