Q2 2024 Sirius XM Holdings Inc Earnings Call
Hooper Stevens: Greetings. Welcome to Sirius XM's second quarter 2024 earnings conference call. If anyone today should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero from your telephone keypad. Please note, this conference is being recorded. I'll now turn the conference over to Hooper Stevens, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Finance.
Operator: Greetings, welcome to Sirius XM's second quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. If anyone today's your car operated assistance third in the conference, please press star zero from your telephone keypad. Please note this conference is being recorded.
Hooper Stevens: For more information about those risks and uncertainties, please view Sirius XM's SEC filings and today's earnings release. We advise listeners not to rely unduly on forward-looking statements and disclaim any intent or obligation to update them. As we begin, I'd like to remind our listeners that today's call will include discussions about both actual results and adjusted results. All discussions of adjusted operating results exclude the effects of stock-based compensation.
Hooper Stevens: With that, I'll hand the call over to Jennifer.
Jennifer C. Witz: In our subscription business, self-pay net additions saw sequential and year-over-year improvement, largely due to strong retention. And we still expect to see slightly better self-pay net ads this year compared to last.
Speaker Change: Greetings. Welcome to Sirius XM's second quarter 2024 earnings conference call. If anyone today should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero from your telephone keypad. Please note this conference is being recorded.
Hooper Stevens: I'll now turn the conference over to Hooper Stevens, Senior Vice President of Vest Relations and Finance.
Speaker Change: I'll now turn the conference over to Hooper Stevens, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Finance. Mr. Stevens, you may now begin your presentation.
Hooper Stevens: Mr. Stevens, you may now begin your presentation. Thank you and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Sirius XM's second quarter, 2024 earnings conference call. Today, we will have prepared remarks from Jennifer Witz, our Chief Executive Officer, and Tom Barry, our Chief Financial Officer. Scott Greenstein, our President and Chief Content Officer, will join Jennifer and Tom to take your questions during the Q&A portion of the call.
Hooper Stevens: Thank you and good morning everyone. Welcome to Sirius XM's second quarter 2024 earnings conference call.
Speaker Change: Today, we will have prepared remarks from Jennifer Witz, our Chief Executive Officer, and Tom Barry, our Chief Financial Officer. Scott Greenstein, our President and Chief Content Officer, will join Jennifer and Tom to take your questions during the Q&A portion of the call.
Hooper Stevens: I would like to remind everyone that certain statements made during the call might be forward-looking statements as the term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These are all forward-looking statements are based upon management's current police and expectations, and necessarily depend upon assumptions, data, or methods that may be incorrect or imprecise. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. For more information about those risks and uncertainties, please view Sirius XM's SEC filings and today's earnings release. We advise listeners to not rely on duly on forward-looking statements and disclaim any intent or obligation to update them.
Speaker Change: I would like to remind everyone that certain statements made during the call might be forward-looking statements as the term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Speaker Change: These and all forward-looking statements are based upon management's current beliefs and expectations and necessarily depend upon assumptions, data, or methods that may be incorrect or imprecise. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.
Speaker Change: For more information about those risks and uncertainties, please view Sirius XM's SEC filings and today's earnings release.
Speaker Change: We advise listeners to not rely unduly on forelooking statements and disclaim any intent or obligation to update them.
Hooper Stevens: As we begin, I like to remind our listeners that today's call will include discussions about both actual results and adjusted results. All discussions of adjusted operating results exclude the effects of stock-based compensation.
Speaker Change: As we begin, I'd like to remind our listeners that today's call will include discussions about both actual results and adjusted results. All discussions of adjusted operating results exclude the effects of stock-based compensation. With that, I'll hand the call over to Jennifer.
Jennifer Witz: With that, I'll hand the call over to Jennifer. Thank you, Hooper, and good morning all. Thank you for joining us today. Sirius XM's financial position remains robust as we steadily enhance our business and establish a sustainable foundation for growth. We grew at JustinEvita 8% sequentially in the second quarter of 2024 and saw our margin improve by a point year-over-year. With these solid margins into declining capital expenditures, we anticipate converting more of this strong EBITDA into growing free cash flow in the coming years. In our subscription business, self-pay net additions saw sequential and year-over-year improvement, largely due to strong retention, and we still expect to see slightly better self-pay net ads this year compared to last.
Jennifer Witz: Thank you, Hooper, and good morning, all. Thank you for joining us today.
Jennifer Witz: Sirius XM's financial position remains robust as we steadily enhance our business and establish a sustainable foundation for growth.
Speaker Change: We grew adjusted EBITDA 8% sequentially in the second quarter of 2024 and saw our margin improve by a point year-over-year. With these solid margins and declining capital expenditures, we anticipate converting more of this strong EBITDA into growing free cash flow in the coming years.
Speaker Change: In our subscription business, self-pay net additions saw sequential and year-over-year improvement, largely due to strong retention, and we still expect to see slightly better self-pay net ads this year compared to last.
Jennifer C. Witz: Our advertising business remains a key focus, and we see an opportunity for growth as the year progresses. Let's delve into each of these key pillars, starting with our ongoing efforts to enhance our subscription business. To drive demand and retention, we are updating our subscription packages with options for every listener. Our new package structure will feature clear all-in pricing, tiered plans based on interest, a unified offer strategy, and simplified transaction experiences. While these adjustments may cause some short-term impact, we are confident they will be net positive for our customers and our business as we build greater trust, confidence, and interest in our brand and services.
Jennifer Witz: Our advertising business remains a key focus, and we see an opportunity for growth as the year progresses.
Speaker Change: Our advertising business remains a key focus and we see an opportunity for growth as the year progresses.
Jennifer Witz: Assuming all closing conditions are met, we expect to complete our transaction with Liberty Media after the market closed on Monday, September 9th, and we are reiterating all of our full-year 2024 financial guidance. Our leading content portfolio and differentiated position in the audio industry remained core to our business, and we are leveraging these strengths by focusing on three strategic priorities: enhancing our subscription business, driving advertising growth, and maintaining our financial success through continued optimization across every aspect of our business. We are confident these areas of focus will lead to improvements over the medium to long-term. Let's delve into each of these key pillars, starting with our ongoing efforts to enhance our subscription business.
Speaker Change: Assuming all closing conditions are met, we expect to complete our transaction with Liberty Media after the market close on Monday, September 9th, and we are reiterating all of our full year 2024 financial guidance.
Speaker Change: Our leading content portfolio and differentiated position in the audio industry remain core to our business. And we are leveraging these strengths by focusing on three strategic priorities.
Speaker Change: Enhancing our subscription business, driving advertising growth, and maintaining our financial success through continued optimization across every aspect of our business. We are confident these areas of focus will lead to improvements over the medium to long term.
Speaker Change: Let's delve into each of these key pillars, starting with our ongoing efforts to enhance our subscription business.
Jennifer Witz: To drive demand and retention, we are updating our subscription packages with options for every listener. Our new package structure will feature clear, all-in pricing, teared plans based on interest, a unified offer strategy, and a simplified transaction experience. While these adjustments may cause some short-term impact, we are confident they will be net positive to our customers and our business as we build greater trust, confidence, and interest in our brand and services. Additionally, we recently announced two new subscription bundles. Starting next week, a Sirius XM podcast plus subscription will be available on Apple Podcasts, offering super fans access to benefits such as new episodes, ad-free, early releases, and exclusive content from select podcasts and shows, including SmartList.
Speaker Change: To drive demand and retention, we are updating our subscription packages with options for every listener.
Speaker Change: Our new package structure will feature clear, all-in pricing.
Speaker Change: Tiered Plans Based on Interest
Speaker Change: Unified Offer Strategy, and Simplified Transaction Experiences. While these adjustments may cause some short-term impact, we are confident they will be net positive to our customers and our business as we build greater trust, confidence, and interest in our brand and services.
Jennifer C. Witz: Additionally, we recently announced two new subscription bundles. Starting next week, a Sirius XM Podcast Plus subscription will be available on Apple Podcasts, offering super fans access to benefits such as new episodes ad-free, early releases, and exclusive content from select podcasts and shows, including SmartList. Many of these features will also be available within our core Sirius XM subscription as we look to further support podcast listening on-platform, which has increased since the launch of our Revamp app.
Speaker Change: Additionally, we recently announced two new subscription bundles.
Speaker Change: Starting next week, a Sirius XM Podcast Plus subscription will be available on Apple Podcasts, offering superfans access to benefits such as new episodes ad-free, early releases, and exclusive content from select podcasts and shows, including SmartList.
