Audio entertainment giant SiriusXM, the home of Howard Stern, reported on Tuesday that it lost 359,000 self-pay subscribers in its satellite radio unit in the first quarter.
The decline from a year-earlier loss of 347,000 self-pay subs resulted from fewer trial starts in late 2023 and higher first-quarter churn. Paid promotional subscribers during the latest quarter fell by 86,000 customers, compared to a gain of 66,000 subscribers in the category last year.
This added up to an overall first-quarter subscriber drop of 445,000, compared with 281,000 in the same quarter of 2023.
SiriusXM, led by CEO Jennifer Witz, also reported self-pay subscribers of its Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium services fell by 64,000 during the first quarter, compared to a year-earlier loss of 7,000 subscribers.
During a morning analyst call, Witz conceded the launch of the new SiriusXM streaming app for some longtime customers had been “disruptive,” but innovation to reach younger subscribers beyond cars was in the works. “Our early engagement metrics and other consumer signals we are following from the new SiriusXM app are improving. We are confident that our app platform relaunch and the product improvements coming in the car are putting us on the right path,” she told analysts about signing up new streaming-only subscribers.
Overall, the company posted quarterly revenue of $2.16 billion, up 1 percent from $2.14 billion in the first quarter of 2023. The company recorded earnings of $265 million, or 7 cents per share, up from a year-earlier $233 million, or 6 cents per share.
SiriusXM pointed to advertising revenue rising 7 percent to $402 million, which was offset by subscription revenue falling 1 percent to $1.68 billion.