SIRIUS Announces 1.5M subs (1 Viewer)

[Chris]

SIRIUS crosses the 1.5M sub marker by the end of February, announces it's radio jocks and information channel. This means that in the last two months, SIRI has picked up 400,000 subscribers.

SIRI has revised it's yearly estimate to anticipate a subscription base of 2.5M by years end, up from the 2M projection given before Christmas.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Good news for Sirius

For comparance, XM is now at over 3.2 million subscribers

 

[Michael Ballack]

lol Ron.

 

[BrianAe]

One thing you have to remember is that XM started before Sirius. Mel actually talks a little about market share in his interview with The Times. He seems very confident in the steady march towards 50/50 +-5% market share with XM. At the end of 2003 they had only 15% of the market that was very small at the time. Their goal for 2005 was to end with 33% market share and it looks like they are well on the way to surpasing that goal.

 

[Jed M]

I predict a merger by the end of 2006.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

I'll admit I haven't been following Sirius religiously as I once did, but this is good news. Now that XM just raised it's rates, this makes the decision on which service to get easier. Now they don't have to go with XM when they really want Sirius because of price. They will certainly hit 2.5 mil by years end. Of note: I just ordered Dish Network, which carries the Siris music channels, so I'm happy.

 

[Tina_H_V]

Gee, and to think I am one of those 400,000 who pushed SIRIUS to that 1.5 million subscriber tally, having joined up just last month.

 

[Chris]

I'm interested to see if the fact that NASCAR is hopping from XM to SIRIUS will make any difference.

 

[Kevin_W]

Chris wrote:

I am a Nascar fan - Nextel Cup anyway. I look forward to watching it on Sundays, but will be the first to admit it is a little dry television at times. I couldn't even imagine what its like to simply listen to. I don't know what the circumstances were surrounding the switch, but maybe XM didn't fight very hard to keep Nascar because they realize this?

 

[Robert Cobb]

This makes the decision VERY easy now. I've been an XM subscriber from the beginning based primarily on the NASCAR channel(s). After adding Sirius 6 months ago, my XM receiver has been gathering dust except for Sunday afternoons. Now they are losing NASCAR AND increasing the price? I'll miss Cinemagic, but that's about it. Goodbye XM.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Robert,

Don't make the same mistake I did....

You are in for a big change.

Be sure you test the Sirius waters when
it comes to their music.

There are many who have been nearly sterilized
by the constant repetition there.

 

[Chris]

Ah, Ron, continue the boogie-man effect The reality is, many people search for different things in the content they seek, thus is why the headline of this thread exists, the continued growth of SIRIUS.. which means someone (well, more like 1.5/1.6M someones now) enjoy what SIRIUS offers enough to pay for it. While it might not suit your tastes, you might recognize tehir are others who enjoy what it offers.

 

[Robert Cobb]

Thanks, Ron. I do listen enough to both to notice Sirius tends to play more repeats, but, call me shallow, I'd rather hear songs I know. The NFL and NASCAR are my trump cards. Music is secondary.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Actually, the reality is, most people buy into
these services blindly not having any idea what
they are getting into until its too late. Most
people don't sample either service before
purchasing. That was my biggest mistake
with SIRIUS and the reason why I continue to let
people know what's in store for them.

If anyone wants to warn people about XM,
such opinions are always welcome here.

That's the beauty of forums like this.

I wish I had the proper warning before I
bought into SIRIUS. Well, actually
the warnings were posted on the XM forums but
until you find out for yourself...

 

[Chris]

I can't think of any warning I'd give for either; research is it's own end. I see both services as having great, but very different approaches to the marketplace.

Admittedly, the more I do listen to the SIRIUS music channels, the more I enjoy the fact that the channels I listen to focus on current hits, especially true of hip-hop oriented channels; and I will openly admit I tune into some channels solely for the banter.

But see, that's just me.. everyone is different. My car radio flicks between listening to 810AM radio (sports talk here in KC) and SIRIUS political talk for the rest of the day for the most part, except for football season, starting around draft time

 

[TheLongshot]

Well, I wouldn't call my decision a "mistake", since I tried Sirius with a free equipment deal. If I actually did my research, I would have definitly have selected XM over Sirius, based on my music interests. If I ever leave XM, I'll be leaving the satelites for good, since Sirius has very little to offer me over XM.

That being said, I could see certain situations where one would choose Sirius over XM. If you are a fan of classic rock, you'll probably be better off with Sirius. Hair Band fan? Sirius again. Jam Bands? Again, Sirius.

Jason

 

[BrianAe]

Well said, Jason. I am a music fan with a wide variety of interests but classic rock and jam music are my favorites. I have to say that you are right that Sirius is better for both of these.

I encourage everyone (including Ron!) to post to the listener diary thread with your "set lists".

I have to say I was in my friends car and was listening to Deep Tracks on XM and it sounded very similar to The Vault on Sirius, except there aren't other good options for classic rock on XM when you hear a song you don't like.