Jennifer Witz: Many of these features will also be available within our core Sirius XM subscription as we look to further support podcast listening on platform, which has increased since the launch of our revamp app. We are also introducing a new way for automakers to present SiriusXM to their customers, which enables General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and more to include a three-year SiriusXM subscription with a purchase of select new vehicles. These packages highlight Sirius XM's unique position from our expansive podcast network to our strong relationships with automakers and dealers, showcasing the value of Sirius XM to a wide range of listeners.
Speaker Change: Many of these features will also be available within our core Sirius XM subscription as we look to further support podcast listening on platform, which has increased since the launch of our revamp app.
Speaker Change: We are also introducing a new way for automakers to present Sirius XM to their customers, which enables General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and more to include a 3-year Sirius XM subscription with the purchase of select new vehicles.
Speaker Change: These packages highlight Sirius XM's unique position, from our expansive podcast network to our strong relationships with automakers and dealers, showcasing the value of Sirius XM to a wide range of listeners.
Jennifer Witz: We continue to enhance the overall customer experience in-car and in-app, making it easier to discover and engage with our extensive content offering. We are launching new features and updates to our streaming app each month, and we are seeing positive momentum with overall user satisfaction on the rise and strong results from the initial rollout of our improved customer journeys. In-car, where we will have even more opportunity following the start of our broader migration to the new backend tech platform beginning in 2025, we are leveraging the flexibility of 360L, which shows improved conversion and retention rates in vehicle.
Speaker Change: We continue to enhance the overall customer experience in-car and in-app.
Speaker Change: Making it easier to discover and engage with our extensive content offering.
Speaker Change: We are launching new features and updates to our streaming app each month, and we are seeing positive momentum, with overall user satisfaction on the rise and strong results from the initial rollout of our improved customer journeys.
Jennifer C. Witz: In CAR, where we will have even more opportunity following the start of our broader migration to the new backend tech platform beginning in 2025, we are leveraging the flexibility of 360L, which shows improved conversion and retention rates in vehicle, to launch new features and cars already on the road. In podcasting, we continue to sign exclusive monetization agreements with major players, expanding our offering. Recent deals with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo announced this quarter and SmartList launching this month are garnering a great deal of excitement from the ad buying community. Our depth of content paired with our technology and expertise has attracted new spend into the space, with a slew of brands spending over $1 million on our podcast offerings year to date.
Speaker Change: In CAR, where we will have even more opportunity following the start of our broader migration to the new backend tech platform beginning in 2025, we are leveraging the flexibility of 360L, which shows improved conversion and retention rates in vehicle, to launch new features in CARs already on the road.
Jennifer Witz: To launch new features and cars already on the road. This quarter, we introduced Sirius XM free access, our first ever free ad-supported version of Sirius XM, now available in select vehicles. Free access allows us to engage potential customers who do not immediately convert post-trial with an offering of a limited number of music and talk channels with ads. Although small and scale at the outset, free access is expected to grow in future years, providing us an opportunity to increase trials, win back listeners, and explore the potential for a broader ad-supported tier of Sirius XM. Continuing on the topic of advertising, we saw growth in a variety of categories, including political and pharma, offsetting ongoing headwinds in other industries.
Speaker Change: This quarter, we introduced SiriusXM Free Access, our first ever free, ad-supported version of SiriusXM, now available in select vehicles.
Speaker Change: Free access allows us to engage potential customers who do not immediately convert post-trial with an offering of a limited number of music and talk channels with ads.
Speaker Change: Although small in scale at the outset, free access is expected to grow in future years, providing us an opportunity to increase trials, win back listeners, and explore the potential for a broader ad-supported tier of Sirius XM.
Speaker Change: Continuing on the topic of advertising, we saw growth in a variety of categories, including political and pharma, offsetting ongoing headwinds in other industries. Programmatic remains a strong growth channel for us, up 10% overall from the second quarter of 2023, and up nearly 60% in podcasting.
Jennifer Witz: Programmatic remains a strong growth channel for us, up 10% overall from the second quarter of 2023, and up nearly 60% in podcasting. With the adoption of industry identity solution Unified ID 2.0 with The Trade Desk this quarter, we are unlocking even more programmatic capabilities. This reflects the broader trend towards greater automation and data-driven advertising, where we have established a leading position. In podcasting, we continue to sign exclusive monetization agreements with major players, expanding our offering. Recent deals with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Sturdy Moe announces quarter, and smart list launching this month are garnering a great deal of excitement from the ad-buying community.
Speaker Change: With the adoption of Industry Identity Solution Unified ID 2.0 with the Trade Desk this quarter, we are unlocking even more programmatic capabilities. This reflects the broader trend towards greater automation and data-driven advertising, where we have established a leading position.
Speaker Change: In podcasting, we continue to sign exclusive monetization agreements with major players, expanding our offering. Recent deals with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo announced this quarter and SmartList launching this month are garnering a great deal of excitement from the ad buying community.
Jennifer Witz: Our depth of content paired with our technology and expertise has attracted new spend into the space, with a slew of brands spending over $1 million on our podcast offerings here today. Regarding business optimization, we are focused on driving efficiencies to help us maintain our strong financial position long term, which shall we'll discuss in more detail. Moving forward, we see additional opportunities, especially in the strategic use of AI, which continues to deliver strong results in our early rollouts and customer support and self-serve audio advertising creative development. Across each of these initiatives, we are bolstering our business and doubling down on our strengths, which are rooted in our exclusive content offering.
Speaker Change: Our depth of content paired with our technology and expertise has attracted new spend into the space with a slew of brands spending over $1 million on our podcast offerings year-to-date.
Speaker Change: Regarding business optimization, we are focused on driving efficiencies to help us maintain our strong financial position long-term, which Tom will discuss in more detail.
Tom Barry: Moving forward, we see additional opportunities, especially in the strategic use of AI, which continues to deliver strong results in our early rollouts in customer support and self-serve audio advertising creative development.
Tom Barry: Across each of these initiatives, we are bolstering our business and doubling down on our strengths, which are rooted in our exclusive content offering.
Jennifer Witz: In May, we open to state-of-the-art broadcast studio in Las Vegas, providing a premiere venue for live broadcasts and exclusive shows. This quarter, we also launched a full-time Chris Stapleton channel, delivering more to our dedicated country fans and capitalizing on the massive growth within this genre. Additionally, we announced new channels, podcasts, and shows from Ted Danson with Woody Harrelson, Andy Richter, actress and activist Yara Shahidi, EDM artist Avicii, comedian Yamanika Saunders, Mediaite, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and more. This wide range of content and perspectives aims to both super serve our core audience and provide engaging programming for our target growth segment.
Tom Barry: In May, we opened a state-of-the-art broadcast studio in Las Vegas, providing a premiere venue for live broadcasts and exclusive shows. This quarter, we also launched a full-time Chris Capleton channel, delivering more to our dedicated country fans and capitalizing on the massive growth within this genre.
Tom Barry: Additionally, we announced new channels, podcasts, and shows from Ted Danson with Woody Harrelson, Andy Richter, actress and activist Yara Shahidi, EDM artist Avicii, comedian Yamanika Saunders, Mediaite, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and more.
Tom Barry: This wide range of content and perspectives aims to both superserve our core audience and provide engaging programming for our target growth segment.
Jennifer Witz: Additionally, our 24-7 live programming offers a platform for subscribers to get up-to-the-minute news and analysis on a variety of topics and ways podcasts cannot match. Our political channels are seeing increased engagement following key moments, such as the presidential debate, from listeners who trust and lean into our coverage from both sides of the aisle.
Tom Barry: Additionally, our 24-7 live programming offers a platform for subscribers to get up-to-the-minute news and analysis on a variety of topics in ways podcasts cannot match.
Tom Barry: Our political channels are seeing increased engagement following key moments, such as the presidential debate, from listeners who trust and lean into our coverage from both sides of the aisle.
Jennifer Witz: And there's much more to come. As later this month, we'll officially welcome SmartLess into Sirius XM with an exclusive subscriber event featuring special guest Howard Stern. To conclude, I want to reiterate my confidence in our business both today and long-term. From our industry-leading profitability, strong retention and customer satisfaction rates to the vast potential ahead, our business remains uniquely positioned to capture demand and is on a path to future growth.
Speaker Change: And there's much more to come, as later this month, we'll officially welcome SmartList into Sirius XM with an exclusive subscriber event featuring special guest, Howard Sern.
Tom Barry: To conclude, I want to reiterate my confidence in our business, both today and long term.
