It has taken the company five frustrating weeks to release 2.6 but, after 24 hours of using the latest version, I am happy to report, I am no longer experiencing any crashing issues – although, I remain apprehensive.

If you have experienced the dreaded crash bug with previous versions I do recommend completely deleting the app and performing a fresh install of the latest version – rather than simply tapping “update.” This clean install method should be the first thing you try with any iOS app you might be having issues with.

Have all the bugs been worked out? Is everyone happy? If not, please share your story in the comment section below, I would hate to think anyone is still silently suffering a maddening fate.

The seemingly unlucky minority, who I happen to be one of, have seen a barrage of random and often maddening crashes. It doesn’t matter when you’re listening, or what you’re listening to. It might happen once every minute or once every hour but, eventually it will get you – and when it does, it often causes you to lose your place in your favorite show.

Subscribers are rightly upset and they’ve taken to iTunes App store to let their voice be heard. At the time this article was written, 1 star votes have outnumbered 5 star votes by a margin of 3 to 1 – not a good sign freshly released app. A quick sorting of the reviews to “most recent” shows an even more disturbing trend with 17 out of the first 20 votes rated at 1 frustrated star.

The running theme of these 1 star ratings is clear;

• “Random app crashing happens multiple times a day on iPhone 5. I lose my place all of the time.”
• “It won’t let me hear the on demand shows anymore, it shuts off constantly and often loses its position, needs lots of improvement.”
• “This app crashes more than it works. 2hrs into a 4hr show and it crashes and you have to start it all over again, every day.”

It goes on and on, page after page like this.

What’s even more frustrating is that the company doesn’t seem to have any clue what is causing the issue and with these random crashes leaving no trail behind in the iOS crash log, it seems destined to remain a mystery.

Customer service reps have confirmed that the higher levels of management are aware of the problem and assured subscribers that they will be notified when it has been sorted out. In the meantime, some angry subscribers have been pacified with $50 apology credits made to their accounts.

If you happen to be one of the unlucky, please share your story in the comments below. Maybe we can put our heads together, figure out the common denominator, and finally kill this bug from hell before I lose what little hair I have left.

One thing that investors need to bear in mind is that while subscriber numbers look promising from Q1 and the beginning of Q2, there is a dynamic shift that will happen in Q4 when GM no longer provides paid promotional subscribers and instead shifts to unpaid, and thus uncounted, promotional subscriptions.  This means that the subscriber number in Q4 will appear very anemic.

If SiriusXM can deliver near 500,000 subscribers in Q2 it will be relatively safe (even this early on) to see current 2013 sub guidance of 1.4 million net additions as attainable.  Stay tuned!

Nissan has stated that the main reason for the price slashing is to get more exposure on Internet searches.  The company’s higher price point sometimes makes it so their models do not appear for consumers to even consider.  To help offset the lower prices, Nissan will reduce their typical rebates.

The largest automaker, GM, has stated that it does not have any intent on matching the price slashing strategy at this time.  While that may be the case for GM, it may not be the case for other makers.  If price slashing migrates to other makers, GM may need to reconsider its current stance.

For SiriusXM investors this is an issue worth following as it could have an impact on overall auto sales.  This is especially true if rebates begin to see less use.  Consumers often use the rebate or cash back as a mechanism for qualification on down payments and auto loans.  It is often easier to qualify for a loan when the consumer is using cash back or a rebate, even if the initial price point of the car is higher.

The story is just developing but worth watching.

When we analyze the performance of a company and outline hits and misses there are a few things to understand.  The performance is measured against the expectations of the street and even individual investors.  By example, I had a very bullish SiriusXM investor email me a few weeks ago when I outlined that the subscriber number should be in the neighborhood of 450,000.  That investors was expecting over 1 million!  The company met my expectations, but fell well short of an obviously over-passionate SiriusXM long that was looking for a number greater than 1 million.  Sometimes the devil is in the details.

This quarter was good, but vs. expectations there were some shortcomings.

The Good

1. 452,890 new subscribers
2. Record revenue of $897 million
3. Adjusted EBITDA grew to a record $262 million
4. Increased 2013 free cash flow guidance from $900 million to $915 million
5. 209 million shares bought back
6. Subscriber acquisition costs dropped to $51

The Bad

1. Quarter-over-quarter ARPU dropped from $12.12 to $12.05. This is the second consecutive quarter we have seen ARPU decline
2. Churn rose to 2.0%
3. Revenue was about $8 million below street expectations
4. Missed street expectations on EPS by a penny, it reported 2 cents vs. expectations of 3 cents
5. 209 million shares bought back

The SiriusXM story is a positive one.  With Jim Meyer now the full time CEO, the company is in good hands.  The misses are not overwhelmingly bad, but they do warrant monitoring.  Yes, the company explained that if they had just 1 more day in the quarter that they would have met revenue estimates.  The problem here is that this is the second consecutive quarter where revenue was a slight miss vs. expectations.  There are many things we could all do with just 1 more day.  The fact of the matter is, and the spin-free answer is, the company did not hit expectations on revenue.  The revenue number is fine, but the only concern is that perhaps revenue growth is happening ever so slightly slower than the street was modeling.  Perhaps the beginnings of a flattening out are showing themselves.  That is what we need to monitor.  Is this company capped at about $12.05 to $12.10 per subscriber?  That is what we want to watch for.  It is not that it is bad to have that type of ARPU… it is only bad if we expect more.

