iPhone News Updated

Sirius XM to stream service to iPhone, iPod

Financially struggling Sirius XM Radio Inc. is planning to stream its subscription radio service to the iPhone and iPod Touch devices from Apple Inc. beginning this spring.

After narrowly avoiding a filing for bankruptcy protection last month, the only U.S. satellite radio provider wants to step up sales directly to consumers. New car purchases – which had been Sirius’ best source of customers – are way down.

Sirius XM also said in a call yesterday to discuss its fourth-quarter earnings that it’s ramping up efforts to reach buyers of used cars with factory-installed satellite radios.

“We’re testing a number of initiatives to make Sirius content more ubiquitous,” said Mel Karmazin, chief executive of New York-based Sirius.

Sirius now has 19 million subscribers, up 10 per cent from a year earlier. By streaming its music, sports and talk channels to users of the iPhone and iPod Touch, Sirius can give its existing subscribers another way to access content and let new customers sign up without buying new radios, Karmazin said.

Sirius also sees opportunities to bundle its satellite radio service with TV packages from DirecTV Group Inc. DirecTV’s controlling shareholder is Liberty Media Corp., which rescued Sirius from a debt bind last month with a $530 million (U.S.) investment.

Karmazin said he has met with DirecTV CEO Chase Carey and Liberty CEO Greg Maffei over the past few days. He said several parties were interested in investing in Sirius, but the company’s “complex” balance sheet and the liquidity crisis scared many away.

[Thanks: http://www.thestar.com/]

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