Tom Barry: From our industry-leading profitability, strong retention, and customer satisfaction rates to the vast potential ahead, our business remains uniquely positioned to capture demand and is on a path to future growth.
Jennifer Witz: We look forward to sharing more updates with you in the coming months.
Tom Barry: With that, I will pass it over to Tom to walk you through the financials.
Tom Barry: We look forward to sharing more updates with you in the coming months. With that, I will pass it over to Tom to walk you through the financials.
Unknown Executive: Thank you, Jennifer, and good morning everyone. Today I will provide an overview of our second quarter financial performance, discuss key operational highlights, and share our outlook for the remainder of the year. Jennifer and I will then open the line for Q&A.
Tom Barry: Thank you, Jennifer. Good morning, everyone. Today, I will provide an overview of our second quarter financial performance, discuss key operational highlights, and share our outlook for the remainder of the year.
Tom Barry: Thank you, Jennifer. And good morning, everyone. Today, I will provide an overview of our second quarter financial performance, discuss key operational highlights, and share our outlook for the remainder of the year. Jennifer and I will then open the line for Q&A.
Tom Barry: Jennifer and I will then open the line for Q&A. As Jennifer mentioned, we are pleased to reaffirm all of our full-year financial guidance, and we anticipate the Liberty transaction to close after market on Monday, September 9th.
Tom Barry: As Jennifer mentioned, we are pleased to reaffirm all of our full year financial guidance, and we anticipate the Liberty transaction to close after market on Monday, September 9th. Before we delve into the details, I want to reiterate our strategic focus for the year.
Tom Barry: Before we delve into the details, I want to reiterate our strategic focus for the year. Our primary objectives are to continue to invest in our subscription business through enhanced consumer experiences, expand advertising opportunities, and deliver helping margins and robust cash flow. We are committed to delivering our financial guidance and executing our strategic plan with precision and discipline.
Unknown Executive: Our primary objectives are to continue to invest in our subscription business through enhanced consumer experiences, expand advertising opportunities, and deliver healthy margins and robust cash flow. We are committed to delivering our financial guidance and executing our strategic plan with precision and discipline. With that, let's jump into the financials. In the second quarter, Sirius XM reported consolidated revenue of $2.18 billion, a decrease of 3% compared to the same period last year, primarily driven by a 5% drop in Sirius XM subscriber revenue, which totaled $1.52 billion.
Tom Barry: Our primary objectives are to continue to invest in our subscription business through enhanced consumer experiences.
Tom Barry: Expand advertising opportunities and deliver healthy margins and robust cash flow.
Tom Barry: We are committed to delivering our financial guidance and executing our strategic plan with precision and discipline.
Tom Barry: With that, let's jump into the financials. In the second quarter, Sirius XM reported consolidated revenue of 2.18 billion, a decrease of 3% compared to the same period last year, primarily driven by a 5% drop in Sirius XM subscriber revenue, which totaled $1.52 billion. Self-paced subscribers declined by 100,000 this quarter, reflecting an improvement compared to the same quarter last year, and we remain optimistic that full year 2024 will see a slight improvement compared to 2023. The progress during the second quarter was primarily due to a reduction in voluntary churn. Pay promotional subscribers during the quarter decreased by 73,000, as some automakers shifted from paid promotional subscriptions to unpaid.
Speaker Change: With that, let's jump into the financials.
Speaker Change: In the second quarter, Sirius XM reported consolidated revenue of $2.18 billion, a decrease of 3 percent compared to the same period last year, primarily driven by a 5 percent drop in Sirius XM subscriber revenue, which totaled $1.52 billion.
Speaker Change: Self-Paid Subscribers declined by 100,000 this quarter, reflecting an improvement compared to the same quarter last year, and we remain optimistic that full year 2024 will see a slight improvement compared to 2023.
Speaker Change: The progress during the second quarter was primarily due to a reduction in voluntary churn.
Speaker Change: Paid promotional subscribers during the quarter decreased by 73,000 as some automakers shifted from paid promotional subscriptions to unpaid.
Tom Barry: Moving on to advertising revenue, total ad revenue in the quarter remained flat year over year at $443 million. Our advertising business remains a strategic focus area as we leverage advanced technologies to drive market-leading solutions to capitalize our unique content and distribution channels. Despite some softness and total revenue, our overall financial performance remains resilient; adjusted EBITDA for the quarter remaining flat year over year at $702 million, and increased by 8% from the first quarter of 2024. This stability was achieved through effective cost management, including lower cost of services, personnel-related costs, and general administrative expenses. These savings offset the impact of lower subscriber revenue and higher sales and marketing costs, resulting in an adjusted EBITDA margin of 32%.
Speaker Change: Moving on to Advertising Revenue.
Speaker Change: Total ad revenue in the quarter remained flat year over year at $443 million. Our advertising business remains a strategic focus area as we leverage advanced technologies to drive market-leading solutions to capitalize on our unique content and distribution channels.
Speaker Change: Despite some softness in total revenue, our overall financial performance remains resilient. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter remained flat year-over-year at $702 million, and increased by 8% from the first quarter of 2024.
Speaker Change: This stability was achieved through effective cost management, including lower costs of services, personnel-related costs, and general and administrative expenses.
Speaker Change: These savings offset the impact of lower subscriber revenue and higher sales and marketing costs, resulting in an adjusted EBITDA margin of 32%.
Tom Barry: Our strategic optimization efforts yielded approximately $50 million in savings in the second quarter as we worked toward our full-year target of approximately $200 million. These savings resulted primarily from workforce streamline and company-wide cost optimization initiatives. The majority of these savings will be reinvested into the business to maintain our EBITDA margin and support ongoing transformation initiatives.
Speaker Change: Our strategic optimization efforts yielded approximately $50 million in savings in the second quarter, as we worked toward our full year target of approximately $200 million. These savings resulted primarily from workforce streamlining and company-wide cost optimization initiatives.
Speaker Change: The majority of these savings will be reinvested into the business to maintain our EBITDA margin and support ongoing transformation initiatives. Let's dive deeper into the performance of our segments.
Tom Barry: Let's dive deeper into the performance of our segments. Starting with the Sirius XM segment, total revenue for the quarter was $1.64 billion. This includes subscriber revenue, which declined 5%, advertising revenue, which dropped 4%, and the equipment revenue, which stayed flat compared to the same period last year. Our total RPU decreased by 42 cents, bringing it to $15.24 versus $15.66 last year. This dip is due to more subscribers on promotional rates and streaming-only self-paid plans. Our primary goal is long-term revenue growth, and we have always sought to balance rate and volume. And by continuously enhancing the value of our subscription packages in every aspect of the consumer experience, we have typically been able to sustain modest price increases every other year.
Speaker Change: Starting with the Sirius XM segment, total revenue for the quarter was $1.64 billion. This includes subscriber revenue, which declined 5%, advertising revenue, which dropped 4%, and the equipment revenue, which stayed flat compared to the same period last year.
Speaker Change: Our total ARPU decreased by 42 cents, bringing it to $15.24 versus $15.66 last year. This dip is due to more subscribers on promotional rates and streaming-only self-paid plans.
Speaker Change: Our primary goal is long-term revenue growth, and we have always sought to balance rate and volume.
Speaker Change: and by continuously enhancing the value of our subscription packages in every aspect of the consumer experience.
Speaker Change: We have typically been able to sustain modest price increases every other year.
Tom Barry: We currently don't expect a change to that historical cadence, but we are also differentiating our packages with a variety of price points and offerings, as Jennifer discussed. Gross profit in the Sirius XM segment reached $986 million, a 6% decline from the previous year. This brought our margin down to 60%, a 1% age point drop. Subscriber acquisition costs remained essentially flat in $92 million, compared to $93 million in the same period last year.
Speaker Change: We currently don't expect a change to that historical cadence, but we are also differentiating our packages with a variety of price points and offerings, as Jennifer discussed.
Speaker Change: Gross profit in the Sirius XM segment reached $986 million, a 6% decline from the previous year. This brought our margin down to 60%, a 1 percentage point drop.
Unknown Executive: Subscriber acquisition costs remained essentially flat at $92 million compared to $93 million in the same period last year. Shifting to Pandora and the off-platform segment, we saw total revenue increase by 2% to $538 million, an increase of approximately 9% from the first quarter of 2024. This growth was driven by an 8% year-over-year increase in subscriber revenue tied to rate increases on our Pandora Premium and Plus subscriptions. Advertising revenue in this segment remained flat at $400 million year-over-year. Pandora ad hours totaled $2.6 billion, a 5% decline year-over-year, while the average monthly listing hours per ad-supported user remained stable year-over-year at $21.7.
Jennifer Witz: Subscriber acquisition costs remained essentially flat at $92 million compared to $93 million in the same period last year.
Tom Barry: Shifting to Pandora and off platform segment, we saw a total revenue increase by 2% to $538 million. An increase were approximately 9% from the first quarter of 2024. This growth was during buying 8% year-over-year increase in subscriber revenue tied to rate increases on our Pandora Premium and Plus subscripts. Advertising revenue in a segment remained flat at $400 million year-over-year. Pandora at-hours totaled $2.6 billion, a 5% decline year-over-year, while the average monthly listing hours per ad-supported user remained stable year-over-year at $21.7. Gross profit in the Pandora and off-platform segment was $180 million, an increase of 18% year-over-year, reflecting a gross margin of 33%.
Speaker Change: Shifting to Pandora and off-platform segment, we saw total revenue increase by 2% to $538 million, an increase of approximately 9% from the first quarter of 2024.
Speaker Change: This growth was driven by an 8% year-over-year increase in subscriber revenue tied to rate increases on our Pandora Premium and Plus subscriptions.
Speaker Change: Advertising revenue in this segment remains flat at 400 million dollars year over year. Pandora ad hours total 2.6 billion, a 5% decline year over year, while the average monthly listening hours per ad supported user remains stable year over year at 21.7 hours.
Unknown Executive: Gross profit in the Pandora and off-platform segment was $180 million, an increase of 18% year-over-year, reflecting a gross margin of 33%. The increase was driven by higher revenue coupled with a roughly 5% drop in total cost of service. Looking more broadly across the business, we remain dedicated to our transformation efforts, optimizing our cost structure, making strategic investments in our product and content, and leveraging technology and automation to enhance our interaction with listeners and streamline our business processes.
Speaker Change: Gross profit in the Pandora and off-platform segment was $180 million, an increase of 18% year-over-year, reflecting a gross margin of 33%. The increase was driven by the higher revenue coupled with a roughly 5% drop in total cost of services.
Tom Barry: The increase was driven by the higher revenue coupled with a roughly 5% drop in total cost of services.
Tom Barry: Looking more broadly across the business, we remained dedicated to our transformation efforts, optimizing our cost structure, making strategic investments in our product and content, and leveraging technology and automation to enhance our interaction with listeners and streamline our business processes. These initiatives are already yielding positive results. We have successfully reduced expenses across various departments while simultaneously improving the customer experience.
Speaker Change: Looking more broadly across the business, we remain dedicated to our transformation efforts, optimizing our cost structure, making strategic investments in our product and content, and leveraging technology and automation to enhance our interaction with listeners and streamline our business processes.
Unknown Executive: These initiatives are already yielding positive results. We have successfully reduced expenses across various departments while simultaneously improving the customer experience. In addition, in the second half of 2024, we'll be opening a European tech hub, allowing us to continue our technology and product investments in a tax efficient manner. We generated $343 million in free cash flow during the quarter, up 6% from the second quarter of 2023. The increase was mainly due to lower cash taxes paid, resulting from the benefits of our tax equity investments and the timing of other payments, partially offset by higher capital expenditures and lower cash receipts.
Speaker Change: These initiatives are already yielding positive results.
Speaker Change: We have successfully reduced expenses across various departments while simultaneously improving the customer experience. In addition, in the second half of 2024, we will be opening a European tech hub, allowing us to continue our technology and product investments in a tax-efficient manner.
Tom Barry: In addition, in the second half of 2024, we'll be opening a European tech hub, allowing us to continue our technology and product investments in a tax-efficient manner. We generated 343 million of free cash for during the quarter, up 6% from the second quarter of 2023. The increase was mainly due to lower cash taxes paid, resulting from the benefits of our tax equity investments and the timing of other payments, partially offset by higher capital expenditures and lower cash receipts. During the second quarter, Sirius XM paid 103 million to stockholders through our dividend and ended the quarter with net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 3.2 times.
Speaker Change: We generated $343 million of free cash flow during the quarter, up 6% from the second quarter of 2023.
Speaker Change: The increase was mainly due to lower cash taxes paid, resulting from the benefits of our tax equity investments and the timing of other payments, partially offset by higher capital expenditures and lower cash receipts.
Speaker Change: During the second quarter, Sirius XM paid $103 million to stockholders through our dividend and ended the quarter with net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 3.2 times.
Tom Barry: Following the Liberty transaction, we planned a delivered back to our long-term leverage target in the low to mid-three times adjusted EBITDA, while still evaluating additional opportunities to return capital to shareholders efficiently.
Speaker Change: Following the Liberty transaction, we plan to de-lever back to our long-term leverage target in the low to mid three times adjusted EBITDA, while still evaluating additional opportunities to return capital to shareholders efficiently. With that, I'll turn it over to the operator for Q&A.
Operator: With that, I'll turn it over to the operator for Q&A. Thank you. At this time, we'll be conducting a question-and-answer session. If you'd like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad, and a confirmation tone to indicate your line in the question queue. You may press star two if you'd like to withdraw your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment, please, while we pull for questions. Thank you.
Speaker Change: Thank you. At this time we will be conducting a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad and a confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue.
Speaker Change: You may press star 2 if you would like to withdraw your question from the queue.
Speaker Change: For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys.
Speaker Change: One moment, please, while we poll for questions. Thank you.
Stephen Kael: Thank you, and our first question comes from the line of Stephen Kael with Wells Fargo. Let's relate to questions. Maybe just first on conversion. Could you just dig a little deeper into what you're seeing in the conversion rates? Jennifer, it seems like that's really kind of the North Star of the company right now to get net ads back on track. Can you dig a little deeper into what you're seeing in new car conversion? Have you seen any change in the way different age cohorts are reacting to the new technologies, streaming applications, et cetera? Where do you expect new car conversion to go over the next couple of years?
Unknown Attendee: Thank you, and our first question comes from the line of Steven Cahall with Wells Fargo. Let's just see what your question is.
Speaker Change: Thank you. And our first question comes from the line of Steven Cahall with Wells Fargo. Please proceed with your questions.
Steven Lee Cahall: Thank you. I have a couple of related questions. Maybe just first on conversion. Could you just dig a little deeper into what you're seeing in the conversion rates, Jennifer? It seems like that's really kind of the north star of the company right now to get net ads back on track. So can you dig a little deeper into what you're seeing in the new car conversion? Have you seen any change in the way different age cohorts are reacting to new technologies, streaming applications, et cetera?
Steven Cahall: Thank you. A couple related questions. Maybe just first on conversion. Could you just dig a little deeper into what you're seeing in the conversion rates, Jennifer? It seems like that's really kind of the north star of the company right now to get net ads back on track. So can you dig a little deeper into what you're seeing in new car conversion? Have you seen any change in the way different age cohorts are reacting to the new technologies, streaming applications, et cetera? And where do you expect new car conversion to go over the next couple of years?
Jennifer C. Witz: And where do you expect new car conversions to go over the next couple of years? And then also on the ARPU side of things, what can we expect from Sirius XM? Really subscription ARPU. Do you feel like you have any pricing power at this point? Churn has remained low, but I know you're trying to drive that conversion piece as well, so I would love to just help with how we can think about ARPU for the medium term. Thank you.
Stephen Kael: And then also on the ARPU side of things, what can we expect from Sirius XM? Really subscription ARPU? Do you feel like you have any pricing power at this point? Turn is remain low, but I know you're trying to drive that conversion piece as well. So, would love to just help on how we can think about ARPU for the medium term. Thanks.
Speaker Change: And then also on the ARPU side of things, what can we expect from Sirius XM? Really, subscription ARPU, do you feel like you have any pricing power at this point? Churn has remained low, but I know you're trying to drive that conversion piece as well, so I'd love to just help on how we can think about ARPU for the medium term. Thank you.
Unknown Executive: Thank you.
Jennifer Witz: Sure. Thanks, Stephen. Our Confederation Rates continue to be challenged, but we have seen some stabilization among our first time drivers, which do tend to be younger, and as they come into the funnel, we have been able to influence early engagement through some behavior-based marketing journeys we put in place, largely in 350L earlier this year.
Speaker Change: Sure, thanks, Steven. Our conversion rates continue to be challenged, but we have seen some stabilization among our first-time trialers, which do tend to be younger, and as they come into the funnel, we have been able to influence early engagement.
Speaker Change: through some behavior-based marketing journeys we've put in place.
