Sirius XM (SIRI) Introduces Grown Folk Jamz for R&B Fans
Sirius XM SIRI recently added Grown Folk Jamz to its Project Amplify to diversify its on-air programming. The station available now on SiriusXM channel 362 will feature music hits from R&B, Gospel, Old School, Hip-Hop, Smooth Jazz, Funk, Classic Soul and Love Ballads.
Grown Folk Jamz will be served by Todd “T-O” Reynolds as the program director for its SiriusXM channel while the legendary voice of Al Twitty, CEO of Urban Radio Group, will continue to provide imaging for it.
Project Amplify is a commitment Sirius XM made to the Federal Communications Commission in connection with the merger of Sirius and XM in 2008, aimed at promoting diverse viewpoints across Sirius XM’s Music and Talk channels.
This diversification of Sirius XM with Grown Folks Jamz, which has always been highly appreciated, provides a timeless blend of music to listeners and is expected to boost users of the company.
Sirius XM Expands its Channel Offerings
Sirius XM has been adding multiple channels under Project Amplify to gain traction. It recently announced the launch of Holy Culture Radio (ch. 154), a new spiritually-inspired talk and music channel. Other Project Amplify channels include HUR Voices (ch.141) and HBCU Radio (ch.142) by Howard University, Korea Today (ch. 144), BYU Radio (ch. 143), En Vivo (ch. 152) and SLAM! Radio (ch. 145).
The company is also entering partnerships. In second-quarter fiscal 2022, it closed a new agreement with Comcast, its first broadband TV provider. The agreement includes the launch of a fully integrated SiriusXM audio experience to millions of Comcast customers on the Xfinity platform, which is also expected to support video later this year.
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. Price and Consensus
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. price-consensus-chart | Sirius XM Holdings Inc. Quote
Sirius XM created top-up channels for Black Music Appreciation Month to celebrate the music of black artists such as Whitney Houston, Tupac, Biggie and Prince. It hosted a diverse roster of events including a concert cruise in New York City with Yacht rock stars, Kenny Loggins and Christopher Cross and small stage series concerts with the Grammy award-winning rapper, two Chainz in Atlanta and Def Leppard in Los Angeles.
These have helped the company to reach out and engage with new customers. Sirius XM added 23,000 net new self-pay subscribers and 54,000 paid promotional subscribers in the second-quarter fiscal 2022. The subscription revenues also grew 5% to $1.7 billion.
Sirius XM plans to deliver improved in-app personalization later this year to drive content discovery and enhance CarPlay and Android auto integration and continue to expand and innovate its product offerings. This is expected to boost its top line.
What's in Store for Sirius XM in the Rest of 2022?
Sirius XM currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The company’s margins are under pressure as increasing Original Equipment Manufacturer (“OEM”) installations and higher OEM hardware subsidy rates are resulting in higher subscriber acquisition costs. The growing music licensing costs are another headwind.
Sirius XM’s revenues have a high dependence on the auto industry as it provides radio service to it. A slowdown in the sale of new or used cars can affect the company’s growth.
Sirius XM shares have declined 7.5% year to date compared with the Zacks Consumer Discretionary Sector, which declined 40.9%. Sirius is also facing stiff competition from Apple AAPL, Spotify SPOT and Alphabet GOOGL.
Apple’s shares have declined 21.1% year to date. Apple continues to bolster its presence in the music streaming space, backed by acquisitions of Shazam and Asaii. The company recently got into the Augmented Reality (“AR”) market, differentiating its music service offerings and AR initiatives.
Spotify’s shares have lost 62.4% year to date. Spotify’s partnership with Samsung and Google is expected to boost its subscriber base. Its solid focus on the personalization of playlists enhances the music experience for users.
Alphabet’s shares have declined 31.8% in the same time frame. Alphabet’s YouTube Music is enhancing its features as it recently allowed users to get an overflow menu of add to playlist, play next, and add to queue on a bottom toolbar with the addition of the multi-select feature. They will also get to see the track length on the right while checking an album or a song.
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