The dominant U.S. satellite radio services provider, XM Satellite Radio [Nasdaq: XMSR], beat analyst forecasts for the fourth quarter by signing up more than 430,000 customers – its best quarter ever – to amass 1.36 million subscribers by year-end. Bob Peck, a satellite analyst with Bear Stearns, said XM’s 1.36 million subscribers topped his estimate of 1.225 million.

Rival Sirius Satellite Radio [Nasdaq: SIRI] ended 2003 with 261,061 subscribers, up from approximately 30,000 subscribers at the end of 2002. The company added over 100,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2003 alone, due to increased sales at retail during the holiday season.

For more on this story, see the Jan. 12 issue of SATELLITE NEWS. For info on subscribing to PBI Media’s newsletters, check out our Web site at https://www.satellitetoday.com .