As streaming hits satellite broadcasting, Sirius XM (SIRI.US) appoints digital media veteran Sue as CEO

Zhitongcaijing · 1d ago

The Zhitong Finance App learned that, according to people familiar with the matter, Sirius XM (SIRI.US) plans to appoint board member Anjali Sud (Anjali Sud) as the next CEO, thereby introducing a digital media veteran to push this stagnant satellite broadcaster back to growth momentum. People familiar with the matter said that current CEO Jennifer Witz (Jennifer Witz) will step down after her contract expires at the end of the year.

According to reports, 43, Sud has been the CEO of Tubi, a video streaming service owned by Fox for the past few years.

Sirius XM is America's largest satellite broadcaster. As more listeners turn to streaming services and other online alternatives, the company has been struggling to find its future direction. The satellite broadcasting business is profitable, but growth is weak. Sirius XM reported 33 million subscribers at the end of the last quarter, the same number as two years ago. However, the company's stock price has risen by about 62% since this year.

Vitz and his predecessor Jim Meyer (Jim Meyer) invested in the digital media business to try to help Sirius XM better compete with Spotify and YouTube for younger listeners. Mayer bought the internet radio service Pandora, and Vitz launched a new streaming app in 2023.

Vitz also spent hundreds of millions of dollars to sign exclusive advertising and distribution rights for leading podcasts such as SmartLess, Call Her Daddy, and The Mel Robbins Podcast. Sirius XM was the number one podcast network last year by weekly audience size.

Despite this, the company has yet to grow. Sirius XM's sales for the first nine months of this year were US$6.4 billion, which is roughly the same as the same period last year and the same period last year. Profits increased by around 14%.

Sudh quickly rose to prominence in the media world. He was the CEO of Vimeo before taking over Tubi in 2023. Tubi is one of the fastest-growing video services in the US, accounting for around 2% of TV views. Sude joined Sirius XM's board of directors last year.

As of press time, Sirius XM was up 0.93% in the premarket.