SiriusXM announced positive first quarter results on Tuesday, with the number of subscribers growing to an all time high of 22.3 million. The company also said that its retaining 45% of subscribers who got a trial subscription with the purchase of a new satellite radio equipped car. Its stock (SIRI) price jumped a bit–from $2.26 to $2.31 a share–after the announcement, but then slipped to $2.23 by the close of Tuesday’s trading. On Wednesday it closed at $2.25.
SiriusXM has been fighting off a takeover attempt by 40% owner Liberty Media. In March Liberty petitioned the FCC to take control of the company, and SiriusXM fired back, telling the FCC that a 40% share does not add up to a majority stake.
The satellite radio company has also been fighting off a lawsuit filed by its most expensive talent, Howard Stern. The veteran shock jock claims that SiriusXM refused to pay $300 million in promised stock awards, but the suit was thrown out two weeks ago. Stern is now appealing the ruling.
Finally, CNet recently reported that the newest version of SiriusXM’s iPhone and Android has seen one of the most popular features cut back. The company has touted the app’s ability to rewind up to 5 hours of programming from favorite stations. But with the just-released version 2.0.2 the feature is unavailable for some stations, in particular some talk and news stations. According to the SiriusXM twitter feed, “In some cases, with our News channels, our ability to offer Start Now is restricted by third parties & our contracts with them.”
