Near-term liquidity supported by sizable liquid assets and modest near-term maturities; Progress in building subscriber base and business. Very large EBITDA losses and discretionary cash flow deficits; Meaningful lag behind only direct competitor, in building subscription radio business; Significant debt balances; Uncertain long-term demand for pay-radio services. The very low speculative-grade rating on New York, N.Y.-based Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. reflects the company's substantial debt load, large projected EBITDA and cash flow deficits for this start-up business for at least the next couple of years, and increased rivalry for exclusive programming and subscribers that may continue to raise both operating costs and the number of subscribers needed to reach break-even cash flow. These risk factors are not meaningfully offset by
