As far as I understand it the removal of most of the Clear Channel content on XM was due to the merger. WHTZ and KIIS are still being simulcast on Sirius XM. Not sure why the desire for 'local' content on satellite radio. Why pay money for commercial laden stations that play 95% of the same content you can get over the air. I called customer service early on and had all of the FM simulcast stations on XM blocked on all of my radio IDs, like you could do with the XL channels just to make a point. After the FM stations were replaced with Clear Channel controlled non FM simulcasts, I called up and had the channels unblocked. When Clear Channel then decided to add commercials to Sunny, Mix, Kiss and Nashville, I again called up and had them blocked.
Before the launch of satellite radio, in the late 90s/early 2000s, I traveled to many major markets in the North in the span of a handful of years. Detroit, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore and probably a few that I'm forgetting. I primarily listen to Country and Rock. All of these radio stations sounded the same. Same limited playlists, same lame commercials with car dealers screaming me, same nationwide contests just with different names, even the bumpers and jingles sounded similar. Besides the differences is local morning zoo shows and shock jocks, they were all cookie cutter stations that were no different than the stations back at home.