XM / Sirius merge

[Road Guy]

do you think they will kill us on the new rate?

I think competition is good, but neither company has made a profit in the last 3 years so theres obvioulsy not the market share for 2 of them, but I dont want them to offer some sort of ala cart like sat tv does where they stagger the channels most people want into the higher monthly subscription rates (which I would bet this forum they will do if they get approval)

 

[FusionWhite]

If they do that I would buy:

80's/90's Channel

Rock Channels

NPR

Comedy Channels

Football (pro and NCAA)

NCAA Basketball

Howard Stern

My XM equipment is really damn old and I know Ill have to replace it.

 

[Ritchie503]

I think the merger will be approved, because neither has made a profit and there is competition from other music devices such as I-pod's and cellphones. I would think HD radio is a factor, does anyone actually have it? (IMO they pay Howard Stern way too much, but he did really help grow Sirius's customer base.)

If they merge we are suppose to see a bunch of dual XM/Siruis radios hit the market... as you said it will be very interesting to see what they to do the channel lineups/programming packaging.

I would also be a lot happier if they increased the bandwidth a bit the channels, its not horrible but its definatley as small as they could possibly get away with and have huge complaints. (On Sirius you can tell the bandwidth is lower on talk stations than music).

 

[Road Guy]

I listen to :

80's

classic rewind (cassette era classics - good shit)

hair nation

jimmy bufett channel

NFL Station, EPSN Radio

the comedy channels

90's station "The pulse"

the alternative channels

The sirius country channels need serious help!

I havent ever listened to cnn radio or fox news, etc..

the playboy channel is just to weird for me, all these fat bodies calling in and talking about their trailer park romps

and a few others.

I would hate to see them have a basic plan, a mid range, and a premium monthly plan after the merger and then end up paying more just to have access to all the channels. (Like I can see them having a sports package thats $3.00 extra a month & so on)

I dont see the big deal with Stern, he seems to be like any other talking DJ, but with better guests. I listened for a few weeks but just couldnt get into it. The only times I listen if he is getting into a fight with slim shady (a rap dj station) that usually pretty good...

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I don't see the merger really making the service that much more attractice. There's a lot of redundancy among the station that they would have to weed out. Both providers have their assortment of rock, pop, decades, country, etc. that are pretty much the same. You'd get some additional sports and talk personalities, but that'd be it.

I'd be pissed if they screw us on the rates without the competition from each other. But I can't see them jacking it up that much, because like you guys said, they are already hurting and presumably don't want to drive loyal customers away.

Wouldn't it suck if they made you buy a new unit to receive the merged service?

 

[kevo_55]

HD radio should keep the XM/Sirius "monopoly" in check.

I for one have XM radio and I love the choice with it. arty-smiley-048:

But if I have to buy a new reciever I would drop XM. My reciever is built into my shortwave radio. If I were to actually choose between SW and XM, SW would beat it out.

 

[Road Guy]

my brother in law jumped on the sirius lifetime subscription, sadly the fine print said that lifetime= 5 receivers.

I have only had sat radio for a little over a year, and I am already on my 3rd receiver. the first two I had crapped out after a month each..

 

[Ritchie503]

Trying to figure out why you think the country stations on Sirius need help? I listen to Channel # 60 all the time. I will jump around to other stations too.

I thought the lifetime thing sounded too good to be true, what happens if they get boughtout/merge?... oh thats happening.. I can just say them saying "you have a sirius lifetime subscription but you can't get any of the XM content unless you pay more... oh and by the way we are cutting half the channels on the sirius side because they are redundant"..

I think if they merge, they will for example merge the 80's stations as each have now to one, but transmit the same 80's stream on both networks... Cuts down opperting costs and the consumer won't notice a difference for the most part.

Eventually I think they will push for dual recievers so they can offer more services. I know there was talk about Sirius offer like 6 channels of streaming video from their satellite (would need new recievier) straight to your car... their thought was it would be childrens programming too keep the little ones occupied.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I generally hate country music, but I kinda like Bluegrass Junction (XM14) once in a while. It's pretty funny.

 

[Road Guy]

& why are the XM receivers so much cheaper?

I would like for them to have a country station that had more 80's style country or maybe a newer ere of the "RoadHouse" station. I cant really stand much of the country from mid 90's and dont like chics singing country.

it just seems you dont hear enough Doug Stone,Clint black, HW Jr., the Toby keith when he wasnt doing "pop", and I dont think I have EVER heard an Alabama song other than there "standard" stuff..

they seem to play the more "Politically Correct" country music also..

 

[udpolo15]

I have not been impressed by either. Also, I don't see my self paying for something I can for free.

On a related note, I read an article about how to get free sat radio. The basic premise was that sat radio has limited bandwith so the receiver activation and deactivation signals are only sent for a short period of time. Basically, the article said to buy a receiver and activate it. Cancel the subscription and keep it powered down for a couple of months. Since the technology does not support two way communication, your receiver remains active and they can't tell.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

& why are the XM receivers so much cheaper?

After rebates and deals and stuff, I got the top of the line XM model at the time purchased and installed in my car for about $150 last summer. Can't beat it.

Plus the plug-and-play "boombox" for the house was like $80. I bring the unit in from the car and plug it in the unit in my living room. I like to listen to it when making/eating dinner.

 

[Road Guy]

I had to get a new one a few months ago, and it seamed like the xm recievers were about half the cost of the sirus ones.

& what sucks is the FCC did away with the FM transmitter, so you have to go with either an AUX cable or they have a crappy fm relay antenae (which sucks ass) The AUX cable is nice, but its still an extra cable to deal with..

I dont listen much at home , but have the set up for it.

& to be honest I didnt think I would like it either, until I got it for xmas and its really been great, especially if you have any kind of commute. I can do a 45 minute commute and never hear one commercial, you know the kind "WE HAVE THE LOWEST PRICES IN TOWN,COME DOWN & BUY YOUR NEW CAR FROM US TODAY"

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

Yeah I can listen to the same stations I know and like over a long roadtrip. It beats searching for a new station every 40-50 miles.

And besides the commercials, I enjoy escaping the blabbery morning shows. They're all the same, and usually awful. A couple guys yukking it up with some bubbly giggly woman along for the ride.

 

[FusionWhite]

After rebates and deals and stuff, I got the top of the line XM model at the time purchased and installed in my car for about $150 last summer. Can't beat it.
Plus the plug-and-play "boombox" for the house was like $80. I bring the unit in from the car and plug it in the unit in my living room. I like to listen to it when making/eating dinner.

I got the boombox thing too VT and it rocks. I use it in the garage when Im out working on stuff and in the bathroom for something to listen to while showering <-- not a pretty picture I know.

 

[Road Guy]

just heard Lita Ford "kiss me deadly"

no FM radio station on the planet played that song today I bet arty-smiley-048: