SiriusXM (SIRI Quick QuoteSIRI - Free Report) recently announced that Red Hot Chili Peppers, the iconic rock bank, will soon be launching their own exclusive SiriusXM music channel. Scheduled to go on air from Apr 1 on SiriusXM channel 315 and on the SXM App, it will be called Whole Lotta Red Hot.

The launch date for the band’s music channel also coincides with the unveiling of its latest album Unlimited Love.

The SiriusXM music channel, Whole Lotta Red Hot, will play music from the band’s more than 30-year long career and also include its vast catalog of genre-blending studio tracks, energetic live performances and an eclectic music collection, personally curated by the band.

In addition, the channel will feature the band sharing anecdotes and insights from four decades of albums and songs.

Expanding Content Portfolio to Aid User Growth

SiriusXM is firmly focused on providing its subscribers with quality content of varied genres. SiriusXM’s strong content portfolio is likely to help it expand its user base.

SiriusXM is focusing on creating unique audio packages to boost user engagement levels. It is looking to bank on its strength from in-vehicle services and Pandora’s out-of-the-vehicle market to boost subscriber growth.

In the last reported quarter, SiriusXM’s subscriber revenues, which comprised 74.3% of total revenues, rose 5% from the year-ago quarter to $1.70 billion.

Pandora’s revenues increased 3.6% year over year to $575 million, owing to 4% growth in advertising revenues, which totaled $442 million. Subscriber revenues climbed 2.3% year over year to $133 million.

Sirius XM segment revenues were $1.71 billion, up 4.5% year over year, mainly offset by lower revenue from paid trials and by lower equipment revenue resulting from reduced module delivery on account of limited auto production

SiriusXM recently signed a multi-year agreement with the independent progressive media company Crooked Media.

Per the agreement, SiriusXM network will have Crooked Media’s top-ranked podcasts, including Pod Save America, Lovett or Leave It and Pod Save the World.

The agreement also provides SIRI’s subsidiary SiriusXM Media with exclusive global and sales rights to Crooked Media’s podcast portfolio, starting May 2022. Additionally, the deal gives Sirius XM Media, sales and sponsorship rights to any content produced by Crooked Media, including digital video, social media and live events.

SiriusXM also announced the launch of a limited engagement channel, The Joni Mitchell Channel, which will be featuring the music of the iconic musician and songwriter Joni Mitchell.

Earlier this month, SiriusXM announced that it reached an exclusive distribution and sales agreement with the leading global digital audio network company reVolver Podcasts.

Through the multi-year deal, this New York-based radio broadcasting service provider’s advertising revenue organization SXM Media will gain exclusive global ad sales rights to reVolver’s extensive range of podcasts.

Last month, SiriusXM partnered with Hope Solo, the World Cup champion and the Olympic gold medalist goalkeeper, to launch an original SiriusXM podcast, Hope Solo Speaks, that debuted across all podcast platforms on Mar 2.

SIRI also announced its extensive programming plans for the week of Super Bowl LVI. SiriusXM listeners will get multiple broadcasts of the game, a dedicated Super Bowl LVI pop up channel, plus a mix of sports and entertainment programming.

In spite of building up its content portfolio, the company has been witnessing a declining user base. In the last reported quarter, SiriusXM segment subscriber base declined 2%, the company witnessed growth of 7% in ARPU that amounted to $15.34.

Self-pay subscribers in increased 3.7% year over year to 32.04 million. Net self-pay subscribers declined 231K in the reported quarter.

Total subscribers were 34.03 million at the end of fourth-quarter 2021, less than 34.65 million at the end of fourth-quarter 2020.

Notably, Monthly active users were 52.28 million at the end of the reported quarter, down from 58.88 million in the year-ago quarter. Ad-supported listener hours declined 6.4% year over year to 2.77 billion.

Due to the given continuing semiconductor shortages and other factors limiting vehicle sales in late 2021 and into 2022, the company expects that the substantial majority of its self-pay subscriber growth will come in the second half of the year.

SiriusXM continues to bolster its content package by adding content from all spheres, including music, politics, news and sports to its platform. SIRI will expand its video offering later this year, given an increased user engagement for the Howard show. The addition of channels and a strong collection of sports content are anticipated to aid SIRI in augmenting its subscription revenues.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Currently, SiriusXM has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Shares of SIRI have rallied 14.3% against the Zacks Broadcast Radio and Television industry’s decline of 28.2% and the Consumer Discretionary sector’s decrease of 21.6% in the past year.

Some better-ranked stocks in the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector are Funko (FNKO Quick QuoteFNKO - Free Report) and Target Hospitality (TH Quick QuoteTH - Free Report) , both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present, while Toro (TTC Quick QuoteTTC - Free Report) currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Funko’s shares have declined 10% compared with the Zacks Consumer Products - Discretionary industry’s fall of 47.1% and the Consumer Discretionary sector’s decrease of 21.6% in the past year.

The Target Hospitality stock has surged 119.1% in the past year against the Zacks Leisure and Recreation Services industry’s decline of 8.9% and the Consumer Discretionary sector’s fall of 21.6% in the past year.

Shares of Toro have declined 13.9% compared with the Zacks Tools - Handheld industry’s decrease of 11.6% and the Consumer Discretionary sector’s fall of 21.6% in the past year.