Responding to recent reports that Sirius Satellite Radio is gaining retail market share on its sole rival, XM Satellite Radio Tuesday set the record straight.
Based on the latest satelilte radio subscriber counts, XM is still the market leader with 59 percent market share in third quarter, a gain over second quarter when its share was 56 percent. XM’s total industry share, including retail and new car subscribers, was 63 percent for third quarter.
XM’s numbers contradict Sirius, which quoted figures from The NPD Group that Sirius had captured 56 percent of satellite retail sales in September.
XM based its figures on the addition of 305,284 net retail subscribers in third quarter versus the 209,920 net retail subscriber additions announced Tuesday by Sirius. The NPD Group’s numbers were based on the sales receipts from a subset of retail outlets and did not include all the retail outlets where satellite radio is sold.
“XM subscribers represent two out of every three satellite radio customers,” said Hugh Panero, president and CEO for XM, which has more than 5 million subscribers to Sirius’ 2.1 million. “XM continues to expand its leadership position while adding subscribers at about one-third the cost of our competitor.”
Sirius reported its per subscriber acquisition cost was $149, while XM’s is $89.
By the end of the year, Sirius predicts it will have more than 3 million subscribers, while XM predicts it will have 6 million subscribers.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/tvstations/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001393905
Based on the latest satelilte radio subscriber counts, XM is still the market leader with 59 percent market share in third quarter, a gain over second quarter when its share was 56 percent. XM’s total industry share, including retail and new car subscribers, was 63 percent for third quarter.
XM’s numbers contradict Sirius, which quoted figures from The NPD Group that Sirius had captured 56 percent of satellite retail sales in September.
XM based its figures on the addition of 305,284 net retail subscribers in third quarter versus the 209,920 net retail subscriber additions announced Tuesday by Sirius. The NPD Group’s numbers were based on the sales receipts from a subset of retail outlets and did not include all the retail outlets where satellite radio is sold.
“XM subscribers represent two out of every three satellite radio customers,” said Hugh Panero, president and CEO for XM, which has more than 5 million subscribers to Sirius’ 2.1 million. “XM continues to expand its leadership position while adding subscribers at about one-third the cost of our competitor.”
Sirius reported its per subscriber acquisition cost was $149, while XM’s is $89.
By the end of the year, Sirius predicts it will have more than 3 million subscribers, while XM predicts it will have 6 million subscribers.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/tvstations/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001393905
