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Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

#31
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1/29/09 at 5:44am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

I'm an XM subscriber. For me, the result of the merger has been pretty transparent but I do have a few quibbles. I listen to mostly classical so that hasn't changed much but I don't like the fact they got rid of Vox and replaced it with the 24/7 of the Metropolitan Opera. I like opera but I liked the variety of choral music that Vox offered. I was really pissed that Cinemagic disappeared along with a vague promise to return. At least they kept that promise, for now, and it is actually somewhat better with more emphasis on film scores. If this station goes, so does my subscription since this station is so unique.

XM Comedy was one of my favorite channels but now rebranded as Raw Dog it somehow lost its edge. I am glad we got the NPR channel from Sirius since it broadcasts programs that are not on my local NPR station.

I still get the feeling that some niche stations are going to quietly die and the promise of satellite radio will die with it. At least my radio only cost me $50.
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#32
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1/29/09 at 10:27pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

When XM merged with Sirius - or more accurately, when Sirius swallowed XM... well Ron, your editorial says it all.

Satellite radio can compete with portable music devices by playing music that you wouldn't think to own. XM was doing this before (stations like Fred, Lucy, and Ethel, which are now gone). It cannot and will not compete with portable music players by assaulting our ears with obnoxious DJs and limited playlists. It sure as heck isn't going to survive by providing a slightly different shade of Free-FM... for a fee, no less!
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#33
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1/30/09 at 2:46pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

The experts don't think the outlook is good:

Worst Stock for 2009: Sirius XM Radio - Motley Fool- msnbc.com
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#34
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1/31/09 at 12:10am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidJ
The experts don't think the outlook is good:

Worst Stock for 2009: Sirius XM Radio - Motley Fool- msnbc.com

It certainly does not look good for Sirius/XM. I for one hope something can be worked out. No matter how bad you think XM has gotten one only has to listen the FM one day to see how much of an improvement XM still is over FM.

Mark F. Leiter

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#35
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1/31/09 at 9:12am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

With the exception of catching a Razorback game while on the road, I have not listened to OTA radio in my car or home in about 5 years. Even back then, all I listened to was Love Lines on the way home at night before it was taken off the air here.

I listen to a lot of music in the car since I have a long drive to and from work but I'll never pay to listen to the radio since I have a very large music collection, mp3 capability and 6-disc changer.
My Collection
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#36
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1/31/09 at 11:24am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Leiter
It certainly does not look good for Sirius/XM. I for one hope something can be worked out. No matter how bad you think XM has gotten one only has to listen the FM one day to see how much of an improvement XM still is over FM.

I agree with that 100%. OTA radio here is atrocious. Like many others in this thread, there are many things I'd like them to do differently, but more than anything, I don't want it to go away. So I'll take what I can get.
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#37
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1/31/09 at 11:34am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidJ
The experts don't think the outlook is good:

Worst Stock for 2009: Sirius XM Radio - Motley Fool- msnbc.com
With the stock price so low, can we all buy a bunch and then start raising a stink about how the programming director is killing the company?

= Derek Miner =
Co-founder, Sunscreen Film Festival

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#38
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2/1/09 at 9:08pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

My wife and I have Sirius. She likes it, but I barely ever tune it in. The playlists are short (my wife has noted this too). For example - the 80s station has TEN years of music to choose from - ho is it I can hear the sam song three times in a day? (And I am only in my car for an hour!!!)

I became VERY turned of when I was listening to the comedy channel and heard.... commercials!! Commercials???? WTF? Why am I paying a monthly bill to hear commercials!

I haven't discontinued my service yet - partly for hope but mostly for lazyness. I get much more satisfaction listening to my iPhone shuffle over my car speakers. If only there were a way I could avoid the cell interference without going into airplane mode.... I've tried everything...

Martin Luther observed that the human race is like a drunkard who falls off his horse on the left and makes up for it by falling off the next time on the right.

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#39
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2/1/09 at 9:49pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Nicely written piece. Sounds like Clear Channel. I can drive from one end of the country and save but for few and far between original programming the airwaves are inundated with babbling idiots saying the same thing in Tampa that theyre sayng in Lincoln not to mention playing the same 3 songs.
Ive come to hate radio. If talk is your thing I hope youre right wing because thats what youre going to get.
Thanks for the heads up on XM. I was toying with the idea of signing up but I guess Ill just keep on burning cds.
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#40
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2/2/09 at 9:52pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

I've had both services over the last 4 years, but have ended up with XM.
i called 3 weeks ago to cancel both my radios.

they gave me 3 free months and asked me to see what happens then.
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#41
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2/3/09 at 4:40am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

I guess I'm in the minority, I'm still pretty happy with XM. The #1 issue for me is commercials. When I listen to radio I've been subjected to a 30 minute ride home in which I heard no music - I really, really hate that.

I'm mixed on the DJ talking. On the one hand I actualy like a little bit, say when they give some background on a song/group or offer an interesting anecdote. But when they go on and on it can quickly become irritating.

Cost could start to play in. There's a limit to the value of this, if they raise it more than a couple of bucks I'll drop it and go back to iPod/CDs. But I do like to hear things I haven't heard. I do agree that the playlists seem to be getting shorter, and that too will eventually drive me out.

