Sirius XM to Air U.S. Open Golf Championship - Analyst Blog

The largest satellite radio company in the U.S. – SIRIUS XM Holdings Inc. SIRI – is all set to broadcast the 114th U.S. Open Golf Championship live from Jun 12, 2014 to Jun 15.

SIRIUS XM will not only be airing the U.S. Open Golf Championship live but will also feature a live program related to the tournament all through the week, hosted by top golfers like Ben Crenshaw, Hubert Green and others. Live coverage of the U.S. Open Golf Championship will be provided by ESPN Radio and it can be heard on Sirius channel 208, XM channel 93 and SiriusXM channel 85.

In fiscal 2013, the company had 1.66 million subscribers, significantly above the projected 1.60 million customers. Continuous launch of innovative services are likely to act as tailwinds for the company moving ahead and also safeguard its position against rivals like LIN Media LLC LIN, AMC Networks Inc. AMCX and Cumulus Media Inc. CMLS.

SIRIUS XM is set to diversify its business model from being a pure radio entertainment provider to a web-based safety and navigation information provider for cars in the face of competitive threat from several fronts. The iTunes online radio service of Apple and Pandora's streaming services for BlackBerry and Android-based smartphones will offer considerable competition for SIRIUS XM going forward. Consequently, the company is partnering with major car manufacturers like Acura, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Lexus, Nissan and Toyota in order to provide telematics solutions.

SIRIUS XM believes that new cars sold with satellite radios should reach 11 million in 2014 as against 10.7 million last year. The figure is expected to double in the next five years. As a result, management remains highly optimistic about achieving nearly $100 million in revenues in 2014 from its connected vehicle services business. Moreover, the acquisition of the connected vehicle services division of Agero is expected to be a long-term growth driver for the company.

SIRIUS XM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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