Sirius Subs Pass 105K In 2nd Qtr.

NEW YORK— Sirius Satellite Radio announced a total of 105,186 subscribers, or approximately 37,000 new subscriber acquisitions for the second quarter, ended June 30. The company says it remains on track to meet its goal of 300,000 total subscribers by the end of the year.

At a recent financial analyst conference, president/CEO Joe Clayton said the second quarter results were achieved with very limited supplies of the more popular plug-and-play products, which 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 up.

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 said it will offer its radio service to businesses such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores and malls at a rate of $24.95 per month through a new partnership with Applied Media Technologies Corp., Clearwater, Fla.

In addition, the company is extending its free tuner program (with the purchase of a Sirius-ready radio and antenna) to most of its suppliers.

On the OEM front, production has already begun on Sirius radios for 10 Ford vehicles, which will be available through Ford dealers next month, Clayton said.

In retail distribution, Sirius is in talks with Wal-Mart about a possible product rollout next year, he added.

Clayton says Sirius continues to develop satellite video delivery as demonstrated at CES in January. "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.