Sirius Popular On iPhone

Sirius XM’s new iPhone App received more than 500,000 downloads in its first four days on the iTunes App Store according to an Orbitcast report quoting an internal Sirius memo.

While Sirius is not speaking publically on the veracity of the report, the Sirius app is now the third most popular free application on the iTunes App Store for all categories.

Analysts say it remains to be seen how popular the app, launched June 18, will become after users cycle through its 7-day free service trial. After that, users are required to pay for satellite radio service plus an Internet fee, which pits Sirius against free Internet radio applications such a Pandora. 

Barrington Research said the app is a boon to Sirius just for the attention it is grabbing. A Barrington report this week said the iPhone app has been “very well received. However, the revenue opportunity may be less important than the attention and added visibility it has provided to Sirius XM and the greater usage of the service it could spur. Intensified usage is always good in terms of extending the bond with users and the reduction to churn that can result.”

However, it must be noted that the app met with a cry of outrage in posts all over the Internet lamenting the Sirius app excluded Howard Stern programming.  

Still Barrington Research upgraded Sirius stock to “Outperform” with a 70-cent near-term price target.

Also, David Bank of RBC Capital Markets saw it as positive that Sirius XM recently acted on restructuring its debt. XM Radio announced Monday it is offering $350 million in senior secured, four-year notes to institutional buyers.