NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is the most popular audio entertainment service on Sprint Nextel Corp. (S.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the No. 3 U.S. wireless service, Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin said on Thursday.
"If you were to speak to Sprint they would tell you we are (the most popular) of all the audio choices," Karmazin said at the Reuters Media Summit in New York. Sprint's service streams a selection of Sirius channels to its cell phone users.
He did not disclose how many Sirius subscribers the wireless provider has signed up, but said it was not a significant contribution to either company. "It doesn't move the needle," Karmazin said.
Whether Sirius creates additional wireless partnerships will depend on what kind of a deal it can negotiate, Karmazin said. Under the Sprint deal, the companies share a $6.95 monthly subscriber fee.
"It depends on the deal and what the economics are. We're only interested in doing a good deal," he said.
The executive said that streaming a selection of Sirius channels via Sprint cell phones is a good way for Sirius to experiment with attracting mobile users.
Drawbacks to wireless deals include lower monthly revenue than Sirius' traditional service, and the fact that cell phone companies have higher customer cancellation rates than Sirius cancellation rates, Karmazin said.
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