(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Adam Curry, the "father of podcasting," will produce a special Sirius Satellite Radio program which will broadcast the best podcasts in the world exclusively to Sirius subscribers.
Adam Curry's PodShow will debut on on May 13. This marks the first collaboration between two key players in audio broadcasting – satellite radio and podcasting. Curry helped design the digital tools that have made podcasting a worldwide phenomenon.
The four-hour, weekday program will feature highlights and insights from the world of podcasting and will introduce Sirius listeners to a completely new range of talent and artists from around the world, including the best new, undiscovered music. The program's Sirius debut coincides with the launch of Curry's PodShow.com, the first true entertainment and information network in podcasting.
"Podcasting allows an amazing new group of producers and artists to share their talent and creativity," said Scott Greenstein, Sirius President of Entertainment and Sports. "With this new venture, Sirius and PodShow.com will bring the best of podcasting's most innovative players and artists directly to Sirius subscribers."
Podcasting enables anyone to create and/or host his or her own programming and make it available for others to download to a computer or portable media player. In less than six months, more than 6 million people have listened to podcasts.
"Podcasting is not just about portable media players," said Curry, the former MTV VJ who developed podcasting in mid-2004. Explaining how the new collaboration between Sirius and PodShow.com takes podcasting to a completely new level, he added, "Podcasting is an entirely new form of broadcasting that enables anyone to create powerful content. By combining the creative talent and content of available podcasting with superior programming of SIRIUS, we can create and showcase talent that terrestrial radio listeners would not be able to hear. We think that this partnership is about introducing the best of podcasting to the world." –Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
Sirius Satellite Radio Nears 1.5 Million Subscribers
(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Sirius Satellite Radio reported strong first quarter subscriber growth and financial and operating results, driven by continued demand for its programming. As of March 31, 2005, Sirius had 1,448,695 subscribers, attributing the better-than-expected subscriber growth to robust retail sales and rapidly expanding sales in its automotive distribution channel. Sirius reported revenue of $43.2 million for the first quarter of 2005, a 365% increase over the $9.3 million for the year-ago quarter, driven by a 312% increase over the company's subscriber base of 351,663 at the end of first quarter 2004.
The company is again raising its 2005 year-end subscriber estimate and now expects to have over 2.7 million subscribers at year-end, up from previous guidance of over 2.5 million, due to strong subscriber growth trends and continued robust demand for its service.
"Coming off a strong finish last year, we continued to see increased demand for Sirius during the first quarter," said Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius. "Not only did we beat Wall Street consensus for subscriber and revenue growth, but we also registered our lowest churn ever, which clearly indicates a preference for our superior programming, as well as very high levels of customer satisfaction. Our strong results in the automotive channel are increasingly contributing to our subscriber growth, and we expect this momentum to build even further as more factory programs begin this year. Plus, with the addition of Martha Stewart Living Radio later this year, the arrival of Howard Stern next January and NASCAR in 2007, we believe demand for our service will continue to increase as we approach the launch of this exclusive content." –Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
