I knew that it would happen this year. Sirius passed the 1 million subscriber mark with several days to go before the year end. This is great news for Sirius, and it's also great news for Satellite Radio. I think with over a million customers, that Sirius will definitely make it, and there is no reason to think that Sirius or XM will go bankrupt.
SIRIUS Satellite Radio Passes One Million Subscribers
December 27, 2004 08:00:00 AM ET
* SIRIUS' Retail Market Share Continues to Increase
* Car Manufacturers' Programs Contributing to Rapid Growth
NEW YORK, Dec. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS Satellite Radio SIRI today announced that it has surpassed its year-end target of one million-subscribers.
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Driven by robust holiday sales and helped by aggressive marketing, advertising, and an increase in consumer awareness, SIRIUS continues to see positive momentum across all channels. The company indicated that sales of its popular portable "Plug & Play" products, especially the SIRIUS Sportster, were contributing to the strong numbers, and that consumers continue to be attracted to the company's diverse product offering and programming.
"We predicted that we would reach one million subscribers by year-end and we did it," said Mel Karmazin, Chief Executive Officer of SIRIUS. "It's now clear that consumers are increasingly recognizing the appeal of our programming, including commercial-free music, plus news, weather, traffic, entertainment and the best sports offering in satellite radio."
Reflecting SIRIUS' growing popularity and high level of subscriber satisfaction, the respected auto information site -- Edmunds.com -- recently named SIRIUS as having the best overall programming in satellite radio.
"This recognition from Edmunds.com, combined with recent industry data showing an increase in SIRIUS' retail market share during the holiday season, clearly indicates that we are doing an excellent job of executing on our business plan," added Karmazin.
Besides the Sportster, SIRIUS has "Plug & Play" receivers available from Audiovox, Blaupunkt, Clarion, DISH, JVC, Kenwood, Sanyo and XACT Communication. The Orbiter SIRIUS satellite radio receiver is available at RadioShack stores, and the Streamer, manufactured by Brix, is available at trucks stops and travel centers.
Throughout the football season, the company features SIRIUS NFL Sunday Drive, the programming package that allows subscribers nationwide to hear every NFL game each week, and SIRIUS College Sports Radio, featuring play-by-play coverage of college football and basketball from over 26 top programs around the country. SIRIUS is also home to 65 channels of 100% commercial-free music as well as over 55 channels of news, sports, weather, traffic information, original entertainment and call-in talk shows, all for the great value of $12.95 a month, with no added premiums, and discounts for advance payments of one-year or more.
SIRIUS continues to move ahead with its automotive programs. Today SIRIUS can be found as a factory and/or dealer installed option in vehicles from Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Infiniti, Jeep(R), Lincoln-Mercury, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nissan, Porsche, Volkswagen and Volvo, and beginning in February 2005, Toyota, Lexus and Scion. Ford recently announced that it will offer SIRIUS as a dealer-installed option in four additional models for a total of 13, and plans to offer SIRIUS as a factory-installed option on up to 21 vehicles over the next two model years.
SIRIUS radios for the car and home beginning at $149 are available at major national retailers such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Crutchfield, Office Depot, RadioShack, Sears, Target, Wal-Mart and over 25,000 retail locations around the country, including DISH Network outlets, as well as many truck stops and travel centers.
About SIRIUS
SIRIUS delivers more than 120 channels of the best commercial-free music, compelling talk shows, news and information, and the most exciting sports programming to listeners across the country in digital quality sound. SIRIUS offers 65 channels of 100% commercial-free music, and features over 55 channels of sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic and weather for a monthly subscription fee of only $12.95. SIRIUS also broadcasts live play-by-play games of the NFL and NBA, and is the Official Satellite Radio partner of the NFL.
SIRIUS radios for the car, truck, home, RV and boat are manufactured by Alpine, Audiovox, Blaupunkt, Clarion, Delphi, Jensen, JVC, Kenwood, Sanyo and XACT Communications. Available in more than 25,000 retail locations, SIRIUS radios can be purchased at major retailers including Best Buy, Circuit City, Crutchfield, Office Depot, Sears, Target, Wal-Mart and RadioShack. SIRIUS is also available at heavy truck dealers and truck stops nationwide.
SIRIUS radios are currently offered in vehicles from Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Infiniti, Jeep(R), Lincoln-Mercury, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nissan, Porsche and Volkswagen. Beginning in February of 2005 SIRIUS will also be available in Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles. Hertz currently offers SIRIUS at 53 major locations around the country.
Click on
http://www.sirius.com to listen to SIRIUS live, or to find a SIRIUS retailer or car dealer in your area.
Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance with respect to SIRIUS Satellite Radio Inc. are not historical facts and may be forward-looking and, accordingly, such statements involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Accordingly, any such statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among the key factors that have a direct bearing on our results of operations are: our dependence upon third parties to manufacture, distribute, market and sell SIRIUS radios and components for those radios; the unproven market for our service; our competitive position and any events which affect the useful life of our satellites.
© 2004 PRNewswire