Jennifer Witz: So a lot of that was manual, and we are eager to ramp up more personalized journeys for our customers across our in-car trailers over the course of the rest of the year. As you know, 360L is trending at about 40% of our new car trial starts, and we're seeing the real benefit of that coming through in these rich listening data sets. But we are just starting to roll out these truly personalized one-to-one journeys for the in-car trailers this month, and it's starting with slow-volume, small volumes, but a little ramp over the course of the year. And we'd expect to have the vast majority of our trailers on these personalized marketing journeys, you know, in as we exit the year and go into next year.
Speaker Change: largely in 360L earlier this year so a lot of that was manual and we are eager to ramp up you know more personalized journeys for our customers across our in-car trailers over the course of the rest of the year.
Speaker Change: As you know, 360L is trending at about 40% of our new car trial starts.
Speaker Change: And, you know, we're seeing the real benefit of that coming through in these rich listening data sets.
Speaker Change: But we are just starting to roll out these truly personalized one-to-one journeys for the in-car trailers this month.
Speaker Change: And it's starting with slow volumes, small volumes, but it'll ramp over the course of the year, and we'd expect to have, you know, the vast majority of our trialers on these personalized marketing journeys, you know, as we exit the year and go into next year.
Jennifer Witz: So, you know, as Ellika said, positive results with younger first-time trailers, seeing listening rates improve early in trial and translating through to improve conversion rates post-trial. And as you said, that's really the opportunity to unlock to put us on a path to growth. As you know, we do something about 20, 25 million trial starts a year on the in-car side of the business, and so it doesn't take much, you know, point of conversion is 200 to 250,000 sub. So we are very focused on leveraging the learnings that we're getting from streaming, and bringing them over to the in-car side of the business as well.
Speaker Change: You know, like I said, positive results with younger first-time trialers.
Speaker Change: seeing listening rates improve early in trial and translating through to improved conversion rates post trial and as you said that's really the opportunity to unlock to put us on a path to growth as you know
Speaker Change: We do something about 20, 25 million.
Speaker Change: trial starts a year on the in-car side of the business. And so it doesn't take much, you know, point of conversion is 200 to 250,000 subs. So we are very focused on leverage the learnings that we're getting from streaming and bringing them over to the in-car side of the business as well. And then,
Jennifer Witz: And then just shifting to ARPU, really, this is all about creating value across our subscription packages, right? And bringing enhanced value through more exclusive content, improving the discovery features we have in place, so consumers can better find it, and improving the control features we have in place, so consumers can better navigate it. So, you know, we are continuing to provide enhanced value to our subscription packages in a way that we believe will continue to support future rate increases. As Tom mentioned, we are planning to stay on the every other year cadence for rate increases going forward, but we're also taking steps to capture demand across a broader set of audiences.
Speaker Change: Just shifting to ARPU, really this is all about
Speaker Change: creating value across our subscription packages, right, and bringing enhanced value through
Speaker Change: More exclusive content, improving the discovery features we have in place so consumers can better find it, and improving the control features we have in place so consumers can better navigate it.
Speaker Change: We are continuing to provide enhanced value to our subscription packages in a way that we believe will continue to support future rate increases. As Tom mentioned, we are planning to stay on the every other year cadence for rate increases going forward. But we're also...
Jennifer Witz: So we are confident that this will set us up. You know, the combination of these two areas of focus will set us up to drive overall revenue growth in the long term.
Tom Barry: Taking Steps to Capture Demand Across a Broader Set of Audiences. So, we are confident that this will set us up, you know, the combination of these two areas of focus will set us up to drive overall revenue growth in the long term.
Unknown Executive: Thank you.
Jessica Rafe: Our next question is from the line of Jessica Rafe, or could thank the America's Curities. Please excuse your question. Thanks, two topics. First, on advertising, you mentioned several times, both of you, that that's a big opportunity for growth. Just wondering if you could talk a little bit about the drivers, what gives you confidence that the second half will pick out what are you seeing in the market? And then talk about some of the new tools, like programmatic. Does that really happen to a new pool of advertisers?
Speaker Change: Thank you.
Unknown Attendee: Our next question is from the line of Jessica Rafe Auerk with Bank of America Securities. I'm pleased to see you with your question.
Speaker Change: Our next question is from the line of Jessica Rafe Auerk with Bank of America Securities. Pleasure to see you with your questions.
Jessica Jean Reif Ehrlich Cohen: Thanks. Two topics. First, on advertising, you mentioned several times, both of you, that that's a big opportunity for growth. Just wondering if you could talk a little bit about the drivers. What gives you confidence that they can have full pickup?
Jessica Rafe-Auerk: Thanks. Two topics. First, on advertising.
Jessica Rafe-Auerk: You mentioned several times, both of you, that that's a big opportunity for growth. Just wondering...
Speaker Change: If you could, you know, talk a little bit about the drivers, what gives you confidence that can have full pickup? What are you seeing in the market? And then talk about some of the new tools like programmatic, does that really tap into a new pool of advertisers? And then the second question.
Unknown Executive: What are you seeing in the market? And then we will talk about some of the new tools like programmatic. Does that really tap into a new pool of advertisers? And then the second question: all three pillars of growth, subscribers, advertising, and financial, seem to depend on content? So maybe you could talk about, you know, you have multiple levers, whether it's podcasting live, different genres. Where do you see the most opportunity to really make a difference?
Jessica Rafe: And then the second question: all three pillars of growth, the subscriber's, advertising, financial, they seem to depend on content. So if you could talk about, you know, you have multiple levers, whether it's podcasting live, different genres, what do you see the most opportunity to really make a difference?
Speaker Change: All three pillars of growth, subscribers, advertising, financial, they seem to depend on content. So maybe you could talk about, you know, you have multiple levers, whether it's podcasting live, different genres. Where do you see the most opportunity to really make a difference?
Jennifer Witz: Okay, I'll take the first one. So we are expecting to see improvements in ad revenue in the second half. There is some uncertainty clearly tied to the general concern among brands about consumer personal spending. We did even see some recent cancellations, and obviously we're watching the tone of, you know, the earnings calls really carefully. But, you know, I think in Tom can talk a little bit about categories, but, you know, in podcasting, we continue to see strong demands that is translated into higher sell-through despite, you know, the iOS 17 changes to download. And, you know, as you know, there's a lot of supply out there given the trends with the F-bods, but we believe an audio buy is complimentary and appeals to many brands as audio is available to consumers in places.
Speaker Change: Okay, I'll take the first one.
Speaker Change: I.
Speaker Change: So we are expecting to see improvements in ad revenue in the second half. There is some uncertainty clearly tied to the general concern among brands about consumer personal spending. We did even see some recent cancellations and obviously we're watching the tone of the earnings calls really carefully. But I think, and Tom can talk a little bit about categories, but in podcasting we continue to see strong demand. That is translated into higher sell-through despite the iOS 17 changes to download.
Tom Barry: And, you know, as you know, there's a lot of supply out there, given the trends with the SVODs, but we believe an audio buy is complementary and appeals to many brands as audio is available to consumers in places, obviously, that video is not. And so...
Jennifer Witz: Obviously, that video is not. And so I'm very pleased with our position in podcasting and programmatic as we're capitalizing on these broader industry trends where advertisers are eager to self-serve and use better targeting and measurement tools to action their plans. And especially in a time of general uncertainty, programmatic just provides much more scaled opportunities to come into the market for advertisers and especially late in a quarter, you know, as budgets free up. So, you know, we continue to leverage the tools that we have, AI-driven synthetic voices and, you know, measurement targeting tools. You know, just did the relationship with TradeDesk on UID 2.0.
Tom Barry: I'm very pleased with our position in podcasting and programmatic as we're capitalizing on these broader industry trends where advertisers are eager to self-serve and use better targeting and measurement tools to action their plans and especially
Tom Barry: In a time of general uncertainty,
Tom Barry: Programmatic just provides much more scaled opportunities to come into the market for advertisers and and especially late in a quarter, you know, as budgets free up. So, you know, we continue to leverage the tools that we have, AI-driven synthetic voices and, you know, measurement targeting tools, you know, just did the relationship with TradeDesk on
Tom Barry: So we are very invested in the space, and I think there'll be more opportunities to come.
Speaker Change: UID 2.0, so we are very invested in the space and I think there will be more opportunities to come. Do you want to comment just on categories? Yeah, I mean, I would say, you know, looking across, you know,
Tom Barry: Do you want to comment just on categories? Yeah, I mean, I would say, you know, looking across, you know, the podcasting side, we're seeing, you know, a higher network demand, which has benefited us to date, and we see that continuing higher. Tech these continue to grow as we look out in the remainder of the year. And programmatic is Jennifer Settner script, you know, is growing 10% in the second quarter. I would also say, you know, as we look into the back after the year, we will see political ads that will start playing in as we get in, you know, in the next few months.
