SiriusXM Loses 445,000 Sat Radio, 64,000 Pandora Subscribers

Etan Vlessing
3 min read
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Audio entertainment giant SiriusXM, the home of Howard Stern, reported on Tuesday that it lost 359,000 self-pay subscribers in its satellite radio unit in the first quarter.

The decline from a year-earlier loss of 347,000 self-pay subs resulted from fewer trial starts in late 2023 and higher first-quarter churn. Paid promotional subscribers during the latest quarter fell by 86,000 customers, compared to a gain of 66,000 subscribers in the category last year.

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This added up to an overall first-quarter subscriber drop of 445,000, compared with 281,000 in the same quarter of 2023. SiriusXM, led by CEO Jennifer Witz, also reported self-pay subscribers of its Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium services fell by 64,000 during the first quarter, compared to a year-earlier loss of 7,000 subscribers.

During a morning analyst call, Witz conceded the launch of the new SiriusXM streaming app for some longtime customers had been “disruptive,” but added innovation to reach younger subscribers beyond cars was growing. “Our early engagement metrics and other consumer signals we are following from the new SiriusXM app are improving. We are confident that our app platform relaunch and the product improvements coming in the car are putting us on the right path,” she told analysts about signing up new streaming-only subscribers.

SiriusXM executives on the call talked about continuing innovation to drive new subscriber growth and revenues. That included possibly putting some podcasts behind a paywall or offering a lower-cost and even free, ad-supported SiriusXM service.

Overall, the company posted quarterly revenue of $2.16 billion, up 1 percent from $2.14 billion in the first quarter of 2023. The company recorded earnings of $265 million, or 7 cents per share, up from a year-earlier $233 million, or 6 cents per share. SiriusXM pointed to advertising revenue rising 7 percent to $402 million, which was offset by subscription revenue falling 1 percent to $1.68 billion.

Witz also told analysts the company was “working through” negotiations to combine the satellite radio giant with the Liberty SiriusXM tracking stock group, but put no firm timeline on completing the proposed transaction beyond “early Q3.” Liberty Media, led by president and CEO Greg Maffei and chairman John Malone, owns an 83 percent stake in SiriusXM and is looking to take full control of the satellite radio company to offer investors a more attractive value proposition.

Scott Greenstein, president and chief content officer of SiriusXM Radio, talked about his company possibly having to replace Howard Stern should the “King of All Media” retire and not renew his long-standing deal when it comes up next year.

“You never want to be a company without Howard and if he decides to retire, or do whatever he does, then that’s his choice,” he told analysts. In 2020, Stern last extended his deal with the company for his flagship show by five years.

“You don’t replace someone, you come up with a strategy of what is your current demo and your target audience and you look at what would be best suited for that at any given time. And we love our bench,” Greenstein added about a potential post-Howard Stern world for SiriusXM radio.

Stern, as SiriusXM’s most valuable creative asset, is not only key to retaining subscribers, but also holding onto and attracting top talent to the satellite radio and streaming service.

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