SiriusXM is best known as a satellite service to bring you a huge collection of radio stations. Now according to CFP Sean Sullivan at the Deutsche Bank Annual Media Conference, they plan to focus more on streaming going forward.
Streaming is not new to SiriusXM as they already have a popular streaming app. SiriusXM also bought Pandora in 2019 to build up its online efforts and ended 2022 with 47.9 million active Pandor customers.
Now SiriusXM plans to revamp its online streaming apps and will focus on streaming as one of its main platforms going forward.
So what does this mean for satellite service going forward? Right now, nothing, but it is clear that the company’s focus is shifting from satellite to streaming.
Streaming has many benefits to SiriusXM it allows them to offer more stations than what would fit on its satellite services. The second benefit of streaming for SiriusXM is the lower cost. Satellites, at some point, need to be replaced. Building a satellite is far more expensive than just upgrading a server to offer more streaming options.
Mr. Sullivan did make it clear that SiriusXM content will be unaffected by this change and the recent layoffs. “I don’t think we’re pulling back,” he said. Sullivan said that things like live events are helpful to drive the usage of the service. “We are a content company and to enable us to continue to deliver a differentiated premium product, we need to invest incrementally in these areas and non-music — and I think we’ll do that in a disciplined fashion,” Mr Sullivan said, according to InsiderRadio.
With many cars now coming with built-in audio apps for SiriusXM and others, the switch to streaming may be easier than you would think.