Sirius Satellite Radio will hit cash-flow breakeven with 2 millio...
Sirius Satellite Radio will hit cash-flow breakeven with 2 million subscribers by late 2005, executives told financial analysts in a conference call Wed. Sirius’s 4th-quarter loss deepened to $147.78 million from $122.09 million a year earlier. CEO Joseph Clayton…
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and CFO David Frear said the company’s earlier 860,000 target for the end of 2004 included new subscriptions coming from multiyear agreements announced this week to offer Sirius in vehicles sold, rented or leased by Penske Truck Leasing, the Penske Auto Group and UnitedAuto. Clayton said the deals’ benefits in consumer awareness alone could be “huge.” Frear said churn had averaged 1.7%-1.8% monthly, indicating, despite challenges from an analyst, that Sirius was satisfied with the rate. Clayton also said: (1) Rival XM’s move to a commercial-free music model “verified” the Sirius position that consumers would “not pay to listen to commercials with their favorite music.” (2) Sirius had no plans to reduce its $12.95 basic monthly subscription fee to meet XM’s $9.95 because the company believed it offered more “premium” programming, especially with sports. A retail promotion starts in Feb. offering 15 months of prepaid service for the price of 12, he said.