XM/Sirius to get FCC approval? Yes, Maybe!

[darrencp22]

do you have documented statistics indicating the number of Sirius subs that listen to Howrad Stern? If not, then you can't say with any certainty how many listeners he has.
Lets be frank, Howard stern is Sirius' most valued and popular property
This is in no way an endorsement of his show. It's a fact.

If you're an existing subscriber you face the very real possibility of losing programming. We will not get the benfit of this consolidation with our radios.

So say thew new companies decide Howard Stern and Opie and Anthony are duplicate programming. They may cancel O&A and keep Howard. I get screwed by this because I am unable to get howard unless I get a new radio... same with some of the comedy and news channels. Sure this may benefit you, but not us who have our radios.

 

[LER]

darrencp22:
From: SIRIUSMerger.com | Frequently Asked Questions about the XM-SIRIUS Merger

7. Should I buy a radio today or wait for a dual-service radio? I want to buy a second radio; should I wait for the new models?
There’s never been a better time to be a SIRIUS or XM subscriber. Any radios or other equipment that subscribers currently use will be fully supported by SIRIUS and XM for many years to come. Furthermore, following the merger, existing radios will all be able to receive a mix of programming from both services.

So, I don't think your statement in #21 is quite true.

 

[sundude90]

Well, I think the Merger will be a good thing. I think that Sirius will get more channels in the future and so will XM. To bad that XM and Sirius don't use the same technology.

 

[Neutron]

I for one hope it does go through, so that I can use my existing factory radio in my truck (XM) on our 5 year old Sirius subscription.

 

[Juan]

I for one hope it does go through, so that I can use my existing factory radio in my truck (XM) on our 5 year old Sirius subscription.

don't think so..u need to read the fine print

 

[cjwct]

Again, like Stern said today, this really means nothing . . . the chairman said he would approve if he had the choice. Also, as it stated in the article, there would have to be concessions made . . . BOTTOM LINE IS WE LIVE IN A WHITE BROTHERLY GOVERNMENT SYSTEM WHICH LOOKS OUT FOR THEMSELVES, THEIR OWN INTERESTS AND THEIR OWN MONEY . . . i..e gas prices, who gets contracts in Iraq, mergers, etc.

 

[darrencp22]

darrencp22:
From: SIRIUSMerger.com | Frequently Asked Questions about the XM-SIRIUS Merger

So, I don't think your statement in #21 is quite true.

Read some of the news articles out there. What they are saying conflicts with that. I hope you're right. Either way, from what i've heard Sirius's stuff is ful of commericails and the rock stations are like commerical radio garbage. Mel Karmazin will now ruin satellite radio the way he did terrestrial.

 

[ripnbigc]

I've had both and the rock stations on Sirius are much better IMO. Neither has any commercials on music stations.

 

[rhdj]

Howard Stern fans

Usually , I will let that go , but I do not listen to Howard Stern and frankly take that as an insult. I had Siruis before Howard even cut a deal. I subed in March 2005 and I think he signed up that fall maybe later I really did not care. I sampled XM I did not find enough of the kind of Music I liked . My Wife did, simple as that! The world does not revolve around Howard. As far as crossover packages...prices for these are already out, you will not have all stations cross over though, which is a bit of a bummer. I will try to dig up the story that had the price breakdown. I like Siruis , that is my choice, you like Xm ,more power to you. Why peoples choices are attacked, is a mystery to me. Tastes do vary and your taste or my taste does not have to mean that the" us Vs them" metality has to rule. It often does, with no consideration for the right to choice and not have to justify it. I have said many times on many post , Remember your taste does not make it law. The same passion you hold for your position someone else holds for theirs.

 

[BobMurdoch]

I think the battle comes from the fact that there is a tendency to believe that one must stand, and one must fall (apologies to the Transformers).

The problem is that they have been overspending on content trying to one up each other, and obliterated any chance of getting into black ink. When they merge, that goes away. The NFL and MLB either takes the deal or loses ALL revenue from that delivery channel (imagine of DirecTV didn't have Dish Network to fight off when they were renegotiating their NFL contract - the number paid would be a lot lower).....

I prefer XM, but I realize that Sirius may kill a lot of my favorite channels.... But it is still a win for me in that eventually a dual radio will come out that lets me listen to the NFl and MLB on one radio, something that was maddeningly lacking in the last half decade....

