SIRIUS Satellite Radio Passes 800,000 Subscriber Mark
SIRIUS (Nasdaq: SIRI), the
premium satellite radio provider known for delivering the most compelling
commercial-free music and sports programming to cars and homes across the
country, today announced that it has surpassed 800,000 subscribers, and
remains on track to achieve one million subscribers by the end of the year.
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SIRIUS passed the 800,000 mark on November 22, and is well-positioned
going into the busy holiday selling season. During this period, SIRIUS will
have multiple portable “Plug & Play” products on sale, including the SIRIUS
Sportster, a receiver with features for the sports enthusiast, and the XACT
Communication XTR1 “Stream Jockey,” a palm-sized unit that has its own
integrated headphone connection and volume controls. Both receivers are
compatible with optional boom boxes for portable use.
SIRIUS will also have “Plug & Play” receivers available from Audiovox,
Blaupunkt, Clarion, DISH, JVC and Kenwood. The Orbiter SIRIUS satellite radio
receiver will be available at all RadioShack stores, and the Streamer,
manufactured by Brix, will be available at trucks stops and travel centers.
Throughout the football season, the company will feature SIRIUS NFL Sunday
Drive, the programming package that allows subscribers nationwide to hear
every NFL game each week, and SIRIUS College Sports Radio, featuring play-by-
play coverage of college football and basketball from over 25 top programs
around the country. SIRIUS is also home to 65 channels of 100% commercial-free
music as well as over 55 channels of news, sports, weather, traffic
information, original entertainment and call-in talk shows, all for the great
value of $12.95 a month, with no added premiums, and discounts for advance
payments of one-year or more.
“SIRIUS is on a roll,” said Mel Karmazin, Chief Executive Officer of
SIRIUS. “We are very excited about this upcoming holiday season, now that we
have such a wide array of innovative products on retail shelves. When you
combine these new models with our programming initiatives such as the NFL,
NBA, college sports, Eminem’s ‘Shade 45′, Maxim Radio and, beginning in 2006,
Howard Stern, you can easily see why we believe SIRIUS is the gift of choice
for the holidays.”
SIRIUS also began a new advertising campaign featuring the NFL and
commercial-free music programming to support all of its recent initiatives,
and more holiday-related advertisements are planned. Many retailers will
feature the SIRIUS $30-Below rebate promotion, making the hardware even more
affordable.
SIRIUS and Ford recently announced that Ford will offer SIRIUS as a
dealer-installed option in four additional models for a total of 13, and plans
to offer SIRIUS as a factory-installed option on up to 20 vehicles over the
next two model years. DaimlerChrysler currently offers SIRIUS as a factory
and dealer installed option, and Mercedes-Benz recently announced that it is
offering SIRIUS as a factory installed option as well. BMW also offers SIRIUS
as a factory and dealer installed option.
SIRIUS continues to have the strongest balance sheet in satellite radio,
with cash of approximately $800 million.
SIRIUS radios for the car and home beginning at $149 are available at
major national retailers such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Crutchfield, Office
Depot, RadioShack, Sears, Target, Wal-Mart and over 20,000 retail locations
around the country, including DISH Network outlets, as well as many truck
stops and travel centers. SIRIUS radios are also available in select Ford,
DaimlerChrysler, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, Nissan and Infiniti automobiles.
About SIRIUS
SIRIUS, now available to over 10 million DISH Network satellite TV and
SIRIUS Satellite Radio subscribers, provides listeners with over 120 channels
of the best commercial-free music, sports, information and entertainment, with
digital quality sound coast-to-coast, broadcast daily from New York City, Los
Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, Houston and Daytona. SIRIUS offers 65
channels of 100% commercial-free music, and features over 55 channels of
world-class sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic and weather for a
monthly subscription fee of only $12.95, with greater savings for upfront
payments of multiple months or a year or more. SIRIUS also broadcasts live
play-by-play games of the NFL, NBA, and NHL, and is the Official Satellite
Radio partner of the NFL.
SIRIUS Satellite Radio products for the car, truck, home, RV and boat are
manufactured by Alpine, Audiovox, Blaupunkt, Brix Labs, Clarion, Delphi,
Eclipse, Jensen, JVC, Kenwood, Sanyo and XACT Communications and can be
purchased at major retailers including Advance Auto Parts, Audio Express, Best
Buy, Car Toys, Circuit City, Crutchfield, Good Guys, Office Depot, Sears,
Target, Tweeter, Ultimate Electronics and Wal-Mart, along with RadioShack and
DISH Network outlets. SIRIUS is also available at heavy truck dealers and
truck stops nationwide.
SIRIUS’ exclusive automotive partners DaimlerChrysler, Ford and BMW
represent over 40% of new cars and light trucks sold annually in the United
States. Automotive brands currently offering SIRIUS radios in select new car
models include BMW, MINI, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep(R), Nissan, Infiniti, Mazda,
Audi, Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen.
Automotive brands that have announced plans to offer SIRIUS radios in select
models include Jaguar, Volvo, Land Rover and Aston Martin. In 2004, SIRIUS
radios are expected to be available in over 80 different car models, with more
than 50 of them factory programs. SIRIUS is also available as a factory
option on select Freightliner, Kenworth and Peterbilt Class 8 trucks. Also,
Hertz currently offers SIRIUS in over 30 vehicle models at 53 major locations
around the country. In addition, the Penske companies — Penske Auto Group
and United Auto Group — are offering SIRIUS radios as a factory installed
option, where available, in their cars and trucks through their dealerships.
Some of the best names in boating and recreational vehicles also offer
SIRIUS including Carver, Formula, Four Winns, Glastron, Godfrey, Hydra Sports,
Larson, Lowe, Mastercraft, Monterrey, Ranger, Regal, Sea Ray, Skier’s Choice
and Wellcraft, as well as RV and coach builders Winnebago, Fleetwood, American
Coach, Starcraft and Alfa Leisure.
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