NEW YORK — John Trimble is retiring after 16 years in a key advertising position within Sirius XM‘s C-Suite. Who’s succeeding him? It’s an individual who joined Pandora in 2008 before its acquisition by SiriusXM, and previously served as SVP of AdsWizz.
Scott Walker has been named Chief Advertising Revenue Officer, and one of his initial tasks will be improving the satellite broadcaster’s measurement and attribution capabilities.
Walker told AdWeek, “I have been with this company for a long time, and the throughline to my experience is my passion for and understanding of the power of audio. We’ve led the way in the podcasting era, and we plan to continue to invest in the space as it develops into a multichannel platform.”
This includes the $125 million deal SXM signed with Alex Cooper for her Call Her Daddy podcast and Unwell Network. To cash in on the full contract, Cooper will manage production, development, and budgeting for current and future shows featuring influencers like Madeline Argy, Harry Jowsey, and Owen Thiele, with SiriusXM funding the projects.
Walker rises as SiriusXM shifts its strategy to prioritize its automotive subscriber base, which accounts for 90% of its customers, following a year of underwhelming results from its streaming-focused push. The company’s streaming services have since been positioned as “value-added benefits” for automotive subscribers, integrating into hybrid in-car platforms.
SiriusXM closed 2024 with 33 million subscribers, adding 149,000 self-pay subscribers in Q4 but recording a net annual loss of 296,000. Paid promotional subscribers fell by 353,000, while the trial funnel remained strong at 7.3 million. The company has outlined plans to save $350 million through 2024 and aims for an additional $200 million in annualized savings by 2025. It also expects to reduce its debt by $700 million and projects a total revenue of $8.5 billion in 2025.
