Wednesday, November 15, 2006

October 2006 NPD Results

November 15, 2006

October 2006 retail sales, as tracked by NPD, for satellite radio have come in (Click Chart To Enlarge). For the month of October XM Satellite Radio picked up a point in share over last month, but still is 12 points below Sirius. This represents 14 consecutive months that Sirius has outperformed XM in NPD tracking.

Overall, year over year sales showed a decline, which is the steepest decline to date this year. The sector saw a decline of 24%, with XM seeing a 23% decline vs. 26% for Sirius. October sales are typically weaker than September. The full retail ramp-up happens in November and December.

Year to date the retail share remains unchanged with Sirius at 58% vs. 42% for XM.

While retail sales have been slower for the past couple of months, the year to date data for the sector is still healthy. Through October, NPD tracked sales are up 27% over this time frame last year.