July 31 (Reuters) - SiriusXM SIRI.O on Thursday reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly decline in subscribers who pay directly, aided by strong demand for its exclusive content, especially podcasts, and a deal with popular television host Trevor Noah.

The audio entertainment company’s performance was also boosted by agreements with automotive dealers to offer three-year subscriptions for in-built car radios, partnerships with electric vehicle makers and the launch of its Podcasts+ package.

The company lost 68,000 self-pay subscribers in the second quarter, compared with a decrease of 303,000 in the January-March period. This was also better than estimated losses of 176,840 by Visible Alpha.

SiriusXM's podcast segment was the highlight for the quarter, with revenue rising 50% year-on-year.

During the reported quarter, the company also signed a new agreement with television host Trevor Noah to launch an original podcast spanning comedy, culture and current events.

SiriusXM posted second-quarter revenue of $2.14 billion, largely in line-with with analysts' average estimate of $2.13 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Net income for the quarter stood at $205 million, compared with $354 million a year ago.

Revenue from its Pandora and Off-platform segments fell 3% in the quarter, mainly due to smaller subscriber base and reduced demand for music streaming.

(Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas and Sahal Muhammed)

((Kritika.Lamba@thomsonreuters.com;))