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XM passes 6.5 million sub mark
Satellite radio touts its latest gain in race with rival Sirius, saying it's on track to reach 9 million by the end of the year.
Not content merely to celebrate each time it adds another million subscribers, XM Satellite Radio today touted its passage of the 6.5 million mark, saying that it netted 568,000 new subscribers in the first quarter of this year to do so.
The satellite-radio company, home to shows hosted by the likes of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Snoop Dogg, and Martha Stewart, said today that it is well on its way to reach its target of 9 million subscribers by the end of the year.
More importantly, said CEO Hugh Panero in a statement, XM has lowered its customer-acquisition costs. Investors expressed concern about those costs after the company reported fourth-quarter results earlier this year. XM's per-subscriber acquisition cost was $89 at that time, compared with $64 in the year-ago quarter.
"Our subscriber growth was achieved economically, with a substantial reduction in the cost to acquire a new subscriber as compared to the fourth quarter of 2005," Panero said today.
The company said its major initiatives of the current quarter include its exclusive play-by-play coverage of Major League Baseball, for which the season begins today, as well as upcoming coverage of the FIFA World Cup.
XM is locked in a heated battle with Sirius Satellite Radio, which lured shock jock Howard Stern away from terrestrial radio in January and has seen its subscriber base grow to more than 4 million.
XM saw its share price spike last week upon several reports that CBS, parent company of Stern's former employer CBS Radio, was kicking the tires of XM in a potential takeover bid. XM's market value is close to $5 billion.
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