XM Removing Some Channels from DirecTV

[cbearnm]

I really like Ron & Fez.
I really like O&A.
I (used to) really like Howard Stern.
I can't stand Bubba. I hated him when he was on XM. I would try it every month or so, but he never grew on me.

It's funny, but as others have posted, I think the O&A/Stern debate is much more important to their fans than the rest of the listeners. Sirius signing Stern was more about name recognition than anything else. It's debatable that it was a money maker. The price was just WAY too high. It was probably a break even proposition, but if XM signed him, Sirius would have failed.

Even if every O&A (or Stern) fan cancelled if their preference left, it would not be as big an effect as we would like to think. Both camps over estimate their value. I doubt that anything will change post merger as far as the Virus or Howard 101. But it's good board fodder.

 

[Peter Parker]

Personally I never understood the pro Sirius bias here. I dislike all the DJs and in cases wher e there are comparable channels XM seems to have a deeper playlist while Sirius concentrates on the best selling stuff within a genre.

But that bias is pretty pervasive here. While i have always disliked Stern (and I knew him in the mid 70s when he was on the campus Am station) he did raise Sirius' profile substantially and his signing coincides with the rapid growth in Sirius subs and i suspect that he would have a lot of pull at the new entity.

 

[Kevinw]

Uh....why would you pay for satellite radio? What you are describing is an I-Pod.

Nope with an ipod you are talking about DL music. At a dollar a song. I have xm in 3 cars for less than 20 dollars total. An Ipod does not compare for the variety or quantity at that price. Unless you do Illegal DL such as Limewire etc.
Sat, has way to much to offer with music, talk, comedy and sports.

 

[Kevinw]

I just wish they would completly remove xm and just go with sirius. Sirius's lineup is way better than xm.

I dont know if Direct offfers all that is availble as a XM sub. but having both with my DISH sub. I can't ssay one is better. Margaritaville is good for Sirius but X-country is much better than Outlaw that Sirius has. Sirius has to many DJs for my taste.

 

[rfischer4073]

I just wish they would completly remove xm and just go with sirius. Sirius's lineup is way better than xm.

XM's "The 60's on 6" blows away Sirius' 60's counterpart, in my opinion.

 

[Scroll]

Yeah... but they are both so far in the red that they face going under if they don't merge. I just think getting rid of O&A would be a horrible business decision.

Will probably go under either way. Hard to predict in this climate but tighter disposable income, the sinking stock market and tight credit can't be good for their plans.

 

[skottey]

Will probably go under either way. Hard to predict in this climate but tighter disposable income, the sinking stock market and tight credit can't be good for their plans.

True... but I think if they merge and then tank, somebody will buy them out. There is a lot of money invested in satellite radio to just dispose of it or sell off all the assets to pay creditors pennies on the dollar. They can make it as one with a lot of cash. Maybe Howard Stern should buy the damn thing all together. They are paying him way more than he is worth. If he bought it and signed off on his own contract, and kept doing his silly show, they might have a snowballs chance. Eventually, he'd make back more money than he needs again and have a real asset to pass onto his heirs, the one and only satellite radio in the nation. That is huge.

Either that or it may just die. Maybe satellite radio was before its time, such as Voom the provider.

 

[scotsmanron]

I don't like losing "On the Rocks". Sigh.....

 

[aegrotatio]

Those channels were also removed from the online channel lineup, too.

The only "Online Exclusives" left are Ngoma and World Zone.
The rest of the so-called Online Exclusives were replaced with several talk channels and Radio Disney.

One thing you might take into account is that XM knows exactly the number of people who listen online and the numbers just didn't add up.

If you miss "On the Rocks," I used to listen to it and XM Escape and they had almost exactly the same playlist except for the Rat Pack lounge act recordings. In fact "On the Rocks" advertised itself as "XM Channel 78" which is actually the XM Escape channel.

 

[MLBurks]

I miss Special X and there is NOWHERE that I can tune to to replace that.

 

[Silvia2112]

I think most of you are missing the boat on the merger. No channels are being removed on the sat side. If you look at the packages being offered - there are sirius and xm packages. Also - there are a la carte and sirius + some xm and vice versa. Again - nothing to do with DTV - just more of an FYI. Read the link below to get a better understanding of the new proposed package structure:

http://www.siriusmerger.com/uploads/ala-cart-Press-Rel-7-23-07.pdf

 

[dcowboy7]

I think most of you are missing the boat on the merger. No channels are being removed on the sat side. If you look at the packages being offered - there are sirius and xm packages. Also - there are a la carte and sirius + some xm and vice versa. Again - nothing to do with DTV - just more of an FYI. Read the link below to get a better understanding of the new proposed package structure:

http://www.siriusmerger.com/uploads/ala-cart-Press-Rel-7-23-07.pdf

the date there says july 23, 2007 ?

 

[LER]

Yes, this has been kicking around for over a year. They need to say yay or nay.

 

[Silvia2112]

Yes - old news - you are correct. This stuff takes a while to complete. Just as of yesterday - a second democrat voted no for the merger. That leaves the tally at 2 (democrats) to 2(republicans). One final vote will be cast in the next week or so as a tiebreaker. The 5th vote is a republican so the expectations are for it to pass.

 

[dcowboy7]

ok so for example:
sirius and xm both have an 80's channel.....after the merger they both will still be available....they wont be merged into just 1 80's channel ?

 

[Silvia2112]

ok so for example:
sirius and xm both have an 80's channel.....after the merger they both will still be available....they wont be merged into just 1 80's channel ?

That is correct. You just won't get both. You would either subscribe to the XM Everything or the Sirius Everything package.

 

[Mr.HoggLegg]

Everything will stay the same after Merger! Not Quite!

Hey O!
In every merger that has ever taken place in whatever industry, promises are made. And as most people find out promises are like rules. They're made to be broken by the people who make them.

After the merger there will be decisions made by corporate managers that in order for the new corporation to become a viable competing broadcast media, then there will have to be programming cuts.

These will be cuts of the programming that are not generating the revenue that had previously been projected or obtained. To the subscribers that loved those programs the corporation will express their sorrow for making those cuts but the cuts had to be made none the less.

Again this senario plays out in every merger or hostile takeover in every industry. Some employees who lose their jobs because of these senarios know this as Corporate Rape.

So if this happens to the programs that you love to listen, just say to yourself, "It had to happen for the sake of the CORPORATION!"

Ya all have a Blessed Evening!

 

[stuckingoo]

I just got XM installed last weekend.....an aftermarket head unit (audiovox xpress r) that connects via a hard wired FM modulator. I don't know how anyone listens to this kind of setup. The sound quality is awful....fatigues and hurts my ears with the tinny, metallic, nasty sound. XM sound quality on D* is, on the other hand, very listenable. My car setup is gonna get yanked for a refund next week.