I really just don't know what to make of this. First the Alexa debauchery and now this from Bridge Ratings:

“It would appear now that Sirius satellite radio will not exceed our projections first published in September. After interviewing Stern listeners who actually subscribed to Sirius in October, we are projecting an improving subscriber base of over 800,000 in the fourth quarter, but this number is lower than previously expected. Though pacing is strong for both satellite companies, this quarter will see Sirius surpass XM in quarterly subscriber count!”

Originally, Bridge stated one-million new SIRIUS subscribers in Q4, but it's not the revised projections that's odd, it's the competitive statement. The SIRIUS subscriber predictions are no surprise, with SIRIUS themselves stating a similar number (3+ Million by EOY, up from 2,173,920 subscribers).

What's odd is that Bridge is essentially saying that XM will have under 800,000 subscribers in Q4. Yet XM has reaffirmed continuously that they will break 6 million subscribers (up from 5,034,642 subscribers). What gives? How can a survey of Stern listeners determine the subscriber count for a competing satellite radio service? Where's the data for that? Also, why the survey in cities other than New York (where the Stern following is the greatest)?

It just doesn't add up. 

[Bridge Ratings via R&R]