Media

Sirius Claims 30 Million Subscribers, 24 Million Self-Paid

Paul Ausick

Published: April 11, 2016 10:50 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 10:56 am

Satellite radio company Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) announced Monday morning that it added 465,000 net new subscribers in the first quarter of 2016. The company said its total subscriber base has now surpassed 30 million, a record high.

Excluding promotional subscriptions Sirius XM added 348,000 net new subscribers in the quarter, giving it a total of 24.6 million self-paid subscribers.

That’s an impressive number, but well below the 30 million paid subscribers that Spotify CEO Daniel Ek claimed for his company last month. Spotify’s total reflects global subscriptions, while Sirius XM’s total is for the United States only. Sirius XM Canada, in which the company holds a minority interest, claims 2.7 million subscribers.

CEO Jim Meyer said:

SiriusXM has grown from a pioneering startup to a media powerhouse in less than fifteen years of service by providing listeners with the best audio entertainment available. We believe there is more success to come because of our relentless search for new and exciting content, our intense focus on subscriber satisfaction, and our significant investments in next-generation services and platforms.

In December Sirius XM renewed its contract with show host Howard Stern for an undisclosed amount. The new contract term was five years, and Stern also signed a 12-year deal with the company giving Sirius XM the rights to Stern’s 30-year audio and video library. In 2005 Stern signed his first contract with Sirius XM for $500 million, and he renewed it in 2010 for a reported $400 million.

Shares of Sirius XM traded down about 0.3% Monday morning, at $3.84 in a 52-week range of $3.29 to $4.20.