Sirius Hits 3M Subs
By John M. Higgins -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/27/2005 10:23:00 AM
Fueled by the hype surrounding the Jan. 3 arrival of Howard Stern, satellite radio company Sirius broke the 3 million subscriber mark.
Sirius was counting on its addition of Stern in a five-year, nine-figure deal, to translate into at least a million more subs as it competes with XM Satellite Radio. The New York-based Sirius has added more than 800,000 subscribers since the third quarter ended in September. That follows third-quarter additions of more than 359,000 subscribers that brought Sirius' total to 2.2 million. But despite the gains, the company remains a long way from financial health. Morgan Stanley analyst Ben Swinburne says he does not believe Sirius will start generating positive operating cash flow until 2009.