Audio quality isn't too much of a concern, since I'm listening in the car.
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#42
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2/4/09 at 6:25am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertR
The only exposure I've had to XM/Sirius is the fact that DirectTV now uses them for their music channels. I much preferred it 5 or so years ago, when they used a different service. The sound quality was better and they had NO DJs.
Did DirecTV ditch their original programming music channels? Dish Network kept their original channels and added a bunch of Sirius channels in addition. The Dish native channels have substantially better audio and no DJs.

I for one don't mind the DJs when I listen to Sirius. I like to know what songs I've been listening to and what is coming up. They don't talk that much.

Philip Hamm
Moderator Emeritus

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#43
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2/4/09 at 6:26am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Leiter
It certainly does not look good for Sirius/XM. I for one hope something can be worked out. No matter how bad you think XM has gotten one only has to listen the FM one day to see how much of an improvement XM still is over FM.
I have no complaints about my local FM stations. They're great. I'm actually considering an HD radio!

Philip Hamm
Moderator Emeritus

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#44
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2/4/09 at 7:16am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Quote:
Originally Posted by Philip Hamm
Did DirecTV ditch their original programming music channels? Dish Network kept their original channels and added a bunch of Sirius channels in addition. The Dish native channels have substantially better audio and no DJs.
Yes, they seem to be all gone. I liked the way they would simply play the songs, accompanied by the CD title and info on where you could buy it. No fuss, no muss. No having to listen an old Wolfman Jack show, no having to listen to awful songs because some DJ thinks it's a good idea to play "obscure" stuff, etc.
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#45
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2/4/09 at 11:45am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertR
Yes, they seem to be all gone. I liked the way they would simply play the songs, accompanied by the CD title and info on where you could buy it. No fuss, no muss. No having to listen an old Wolfman Jack show, no having to listen to awful songs because some DJ thinks it's a good idea to play "obscure" stuff, etc.
Ha ha ha! Dish kept their own music stations when they tied in with Sirius (long before the merger), so I get the Dish stations and a bunch of the Sirius music stations. The Dish stations have much better sound quality but are very quiet for some reason.

Philip Hamm
Moderator Emeritus

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#46
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2/6/09 at 6:37am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

I was just checking out Pandora the Internet radio site on my iPhone. I did not know this until just second ago but they now have channels based on genres. I havent listened to much yet but look at the selection of stations you get there...

Classical

Chamber, Baroque Period
Choral, baroque period
opera, Classical Period
Opera, Romantic Period
Piano Concerti
Piano Solo, Romantic Period
String Ensemble
Symphonic, Cassical Period
Symphonic, Romantic Period
Violin Features

and for Alternative....

Alternative Country
Alternative Pop/Rock
Grunge/Seattle Sound
Industrial
Post Punk
Punk/New Wave
Punk Radio
Trip Hop

That's the kind of variety that XM/Sirius can only dream about and it's free. Man oh man I can't wait for the technogly is there to have internet radio in my car, I'll drop XM like a bad habit. (If they're still around)

Mark F. Leiter

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#47
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2/10/09 at 6:11pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

I was just about to suggest Pandora. I use my iphone to stream it into my car. I still get the cell interference - but not as bad as when I play shuffle.

I hope someday soon they create a car stereo which I can interface with the iphone without all the interference.


BTW - did you all see the news that XM/Sirius are looking at filing BK?

Martin Luther observed that the human race is like a drunkard who falls off his horse on the left and makes up for it by falling off the next time on the right.

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#48
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2/10/09 at 7:15pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

bk ?
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#49
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2/11/09 at 2:25am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

They are close to filing for bankruptcy.
Ronald J Epstein
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#50
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2/11/09 at 6:05am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

yeah...i read that today too.
what do you expect...when they did deals with unrealistic #s as with Howard Stern ??

Hopefully it will be a restructure and all will continue. Id be lost without my XM!!
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#51
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2/11/09 at 10:05am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

From the New York Times:

Quote:
Sirius XM Prepares for Possible Bankruptcy
By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN and ZACHERY KOUWE
Last summer, Mel Karmazin was rattling off his trademark one-liners to talk up the future of Sirius XM Radio, the combined company he ran that had just been blessed by regulators.
He was planning to cut costs and expand a business that was already a fixture in the lives of millions of Americans. “Forty-three cents a day — it’s not even vending machine coffee,” he said at the time, parrying a question about whether the softening economy might hurt subscriptions.
But now Sirius XM, the satellite radio company, has problems with much bigger price tags. It has hired advisers to prepare for a possible bankruptcy filing, people involved in the process said.

Full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/te...s/11radio.html
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#52
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2/11/09 at 11:27am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

So lets say they survive this bankruptcy scare. What do you feel is a 'workable' price for an 'everything' package. Right now that's like $18 a month right? Ridiculous in my opinion. I had heard that some subscribers were able to negotiate a $100 a year for everything if they let their sub lapse and talk hardball when the service called to subscribe em back. I'd bite for that price.... I have my free three months expiring in my new car and I cancelled Sirius last year after burning out on Stern and Rawdog, I've been enjoying the XM so far but I'm NOT going to pay $250 a year for it after taxes when FM and iPod work just as well for me.

