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SiriusXM projected to have lower subscriber gains later in 2023
- Thread starter davideduardo
- Start date
SiriusXM now has unhosted versions of 60s Gold, 70son7 and 80son8 on the app as well. Obviously I like the hosted versions. A lot of other channels are just music and liners. I still use Spotify with the adds......I'm not paying for 2 music services.
Spotify's attempts at hosting music content (like the morning show it would assemble for you) haven't worked.
That's exactly it. Pandora was in royalty-financial trouble, and SXM was looking for an express lane to streaming.
Yes
The other factor that may impact satellite delivery is that once more cars are able to connect up and stream and have that offering in the infotainment center in the dashboard, and as more cell carriers offer unlimited data plans at affordable prices, satellite delivery just won't be as necessary or attractive. Some, including me, have pointed out that they haven't subscribed to SiriusXM because the audio quality of their music channels is so poor.
My last 2 vehicles, both GM models, have had the ability to act as a WiFi hotspot, where you can subscribe to a plan, I believe through OnStar, and then up to 7 tablets, smartphones and similar devices in or around the vehicle can connect up and stream, surf the web, etc. so that tech is already here.
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This is more broadly as a new subscriber-growth issue, not unique to just SXM. Netflix, Hulu, Paramont+ Disney+ and other media services are expecting about the same lower percentages of new-subscribers in 2023.
Let's keep in mind, though, that the average age of cars these days has hit 11 years and forecasts indicate 12 years is not far off. That means that a huge number of cars don't have easy streaming capability or any at all.
So for Sirius/XM we have more than a decade of predominantly satellite delivery ahead... enough so that new near-billion dollar satellites have been launched and that project is over, IIRC.
As I just mentioned a moment ago, with the average age of cars on the road in the US over 11 years, the immense majority predates all those enhancements.
I just traded in a 6-year-old car that is what you would call a "luxury brand" and it could do none of those things. So figure that 75% to 80% of all cars on the road today can't, either. Yes, a change is coming... but it will take about half a generation just to get between half and 60% of all cars so equipped.
Oh you don't need to remind us, David. We all see the posts from @DrAkbar who, along with Nurse Jeff, is somehow keeping an AMC Gremlin alive - and those haven't been manufactured in the US since '78!
**Apologies for once again injecting humor into a discussion thread. I know it doesn't always sit well.
Any car with a sound system that has bluetooth capability has streaming ability, off your phone.
For older vehicles, any aftermarket stereo with bluetooth can also stream off your phone. My off-road trucker neighbor has them in his 1970's era GMC and 1980's era Chevy. I think a lot of in-car sound systems have had bluetooth capability since 11-12 years ago.
So I sort of doubt whether the industry will have to wait much longer for satellite radio to be seeing the downward slope. Why pay for a satellite system in your car when you have two cheaper alternatives (OTA radio and streaming off your phone)?
Of course, if you're a massive fan of Howard Stern, or other curated or proprietary Sirius/XM channels, you'll pay, but for the average music fan?
And most cars on the road (I'd love to have a figure) don't have that capability. My 2016 BMW did not, and it had every "extra" you could get. My wife's model, one year later, can't do that either.
But most more recent cars have been built with integrated electronics and nowhere in the dashboard or instrument cluster to put one... or wiring to accommodate it.
Yes, doable in some cases, but most people do not want to mess with their car electronics and wiring. How many of those ubiquitous car stereo places of the 80's and 90's do you see any more? Even the car stereo departments that electronics stores had are mostly gone today.
Going back to a combination of cars we've had since 2010... a VW, a Jeep, a couple of Beemers, several Mercedes, and a Lexus none had bluetooth capability.
Now I am curious / intrigued as to the percentages of so-equipped cars by year, exclusive of after-market add-ons. This is an interesting subject.
Then why did they launch a roughly $600 million satellite last year with, IIRC, additional stuff being scheduled to be put into orbit in the next year or so?
There are many people in the over-35 demos (not a precise figure) who have matters of greater concern than dealing with connectivity that is not as easy to use as satellite and OTA radio. There have been some studies about things that an 18-year-old will do that a married or partnered person with family chores and responsibilities won't do because "I don't have time for that". Among those things are chores like building personal playlists and setting up custom channels on paid streaming services.
Obviously, I have no cultural affinity for Stern. But satellite (now that I spent a half-hour trying to cancel) now gives me such a nice "don't go away" rate and I have three or four news/commentary channels and four or five music channels to pick from that there is no incentive for anything else. "Else" is too much like "work".
My wife is often very impatient with technology. SiriusXM being in her car, working like a car radio, is what works for her. She would likely not mess with fumbling with her Bluetooth for audio if she didn't have the satellite radio available. I have a Bluetooth device connected to my car radio so I can use the app. Big disadvantage is not being able to change channels quickly. I have to commit until I'm ready to pull over.
My wife is of the same mind. In both of her cars, (a Jaguar XJL and Volvo XC60) she only listens to SXM channels. I attribute the preference to convenience. She knows when pressing this preset, she hears a particular music or news channel. I'm the only one who when driving one of her cars, will frequently switch between conventional, satellite, and streaming choices.
Earlier I said the SiriusXM App is the growth area for the company, not satellite, which is why new car sales don't matter. Here's more on that story:
www.insideradio.com
SiriusXM Plans To Evolve The Listening Experience With Streaming App Overhaul.
While the majority of SiriusXM’s revenue comes from its core satellite radio service, CEO Jennifer Witz sees an opportunity in streaming to attract younger, more diverse audiences to fuel future
I'm really surprised that a 2016-model premium brand, with all available options, did not have Bluetooth capability.
I have a 2013 Honda Pilot that is (mostly) standard optioned, and the factory stock radio is fully Bluetooth'd. Did the Germans somehow not get the memo on that?
Ditto for my 2013 Chevy Malibu. David's family must be cherry-picking the exceptions!
2016 Kia Soul has bluetooth.
Ditto for 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Looking like David will be disappointed if he ever is able to get at the numbers for Bluetooth in vehicles now on the road. But it's all conjecture, I suppose, because there's no reliable source for that data. Also, I'm sure a considerable number of owners of vehicles with Bluetooth-enabled radios either never use that feature or, like myself, only use it to take and make phone calls from the car without fumbling with a smart phone while driving. I do stream various music sources, including radio, at home, but in the car, I'm strictly FM and Sirius XM.
I understand your point... I just think that their idea of the app being "growth" may not exactly work out as planned. Radio Disney didn't work out as planned when they went online only. This was even when RD's major demographics were tech-friendly young people.Earlier I said the SiriusXM App is the growth area for the company, not satellite, which is why new car sales don't matter. Here's more on that story:
SiriusXM Plans To Evolve The Listening Experience With Streaming App Overhaul.
While the majority of SiriusXM’s revenue comes from its core satellite radio service, CEO Jennifer Witz sees an opportunity in streaming to attract younger, more diverse audiences to fuel future
Too many other choices online. Having a proprietary app on your phone (or auto entertainment desktop) probably helps keep listeners from straying for a while, but there are a lot of other streaming service apps out there, and you can switch apps fairly easily (although not while driving).
And a lot of what the SXM rep in the article is talking about seems a bit unrealistic. I mean, you're driving down the road, are you really going to use an 'enhanced search function' on your SXM app? Possible, I suppose, but I sort of doubt it...
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