Comments on: Sirius-XM channel merge begins next week

There is no official word from the companies on what the new combined channel lineup will look like, but some leaked information has appeared in online forums.

[itsamike]

I think you have the facts a bit backwards. I believe all current Sirius receivers can support the Best of XM channels. The Sirius Starmate 5, according to the press release, is just the first unit to add a la carte options.

[aquatikz]

I must agree i also read the same thing. In fact Sirius website shows a list of all receivers that support it. I own a Starmate 4 and XM is already showing it self in the menu.

[doublethought84]

It'd be cool if my Sirius stuff would stay just as it is. More than likely, that won't be the case, but when you have a 30-45 minute commute in rush hour traffic, and you've grown accustomed to knowing exactly what station you want to listen to depending on your mood... it'll be disheartening to have some of my favorite radio personalities and types of music change. I love the spectrum, the vault, Sirius chill, etc.... I never had this sort of "attachment" to XM radio when I had a subscription. I still think this merger is the best thing for satellite radio, regardless.

[svk1069]

I concur with the previous comment by itsamike.

Current Sirius radios are able to subscribe to the "Best of XM" package. I know that because I am one of those subscribers.

[CNETNC]

XM subscribers can also subscribe to a best of Sirius package. I already have.

[stamphed]

If this rumored lineup is true I may drop XM. All my favorites are gone.

[ibeetle]

I was thinking the exact same thing.

With the increase in rates, reduced sound quality (notice they now say "crystal clear digital" and not "CD quality"), and now a major shift in programing I suspect (with todays economy) a lot of XM subscribers are going to use this as the excuse they have been looking for to drop the service.

I myself recently sold my portable XM radio due to the over 1000 internet radio stations my new cell phone can receive.

[i_am_still_wade]

I e-mailed XM about this very issue 2 weeks ago. No response. I am glad they are merging channels. In my opinion, Sirius had better music stations, save 2: XMU (or what used to be XM Unsigned) and XM Chill. Those two are in the transition mix, so I'm happy as can be. Now I will subscribe the Sirius XM family package (since it is cheaper than the everything package and has all the good stuff; Howard Stern and Opie and Andy are not good or worth me paying $0.01 to listen to).

[dpower123]

I am and XM subscriber. These companies told Congress, the FCC and everyone else that the merger would bring reduced prices. The first contact I have had from XM is a pitch to give them more money per month for added Sirius channels. And now I read I won't be able for the a la carte options. Oh well I guess it's back to stealing music off the internet.

[stoobush]

itsamike and svk1069 are wrong, although the article is as well. Many Sirius receivers can get the Best of XM, but if my experience is indicative of the general public, most cannot. Of the four receivers in my household (including a brand-new one installed in an 08 Toyota Highlander), only the 2-year-old Starmate is capable of getting the Best of XM.

[jamesps]

Some times you have to take a step back in order to move forward. I'm excited about everything to come once they consolidate their bandwidth and can doble the number of channel offerings. I have XM in one car and Sirius in the other. I'm looking forwrd to not having to pay two seperate full fees. It would be great to pay one full fee and a second at 6.99. Also XM or Sirius is 1000% better than lame FM and HD radio (nothing more than a bunch CD quality commercials).

[ivanbou]

I noticed how you didn't see the value of listening to sattelite radio, and I guess if you just listen to traditional music fare it isn't much different, it's a lot of the same music on radio, but there is a lot of stuff on satelite that you don't get on regular radio. For example, I like to follow business news, so having CNBC on your sattelite radio is wonderful, other than NPR there is really no good news stations to listen on terrestrial radio. How about non-standard music? My city no longer has classical music radio stations, for example, or Dance/electronic, the fare pushed out by sattelite is great on that respect. Sports? Awesome. Listening to out of town football games on a sunday, is great.

[jamloss]

I bought XM subscription mainly for the Dylan radio show. I listen to like 4 or 5 channels, but still like the option to listen to all the others, even though I never do. $4 bucks to listen to Howard Stern? No thanks...

[JBDragon]

If it wasn't for the NEWS channels that I like, because I like Talk Radio also, I would have dumped XM already. If all I cared about was MUSIC, there's already a better solution to that problem, get the Slacker G2 !!! Get all the Music you want for FREE or for extra features you can pay the low $7.50 month subscription fee; Check out the Music at Slacker.com and then the Portable player to get it all away from the PC!

[jamloss]

slacker radio is cool, thanks for the tip. there's also pandora.com, another good free one

[PReilly57]

The reference to the access to the Best of XM package is not correct. Most SIRIUS radios are capable of receiving the Best of XM package. The new Sirius Starmate 5 will definitely allow subscribers to get the Best of XM, in addition to the regular SIRIUS lineup. But it is also the first 'a la carte' capable radio, so if they like, the have a choice of the two new 'a la carte' channel selection packages. The a la carte Gold package allows access to the Best of XM.

[MTGrizzly]

I love Sirius radio. A couple of years ago, I rented a car with Sirius and was heading for Mud Lake, ID in the middle of the night. I could listen to the traffic report for Manhattan. Whoopee

i guess I just don't get it... Isn't this what iPods are for? Besides, as far as I know neither Sirius nor XM stream episodes of Bill Maher...

[jeffe01]

Oh, how I wish NPR would allow All Things Considered and Morning Edition on satellite radio...or PRI's The World (as Sirius used to). I understand that's the cash cow for the public radio stations, but we expats who thrive on US news would pay for these shows, and some sort of compensation to the stations, for example: a percentage of the extra fee going to the US public station nearest the expat's "home" address. New patrons, new money, everybody happy. Maybe someday.

[Grumpypaul]

With NPR available anywhere I go, I don't need no stinkin' satellite radio.

[rvassar]

Forget Satellite Radio...I use Pandora, Stitcher Radio, Last.FM and Flycast on my iPhone and get everything I need.

[ROCCO614]

WHEN WILL MY DIRECT TV GET THE STERN SHOW ON THE MUSIC AND TALK CHANNELS,I SEE THEY HAVE ALREADY STARTED SWITCHING OVER FROM XM TO SIRIUS.AND THE OPIS AND ANTHONY SHOW IS GONE,THANK GOD!!

[skinman]

They dropped the true blues station, Sirius Blues 74, for the half-assed R&B station "Bluesville". I have requested a refund of my subscriptions. All good things come to pass. Too bad.

[eckertown]

Satellite radio has truly become a product that does not inspire half-hearted users. Those who use and enjoy satellite radio do it with a passion, and seem to listen to it almost exclusively. While this creates a great and loyal consumer base, these types of customers are wary of change, especially when it comes to fraternizing, even merging with the ?enemy.? Sirius users chose Sirius for a reason, and XM users chose XM for a reason. I think this is why I sense a lot of discontentment among the posters here. Regardless of the reactions of some of the users, the reasoning behind the merge was sound. It does not make sense for there to be two different 50?s stations for example. Those channels that are unique can now be purchased a la carte, if the user so chooses. They now have a lower subscription price as well, so there are a few extra dollars freed-up for possible extra features. Often those who are vocal are the only ones who care.

The merge between XM and Sirius, however was not all encompassing, they remain, in some points of view two very different services. The inability of both to make a profit necessitates more than a casual relationship between the two. They need to truly merge services and products and customer bases to create a solidified company, or else they will not survive against all of the other options that media consumers have today. It is possible that this is where Sirius XM is heading, but the move needs to be sooner rather than later to ensure that music lovers have the variety of options that they have enjoyed for so long.