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#53
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2/11/09 at 1:54pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

I think bankruptcy is probably the best thing for Sirius/XM. At least then they will be allowed to cut loose all that over priced talk talent Sirius used to run themselves into the ground taking XM with them. I mean $100 million a year for Stern? That's just stupid. Even in his prime he wasn't worth a 1/5 of that.

Mark F. Leiter

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#54
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2/11/09 at 7:59pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Quote:
Right now that's like $18 a month right?

As it is right now I'm paying $140 a year for XM (paying for the whole year in advance). That wasn't with any other special pricing; before the talk of big trouble.


Quote:
I think bankruptcy is probably the best thing for Sirius/XM. At least then they will be allowed to cut loose all that over priced talk talent Sirius used to run themselves into the ground taking XM with them.

I was kind of thinking the same thing, but with the idea that if they knew they were going to go under, why not let that happen before the merger. Then XM could have picked up Sirius without having to honor that crazy contract.
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#55
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2/15/09 at 4:27pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Quote:
As it is right now I'm paying $140 a year for XM

Yikes. I have had XM for 3 years now and have never paid more than $77 per year. After purchasing my vehicle, when the 3 month trial was up I just called and asked for the $77/year promotion (which I had read about on another forum). Every year when my 12 months is almost up, I call back and ask for the same deal and they give it too me without much hassle. Every year they tell me OK, but next year you'll have to pay full price. I've never had to yet.

Frankly, I find the $77 per year price just about right. If the time comes where they won't give me that deal, I'll cancel. As much as I like XM, there's a limit to what it's worth.
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#56
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2/15/09 at 4:33pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Bryan,

Also been getting those $77 per year deals as well.

....and, when I threatened last week to cancel my two EXTRA
radios at $6.99 a month (due to the upcoming price increase) they
gave me 5 months for $20 per radio (that's $4 a month instead of $7).

It's unbelievable how much this company is willing to bend when
you threaten to cancel.
Ronald J Epstein
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Email me at: repstein@hometheaterforum.com 
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#57
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2/15/09 at 8:03pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Quote:
Also been getting those $77 per year deals as well.

Interesting - thanks. I'm going to try asking for that rate when my subscription comes up in March. I'll let you know how it turns out. As much as I'm *content* with XM, the thread has convinced me that there are other options; so if I need to cancel I will.
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#58
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2/27/09 at 7:07am
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Yes, we need Sinatra-genre channels, standards, jazz, etc., but not Elvis or Springsteen, in my opinion. But that's just my own personal distaste. And David Gordman is right on about the crappiness of the available Classical music on XM. There are perhaps too many tastes to cater to. My question, do we really need 48(?) discerning rock, punk, and puke stations for the kids? Oh, such a fine line it is, to know one piece of heavy metal crap from a boring hip-hop track. And how many different kinds of country could there really ever possibly be? Well, I guess we had more than one Top 40 station in the 60s.

I listen to it for the conservative talk shows and Right-wing rants. My XM radio also holds Mp3s, so I load it up with 8GB worth of home recordings for my over-the-road enjoyment.

I disagree with Mr. Epstein on Howard Stern. I saw quite enough of that low-life (just flipping channels) on television and I'm glad he's gone. Who pays to hear filth? I don't know what Martha Stewart's radio show is like, something for the women obviously, but I've wondered how her show got thrown into the same slime pile with Howard Stern and company, something to subscribe extra for. I wouldn't.

I would like to see some more rare radio talk shows carried over to XM, like Neal Boortz (Cox radio network) and a few others like him. I enjoy Bob Handel (Handel on the Law) Sunday mornings, when he's aired. The only other place I can get this is on 850am, KOA Denver on Friday nights. In my present location, Boortz is only available through the internet stream.

I do hope the surviving satellite company succeeds, takes some cues, and gets a clue. The other thing to know about your market, besides what they seem to prefer, is which ones will likely still be paying for the service five or ten years from now. Boomers and X, right. I liked the original XM format, and I put more money than I should have, into this great little toy of mine.
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#59
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3/15/09 at 1:09pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Sirius XM Radio planning to stream to iPhone, iPod - Yahoo! Finance

I'm not really that excited about the streaming app for the iPhone, but there are some interesting financial details in the article.
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#60
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3/16/09 at 2:30pm
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Re: Opinion: The demise of satellite radio

Just today we canceled our SiriusXM subscription. My wife had enjoyed Sirius for years, and really did want to keep it. But the sound quality seems to have gone downhill, and hey there's a recession on and who wants to pay for crappy-sounding music, inasmuch as they even played music anymore! All she really wanted was commercial-free, decent-sounding music. So I downloaded the Pandora App for her iPhone, and now we stream it to her car with no problems. Sounds great, no DJ's, you get to "create" your own stations that play what you like as well as introduce you to new music. And it's free! And there's no antenna or special receiver to hardwire into your car -- just plug your iPhone into the AUX in jack on your stereo and you're off.

R.I.P SiriusXM.
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