XM is ’the big dog’ of satellite radio, CEO Hugh Panero told a CE...
XM is “the big dog” of satellite radio, CEO Hugh Panero told a CES news conference Wed. in a slap at rival Sirius. XM has 3,275,000 subscribers and in 2004 doubled its edge over Sirius to 2 million from…
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one million a year earlier, Panero said. XM added 700,000 new subscribers 4th quarter, a 66% improvement from a year earlier, he said. The company enjoyed its largest single day of subscriber activations with over 50,000 on Christmas, he said. At CES, Panero said Pioneer would introduced an XM2Go portable this year. The company also introduced a “Connect & Play” chip, which when implanted by a manufacturer in any consumer audio product, such as a boombox portable, will make it instantly “XM-ready,” Panero said. The feature requires purchase of a small Connect & Play antenna that will list for $49.99. A roster of prominent audio brands already has signed on to the Connect & Play program, including Boston Acoustics, Denon, Harman Kardon, Onkyo, Polk and RCA, he said.