Unknown Executive: Yeah, I mean, looking across, you know, the podcasting side, we're seeing, you know, higher network demand, which has benefited us to date, and we see that continuing. Higher tech fees continue to grow as we look out for the remainder of the year, and programmatic, as Jennifer said in her script, is growing 10% in the second quarter. I would also say, you know, as we look into the back half of the year, we will see political ads that will start playing as we get closer to, you know, the next few months.
Speaker Change: The podcasting side, we're seeing, you know, a higher network demand, which has benefited us to date, and we see that continuing.
Speaker Change: Higher techies continue to grow as we look out in the remainder of the year and programmatic as Jennifer said in her
Speaker Change: Script, you know, is growing 10% in the second quarter. I would also say, you know, as we look into the back half of the year, we will see political ads that will start.
Unknown Executive: And we also look to see the benefit of the reorganization of our sales organization that we did in Q1 is starting to settle down, and we see the back half of the year that we'll get benefits from the realignment.
Unknown Executive: And we also look to see the benefit of reorganization of our sales organization that we did in Q1 is starting to settle down, and we see the back after the year that we'll get benefit from the realignment. Great.
Speaker Change: Playing in as we get in the next few months. And we also look to see the benefit of reorganization of our sales organization that we did in Q1. Is starting to settle down, and we see the back half of the year that we'll get, we'll get benefit from the realignment.
Unknown Executive: Great. Jessica, on where I see the most growth, and it's in two areas.
Scott Greenstein: Jessica, on the, where I see the most growth, and it's in two areas. One, obviously, is in podcasting. As you know, you have heard me mentioned before, our belief in that original, the original principles of the Howard model of where is there a large free audience that ultimately is passionate enough to go behind the paywall and be something that can grow and really accelerate our talk business. That model works, then, and now it's morphed into a different version with podcasting. You know, as you know, we have three of the top 10 podcasting: Crime Junkie, Dateline, and now SmartLess, and always looking at others.
Speaker Change: Great. Jessica, where I see the most growth, and it's in two areas. One, obviously, is in podcasting, as you
Unknown Executive: One obviously is in podcasting. As you know, you have heard me mention before, our belief in the original principles of the Howard model, where there is a large free audience that is ultimately passionate enough to go behind the paywall and be something that can grow and really accelerate our talk business. That model worked then, and now it's morphed into a different version.
Speaker Change: You know, you have heard me mentioned before.
Speaker Change: Our belief in that original, the original principles of the Howard model of
Jessica Rafe-Auerk: Where is there a large free audience that ultimately is passionate enough?
Jessica Rafe-Auerk: to go behind the paywall and be...
Jessica Rafe-Auerk: something that can grow and really accelerate our talk business.
Unknown Executive: With podcasting, you know, as you know, we have three of the top ten podcasts in Crime Junkie, Dateline, and now SmartList, and we're always looking at others. And with that, we're constantly testing on the one side, where will people pay for that and come out of the free area, like we are with the new Podcast Plus with Apple, as well as getting exclusive content out of those relationships behind the paywall. And ultimately, we're going to keep testing and fine-tuning, and that data will ultimately lead us somewhere down the road to a decision to see what will go behind the paywall and reignite that model, and I'm confident that will happen.
Speaker Change: that model work then and now it's morphed into a different version with podcasting you know as you know we have three of the top ten podcasts in Crime Junkie Dateline and
Scott Greenstein: And with that, we're constantly testing on one side, where will people pay for that and come out of the free area like we are with the new Podcast Plus with Apple, as well as getting exclusive content out of those relationships behind the paywall. And ultimately, we're going to keep testing and fine-tuning, and that data will ultimately lead us somewhere down the road to a decision to see what will go behind the paywall and reignite that model, and I'm confident that will happen.
Speaker Change: and now Smartless.
Speaker Change: and always looking at others and with that we're constantly testing on one side where will people pay for that and come out of the free area like we are with the new podcast plus.
Speaker Change: with Apple, as well as getting exclusive content out of those relationships.
Speaker Change: behind the paywall and ultimately we're going to keep
Speaker Change: Testing and fine-tuning, and that data will ultimately lead us somewhere down the road to a decision to see what will go behind the paywall and reignite that model, and I'm confident that will happen.
Unknown Executive: The other place is live. When you look at how things move in culture and pop culture, politics, whether it's podcasting or virtually any of our competitors, there's no live component. So when there's anything from a debate, an assassination attempt, a movie to promote, or anything that becomes timely or tied to a date, we're able to do it in virtually any way we can. And lastly, as you've seen recently with the NBA and others, the dispersion of live sports rights is all over the place in video, and we have a firm grip on all live sports and audio under one roof So the combination of those two areas, I feel pretty optimistic that there'll be.
Scott Greenstein: The other place is life. When you look at how things move in culture and pop culture or politics, whether it's podcasting or virtually any of our competitors, there's no live component. So when there's anything from a debate and assassination attempt, a movie to promote, or anything that becomes timely or tied to a date, we're able to do it in virtually any manner we can do. And lastly, as you've seen recently with the NBA and others, the dispersion of live sports rights are all over the place in video. And we have a firm grip on all live sports in audio under one roof.
Speaker Change: The Other Place is live. When you look at how things move in culture and pop culture, politics,
Speaker Change: Whether it's podcasting or virtually any of our competitors. There's no live component
Speaker Change: So, when there's anything from a debate, an assassination attempt...
Speaker Change: A movie to promote or anything that becomes timely or tied to a date.
Speaker Change: We're able to do it on virtually any manner we can do.
Speaker Change: And lastly, as you've seen...
Speaker Change: You know recently with the NBA and others the dispersion of live sports rights are all over the place
Speaker Change: In video, and we have a firm grip on all live sports and audio under one roof. So the combination of those two areas, I feel pretty optimistic. There'll be content growth tied to subscriber growth in the future.
Scott Greenstein: So the combination of those two areas, I feel pretty optimistic. There'll be content growth tied to subscriber growth.
Barton Crockett: Thank you. Our next question to the line of Barton Crockett with Rosenblatt's Securities, please receive your questions. Okay, thank you for taking the question.
Speaker Change: Thank you.
Speaker Change: Our next question is from the line of Barton Crockett with Rosenblatt Securities. Please receive your questions.
Barton Crockett: You know, I was curious about the discussion about new packages coming in if there's a way to give us a little bit better sense of how we're going to feel that hit the P&L and when we're kind of feel that hit the P&L. You know, I understand that there's some details to come, but is this going to drive then maybe a decrease in our poo or an increase in, you know, and does it, you know, kind of slowly filter in as you roll these out or is it kind of a big bang of that? A little bit more color would be helpful.
Barton Crockett: Okay, thank you for taking the question.
Barton Crockett: You know, I was curious about the discussion about new packages coming.
Speaker Change: And if there's a way to give us a little bit better sense of how we're going to feel that hit the P&L, and when we're going to feel that hit the P&L, you know, I understand that there's, you know, some details to come, but is this...
Speaker Change: that drives maybe a decrease in ARPU or an increase and you know and does it you know kind of slowly filter in as you roll these out or is it kind of a big bang of that a little bit more color would be helpful.
Jennifer Witz: Sure, so with the pricing and packaging efforts we're undertaking, we're really trying to solve for three things simultaneously, which is why, you know, we've been so deliberate about the testing we're doing here. We want to drive more demand because we know that our premium prices have been a barrier to bringing in some new audiences into our products. We want to make sure that we're preserving our full price space and opportunities to drive rate increases there in the future. And we want to create opportunities to reduce our reliance on, you know, promotional plans used in acquisition or retention.
Speaker Change: Sure, so with the pricing and packaging efforts we're undertaking, we're really trying to solve for three things.
Speaker Change: Simultaneously, which is why you know we've been so deliberate about the testing we're doing here. We want to drive more demand because we know that our premium prices have been a barrier to bringing in some new audiences into our products.
Speaker Change: We want to make sure that we're preserving our full price base and opportunities to drive rate increases there in the future. And we want to create opportunities to reduce our reliance on promotional plans used in acquisition and retention.
Jennifer Witz: So we've been, as you know, we launched with Streaming at 999 late last year. And that we are confident it will attract a different audience and incremental to what we're doing in the car. And in car side of the business, you know, the early results in our testing have been encouraging. It shows that we're getting consumers into the right packages for them. We've built a 999 music-only package with add-ons for talk, news, and sports. And in our testing, we're seeing better, longer-term retention on full-price plans after the first trial offer period expires. So, you know, we believe that alongside the recent move to all-in pricing, these actions are ultimately providing more value and more transparency for consumers across our packages.
