SiriusXM Sees Amazon Smart-Speaker Alliance as Chance to ‘Diversify’ Base

Though it’s the “early days” of SiriusXM’s offer of free three-month trials of its streaming services to Amazon smart-speaker owners (see 1810240034), it's an “opportunity here to diversify our distribution” and attract consumers who wouldn’t listen to satellite radio in the car, Sirius XM Chief Financial Officer David Frear told a Credit Suisse investors conference Tuesday. “We’re happy to get whatever we can get” from the partnership, said Frear. “We’re also happy to deepen engagement with our existing subscriber base.” SiriusXM won’t have “a lot to say” for now about the “synergies and the impact” it expects from its proposed $3.4 billion Pandora all-stock buy (see 1809240030), said the CFO. As SiriusXM works through the regulatory approvals at DOJ and the SEC toward the deal’s anticipated Q1 completion, the company may discuss future guidance at the investors conference it customarily holds during CES or on its next quarterly earnings call in late January or early February, depending on “where the transaction is at that point,” he said.