SiriusXM CEO Talks Proposed Liberty Media Combination, New App for Young Consumers

Etan Vlessing
·2 min read

SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz hasn’t put a timeline on negotiations to combine the satellite radio giant with the Liberty SiriusXM tracking stock group, but likes the proposed transaction and sees a deal on the horizon.

“The two sides I know are actively in discussions and I can’t share anything specifically. But I feel confident we’ll get somewhere and make a positive resolution. We all agree something simpler makes sense,” Witz told the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference during a session that was webcast on Monday.

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Liberty Media, led by president and CEO Greg Maffei and chairman John Malone, owns an 83 percent stake in Sirius XM and is looking to take full control of the satellite radio company, which operates the SiriusXM and Pandora brands, to offer investors a more attractive value proposition.

“And I think it’ll position us really well going forward to execute on the transformation that we’re undertaking and really look to have a much cleaner overall structure that’s easier to understand and more liquidity,” Witz added.

She also discussed a new app and streaming platform for cars and mobile devices recently unveiled and pitched as complementary to other audio services.

As the satellite radio giant pushes for a larger slice of the streaming music space, Witz said the challenge was targeting younger consumers who get their tunes from a range of sources, including audio streamers like Spotify and Apple Music, to embrace SiriusXM outside the car.

“We’re not just music,” she told the investors conference as SiriusXM’s content offering includes new music, live sports, comedy channels, news, political-driven radio stations and entertainment that is “human-curated.”

SiriusXM has also put a $9.99 per month price tag on its all-access streaming service, a price that is $1 cheaper than streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, which have adopted the $10.99 price point. That lower price also aims to make the new SiriusXM offering a good complement to streaming music giants.

“We believe it’s going to be very competitive and position us as really strong,” Witz told the investors conference.

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