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SiriusXM (SIRI) and NBA Extend Deal to Offer Live-Game Audio

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SiriusXM Holdings (SIRI - Free Report) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) recently extended their agreement to include additional streaming rights beginning the 2020-2021 NBA season, through a multi-year deal.

The subscribers can access the NBA content on the SiriusXM app on their mobile devices, SiriusXM.com, connected devices and smart speakers.

According to the agreement, SiriusXM Premier Streaming Package subscribers will gain access to live audio broadcasts for every NBA game. They will now have access to 30 additional play-by-play channels, dedicated to providing official team broadcasts for all 30 NBA teams on the SiriusXM app and SiriusXM.com.

Additionally, both SiriusXM Premier Streaming Package subscribers and SiriusXM Essential Streaming Package subscribers will be offered the exclusive 24/7 talk channel, SiriusXM NBA Radio, which provides extensive coverage of the NBA game.

The company will continue to provide streaming access to NBA programming with the SiriusXM All Access satellite service. The subscribers can listen to it on their SiriusXM radio in-vehicle and the SiriusXM app.

A Growing Subscriber Base Despite Pandemic-Led Disruptions

SiriusXM’s shares have lost 16.1% over the past year against the Zacks Broadcast Radio and Television industry’s growth of 31.1%.
 

Coronavirus-led cut down in advertising spending remained an overhang to the company’s advertising revenues in the third quarter of 2020. Notably, SiriusXM’s advertisement revenues declined 5.7% year over year, to $345 million.

However, the company recently announced that it has added 909,000 self-pay subscribers in 2020 to reach a total self-pay subscriber base of 30.9 million, beating its previous guidance of adding 800,000 self-pay net subscribers.

Moreover, the company’s recent deal to offer streaming access through NBA live-game audio to the subscribers bodes well for its robust content portfolio and aids customer acquisition. It adds to the ongoing measures taken by the company to expand its content offerings.

Earlier this month, the company announced the launch of SportsGrid Radio Channel on SiriusXM radios and the SiriusXM app. Resultantly, its subscribers will gain access to SportsGrid’s real-time sports news, statistics, odds, lines and live expert analysis. Additionally, the company became an exclusive audio broadcaster partner of the Masters Tournament.

Further, the company introduced several new pop-up channels, holiday specials, live programs for New Year’s Eve, exclusive video, podcasts and best-of-live across satellite, streaming, and app-based platforms, which are expected to have driven customer engagement on its platform and fueled subscriber growth during the holiday season.

Additionally, SiriusXM inked a deal with Howard Stern, per which the iconic broadcaster will continue to produce and host The Howard Stern Show exclusively for SiriusXM for the next five years.

Moreover, the company expects to add approximately 800,000 self-pay net subscribers in 2021. An expanding content portfolio with recent broadcasting agreements is expected to drive the top line and bolster subscriber growth in the near term.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

SiriusXM currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
 
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Consumer Discretionary sector are Charter Communications (CHTR - Free Report) , Spectrum Brands Holdings (SPB - Free Report) and Nintendo (NTDOY - Free Report) . All three companies carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Long-term earnings growth rate for Charter, Spectrum Brands and Nintendo is currently pegged at 44.2%, 18.3% and 9.9%, respectively.

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