The Wall Street Journal says that the newly merged satellite audio service Sirius XM may be in serious trouble if it doesn’t come up with answers to a number of disturbing trends. For one, it’s looking for automobile sales to be an automatic subscriber generator, but auto sales are in a slump that doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon. Add to that the fact that new subscribers coming from retail outlets are slow – and according to one analyst, while the supply of auto subs may pick back up, the retail slump looks like it’s for keeps. And even if auto sales pick up, many are now coming equipped with iPod jacks, which will suppress Sirius XM subscribers. Add to that the need to stay on top of debt service, the high price of top-quality talent and a slumping stock price that limits the usefulness of shares in the company as a lure, and it looks like there will be challenging times ahead.
