Wow, sorry you feel that way.
I am enjoying my XM all the more now.
A few channels I listen to changed names, but the are all still there.
Also I can now have MLB, College Football and now with the best of, I can get my NASCAR and NFL as well.
Jimbo
Yeah, I feel that way. I mean, I listed to a music station 90% of the time I was in the car and after the merger they just take it off. They replace it with Area, which is inferior to The System. So I was mad about that. My wife loves O & A, and (non-related to the merger) her employer decided to block XM online at the company firewall, so no more listening to them at work. So, we already felt like we lost value in something we liked, and then they announced a price increase on the second radio and no more free online. I mean, come on now. I was already on the fence about canceling, and then they raise the price. So what, they want me to pay more for something I see less value in than I did a year ago? Certainly doesn't make me feel good about potentially renewing.
It was nice, as if I was thrown a bone at least, to be able to listen to The System at home and online. I mean, that station was awesome. They played a lot of good songs and only a small amount of crap. Area, on the other hand, will play a song or two or three that gets you feeling good and then they totally throw you a curve ball with some outside the genre garbage song. I gave it a shot, listening to it as much as I could stand it before I had to change the station, saying "g-damn them for getting rid of The System, I am canceling XM!"
So, recently I rediscovered an old love of mine from before I had satellite radio. I used to listen to it while working; talk radio. Specifically, Fox News Radio (not the news channel simulcast but the shows like Tom Sullivan and John Gibson). I even listened to a little NPR and other left radio to hear a little bit of the opposing view of mine. In addition to that, I do listen to the simulcast of Fox News if something interesting is on when I leave my home office (I have Fox News or Fox Biz on all day when working from home). So I do see some value in the service, but NOT the music anymore. The music was the whole reason I got the service in the first place and bought all the hardware (radios, antennas, replacement antennas, the boombox for the Roady,e tc).
One other thing that has gone downhill is that POTUS political station. I listened to that a lot before the election. It was more left leaning than I like, but it was commercial free (before the election) and informative. They kept the station on the air after the election and added commercials. I don't listen much anymore, as the election is long gone and I get plenty of political news on the regular news.
I have a feeling that if satellite radio survives, it will morph into less music stations with advertising on every music station, becoming everything we wanted to get away from when we paid for it. It isn't that foolish to think that people will still pay for it even if there are commercials on all stations because most people pay for cable TV with commercials and buy magazines with ads. Advertising is necessary for long term survival. The bread and butter of a newspaper or magazine's revenue is not the cover price or subscription you pay for, they make their money off the advertising sales. I'm sure the same is true with cable TV as far as where the profit comes from. I think the days of commercial free music over satellite radio will be gone soon. Either that or they just go belly up and shut the whole thing off. But I think they will survive, especially now that we are hearing about a hostile takeover possibility from Dish Network. They'll just have lots of ads like normal OTA radio.
For me, I even thought of giving them another year. I received the XM email saying act by March 10 and get the current rate and free streaming online. I thought about it, but for what? Yes, I have rediscovered talk radio, but the fairness doctrine will probably spoil that again in the next couple years anyway. That and the fact that I can get many of those shows and others on AM radio.
I am not a big time sports guy. I watch hockey and football and will listen in the car if I think about it, but I can live without it. But, as long as I am in my home market, I can get the games on local radio anyway.
What value is left in satellite radio? I know you seem to find value in the sports but what about other people?
Do you people think the music has gotten better or worse since the merger?
Do you think the cost increase is justified?
Would you continue to subscribe as ads begin to hit every music station (like cable TV channels)?
