São falsos os numeros de assinantes via satélite?

«Sirius Satellite Radio is steadily gaining subscriber traction, though its numbers have recently been called into question. For years, both XM and Sirius have been scrutinized over how many active, paying subscribers they actually have. That is an important question, especially considering the high number of new automobile buyers that are simply tapping into free trials – and often not activating thereafter. And unsold cars with active radio subscriptions also represent a question mark. Recently, Sirius CFO David Frear was quizzed on what percentage of total subscribers came from unsold cars, and the executive pointed to a 10 percent figure during the fourth quarter of 2005. During earlier quarters, Frear noted that the percentage was closer to eight percent.

The comments came during the recent Merrill Lynch Media & Entertainment Conference, and terrestrial radio proponents seized on the figure. Using a recent subscriber tally of 4,678,207, the ten percent figure nears 500,000, or half-a-million, though the actual figure is probably less. Using a more modest 8 percent figure, satellite radio blog Orbitcast pointed to approximately 374,000 “car lot” subscribers. "And as Frear pointed out, the average days these vehicles spend on the lots is around 90 days," the recent post noted. Meanwhile, larger questions have been looming on the overall growth rate of satellite radio in general – active or inactive – and whether those rates can ultimately sustain the nascent technology.»

fonte: Digital music News, Terrestrial Proponents Question Sirius Subscriber Tallies, 2/10/06