WEBVTT - Sirius XM Holdings CEO Jennifer Witz Talks Leveraging AI

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news, Sirius XM, the online

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<v Speaker 1>radio service, says it's focused on growth off for its

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty five forecasts missed Expectations. That was back in December.

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<v Speaker 1>Now bloem megs Ed Ludlow just caught up with the

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<v Speaker 1>CEO Jennifer Witz at CES and began with a discussion

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<v Speaker 1>on AI implementation.

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<v Speaker 2>In some ways, I think we're the ANTIAI in terms

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<v Speaker 2>of in terms of content creation and curation, right, So,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, we pride ourselves on the hosts and the

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<v Speaker 2>programmers that we have, the people that actually put together

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<v Speaker 2>the channels and the shows. It's the voices you hear

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<v Speaker 2>every day on your commute that really drive that intimacy

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<v Speaker 2>that audio offers. In the connection where we will leverage

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<v Speaker 2>AI is in some respects where others have used it

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<v Speaker 2>as well to provide better discovery and personalization. Right, So

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<v Speaker 2>we hope that our programmers can really curate an experience

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<v Speaker 2>to help you find what you love, but also the

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<v Speaker 2>technology of AI can create more personalization in our marketing,

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<v Speaker 2>in the product itself in terms of recommendations to enhance

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<v Speaker 2>that even more. And of course there's lots of other

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<v Speaker 2>benefits for AI in terms of cost reduction and more

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<v Speaker 2>efficiencies in the business.

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<v Speaker 3>Overall, this is Bloomberg. So let's talk some business. Last month,

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<v Speaker 3>you basically said this is our revenue outlook for twenty

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<v Speaker 3>twenty five, and investors, for whatever reason, we're disappointed. You

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<v Speaker 3>also said that you're going to cut costs run your business.

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<v Speaker 3>How is the cost costing going and what were the

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<v Speaker 3>facts that I guess if you accept that the revenue

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<v Speaker 3>output was not what your investors want to see, what

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<v Speaker 3>were the factors behind it being what it was.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So we're very focused on supporting the top line

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<v Speaker 2>and the two aspects of our business that we've talked

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<v Speaker 2>about subscription and advertising, and we have opportunities to continue

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<v Speaker 2>to grow there and drive improvements to that part of

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<v Speaker 2>our business. But we're really focused on the subscription side

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<v Speaker 2>on what we do best audio first and in the car,

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<v Speaker 2>because that's where we've proven that we can really be

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<v Speaker 2>successful and that's where radio is very successful. In our

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<v Speaker 2>ads business, we talked about where we're adding in terms

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<v Speaker 2>of podcasts and other content to build out that portfolio,

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<v Speaker 2>and yes, cost reduction will be increasingly important as we

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<v Speaker 2>move forward. As we want to sustain our industry leading margins,

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<v Speaker 2>and on top of that, we also have significant free

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<v Speaker 2>cash flow generation right and as we get to our

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<v Speaker 2>target leverage ratio, we'll be able to increasingly return capital

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<v Speaker 2>and shareholders, whether it's through our dividend or through show

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<v Speaker 2>repurchases as well.

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<v Speaker 3>I think I'm right in saying this is your first

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<v Speaker 3>CES in about five years. That's right, it's packed. There

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<v Speaker 3>is an intense focus on the exhibitors AI. I would

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<v Speaker 3>also say there are lots of questions about what twenty

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<v Speaker 3>twenty five is going to be like, in particular because

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<v Speaker 3>we have a new administration that will come into our

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<v Speaker 3>office this month. How is serious extent preparing for that?

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<v Speaker 3>Do you see if being a factor to people that

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<v Speaker 3>listen to audio in America? This year?

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<v Speaker 2>We have a really diverse set of content, and I

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<v Speaker 2>think one of the things we saw during the election

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<v Speaker 2>is an increase in news and politics content consumption, which

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<v Speaker 2>is probably not surprising, but it just speaks to the

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<v Speaker 2>overall bundle and that we have something for everyone at

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<v Speaker 2>any given time depending on what's going on, and also

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<v Speaker 2>the value of live linear when something important is going on.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think you know that's going to continue to

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<v Speaker 2>be a focus for us. And then you know there

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<v Speaker 2>are things like you know, people are focused on tariffs

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<v Speaker 2>and taxes and what happens with the auto business. But

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<v Speaker 2>you know, we feel really good about our position in

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<v Speaker 2>terms of our availability across the spectrum of auto manufacturers,

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<v Speaker 2>being a lot of meetings with the OEMs while we're here,

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<v Speaker 2>in addition to advertisers, and I think we feel good.

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<v Speaker 2>December was a great month for auto sales, so hopefully

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<v Speaker 2>that's an indication of what's going to come in twenty

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<v Speaker 2>twenty five. Strong auto market is great for our business.

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<v Speaker 1>Serious XM CEO Jennifer Witz.

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<v Speaker 2>There