XM ganha 2,7 milhões num ano e chega aos 6 milhões de assinantes

A XM, sem Howard Stern, conseguiu fechar o ano com 6 milhões de assinantes, totalizando mais 2,7 em 2005. Perspectivas para 2006: 9 milhões de assinantes, continuando a liderar o mercado.

"XM has the commanding numbers, but Sirius is growing at a faster pace. The underdog provider now has 3.3 million subscribers, surpassing company guidance of 3 million for the end of 2005. The company revealed that it had tacked on 2,173,302 subscribers in 2005 alone, landing at 3,316,560 just prior to January. That is a remarkable surge, and reflects growing excitement and hype ahead of the arrival of Howard Stern. Meanwhile, the company has awarded Stern 34 million shares of its stock, a contractual reward for meeting its year-end subscriber goals satisfactorily. Stern begins his first broadcast January 9th."

E agora com um grande trunfo: vêm aí LAD/mp3 compatíveis com a recepção satélite: "Electronics manufacturers Samsung and Pioneer have both announced new portable audio players that support XM Satellite Radio. Samsung has tossed three XM-compatible models into the ring, all of which offer a new "bookmark" feature, which lets users tag songs for later purchase on the XM+Napster online service."