 

[Peter Parker]

In my case I was ready to pick Sirius and then looked at the fact that XM had MLB (my first love) and the NHL (my second) i was upset that I would not have access to the NFL and NBA but what the hey I had not had them before.

But for sports alone the whole exclusivity thing is maddening.

As for Stern well the number of Sirius subs took a huge jump once they made the announcement he was coming. I don't care for him. I knew him in college when he was the campus AM station that barely made it the western campus and disliked him then but I have to say that he has a rabidly loyal fan base.

 

[scots]

Charts showing the subscription options and pricing are located here:
http://www.siriusmerger.com/uploads/Sirius_Channel_Lineup.pdf
http://www.xmmerger.com/uploads/XM_Channel_Lineup.pdf

The charts show what the current pre-merger pricing is and what the post-merger pricing will be. Packages start as low as $6.99 for the smallest a la carte option. The top package will be the $16.99 "Sirius Everything & Select XM" or "XM Everything & Select Sirius" package.

Any channel that has the same/similar content on both services (Top 40, 60's, 70's, 80's, country, dance, etc) will have a channel dropped from either XM or Sirius so there's no longer a duplicate. Since Sirius is buying XM, I would guess that the XM duplicates will be dropped (but I don't know this for sure). Anything that is currently exclusive to either service (Martha Stewart, Oprah, Opie & Anthony, Howard Stern, NASCAR, etc) will supposedly be kept and available to everyone.

According to the pricing charts at the above links, consumers will not need new equipment except for those who want to go "a la carte". A la carte subscriptions will require a "next generation" receiver. With the a la carte packages you'll be able to log into your account online and select the channels you want. People who subscribe to "Sirius Everything", "XM Everything", "Sirius Everything & Select XM", or "XM Everything and Select Sirius" and choose to block adult content will supposedly get a monthly credit on their bill for not receiving the adult stuff.

 

[Neutron]

The way I look at it is this:

If our existing radios can't get the new programming I will cancel our subscription.

 

[rhdj]

I think the al a carte option , will only be for the new radios , if you sub have a radio now it will work as it always has, just may not have some of the new "after the merger" options. That is why I will wait till all the dust settles to make a choice or purchase a new radio.

 

[darrencp22]

Can someone just answer this? Will i be able to get any Sirius programs with my existing xm radio.

 

[jegrant]

To the best of my knowledge:
The only part of the new services that requires a new radio is a la carte channel selection.

If you currently have XM, roughly 10 channels of "Best of Sirius" will be added to the XM platform, and you can choose to pay what you pay now to keep roughly the same XM you have now (subject to some amount of duplicate service consolidation - only one 80s channel, etc) - OR you can choose to pay more to also get the "Best of Sirius" package along with your XM subscription.

Similarly, 10 channels or so of "Best of XM" will be added to the Sirius platform, and will be available to Sirius subscribers for an extra fee. Unfortunately, unless Sirius makes deep cuts in its existing service, older Sirius receivers may never be able to receive "Best of XM" due to the apparent 128 channel limit. (XM is fine because all receivers can handle at least 256 channels AFAIK.)


Depending on what they decide the "Best Of Sirius" actually is, I might be willing to drop my Sirius sub and just add "Best of Sirius" to my XM radio.
Also, it's not at all clear whether Howard or NFL would be included, or any other big name talent, because Sirius, as the new parent company, would have to renegotiate for permission to send those channels to XM customers. Some people seem to think that they will be able to pick any 10 channels that they think are the best of Sirius and add them to XM, or vice versa, but this will not be possible until they come out with the new a la carte compatible radios. Existing radios will only be able to receive (for an additional fee) a subset of channels from the opposing service that are selected by company management.

 

[darrencp22]

Thanks for the clarification.. Beyond Howard and some sports, what does Sirius have that XM doesnt?

 

[Neutron]

Commercial free music.

 

[darrencp22]

I already have commerical fee music on XM. None of the stations I listen to have commericals.

 

[Bobby]

Commercial free music.

In all fairness, XM has 4 music stations that have commercials, Nashville, KISS, Mix and Sunny. This is caused by an agreement they have with Clear Channel. When Clear Channel started commercials on those stations, XM added similar commercial free channels, US Country, Flight 26, XM Hitlist and Escape. The Clear Channel agreement is scheduled to expire this year.

So, while Sirius likes to advertise that they are the only satellite radio provider with 100% commercial-free music, it's kind of a moot point.