Speaker Change: We've been, as you know, we launched with streaming at $9.99 late last year.
Speaker Change: And that, we are confident, will attract a different audience and incremental to what we're doing in the car. And in the in-car side of the business, you know, the early results in our testing have been encouraging. It shows that we're getting consumers into the right packages for them. We've built a $9.99 music-only package with add-ons for talk, news, and sports.
Speaker Change: And in our testing, we're seeing better, longer-term retention on full-price plans after the post-trial offer period expires. So, you know, we believe that alongside the recent move to all-in pricing,
Speaker Change: These actions are ultimately providing more value and more transparency for consumers across our packages. So there will be impacts on our metrics as we start to roll this out later in the year. We have everything captured in guidance and just the general trajectory we've talked about on self-pay net ads. And as we start to roll this out we'll have more to share in terms of the impacts going forward.
Tom Barry: So there will be impacts on our metrics as we start to roll this out later in the year. We have everything captured in guidance and just the general trajectory we've talked about on self-pay net ads. And, you know, as we start to roll this out, we'll have more to share in terms of the impacts going forward.
Tom Barry: Okay. And then, if I could just ask one other quick follow-up, you guys, you know, are reiterating guidance for an improvement in paid net ad trends this year versus last year. And I just want to understand this improvement: less negative or positive, or, you know, TBD. Yeah. I mean, improvement is less negative. And we expect, you know, that to be true for the full year. We had a very strong quarter in the second quarter. And I think we are going to start.
Speaker Change: Okay, and then if I could just ask one other quick follow-up. You guys, you know, are reiterating guidance for an improvement in paid net ad trend this year versus last year. I just want to understand, is improvement less negative or positive or, you know, TBD?
Unknown Speaker: Unknown Speaker Yeah, I mean,
Speaker Change: Yeah, I mean, improvement is less negative. And we expect that to be true for the full year. We had a very strong quarter in the second quarter. And I think we are
Tom Barry: being a little cautious given the outlook on new-and-used car sales. In the second quarter, there was some disruption because of the CDK issues, but there's certainly some concern among third-party analysts and commentary generally about consumer softness and demand for new-and-used cars. So, our trial funnel obviously is a big portion of our subscriber net ads. So, that uncertainty plays into our commentary. And then I'd say, on the other side, it was a really strong performance in turn. In the second quarter, we had 1.5 percent rounding, but it was slightly tighter than last year. And that's a function of fewer customers calling to cancel.
Unknown Executive: Being a little cautious given the outlook on new and used car sales. In the second quarter, there was some disruption because of the CDK issues, but there's certainly some concern among third-party analysts and commentary generally about consumer softness and demand for new and used cars.
Speaker Change: Being a little cautious given the outlook on new and used car sales.
Speaker Change: You know, in the second quarter there was some disruption because of the CDK issues.
Speaker Change: But, you know, there's...
Speaker Change: Certainly some concern among third-party analysts and commentary generally about
Unknown Executive: So our trial funnel obviously is a big portion of our subscriber net ads. So that uncertainty plays into our commentary. And then, on the other side, we've had really strong performance in churn. In the second quarter, we had 1.5% rounding, but it was
Speaker Change: Consumer Softness and Demand for New and Used Cars. So, you know, our trial funnel obviously is a big portion of our subscriber net ads, so that uncertainty plays into our commentary. And then I'd say on the other side, it was a really strong performance in churn. In the second quarter, we had 1.5 percent. It, you know, rounding, but it was slightly tighter.
Speaker Change: and the rest of the team. They have a lot to say. Have a great weekend. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.
Tom Barry: So, we feel really good about our retention and the loyalty among our subscribers and interest in our content offering. And we see definitely improvements in overall retention associated with car customers streaming more and exploring more of our content and very high satisfaction.
Speaker Change: We have fewer customers calling to cancel. So we feel really good about our retention and the loyalty among our subscribers.
Speaker Change: and interest in our content offering. And, you know, we see definitely improvements in overall retention associated with in-car customers streaming more, right, and exploring more of our content and very high satisfaction.
Unknown Executive: Okay, thank you.
Stephen Lysick: Our next questions from the light of Stephen Lysick with Goldman Sachs. Let's see with your questions. Great. Good morning, too, if I could. First, Jennifer, you called out some of the positive momentum you're seeing on the new streaming experience. Could you maybe talk a little bit more about some of the positive proof points you saw in the second quarter and then maybe your goals around scaling that strategy into the back half of the year and into 2025. And then for Tom on profitability, could you unpack some of the drivers of a nice cost performance in the quarter at GNA look like it was down a good deal year or a year.
Speaker Change: Okay, thank you.
Speaker Change: Our next question is from the line of Stephen Lysak with Goldman Sachs. Please proceed with your questions.
Stephen Lysak: Great, good morning, too, if I could. First, Jennifer, you called out some of the positive momentum you're seeing on the new streaming experience. Could you maybe talk a little bit more about some of the positive proof points you saw in the second quarter, and then maybe your goals around scaling that strategy into the back half of the year and into 2025?
Speaker Change: And then for Tom, on profitability, could you unpack some of the drivers of the nice cost performance in the quarter? At G&A, it looked like it was down a good deal year over year. Is there anything aside from the cost efficiency plan that we should keep in mind as we model the cost structure going forward? Thank you.
Stephen Lysick: Is there anything aside from the cost efficiency plan that we should keep in mind as we model the cost structure going forward? Thank you.
Jennifer Witz: Yeah, thanks, Stephen. So, on streaming, I want to take a step back and just talk about the overall objective. We're building a next generation streaming platform, which is incredibly important to the future of our business. And that is because it supports 360L supports our streaming-only implementations in car and our millions of in-car subscribers who stream. And of course there is a cohort of listeners that want to experience our service through the mobile app or in-home connected devices, and we're building better capabilities for them to ultimately. We want customers to be able to listen on the device of their choice.
Speaker Change: Yeah, thanks, Steven. So, on streaming, I want to take a step back and just talk about the overall objective. We're building a next-generation streaming platform, which is incredibly important to the future of our business, and that is because it supports 360L, supports our streaming-only implementations in-car, and our millions of in-car subscribers who stream. And, of course, there is a cohort of listeners that want to experience our service through the mobile app or in-home connected devices, and we're building better capabilities for them, too. Ultimately, we want customers to be able to listen on the device of their choice. So, we are repositioning our business for the future, and, yes, we're not ramping.
Jennifer Witz: So we are repositioning our business for the future, and yes, we're not ramping as quickly as we thought in streaming only. But we are implementing a lot of changes, and what we're seeing does give us confidence in the future of our offering. We're seeing our streaming and 360L customers exploring a broader set of our content in part because of the personalized product features, which helps with content discovery. So our streaming metrics are getting better quarter of a quarter. We're iterating with personalized marketing journeys there now, and we're going to leverage these journeys and these learnings as we're just starting to ramp up.
Speaker Change: [inaudible]
Speaker Change: So, our streaming metrics are getting better quarter over quarter. We're iterating with personalized marketing journeys there now, and we're going to leverage these journeys and these learnings as we're just starting to ramp up, as I mentioned earlier, the multi-channel.
Jennifer Witz: As I mentioned earlier, the multi-channel marketing for in-car trailers is expected to have much more of that in place by the end of the year.
Jennifer Witz: So this is the key. If we can scale the learnings we have on the streaming side to the in-car side of the business, then we get a significant impact on future growth. And just as it relates to metrics specifically, what we're watching are the early in-trial engagement metrics, whether it's days listening or percentage of people listening or the breadth of the content and the hours they're listening, as these are the predictors of improving post-trial conversion for both streaming and the in-car side of the business.
Speaker Change: So, you know, this is the key, right? If we can scale the learnings we have on the streaming side to the in-car side of the business, then we get a significant impact on, you know, future growth. And just as it relates to metrics specifically, what we're watching are the early in-trial engagement metrics, whether it's, you know, days listening or percentage of people listening or the breadth of the content and the hours they're listening, as these are the predictors of improving post-trial conversion for both streaming and the in-car side of the business.
Unknown Attendee: The time you want to check...
