Some XM Channels to be REMOVED tonight

[davhamer]

I believe that U Pop has already been replaced by BBC1 on XM. If U Pop is still there, they moved it weeks ago.

[Max931]

Hey, is Opie and Anthony still on Directv i was just currious i thought i read where they were being removed Max.

[TomCat4680]

why does a TV service need XM / Sirius stations anyway? if you want to listen to music or whatever just get a radio, or an iPod! I like to WATCH TV!

My mom has XM in her car and the sound quality is horrible. all of the people on the talk stations sound like they're underwater. I'll take my iPod any day, and regular old fashioned FM for talk.

[sundude90]

Are these stations going to be replaced on Directv? Please DON"T replace it with world music like before.

[MLBurks]

why does a TV service need XM / Sirius stations anyway? if you want to listen to music or whatever just get a radio, or an iPod! I like to WATCH TV!

A lot more people than you might think listen to the music channels on their TV system. Especially if you have your system hooked up to a surround sound system. I do, my parents do, many of my friends do. Not to mention that the sound quality is better coming off of DirecTV than straight off of the XM/Sirius radio.

[skottey]

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)?

[skottey]

Hey, is Opie and Anthony still on Directv i was just currious i thought i read where they were being removed Max.

No, they are not.

[skottey]

My mom has XM in her car and the sound quality is horrible. all of the people on the talk stations sound like they're underwater. I'll take my iPod any day, and regular old fashioned FM for talk.

It is your mom's setup. I have a lot of negative things to say about XM right now, but sound quality isn't one of them. I have never really complained about the sound quality. The talk stations all sound better than AM radio. Ever listen to talk on AM?

[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)?

I see ....
You mentioned a rate increase and no online anymore.
I received an email last week about this that said if I wanted, I could re up the 2nd and 3rd radios now and NOT be charged the upgraded fee.
This also allowed me to keep the online channels for another year (free).

It is however getting very expensive .... when not listening to XM, I would listen to alot of AM talk and found a lot of noise and fade with it, this is clearly the local situation here , not all over, but that is the real reason I decided to add the extra radios, so I could listen to the same stuff without the clutter.
I have one in the work truck and one in the GF's ...

There was talk during the merger process that they would DROP the sub price to $ 9 per sub and you could add channels ala carte, but that never happened.
Next year, I may just stick with the main car radio.
I never had the service till I got my new car and then decided to try it for the year and liked it so I added the others rec's for the reasons mentioned earlier.

Jimbo

[scoop8]

Just my 2 cents here regarding XM/Sirius on DTV. I use that svc daily listening thru my Surr Sound system. My take on the DTV music selections is that I preferred the lineup prior to the merger. I can't find one of the sta's that I liked and listened to before the change 'Frank's Place" formerly Ch 853. I read the post that said most channels are still on DTV but perhaps changed thir names. I need to go through the menu and check for that "old Ch 853" again to see if I missed it earlier.

I don't have XM for the car so can't comment on that part.