Sirius Passes 3-Million-Customer Mark

NEW YORK – Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) said Tuesday that it recently surpassed 3 million subscribers and expects a strong year-end.

The new subscriber figure meets a target Sirius set at the beginning of last month to end the year with more than 3 million customers. It had started the quarter with 2.17 million subscribers.

Sirius trails XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) in the market for paid satellite radio services, but it hopes to boost its growth in 2006 with the addition of shock-jock Howard Stern to its line-up.

Sirius shares were up 3 percent on Inet at $7.02, after finishing at $6.83 in regular trading on the Nasdaq on Friday.