SiriusXM Adds 355,000 Satellite Radio, Loses 88,000 Pandora Subscribers

Audio entertainment giant SiriusXM, the home of Howard Stern, on Tuesday reported continued subscriber growth in its satellite radio business in the fourth quarter, but a decline in Pandora subscribers.

The company, controlled by John Malone's Liberty Media, added a net of 355,000 satellite radio subscribers, including 341,000 self-pay customers and 14,000 paid promotional subs. In the year-ago period, it had added 346,000. It ended 2019 with more than 34.9 million subscribers, including nearly 30.0 million self-pay subscribers.

Pandora lost 88,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter, with 4,000 new paid promotional subs more than offset by a 92,000 drop in self-pay subscribers, to end it with more than 6.2 million total subscribers. In the year-ago period, it had lost 85,000.

Ad revenue at Pandora reached $348 million, up from $314 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. 

SiriusXM's earnings fell 3 percent to $243 million in the fourth quarter. Quarterly revenue increased 6 percent to $1.9 billion.

Said SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer: "Not only did we achieve our 10th consecutive year of 1 million-plus self-pay net additions, but we successfully completed the acquisition of Pandora Media and drove each business to record-high financial performance. Looking forward to 2020, we're excited about a new decade of opportunity before us and confident in reiterating our guidance for the year."

On the earnings conference call, Meyer said that 2019 was "a challenging year" that meant bringing SiriusXM and Pandora together, but he was "really pleased" with the integration and bullish on the future upside of the combination.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.