SIRIUS Satellite Radio: Personalize your Pricing

SIRIUS Satellite Radio lets subscriber listen to what they want, when they want and wherever they are. With over 130 channels of music, sports, talk, news and comedy, there is something for everyone. And, without any commercial interruptions. It also allows subscribers to listen to a certain genre or type of radio anywhere, from the car, in the home, or even on-the-go with a portable radio.

SIRIUS Satellite Radio uses a dynamic pricing strategy. They have a number of different pricing options that fit certain wants and needs of each customer. They are as follows:

"SIRIUS Everything Plus the Best of XM"
$16.99/month PLUS 9 months free ($150 savings), $458/3 years subscription OR 5 months free ($85 savings) $322/2 year subscription
This package is what SIRIUS claims to be the best. Listeners who sign up for this package get "the best of both worlds". It includes over 140 channels, including the full SIRIUS lineup, consisting of Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, live games and races from the NFL, NASCAR and exclusive 100% commercial-free music channels from the Grateful Dead to SIRIUSLY Sinatra.
Subscribers also get a selection of some of the best XM channels - The Best of XM - including Oprah Radio, MLB Home Plate, NBA and NHL GAMES, the 24/7 NHL Home Ice channle, the PGA Tour Network, Opie & Anthony, XM Public radio and more.
subscribers to this package are eligible for Premium SIRIUS Internet Radio Online upgrade (128k) for an additional $2.99/month, as well as additional savings on annual subscription plans, and discounts on additional subscriptions.

"SIRIUS Everything"
$12.95/month PLUS 9 months free ($115 savings), $349/3 year subscription OR 5 months free ($65 savings) $245/2 year subscription
This package gives listeners everything that SIRIUS has to offer: Over 130 channels, 100% commercial-free music, and all of SIRIUS' sports, news, talk and entertainment.

“Family Friendly Plus the Best of XM” – $14.99/month
For only $15 a month, this package includes over 120 channels with all family-friendly SIRIUS programming, plus some XM channels as well.

“Family Friendly” – $11.95/month
This package has over 115 channels, again, for the entire family.

“Mostly Music” – $9.99/month
Although this plan does not include online listening with SIRIUS Internet Radio, listeners still have access to over 65 channels.

“News, Sports & Talk” – $9.99/month
This package offers over 50 channels of the biggest names in news, talk and entertainment, plus all sports channels, live games and races.

“A La Carte Gold” – $14.99/month
This subscription allows users to create their own personalized package of 100 channels. Listeners can choose from the full SIRIUS lineup, plus some of the best channels from XM radio too. And, there is no extra charge for Premium channels, Howard Stern or live games and races from the NFL, NASCAR, college sports and more.

“A La Carte” – Starting at $6.99/month
Similar to the “A La Carte Gold” plan, this package lets users choose what they want to listen to, but only from 50 channels. If subscribers wish to add Premium channels, an extra $0.25/month is charged. Users are only allowed a maximum monthly package addition of $12.95, and Howard Stern and/or sports bundles require additional payment.

SIRIUS also has what they call SIRIUS XM All-in-One Packages. These include:

“SIRIUS XM All-in-One” – $19.99/month
This package is the only way for subscribers to enjoy all of SIRIUS and all of XM, all in one radio. It offers the most comprehensive sports coverage, exclusive programming from the biggest names in radio, including Howard Stern, Oprah Radio and Martha Stewart, and the top news programs on the radio like CNN, CNBC, NPR and BBC.

“SIRIUS XM Family Friendly All-in-One” – $17.99/month
As described on the website, this plan is the only way to enjoy all of the family-friendly programming available on both SIRIUS and XM, all with one radio. You’ll keep the whole family happy with, again, the most comprehensive sports, news, talk, music, entertainment and kids’ programming.

To evaluate SIRIUS’ pricing strategy, I turned to its 2008 annual sales report, which was compared to the 2007 year-end report. “For the year ended December 31, 2008, SIRIUS XM recognized total pro forma revenue of $2.4 billion compared with $2.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2007. This 18.4%, or $378.1 million, increase in revenue was primarily driven by a $367.6 million increase in subscriber revenue resulting from the net increase in subscribers of 1,655,234 during 2008.”

Other figures for evaluation are as follows:



I think SIRIUS satellite radio can also track the effectiveness of its pricing strategy by looking at individual numbers of subscribers of each package. If the company is seeing a drop in the less valuable packages, they may want to think about lowering the price, or just getting rid of the package altogether to try to get those customers to upgrade to a better package. I have a feeling that the personally customized packages are probably great sellers too because consumers are much more inclined to purchase products or services that are designed just for them, and are one-of-a-kind.