The satellite radio company SiriusXM wants to take the streaming music platforms on more aggressively, launching a new and less expensive plan meant to provide a value offering to consumers.
The new plan is called SiriusXM Play, the new plan will be ad-supported and cost under $7 per month, the company says. While SiriusXM’s talk channels have had ads for some time, its core music channels have generally not included them. SiriusXM Play will have about half the ad load of traditional FM and AM radio stations, the company says.
The new offering is meant to not only make the company more competitive with the likes of Spotify and Apple Music, but also to grow its nascent advertising business, which has become a key strategic effort for the company.
The new tier will be available both in-air and on streaming. Play is available on a limited basis now, with further rollouts and package pricing to come later in the year. At the moment, SiriusXM car and streaming plans start at $9.99 per month, going up to $25 per month for its most comprehensive offering.
“SiriusXM Play presents us with an incredible opportunity to thoughtfully scale our audio service on the road and off to even more listeners across North America,” said Wayne Thorsen, SiriusXM’s COO. “With Play, we can reach and engage with new, more price-sensitive listeners with a low-cost, ad-supported subscription with more than 130 channels available in-car and so much more in-app, and leverage our strengths across both content and technology as the premium audio leader in-car to deliver this compelling offering to consumers and advertisers alike.”
“Play is an exciting net-new opportunity for marketers looking to tap into passionate, high-quality audiences across some of SiriusXM’s most beloved music, talk, and sports channels, reaching listeners in the moments that matter,” added Scott Walker, chief advertising revenue officer for SiriusXM. “The car is the final frontier for digital ad-supported media. In the short term, we are opening up new inventory for marketers, including premium, curated music. In the long term, with more advanced capabilities, we have a chance to revolutionize the in-car advertising landscape.”