Churn at 2.0% is concerning to me.  This is especially true when coupled with ARPU that has declined slightly quarter over quarter (again, for the second quarter in a row).  The reason churn at 2.0% concerns me is that the absolute number represented by that churn figure is growing.  It means that the company needs to have gross additions increasing in order to deliver the same result.  With auto sales picking up and the used car channel this is not a problem just yet.  The potential problem comes into play when new car sales peak.  This is a longer term issue we will want to monitor.

One other frustration is the lack of price appreciation on the share buybacks.  On one hand it is great that the company has been able to take out 209 million shares at about $3.00.  On the other hand, I want the share buyback to increase the PPS both now and later.  I hope the company is buying back shares at $3.50 or even $4.00.  Yes, buybacks take time to filter down to price appreciation, but as an investor I am in this investment for ME in the here and now as well as the future.  I am not one that wants to be patient and wait.  Two years from now who knows what the audio entertainment landscape will look like.  If you think about what happened to Blackberry you will see why I want the appreciation sooner rather than later.  No, I am not saying SiriusXM will have the same bad fortune blackberry did, but it is possible.  I would rather the company be very public about buybacks and drive the price now as well as later.

Overall the company was right about where I felt they would be on all key metrics.  The surprises to me were the share buybacks, SAC better than I expected, churn higher than I expected, and ARPU lower than expected.  Playing this equity on this news will be interesting.  I look for the equity to peak around 52 week highs and then back off of that to a new base of about $3.15 to $3.20.  Stay tuned.

In just a couple of hours at 5pm ET, SiriusXM NFL Radio (ch. 88) will begin its live coverage from NFL Draft headquarters at Radio City Music Hall, with live analysis leading up to tonight’s first round, which will begin at 8pm ET.

After the conclusion of the first round, coverage will resume at 6:00 pm ET on Friday and will cover every pick from rounds two and three, with rounds four through seven on Saturday, April 27 starting at12:00 pm ET and running through to the final pick.

Subscribers will also be treated to intimate interviews with Commissioner Roger Goodell, dozens of draftees, general managers, and coaches from around the league.

Not only will customers be treated with a year of gratis service when purchasing any 2013 vehicle equipped with a satellite radio but, they will also receive the “All Access Package” which includes premium channels AND access to mobile and internet radio.

With the typical yearly cost of the All Access Pack currently at $199, that’s certainly a nice little chunk of value. More importantly, it finally gives users enough time to get a real taste of the service.

“Our customers expect exceptional performance, and giving them access to every premium channel available on their Satellite Radio in the vehicle as well as SiriusXM Internet Radio anywhere makes SiriusXM an even better value,” said Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO of BMW of North America.

All Access premium channel content includes Oprah Radio, MLB Network Radio, SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio, NHL and NBA games, SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, Opie & Anthony, Bob Edwards and IZOD IndyCar Series.

If there was ever a doubt in whether or not Liberty Media would drive the direction of SiriusXM, it should now be removed.  SiriusXM’s Interim CEO, Jim Meyer does have a seat on the Board.

In addition to the news surrounding the Board of Directors, SiriusXM announced that it will hold its Q1 quarterly conference call on April 30, 2013.  The company is expected to post good numbers, but investor focus may well be on whether or not, or even when, the $2 billion share buyback program will begin.

Starting April 11th The 2013 Masters will be covered for subscribers on XM (ch. 93) and Sirius Premier (ch.208), as well as online though the web and App for smartphones.

Coverage will include expert analysis leading up to and during live play, which begins at 2pm ET Thursday as well as live reporting of the action throughout the weekend. Former pro John Maginnes and SiriusXM’s Matt Adams will host a special Masters preview show Thursday through Sunday from 12:00 to 2:00 pm ET.

If you’re lucky enough to be at the event this weekend don’t forget, “Baba Booey” is the new “Fore!”

While many will need to use their smartphone to access Aha, the company has some major auto players on board including Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Subaru, and six other for 2013 cars, with makers such as Toyota rolling out Aha in the very near future.  Aha is more a distribution platform than a distinct service.  The platform carries Slacker, Deezer, Rdio, and many others.  If content is King, Aha, with over 30,000 choices is definitely in the royal family.

The modern dashboard is more robust than ever and Aha will certainly be a long term player in the space.  Stay tuned, because Aha Radio will be making more waves in 2013 and beyond.