e3NiNe

http://news.com.com/2100-1033-960363.html

"Both companies, which sell satellite radios and programming, say they need to have four million subscribers each to become profitable. " ...

"Sirius Satellite had about 8,000 subscribers as of its third quarter--about 10,000 less than it expected. The company plans to give an update on its subscriber numbers in November."

they're pretty much screwed.

"The company is expecting a new flush of subscribers in December, when it begins to sell a portable satellite radio called SkyFi and when the 400,000 GM cars with XM satellite receivers as an option start hitting showroom floors, XM Satellite said."

this helps alot for xm. there are alot of gm cars being sold and if they're equipt with XM ready to go ... they'll hit the 4 mil mark in 3 years or so.

e3NiNe

when i purchased my Delphi XM unit, i really did alot of research on the topic. here's the facts.

- xm user base as of the 3rd quarter of 2002, grew by 70,000. sirius grew by 1,500 users.

- sirius is $13 a month. xm is $10 a month.

- sirius says that 70 of the 100 stations are ad free, xm says that 35 of the stations are ad free. xm averages 6 min of ads per 1 hour of broadcasting. also, they're not giant blocks of ads. it's about a 20 second promo every 3 or 4 songs.

- xm is supported by GM. GM had the largest growth in the car market in 2002.

- the delphi unit is the only satellite tuner that can be taken from your car, to your home, to the beach, to the garage, and ect. sirius can be working on something similar, but they are about 3 years behind xm in R&D. xm launched in 1998, sirius in 2001.

Toxis

to bad XM actually debuted nationally late 00...but yes, Sirius is going under fast!

Mike

Good thing my Alpine is Xm ready

Mike

e3NiNe

http://news.com.com/2100-1033-960363.html

"XM, launched in 1998, and Sirius Satellite, which debuted in July.... "

95EXSedan

(copied from the above link)
XM, launched in 1998, and Sirius Satellite, which debuted in July, say they are in financial jeopardy. XM Satellite Radio told the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it might run out of money by the first quarter of 2003 and discontinue operations. Sirius Satellite reported to the SEC in mid-August that it needs to raise $300 million by mid-2003 or it might file for bankruptcy protections.


Looks like XM's in a little hot water too.

(Edited 1-08-03)

This was taken from the financial statment on Sirius' web site:

""LIQUIDTY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
On September 30, 2002, Sirius had $255,898 in cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and restricted investments, sufficient to cover estimated funding needs through the second quarter of 2003, without the effect of net proceeds expected from the sale of common stock upon closing of the company's previously announced recapitalization.

Following completion of the recapitalization, Sirius expects to have sufficient cash to cover its funding needs into the second quarter of 2004. With the recapitalization, the company anticipates requiring approximately $75,000 of additional funds in order to reach cash flow breakeven with approximately two million subscribers. If the recapitalization is not completed, additional funding of approximately $600,000 will be needed until operations become self-sustaining with approximately three million subscribers. Sirius is continuing to evaluate initiatives that could enable it to achieve cash flow breakeven without raising additional funds. ""

BasicJim

http://www.xmradio.com/newsroom/scre...002_12_23.html

"Washington D.C. , December 23, 2002 -- XM Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR) today announced a set of definitive financing agreements totaling $450 million - consisting of $200 million in new funds from strategic and financial investors and $250 million in payment deferrals and related credit facilities from General Motors. "


So, anyway, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Hughes Electronics Corporation, The Hearst Corporation, Columbia Capital LLC, AEA Investors Inc., Eastbourne Capital Management LLC, BayStar Capital II, L.P., and other parties all are coughing up cash. Payments on $250 Million are defered until 2006.

XM is in no jepordy!

95EXSedan

Looks like both XM and Sirius are gonna be around a little while longer.