Satellite radio subscribers slip

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The two satellite radio companies operating in the US may be burning through cash like Eliot Spitzer in a hotel room, but at least they’re still growing subscriber numbers. US-based WorldSpace, which operates only overseas, reported that it ended 2007 with 174,166 subscribers worldwide, down 3,478 from a year earlier. The company said it had shut down marketing efforts in Europe as it prepares to commence mobile service there, beginning with Italy in 2009. It also reduced marketing in India as it awaited approval for mobile service there. The company’s original receivers were for stationary use and it has been seeking approval in various countries for terrestrial repeaters to make mobile service viable. WorldSpace recorded a net loss of $169.5 million for 2007, up from $128.6 million in 2006. Net revenues last year were $13.8 million, down from $15.6 million.