Sirius Price Increase

On January 1st, Sirius XM Satellite Radio will be raising the price for its basic subscription from $12.95/month to $14.49, a 12% increase. Especially in light of what Netflix just went through, observers are wondering what this increase will mean for Sirius. In fact, for Q3 2011, Sirius gained 334,000 new subscribers, to reach a new high of 21.3 million.

In its recent public relations fiasco, Netflix followed its price with a split into 2 companies followed by a retraction of that split and lost 800,000 subscribers and an enormous percentage of its stock value for its trouble. One big difference is that Sirius entree to consumers is usually through a bundled deal with a new car lease or purchase. Still, Sirius has to be treading lightly in fear of a possible subscriber backlash.