SiriusXM CEO James Meyer detailed them in the company conference call on Wednesday. He said the number one challenge was active users and listener hours. And then there’s that little bugaboo about actually making money. SiriusXM is expected to close on its purchase of Pandora tomorrow.
Meyer said there’s a lot he likes about Pandora but the one “flashing light” he worries about is the decline in listening hours. But he also believes that metric is fixable. Meyer said the Pandora management team will be tremendously focused on active users and listener hours in 2019 and beyond, adding that improved content and marketing will help turn those numbers around. He believes the launch of Pandora’s slate of podcasts is a great first step, and he’s confident Scott Greenstein and his team will add immediate value.
And Meyer has an eye on making sure Pandora can make money consistently on its own, something the streaming pure play has never been able to accomplish. “Growing Pandora and, more importantly, generating sustained and growing cash flows there will not be easy. But with the combination of SiriusXM and Pandora, we will have tremendous opportunities.”
Meyer also said the fact that the employees now knowing what’s going on with the company will also help turn things around. “The Pandora team, for the last three or four years, has been constantly faced with the question of where are you going? What’s going to happen to Pandora? Are you going to sell the company? All those questions. Those are all done now. That’s done. And so I can tell you at the heart of where we are is getting back the focus on the fundamental metrics of the business, particularly listening hours, and going to work on improving those. It won’t be easy, but I’m confident we can do it.”
