Posted on 02/10/2005 1:30:50 PM PST by t_skoz
Loss Widens at XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio Reports Wider Net Loss for Fourth Quarter, Despite Adding Subscribers
Feb 10, 2005 — XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. reported a wider net loss for the fourth quarter of 2004 on Thursday as the company bulked up on new subscribers, adding more than 700,000 in the latest quarter to top 3.2 million users.
XM, which is based in Washington, D.C., reported a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $190.4 million for the last three months of 2004, more than the loss of $170.2 million reported in the comparable period a year ago.
The per-share loss calculations, however, fell to 93 cents in the latest period from $1.12 a year ago because of an increase in the number of shares outstanding. The loss was smaller than the $1.02 per share that analysts polled by Thomson First Call had been expecting.
Revenues more than doubled in the latest quarter to $83.1 million from $33.5 million in the year-ago period. The revenues were also above the $80.5 million that analysts had been expecting.
XM has been spending heavily on programming and marketing to build up its service as it competes with rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. Both companies have been signing deals with automakers to install their devices in new cars, and both are also signing multimillion dollar deals for programming, including Major League Baseball for XM and Howard Stern for Sirius.
XM said it cost the company a total of $100 to add each new subscriber in 2004, down from $137 in 2003. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it expected to break even on a cash flow basis in 2006, and that it expects to have subscription revenues of $480 million in 2005. The company also said it expects to have 5.5 million subscribers at the end of this year.
Last month Sirius reported that it ended 2004 with more than 1.1 million subscribers and expected to finish 2005 with more than 2.5 million. Sirius is being run by Mel Karmazin, a longtime radio executive who departed last year as the president and chief operating officer of media giant Viacom Inc., the owner of CBS and MTV.
XM's stock was up 28 cents at $31.68 in midday trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, about in the middle of its 52-week range of $20.35 to $40.89.
I guess it would interest me if I was in my car all the time, or was an audiophile.
I do like all the music channels I get with my DishTV subscription. All music and no chatter is nice, so I can see the attraction to XM. We live in the boonies and can't get cable, so it's nice to have.
Switch to Sirius. Crystal clear sound because they have 3 sats that orbit the US while XM's 2 sit on the equator. Higher angle and more bandwidth.
I have a funny feeling Fox Radio News will be coming to an AM soon ...
I went to XM because regular radio was impossible to listen to becuase of all the commercials. I find that the music stations are commercial free, though they do throw in some short blips about what is on other channels as well as short fillers between songs. But overall it is an order of magnitude better than AM or FM.
The non-music channels (like FOX or the comedy channels) do have some commercials, but they are manageable.
Overall, I love XM!
That's not true.....there's Polka too.
Add me to your ping list. I love my XM, both for the great music, and for the jealousy it provokes in my friends. :-)
I have SiriusSat, I like it :), as for the price, it's worth if for my tunes ;)
I'm still kicking around whether to get XM or Sirius.
Just got ours as a three-month freebie for buying a Chevy Silverado, and of course, we're already hooked! We'll certainly be subscribers at the end of this initial period, so their strategy of giving 90 days free costs them money, but it will make them money in the future.
Just got ours as a three-month freebie for buying a Chevy Silverado, and of course, we're already hooked! We'll certainly be subscribers at the end of this initial period, so their strategy of giving 90 days free costs them money, but it will make them money in the future.
======
Sounds like they really over-extended themselves on the programming -- they blew it on the big sports events -- since most of their subscribers pay for the music, not sports. May have been a BIG tactical error...
Just because you might have an axe to grind against satellite radio (maybe you work in the radio business?) doesn't mean you have to spread disinformation.
I've been a subscriber of satellite radio since August and I listen to it several hours a day. While you might hear short announcement about what is on other stations (about 15 seconds every half hour or so), it doesn't even begin to compare to the endless, mind-numbing strings of commercials I hear on broadcast radio. Other than these short promotional announcements about other stations, I have never once heard a commercial. And I listen to about 20 different stations.
If the Delphi MyFi could store as much music as the ipod, I would have bought it. Satellite radio is here to stay. I don't know if it will replace regular radio but it's fascinating.
I've got Serius and XM. I listen to XM in the truck. It's a tossup at home.
I think we're getting XM with our Direct TV subscription.
1) No commercials
2) Any sporting event no matter if you are in that teams "market/city/state"
3) National News
4) Any music you want, without lame DJ's
Sirius Rocks.
I get my hillbilly bluegrass and blues music, FOX news and hockey. Well, I used to get the NHL games 8(
Sirius does need to get some terrestial repeaters going like XM. If I go behind a building or trees on the north side I lose the Sat signal. In tunnels and under bridges I also lose the signal, they should buffer the signal maybe like a CD player?
Yeah, I have Sirius...the sound is great. I have the Streamer by Brix that I can switch from car to car or plug into the boombox and it works great. I had it for several months before I ever experienced a signal drop.
Seriusly? Wow, i couldn't imagine having both xm and serius at the same time lol. I have the little unit i juggle between my car and home. At work i listen to it on the pc with stereo speakers, shhhhhh don't tell my boss!
I disagree. If you listen to stations that have talk or other formats than just music, they DO have commercials, whether it's from someone outside paying for the announcement or XM hyping other channels, they're still commericals.
I don't have an axe to grind, it's just free in the car for three months. When you say 100% commercial free, it should be commercial free.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.