XM Surpasses 4 Million Subscribers

In the race to dominate satellite radio, XM has just passed the 4 million subscriber mark, the company announced on Monday. In just five months, XM has added 1 million new customers, and expects to reach 5.5 million by the end of 2005. XM currently holds nearly 70 percent of the market, dominating rival Sirius.

"It took 23 months for XM to reach its first 1 million subscribers. It took eight more months to reach our second million, six months to hit 3 million, and less than five months to exceed 4 million," XM CEO Hugh Panero said in a statement.

Panero also said that XM had reached four million subscribers faster than any other "entertainment media", including cable television or online subscription services, which he called "two of the nation's most successful subscriber businesses."

Both XM and Sirius recently reported strong growth through the first three months of 2005.

Satellite radio counts about 5.5 million subscribers across the two services, and both have seen accelerated expansion in recent months as satellite radio becomes more mainstream. The industry is expected to see even more growth as the new year approaches when shock jock Howard Stern joins Sirius with his own channel in January 2006.