SIRIUS merging with XM Radio!

If I can have most of the Sirius music channels, as well as the SEC, NFL and MLB on one package, and it’s less than $20 a month, I’m OK. I gladly pay $15 including tax for Sirius’s current content. For the price of one CD a month, as much as I’m on the road, it feels like a steal.

But to add the Cubs in the summer? Man, I’d be a happy guy.

 

It's the speakers. If you have cheap speakers, you're going to have a cheap sound.

 

Well, that's not entirely true. GM XM mainly uses Delphi. Sirius also uses Delphi, but also uses a host of other companies (my SIRI receiver was manufactured by XACT Communication).

http://xmradio.com/help/faqs/XM-hardware.xmc#radiopartners
http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/CachedPage&c=Page&cid=1019257316854

There's that niggling detail, too.

 

Hey Armchair, I agree. They talked about more choices for subscribers and even mentioned a la carte programming during the announcement yesterday morning. I'm guessing they'll go to different tiers of programming, which I think sucks. I have XM. I don't want to think about what channels I do and don't want. I listen to a lot of different stuff. That's what I love about the service. And I'm assuming that subscribing to all of the content will cost considerably more than the $12.95 a month it costs now. I'm not sure how much more than that I want to pay.

 

I really doubt the monthly rate is going to go up signficiantly unless you're getting all four major sports and NASCAR and everything. Among other reasons, they're merging because of flat subscription growth. Increasing rates won't kickstart that. And really, the final total of channels won't go up that much -- I'd venture to say that 80-90 percent of their genre stations overlap. I just hope they keep Hear Music around.

Having Stern around would be nice for this 3 1/2-year XMer, I'll admit.

 

My guess is that they will ala carte all the sports stuff, Stern, O&A, Martha, Ophrah, etc. with the music staying as part of the basic package.

 

I may be the only person here who just doesn't give a shit about Howard Stern. Don't love him. Don't hate him. Listened to him a few times on regular radio and came away unimpressed. Didn't listen to him over the air. Won't listen to him on satellite.

 

I don't have cheap speakers.

 

Sly, I'm still waiting to find out how you connect your receiver to your audio system. I have CD-quality sound.

 

Nope, you're not the only one.

And I think there was someone else that posted they didn't care for hiim either.

 

Not living in the states, the merger won't affect me either way but when I eventually return I fear that a combined entity may do to sat radio what the FCC allowed to happen to terrestrial radio in loosening ownership restrictions.

Of course I still use a shortwave radio and the one satellite network available in Europe, WorldSpace, is a lone gun, even though they have stopped accepting new users in Europe and Africa while they "upgrade" their service.

There is something to be said for having at least two groups competing and giving consumers some semblance of choice.

 

I've got the XM2Go with the FM modulator in my car, but even when I hook it into my nice stereo inside my home, I still find the sound leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe the XM2Go isn't that nice of a receiver, I don't know ... cost about $150

Don't worry ... my complaining will stop once I can listen to baseball on XM again.