Two companies bet that 8 million will pay for direct satellite radio broadcasts

In a story headlined Radio’s Race to Space, The Washington Post tells of two competing satellite radio boradcasters, XM Radio and Sirius, that business analysts say need about 4 million paid subscribers each to make money. Both companies are targeting car radio listeners, especially the large minority who are tired of the cookie-cutter over-the-air commercial radio formats that have become common as “chain” radio stations have replaced local ownership.