Hollywood Roosevelt in talks to tune in Sirius Satellite Radio.

Sirius Satellite Radio is broadening its battle for listeners from automobiles to elevators, restaurants and even hotel rooms--starting locally with the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

To date, New York-based Sirius, which made headlines by signing radio personality Howard Stern and hiring former Viacom Inc. executive Mel Karmazin as CEO, has concentrated on adding listeners through individual subscriptions.

But Sirius is also venturing into other business venues such as automobile dealerships and restaurants. With its foray into canned music, Sirius has opened a front against commercial music heavyweights Muzak Corp., based in North Carolina, and Los Angeles-based DMX Music.

"This effort is barely a year old, and we are giving Muzak a real run for the money. We are capturing a chunk of their share, and they are not very happy about it," said Clayton Burton, vice president of sales and marketing for Florida-based Applied Media Technologies Corp., which sells the Sirius service to business clients. "With Howard Stem, the spotlight has really been put on Sirius, and businesses are very interested."

The deal to pipe in Sirius has not yet been signed, but guests at the Hollywood Roosevelt could be listening to the Sirius' commercial-free channels by the start of next year.

Exactly where it will be piped in remains a question, said David Siguew, the Roosevelt's director of sales and marketing, noting that common areas of the hotel's main tower and poolside cabanas are being considered. Adding

Sirius would be part of the Roosevelt's more than $25 million makeover, scheduled for completion by early next year. Siguew said Sirius is an amenity the hotel can provide to a visitor who "expects a little extra."

Sirius first arrived in 2003 as a newcomer to the supplied music business. With a service that typically costs $24.95 a month--about double the individual rate--it has gained entree into hotels, but not rooms, at Embassy Suites and Hilton Hotels in certain cities.

In hotels, Sirius is typically heard in common areas such as elevators, lobbies, patios and pool areas, Burton said. Rooms are mostly cost-prohibitive at this point, although Sirius is working to make that economically and technologically feasible.

Muzak spokesman Sumter Cox said Sirius' product, which is geared toward individual listeners, isn't a threat in Muzak's commercial market. "What somebody plays in their car is not what a Gap or a Banana Republic wants in their businesses," Cox said. "What we do with audio architecture is create for businesses to enhance their brands."

Muzak fashions programming to fit with an individual business's image and weeds out potentially offensive material that might aggravate customers, Cox said. Its services cost more--about $65 per month for businesses--because businesses get more, Cox said.

Christy Noel, vice president of marketing for DMX Music, agrees that customization keeps competition from satellite radio at bay. "We don't have any DJs. We don't have any commercials. We don't have any jingles," she said. "Our technology is designed to be in the commercial marketplace."

DMX Music is heard in several Los Angeles hotels, including the Mondrian, Hotel Sofitel and Westin Bonaventure. At $45 to $65 per month, DMX Music, like Muzak, is a bit pricier than satellite radio--and Noel concedes that satellite radio might be an attractive option for small businesses.

"Do I see them as a threat for the moment? No," she said. "Might we come in contact with them? Perhaps."

Sirius, for its part, is doing everything it can to make sure it does bump up against DMX Music and Muzak in the commercial marketplace. Burton said Sirius has eliminated disc jockeys and jingles from 12 channels to suit businesses.

Reaching consumers through hotels is also limed at helping Sirius compete against XM Satellite Radio, which has 2.4 million subscribers. Sirius has 700,000.

Raising listeners' awareness is "a bit like sending a free sample in the mail," said Laura Behrens, an analyst with Gartner/G2. "This is a way to put satellite radio in front of people."

Hotels are particularly appealing venues for generating product awareness. "Think of these people as the early adopters who will then evangelize the benefits of Sirius to their coworkers, families and friends," said Rich Hanley, director of graduate programs at Quinnipiac University's School of Communications.

Hanley cautioned that with competition coming from XM Radio, Internet radio, and devices such as the iPod, breaking into the hotel market will not be sufficient for Sirius to build its business. "Satellite radio needs to penetrate every conceivable place where radio can be consumed, from cars to hotels to dorm rooms," he said.