spacetoday.net: Satellite radio companies announce subscribers, new features

Posted: Thu, Jan 9, 2003, 7:25 AM ET (1225 GMT)
The two leading satellite radio companies announced updated subscriber numbers and new features on Wednesday. XM Satellite Radio, the largest satellite radio company in the US, reported that it now has over 360,000 subscribers; there were 347,000 by the end of 2002 but thousands more who received XM radios as holiday gifts were in the process of signing up. XM also announced that a refinancing package announced last month should be approved by all parties by the end of February. The company's stock rose six percent Wednesday on the news. XM's major competitor, Sirius, announced Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that it has conducted the first ever video transmission over a satellite radio network, a technology that could allow subscribers in the future to receive video in vehicles. The company has dropped the words "Satellite Radio" from its name and now refers to its radio channels as "streams". Sirius stock closed unchanged.