Sirius Subscriber Growth On Track
By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 8/6/2003
New York — Sirius Satellite Radio said it continues to be on track to meet an annual goal of 300,000 total subscribers by the end of the year after gaining approximately 37,000 new subscribers in the second quarter.
At an analysts’ conference, president/CEO Joe Clayton said the second-quarter results, which brought total subscriber levels to 105,186, were achieved with very limited supplies of the more popular plug-and-play products that are now available in improved quantities, and which should boost sales going forward. He said 80,000 plug-and-play units will have shipped by the end of August with quantities continuing to ramp.
Clayton announced that Eclipse has been added to the roster of Sirius suppliers with product expected early next year. JVC, which announced its support in January, is likely to offer product by the end of the year, Clayton said, noting that more suppliers may be announced by International CES in January.
Sirius also announced it will offer its radio service to businesses, including restaurants, hotels, retail stores and malls, at a rate of $24.95 per month through a new partnership with Applied Media Technologies in Clearwater, Fla.
In addition, the company is extending to most of its suppliers its program offering a free tuner with the purchase of a Sirius-ready radio and antenna.
On the OEM front, production has already begun on Sirius radios for 10 Ford vehicles which will be available through Ford dealers, as scheduled, next month, Clayton said.
In retail distribution, Sirius is in talks with Wal-Mart about a possible product rollout next year, he added.
Clayton said Sirius continues to develop satellite video delivery as demonstrated at CES. “Frankly, we are being pushed by the car manufacturers to provide video and we are pursing that on a hardware and content basis,” he said noting Sirius is focusing on cartoons as content as they require less bandwidth.
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