Sirius Will Pay NFL $220 Million for Rights

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. said it would pay $220 million for the right to broadcast National Football League games as part of an effort to attract subscribers.

Sirius will pay $188 million in cash and $32 million in Sirius stock, and the NFL could get as many as 50 million additional shares, depending on how many customers it generates for Sirius, Chief Executive Joseph Clayton said.

The seven-year agreement allows New York-based Sirius to broadcast all regular season and some playoff games starting next year.

The NFL broadcasts will help Sirius add customers, Clayton said. Sirius has about 200,000 subscribers and has said it needs to get 2 million to generate the revenue to fund operations and cover debt payments.

Shares of Sirius rose 4 cents to $2.27 on Nasdaq.

From Bloomberg News