Kiddies aren't signing up fast enough?
Posted on 02/17/2006 6:16:09 AM PST by iowamark
FEB. 17 7:50 A.M. ET Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s loss widened to $311.4 million in the final quarter of 2005 on higher costs for acquiring subscribers, the company reported Friday.
The loss was equivalent to 23 cents per share, a penny worse than analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had been expecting. In the same period a year ago, Sirius lost $261.9 million or 21 cents per share.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
Stern's compensation was mainly in stock, so that was one wise thing Sirius did.
This is hugh and vey sirius.
I thought I read that he had sold all, or most of it..
*Drum roll-off*
*cymbal crash*
*groan*
Kiddies aren't signing up fast enough?
Looks like the world wasn't ready for subscription radio after all.
Hmmmm...that satellite radio business is not quite what it's purported to be.
Not all of it is stock. Much is cash. They already paid out over $400 million in cash to him.
The problem is most people don't listen to radio outside of drive time. So you have a few hours of high listenership, but the rest of the day few are listening.
Indeed. They could double the price, and I'd pay. I've tasted life outside the Federal Nursery School, and I like it.
Who's not gonna want free pie and chips? There's free pie and then there's free chips.
I'm not ready to bury them yet. I've been surprised to see how many of my friends have Sirius and XM, and the other day I noticed my rental car had it. Like the MP3 penom, I think satellite radio is going to go through an infancy stage with hard core fans before the market expands. And the way the technology is growing , you kind of wonder how far down the road music on demand and/or Tivo for radio will be.
Stern better bring in some more Strippers! Why would anyone buy something that is worse than the free product?
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
ping
XM has Fox News, Fox News Talk, America Right, and CSPAN as well as the news harlots CNN, MSNBC and Air America. MLB baseball complete coverage and I get my ACC sports coverage too. The music is ok, I think, commercial free, and I really enjoy the uncensored comedy channel.
I hope they hang on.
Well, yeah .... the question is whether one can cover the very large costs of operating satellites through income derived from a subscriber-based clientele. It's essentially the same problem that Iridium and Globalstar faced.
The basic question is whether you can compete with terrestrial applications that are intrinsically cheaper to run and easier to maintain.
In the case of radio, you have the added disadvantage that the competitors offer their services for free to the listener, and the equipment is cheap.
There may well be a break-even for these folks -- but those are some pretty substantial losses for both major players.
And, I have absolutely no interest in satellite radio. I wouldn't buy a car with one in it as I wouldn't want to pay anything extra. I always thought they jumped the shark with the idea. Couldn't see where that many people would care enough to pay money for something they already get for free (albeit with commercials).
I suspect they will be out of business within a few years.
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