Tom Barry: Tommy, you want to take that cross. Yeah, and so thanks, Stephen. So if you look at the cost, you know, it's a lot of it's our cost optimization, as you noted, and they think our program, you know, approached 50 million worth of savings in Q2. You know, a lot of the initiatives that we're working on touch across all, you know, a lot of the areas, as you saw. I think customer service and buildings favorable because of some issues we did there. Our GNA is favorable, and R&D is favorable. When you look across all of them, you know, there is one portion of it, which is the, you know, human capital favorability as far as some optimization that we've done in the structure and the team.
Speaker Change: You know, a lot of the initiatives that we're working on touch across all, you know, a lot of the areas, as you saw, I think customer service and billing's favorable.
Tom Barry: Some of it is, you know, just along the lines of the Salesforce realignment that we've talked about on the ad sales side. So we have a bunch of different initiatives that we're working on somewhere in earlier phases. And some of them, you know, as you look at it, you know, some of our initiatives are a little bit delayed. And so some of the savings will continue onward; you know, we expect it for right now. But the reality is I think all of the projects that we are embarking on have been successful to date, and we're going to continue to work against that.
Unknown Executive: Great.
Jim Goss: Thank you.
Jim Goss: Our next question comes from the line of Jim Goss with Barrington Research. This is you with your questions. Thanks.
Jennifer Witz: In terms of the free Ed-Sported plan you're trying to roll out, are these going to be totally separate channels, or are they going to be based on some of the existing stream content, or the content that involves hosts? And what sort of cannibalization risk do you perceive if you have such plans available, and the existing subscribers looked to tap into them? Sure. I don't expect a lot of cannibalization because it's a reduced content set. So we have, I believe, about 40 channels. They are existing channels that we have on the service with ads inserted. And right now it's pretty low volumes, but it's a great way for us to better understand what kind of demand we might see for the free service.
Speaker Change: Sure. I don't expect a lot of cannibalization because it's a reduced...
Jennifer Witz: It's also really important for us to be able to maintain the activation of that radio so that customers post-trial, if they choose not to convert, are still able to experience Sirius XM content for some time, and we have an opportunity to continue to try to upsell them with that in place. So we could have launched this without 360L. It is critical to be able to provide the capabilities on both the ad side and the flexibility in terms of providing a different channel set. And we have the opportunity to adjust, right? To the extent that we thought there was going to be cannibalization, then we could reduce the channel set or we could increase the ad load over time.
Speaker Change: So we could have launched this without 360L. It is...
Speaker Change: It's critical to be able to provide the capabilities on both the ad side and
Speaker Change: the flexibility in terms of providing a different channel set. And we have the opportunity to adjust to the extent that we thought there was going to be cannibalization, then we could reduce the channel set or we could increase the ad load over time. We're launching with broadcast ads to start, but over time, we'll be able to replace those ads with more targeted IP delivered ads because of the 360L platform. So, a lot of the learnings we're going to get here, I think, are going to help us better determine what does free look like in the car. And you should expect us to look at opportunities to extend some of this to our streaming products as well. And we're going to get started with some...
Jennifer Witz: We're launching with broadcast ads to start, but over time we'll be able to replace those ads with more targeted IP delivery ads because of the 360L platform. So a lot of the learnings we're going to get here, I think, are going to help us better determine what does free look like in the car.
Jennifer Witz: And you should expect us to look at opportunities to extend some of this to our streaming products as well. And we're going to get started with some limited content sampling functionality on our site, and then eventually in the app as well to remove some of the friction. And this is all about getting broader audiences exposure to Sirius XM content with an opportunity ultimately to get them into our subscription packages.
Jennifer Witz: Okay, maybe a follow up. Do you think this will give you a lot greater benefit in terms of the ad sales and the course series XM service that where you're advertising has been probably a lot more in the Pandora side. Do you think that will be a significantly greater revenue category for you? I think over time, yes, it's going to be years as we build out the volume in 360L in car with the free access package. But even broader than that, given IP targeted ads, we're going to be able to leverage those in the core service, not just in free, but in paid subscriptions where we do have ads on the non-music side of the business.
Unknown Attendee: Okay, maybe a follow-up. Do you think this will give you a lot greater benefit in terms of the ad sales in the core Sirius XM service, where your advertising has been a lot more on the Pandora side? Do you think there will be a significantly greater revenue category for you?
Speaker Change: Okay, maybe a follow-up. Do you think this will give you...
Speaker Change: And even broader than that, given IP-targeted ads, we're going to be able to leverage those in the core service, not just in free, but in paid subscriptions where we do have ads on the non-music side of the business. And so we think over time, as we introduce that ad replacement technology, we'll be able to improve with better targeting, higher CPMs, and ultimately improved ad revenue.
Jennifer Witz: And so we think over time as we introduce that ad replacement technology will be able to improve with better targeting, higher CPMs, and ultimately improved ad revenue.
Unknown Attendee: And maybe one last one, international sales opportunities. Since you can do programming without satellites, is that going to be a significant component of your business?
Speaker Change: Okay, maybe one last one. International sales opportunity with, since you can do programming without satellites, is that going to be a significant component of your business?
Jennifer Witz: We have some international advertising sales today through third parties. The broader opportunity in terms of Sirius XM distribution outside of the US and Canada, we have a limited opportunity, I think, with the Apple Podcast Plus subscription that will be global. I think if we were to explore something international, it likely would be with a partner, perhaps one of our OEMs. We have really strong relationships there, as you know, and there could be a way for us to launch a streaming service in another part of the world in conjunction with an OEM.
Unknown Executive: We have some international advertising sales today through third parties; the broader opportunity in terms of Sirius XM distribution outside of the US and Canada, we have a limited opportunity, I think, with the Apple Podcast Plus subscription, that'll be global. I think if we were to explore something international, it would likely be with a partner, perhaps one of our OEMs. We have really strong relationships there, as you know, and there could be a way for us to launch a streaming service in another part of the world in conjunction with an OEM.
Speaker Change: We have some international advertising sales today through third parties. I do the broader opportunity in terms of
Unknown Executive: All right, thanks very much. Here.
Unknown Attendee: Thanks very much.
Speaker Change: Alright, thanks very much.
Cameron Mansson: Our next question comes from the line of Cameron Manson-Perone, with Morgan Stanley. Please excuse your questions. Thank you for taking the questions. Morning, everyone. On the self-pay outlook, should we expect to move back to a point estimate for self-pay guidance anytime soon? I know a lot changing in terms of product and packaging, etc. But just any color on where the primary areas of uncertainty are today and your minds that make more specificity there, a challenge. And then on OEM agreements, the continuing shift on paid trials, is that driven by new agreements or is that kind of balance shifting under existing agreements?
Unknown Attendee: Thank you for taking the questions this morning, everyone.
Speaker Change: More specificity there. A challenge. And then on OEM agreements.
Cameron Mansson: And when do you expect that underlying shift in terms of trial mix to stabilize? Thanks, guys.
Unknown Executive: Sure.
Tom Barry: Thanks, Cam, for the question. I'll stick with the same sort of general commentary we've provided on sub. And we expect, again, the net ads to be better year over year. And of course, as we get into next year, we'll be able to communicate that later this year or early next year, as we would typically.
Speaker Change: Sure. Hi.
Speaker Change: Year over year, and of course, as we get into next year we'll, you know, be able to communicate that later this year or early next year as we would typically. On our OEM agreement
Tom Barry: On our OEM agreements, this has been a longer-term shift. We have different arrangements, as you know, with the individual OEMs where there are a number of factors that are negotiated, including the length of the trial, whether it's paid or unpaid, subsidy arrangements, revenue share, and most importantly, penetration rates. And so it is sort of an overall view as to the economic terms. And of course, you know, we look to make improvements as we extend those agreements over time. So it's not necessarily new agreements with new OEMs. It's just as we shift those agreements over time, some of the individual terms adjust in favor of, I think, economically supportive increases in penetration rates.
Speaker Change: This has been, you know, a longer-term shift. We have different arrangements, as you know, with the individual OEMs where there are a number of factors that are negotiated, including the length of the trial, whether it's paid or unpaid, you know, subsidy arrangements, revenue share, and, you know, most importantly, penetration rates. And, yes, so it is...
Speaker Change: Over time, so it's not necessarily new agreements with new OEMs. It's just as we shift those agreements over time some of the individual terms adjust in favor of I think economically supportable increases in penetration rates
Unknown Executive: Got it. Helpful.
Jennifer Witz: Thank you, Jennifer. Thank you, everybody, for participating in today's call. We will speak to some of you offline and in the coming weeks.
Jennifer Witz: Got it. Helpful. Thank you, Jennifer.
Operator: Have a good summer. Thank you.
Operator: This will conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and we thank you for your participation.
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