So How’s That iPhone App Working Out for You, Sirius?
by John Paczkowski
Posted on August 7, 2009 at 3:00 AM PT
Though it was eagerly anticipated by the industry and Sirius subscribers, the satellite radio provider never expected that much from its new iPhone App.
During a call with analysts Thursday to discuss second-quarter earnings, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin said the app, which is currently the iTune App Store’s fourth most popular app in the music category and the 88th most popular overall, was intended more as a means of tempering subscriber churn than a means of driving new subscriptions.
“…unlike an awful lot of applications on the iPhone…we’re not offering free service,” Karmazin said. “What we are offering is the free download and a week’s trial, so this was never designed that we believe we were going to get a significant number of new subscribers. We are seeing an increase in the number of subscribers who are signing up for the $2.99 fee, to be able to stream the product in addition to having it, so a satellite radio subscriber who also has an iPhone is now able to do that with an incremental $2.99.”
So the app is bringing in some new revenue. How much isn’t clear though, since Sirius doesn’t break iPhone app numbers (subscribers or revenue) out. Karmazin admits, however, that it’s not much. “You should not consider them to be a very significant number related to our number of subscribers,” he said, adding, “It’s the right thing for us to do, we continue to believe in it, we’ll continue to do more of these things.”
Comments
You missed his comment in the opening remarks. Page 2 of the transcript.
“We want our subscribers to get our content in as many ways as possible so long as the channel is profitable to us.”
And this is before Rosie’s show starts. Lots of iPhone potential there.
Posted by Jeff Stevens at August 7th, 2009 at 4:40 amAgree with John…sarcastic title with a negative spin. I pay my fee each month for Sirius on my iPhone and love it..wouldn’t run or exercise without it…don’t write about things you don’t know about.
Posted by Todd Thomas at August 7th, 2009 at 5:22 amEXACTLY: “was intended more as a means of tempering subscriber churn than a means of driving new subscriptions”
So why do you make this the focal point of your article. You are the only one that seems overly concerned about these statistics.
Posted by chris becker at August 7th, 2009 at 5:50 amSirius just doesn’t get it.
I have Sirius receivers in two cars. The only time I listen to Sirius is when I’m on the road. When I’m at home I don’t listen to Sirius online, nor do I listen to the XM channels I get from DirecTV.
When I use my iPod Touch to listen to music I listen either to my own music library, one of the two dozen streaming public radio station I have on presets in the free Fstream app, or an online stream using the free Pandora app. All of these options suit my musical tastes far better than any programming Sirius offers.
For me Sirius only serves to provide adequate (not great) in-car programming for people like me who live in a broadcast radio wasteland outside of a major metropolitan area.
Posted by Todd Jonz at August 7th, 2009 at 5:05 pm