SiriusXM has skilled a major decline in self-pay subscribers, shedding 359,000 prospects in Q1 2024, a bigger loss in comparison with the 347,000 subscribers it shed throughout the identical interval final yr.
SiriusXM’s income confirmed modest progress, posting $2.16 billion this quarter, a 1% improve from $2.14 billion final yr. The corporate’s revenue rose to $265 million, up from $233 million. Regardless of a 7% improve in promoting income, subscription income noticed a slight decline of 1%.
Additional impacting the subscriber base, SiriusXM noticed a lower of 86,000 paid promotional subscribers, a pointy distinction to final yr’s improve of 66,000 in the identical class. The corporate attributes this downturn to a discount in trial begins late final yr and a rise in subscriber churn at the beginning of this yr.
Whole subscriber numbers fell by 445,000 this quarter, marking a steeper decline than the 281,000 misplaced within the first quarter of 2023. Moreover, the corporate reported a lack of 64,000 subscribers from its Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium providers, a major improve from the 7,000 misplaced a yr earlier.
Through the April 30 earnings name, SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz acknowledged challenges with the launch of the brand new streaming app, which had been disruptive for some long-standing prospects. Nevertheless, she stays optimistic concerning the platform’s relaunch and upcoming product enhancements aimed toward attracting a youthful viewers, notably via improvements in cellular and car-based streaming.
Trying forward, Witz mentioned ongoing negotiations to combine SiriusXM with the Liberty SiriusXM monitoring inventory group, aiming to finish the merger by early Q3. Liberty Media, which holds an 83% stake in SiriusXM, seeks to boost the worth proposition to traders via full management.
One other problem on the horizon? Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content material Officer of SiriusXM Radio, addressed the potential of changing Howard Stern if he doesn’t renew his contract subsequent yr. Stern has lengthy been the face of SiriusXM after famously leaving terrestrial radio for this system, however current offers with Conan O’Brien, Kevin Hart, and Andy Cohen might present the subsequent era of star-power the broadcaster needs.
