Posted on 07/27/2006 12:44:18 PM PDT by iowamark
XM Satellite Radio has cut its forecast for subscriber growth for the second time and reports a wider loss for its latest quarter.
However, subscriber gains last quarter did help push revenue up 82 percent.
The District-based broadcaster, which earlier this month lowered its goal for subscribers from 9 million to 8.5 million, now says it expects to end the year with between 7.7 million and 8.2 million, citing "marketplace dynamics and regulatory uncertainties."
Both XM and rival Sirius have stopped sales of some radios after the Federal Communications Commission questioned whether they complied with rules.
For the quarter, XM's loss grew to $229.1 million, or 87 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $146.6 million, or 70 cents per share, a year ago.
XM (NASDAQ: XMSR) had quarterly revenue of $228 million, up from $125 million. It reported a net gain of about 398,000 subscribers and says it now has more than 7 million subscribers.
Sirius (NASDAQ: SIRI) has said it added more than 600,000 subscribers last quarter, for a total of about 4.7 million.
Once I got an iPod, I disconnected XM.
I hope you're right, I hate changing.
Satellite has much, much more to offer than Howard Stern (who isn't even on XM), and to my knowledge, XM has sufficient venture capital to sustain it until 2011. The cost of adding subscibers is indeed a bit high, but in the long run satellite radio is here to stay, and will certainly be profitable at some point in the future. New cars with satellite built in will begin to kick in in earnest over the next 2-3 years, and the cost per subscriber will drop dramtically then. I would not hesitate to invest in either company at this point.
I listen mostly to comedy, however. There are many days where a joke is far, far better than the news.
Besides, Channel 202 on XM is great!
It would be nice, but I don't think the FTC would ever let it happen.
"I listen mostly to comedy, however."
I listen to it a lot as well. Is it just me or are like 90% of female comedians lesbians?
Um... I don't know about that. I would say that I don't ever need to hear another joke about a Lesbian not getting along with her parents. I get it, it's just not funny.
Im with you 100% on that....Ive NEVER had an issue with XM and as much as I travel it is great to hardly ever have to change the radio dial.....something tells me that Sirius may buy XM before it is over though....I still think there is a market for satellite radio even with the Ipod and other pieces of equipment on the market now....
Having mine has prevented me from going off the deep end driving to and from work each day. Your local stations sound alot like mine except we have about 6 spanish stations on FM alone.
It does come in handy on the road trips and there's plenty of selections to choose from.
I had the same experience with the '80s channel. My impression was that it had a "real" '80s playlist for the first 6 months I had the service and then switched to a "any junk we can find recorded between 1980 and 1989" playlist.
Still, the occasional trips to the Bluegrass and Alternative (Lucy, Fred) stations would have made it worth renewal at $8 or so bucks a month. A bit more if they had added a dedicated Louisiana Music Channel (New Orleans-style jazz, Cajun, Zydeco).
NYC Republican wrote:
> The radio has to be positioned just right or there's no reception in my home. <
No problem. Just put your antenna outside the nearest window, then run the cable inside to the XM unit.
That's what I do. Then the FM modulator puts out enough signal that I get good reception on my FM portable anywhere in the house -- plus out in most of the yard.
Great idea. Thanks for the tip!
"I would say that I don't ever need to hear another joke about a Lesbian not getting along with her parents."
LOL, exactly!
Mitch Fatel and Bob Marley are my favorites, right now.
I still care wrote:
>> I turned to "America Right" - it was pathetic. <<
You're both right and correct!!!
It's a very poorly programmed channel, and I think just about any Freeper could do better job of selecting their talent.
But there's A LOT more to XM than just one or two right-wing channels.
For me, it's a fantastic experience to be driving thru rural Quebec and the severely-isolated northern woods of Maine (as I did recently) and still be able to get CNBC and Fox News Channel audio full-time, not to mention Sean in the afternoon, John Batchelor at night, the 1940's music channel, three or four country music channels, three classical music channels, Frank's place (as in Sinatra), etc. etc.
And ditto as I putter around the house and the yard at my vacation home, which is located in a very poorly served local radio market.
By the way, I gotta say I was deeply distressed when XM lost Tony Snow (his show was the reason I bought the XM receiver in the first place!), and I sure wish they'd add the likes of Neal Boortz and the Salem Radio talkers (Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Hugh Hewitt).
But I still love the service. Now I'd even have trouble living without it!
Oh, I see. Since you like it, there can be nothing wrong with it. Anyone who doesn't agree with you is just a complainer.
Except for that antenna thing, of course, which means that is the only legitimate issue.
Wow. Radio in Columbus is the same as in Charlotte and Houston. XM is worth every penny to me. I'd have a bad day without my '70s and Big Tracks fix on the way to work in the morning.
But that's half the fun, especially the '70s and '80s channels. Where else can you hear "Dancing Shoes" by Nigel Olsen or "Arrow Through Me" by Wings? It blows my mind sometimes.
The OnStar telephone audio is noisy unless one makes a call while stopped; a cell phone is better (if you are within a cell). You have to ask yourself if the airbag deployment notification is worth $203 per year. What are your chances of having an accident without anyone around to call 911?
Do you think our local radio market's realize how unhappy people are with their music choices or that the DJ's act like idiots? There is no variety on regular FM.
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