Audio entertainment giant SiriusXM reported Tuesday that it lost 96,000 self-pay subscribers in its satellite radio unit in the third quarter, a narrowed decline after a 132,000 drop in the second and a 347,000 loss in the first quarter. In the year-ago period, the firm had added 187,000 such customers though.
SiriusXM also added 2,000 paid promotional subscribers, after a year-ago loss of 49,000. That meant a total net drop of 94,000 subscribers in the latest quarter, compared with a gain of 138,000 in the third quarter of 2022 and a gain of 23,000 in the second quarter of 2023. The year-to-date satellite radio user drop as of the end of September stood at 336,000, compared with a gain of 138,000 for the first nine months of 2022, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
As of the end of September, Sirius’ self-pay subscriber base stood at more than 31.8 million, with its total users falling just below 34.0 million. Earlier in the year, the firm, led by CEO Jennifer Witz, had said that it expects a “modest” user drop for the full year 2023 amid economic and car industry challenges.At its Pandora streaming business, SiriusXM lost 112,000 subscribers in the third quarter, compared with a year-ago loss of 52,000. Over the past year, the firm lost about 150,000 users. The company ended September with around 6.1 million total self-pay customers at Pandora.
SiriusXM, however, recorded quarterly advertising revenue in its Pandora and Off-Platform unit of $418 million, up 3 percent from the year-ago period and up 5 percent over the second quarter of 2023. In the second quarter, ad revenue had declined slightly. Monthly active users (MAUs) at Pandora reached 46.5 million in the third quarter, down from 48.8 million in the prior-year period. Total ad-supported listener hours hit 2.64 billion, compared with 2.75 billion in the third quarter of 2022.
SiriusXM reported overall third-quarter revenue of $2.27 billion, down slightly from $2.28 billion in the year-ago period. Earnings of $363 million, or 9 cents per share, rose from $247 million, or 6 cents per share in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), another profit metric, rose 4 percent to $747 million.
SiriusXM plans to launch next week a new streaming app, which is designed to attract younger, more diverse audiences and offer better search recommendations and other features.
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