XMSR & DTV

Two bits of news came from the XM Satellite Radio camp this week. The company passed 5 million subscribers and unveiled a deal to have its music, children’s and some talk programming broadcast to DirecTV subscribers.

The 5-million-subscriber mark is just the latest milestone for the leading satellite radio broadcaster in the United States. In a statement accompanying the Sept. 27 announcement, XM CEO Hugh Panero said, “We are on track to have more than 6 million subscribers by the end of this year. With the winning combination of outstanding new channels and breakthrough products in advance of the holiday season, XM is poised for record growth during the fourth quarter.”

In a Sept. 28 research note, Robert Peck, analyst with Bear Stearns, said XM “looks on track to meet our 660,000 net additions projection for the [third] quarter [and] more than 6 million subs by year-end is definitely possible.”

The subscriber news likely contributed to the slight bump XM’s stock experienced Sept. 27, gaining 36 cents to close at $34.05. After dropping 3 cents Sept. 28, XM shares jumped $1.04 to close at $35.06 Sept. 29, the day the deal with DirecTV was announced, suggesting that investors see the deal as a positive for the company. However, some analysts view the DirecTV deal as unlikely to contribute a material boost in subscribers for XM.

DirecTV’s stock received a marginal boost from the announcement, with its stock closing up 4 cents Sept. 29 to close at $14.95. Adding XM Satellite Radio to its program offerings likely will not be a deciding factor on whether a subscriber chooses DirecTV over another current pay-TV offering, but it is a nice perk that comes with no additional charge to subscribers.

TGTL.PK

Tiger Telematics Inc., designer, developer and marketer of GPS-enabled telematics equipment and the Gizmondo gaming device, is looking to move from over-the-counter trading to the Nasdaq.

Tiger announced Sept. 28 it completed filing of its Form 10Ks with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the year ended 2004 and is focused on completing its Form 10Q, which covers the full year, to enable the company to be listed on Nasdaq. The listing, when approved, will permit Tiger to engage a much larger investor base as it permits retail solicitation orders and research by analysts. Tiger’s common stock also will be considered a marginable security for loans.

In addition to its preparations for Nasdaq listing, Tiger announced it is preparing to launch its Gizmondo GPS-enabled portable gaming device in the United States, which it expects to have on the market for the holiday shopping season.

This news likely contributed to an incremental boost of the company’s stock. On Sept. 28, shares closed at $13.40, up $1.05 from the previous day, and picked up an additional 10 cents Sept. 29. However, Tiger Telematics stock still has a way to go to recover losses dating back a month. Shares closed at $18.00 Aug. 3 but have been on a downward trend since, bottoming out at $12.35 Sept. 27. If Gizmondo finds success in an already crowded U.S. handheld gaming market that should help push the stock up over the next few months.