XM for $3 a month

[Klaus]

XM Satellite Cuts
Full-Year Targets
For Revenue, Users
By ELLEN SHENG
May 25, 2006


XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. lowered its forecasts for full-year subscriber growth and revenue, citing soft retail sales of satellite radios in the second quarter.

Shares of the Washington, D.C., company, which competes with Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. in selling radio service delivered by satellite, were down $1.76, or 11%, to $13.75 in 4 p.m. Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. The shares already had dropped almost 45% this year.

XM Satellite expects to end the year with 8.5 million subscribers, down from a previous forecast of nine million. It lowered its revenue forecast to $835 million from $860 million.

XM struggled during the holiday season against Sirius, which launched a big marketing campaign centered around radio host Howard Stern, who started broadcasting exclusively on Sirius on Jan 6. In the past two quarters, Sirius's subscriber additions have outpaced XM's, even though Sirius has a smaller overall subscriber base. In the first quarter, XM added about 569,000 net new users, while Sirius added about 761,000. Bolstered by the subscriber trends, Sirius earlier this month raised its 2006 subscriber forecast to more than 6.2 million.

XM Chief Executive Hugh Panero said that even though XM has regained retail market share since earlier this year, "the satellite radio category has seen an overall softness" in retail sales.

A Sirius spokesman wasn't available to comment.

XM, like Sirius, has spent heavily in order to gain subscribers, which has made some investors nervous. Higher marketing costs have prompted several shareholder lawsuits alleging that Mr. Panero and other top executives sold off stock while misleading investors about the company's ability to control costs.

Yesterday's lowered outlook follows a string of negative announcements for XM in the last few months. The Recording Industry Association of America last week filed a lawsuit against XM, alleging that the company's portable player, the "Inno," should be subject to higher performance-rights fees because it can record and store music. The RIAA sued for $150,000 for each infringement, or a fee each time a song is recorded.

XM also is facing inquiries from the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. The FCC found that one of XM's products didn't comply with transmission-codes standards, while the FTC questioned some of the company's marketing practices.

[HummerNewbie]

Originally Posted by Klaus

XM struggled during the holiday season against Sirius, which launched a big marketing campaign centered around radio host Howard Stern, who started broadcasting exclusively on Sirius on Jan 6. In the past two quarters, Sirius's subscriber additions have outpaced XM's, even though Sirius has a smaller overall subscriber base. In the first quarter, XM added about 569,000 net new users, while Sirius added about 761,000. Bolstered by the subscriber trends, Sirius earlier this month raised its 2006 subscriber forecast to more than 6.2 million.

That was in the first quarter but can they sustain that growth? How many of the 761,000 new subscribers would not have signed up if it were not for Stern? I know a number of people that signed up for Sirius simply because of Stern but probably would have gone XM otherwise. How many more die hard Stern fans can they count on to keep up that pace? To each his own. They both have a good service and the competition will only help all of us no matter which service you have

[Lucifer]

pay for radio, not me, as soon as I get my hummer, the radio is coming out and a pc is going in. I don't like the xm radio stations, nothing I care to listen to.

[Klaus]

Get Sirius: This radio company isn't making money yet

Posted 6/26/2006 12:52 AM ET

Q: Sirius Satellite Radio's stock (SIRI) is down this year. Is it a good time to buy?

A: Every time there's a new and exciting technology, investors want to pile in. And for some reason, they seem to forget about the price they're paying, virtually guaranteeing themselves poor returns.

Satellite radio was a classic case. Shortly after the dot-com bust, investors looking for wild and exciting investment opportunities didn't lose any time investing in satellite radio. It seemed to have unlimited promise. And it didn't seem to matter that Sirius hadn't made a dime and analysts were torn on when, or if, profits would arrive.

The craze hit a new high when I received a reader question on Ask Matt about Sirius' stock on April 25, 2005, when it was trading for $5.14 a share. As you can read here, I cautioned investors that a "string of losses makes it impossible to perform a traditional valuation on the company." I quoted a Standard & Poor's stock research report, which rated the stock a "hold."

Turns out that was great advice. Since that story ran, the biggest winner on the stock has been shock jock Howard Stern, who was paid $100 million a year plus given the opportunity to cash in $191 million in stock. You can read about Stern's mega payday here.

What has happened to regular investors? The stock is trading around $4.45 a share. That's a 13% decline since April 2005. Interestingly, too, investors haven't cashed in on Stern, either. The stock is down 35% since he started on the air. Meanwhile, the company still loses money, making it impossible to value the stock using any standard method.

If you insist on investing in this stock, all I can tell you is to make sure you use money you can afford to lose.

[HummerNewbie]

I have never tried to get the $3/month deal but they do keep offering me a $4/month deal. I keep getting emails that if I come back to XM they will only charge me $4/month when I pay for a year up front. What they don't understand is I have not left XM. I have canceled 3 radios this year but they have all been canceled because I replaced them and signed up for a new radio

[usetosellhummer]

I am a radio vet of almost 20 years, XM, Sirius, are hurting my industry in free radio. I have programmed radio stations in many formats. It is very clear when you do the pepsi challenge that Sirius is the better product. Howard has not even advertised yet. He pulled almost 4 million on his own. wait till the full effect comes in. Due to the FCC and Big Corp. owners all I can offer you is time, temp. that was and this is. You want to be entertained go to sirius. XM sucks, Howard rules and i know I will be selling cars again thats to people like myself who will pay to enjoy no commericals and great talent like Howard.

[HummerNewbie]

Only problem with your post is it comes down to personal preferences. XM doesn't suck because Stern is on Sirius. I know a number of people that have gone to Sirius because of Stern but I could care less where he is. Used to listen to him a number of years ago but not anymore. As far as not advertising, that isn't true, they banked everything on him coming to Sirius. Personally, I don't really think one is any better than the other, it all comes down to preferences. It is kind of like arguing which is better, Ford or Chevy