|
November 12th, 2008
12:20 PM ET
Goodbye, XMYesterday at 4 p.m. ET, XM ‘60s channel DJ Pat Clarke signed off his radio show, paying tribute to “Mother Radio” and playing Mary Hopkin’s “Goodbye.” As of today, XM is now Sirius XM. It’ll take some getting used to. The thing about radio - and something many of the personalities on XM understood - is that it’s the most familiar of mass media, with that feeling the DJ is talking directly to you. Nothing was more off-putting, in the days when I listened to broadcast radio, than to have my favorite station change DJs or (worse) change formats. (Which is one of many reasons I don’t listen to broadcast radio anymore.) So, for an XM subscriber and fan like me, that means getting used to the changes. No more XMX, where I could listen to Bob Dylan’s “Theme Time Radio Hour” all day long on Wednesdays. (It’ll still air on Channel 40.) No more Pat Clarke or John Clay. No more hearing the guys on Soul Street argue about the best songs from Philadelphia International. And my wife is upset that Jonathan Schwartz has been pushed off the Sinatra beat (though, apparently, not entirely). I’m a little leery of the Sirius takeover, if only because - in my admittedly limited experience - the playlists seem narrower, the sound a little slicker. On the other hand, I now have “Little Steven’s Underground Garage” and Vin Scelsa. And perhaps the new “classic alternative” channel – retitled 1st Wave - won’t play the Cure, Depeche Mode and New Order every third song the way XM’s Fred did. We’ll see if it works out. Yes, music radio isn’t necessary anymore - there’s always the CD player or the iPod connection - but there’s something to be said for having a trusted friend (and that’s what radio personalities become) take you through the day with some good music and entertaining chatter. Goodbye, XM. And hello? So send in your thoughts, comments or complaints. We’ll revisit the topic Thursday with some of the best responses. - Todd Leopold, CNN Entertainment Producer |
  About this blog
Our daily cheat-sheet for breaking celebrity news, Hollywood buzz and your pop-culture obsessions.  |
I was PO this morning when Ethel was no longer! I went to XM two years ago after the Atlanta radio scene went down the tube with the crumble of 99X. There is too much talk and advertisements on SiriusXM. Maybe it is because of the switch and it won't stay like that for long, but if it does I will not be paying for it. The thing that gets me is that Sirius essentially took over, but XM subscribers have to pay extra to get the best of Sirius radio (ie Howard Stern). What a crock.
I LOVE Sirius. I had listened and researched XM before choosing which radio service to get and am VERY happy with my choice. So names change, so what? As long as the music is there, I don't care. And for the people who are freaking out about ALT Nation and Lithium – they are two of the best channels – I love them and listen to them all the time. Football and the NBA are great also – I could do without the NASCAR, but hey. Now we get to explore what XM had to offer as well...
I'm more upset that they didn't communicate to us ahead of time about the change. Most everything I listen to is still there, just in a different place or name.
Some changes are for the better some for the worse.
Either way it's still better than analog radio!
I found the same channel changes that everybody else did when I got in the car this morning. What did they do to XM28 On Broadway??? It's now Channel 75, and they've got some doofus on the noontime show. He was so irritating that I changed channels. John Von Soosten, we miss you!!
Whine Whine Whine. So one wrote that they didn't like hearing obscure or b-sides?! or that they will miss dedicated stations like AC/DC, Bob Dylan, George Strait?! Then go buy the CD. I have had both for five years now and I am psyched about the merger. I loved a handful from both and now they are all together. Hopefully XM will not let their Sirius DJ's babble on about pointless trash. I do miss Xm Cafe. Spectrum just never got it in my book.
Lucy is gone?? noooooooooooooooooooooooooo
I NEVER SAW IT COMING! My favorite was the American Standards channel...don't get me wrong, I enjoy the Sinatra station but there was considerably more variety on the Standards channel. We've lost the ability to choose. Can anyone say Monopoly!
The System was crap! The songs they played were often YEARS old and new tracks were never offered up. BPM tries with the new stuff but 98% of it is too commercial for me. Going to give Area a chance but all of you claiming The System was ace have no idea what music released in the past 24 months sounds like.
People...shut up already about 'You get Howard'. Howard Stern SUCKS! If Sirius satellite radio is losing so much money, they should not be paying that idiot Half-A-Billion dollars.
And to the bonehead that decided to kill XM 82 The System, you sir are also an idiot.
With XM, you could get good music with no commercials, or DJs talking over the songs. Please stop this annoying practice. If something is added to the songs played, please make it short enough to add in a text message that shows up on the radio display. Most people who can afford to pay for their radio don't necessarily want a music trivia lesson, they just want to hear good music.
When i got XM in Summer of 05, I expected to be blown away. I was wrong. I heard a lot of the same artists over and over again. None of the new alternative they were playing wasn't any good, it was like they were trying to be TOO different. The bar I live above has Sirius and I love every song they play, compared to XM. So, i'm pretty excited. Allready in my car for 10 minutes today and love the new Lithium and Alt Nation better than Fred and Lucy. I feel like i'm cheating on those stations, but I allready like it. I hope to stay pleased, I guess we'll see.
I have Sirius in the car and XM via DirecTV, and I am already missing Suite 62 Soul Street!! On the Sirius side of things, I am missing Backspin and Jazz Cafe as well. Heart and Soul has not improved with the merger, and Soul Town was always bad from the beginning – All Motown, all the time. I am sad that the dance channels from XM are also missing – I loved the trance and house music channels. The programming at XM is so much better, and Sirius is going to suck the life out of what's left.
To be honest, XM had the better music channels of the two, but I hate that my favorite channels from the both of them are gone.
We are on the brink of broadband internet. After that, better sell your Sirrius stocks, cuz the landscape is going to change.
Satellite radio just can't compare with local, terrestrial radio. People turn to their local radio to hear what's going on in their communities. Your local radio station provides you with local personalities talking about local events. In some cases, they play local music. Satellite radio is cold, impersonal, and generic.
One great local radio station here in the Portland area: http://www.947.fm
94/7 Alternative Portland proves on a daily basis that there can be great terrestrial radio.
Raw Dog, really?! The promos are unbelievably lame (at least with XM Comedy 150 they were SUPPOSED to be cheesy, which made them funny). And I hope they continue to display the comedian's names instead of the name of the "show" on my radio (i.e. this morning my radio only displayed something like "the morning show with sonny fox"). The artists should fight to maintain that feature, how else can we google the song and artist and learn more about them. So much for the world's first uncensored, and funniest, radio station. If this is any indication of how the Sirius channels operate, then they may be losing a subscriber.
I love Baba-Boey...Mama-ma Monkey...Ta Ta Ta Toothy...Ra Ra Ra Retard..Fla Fla Floey
I have been a Sirius subscriber for years. I truly dislike XM and was TERRIBLY unhappy when I got into my car and found out 4 of my Sirius presets changed. So long Hard Attack, Buzzsaw, Hot Jamz, and Back Spin. Not to mention some of the old stations now play "clean" versions of songs. If I wanted that I'd listen to terrestrial radio. I had XM for 6 months and hated the weird music they'd play that I had never heard of not to mention their awful customer service. I shot off a nastygram to Sirius XM concerning my disappointment this morning. I am considering cancelling all of my Sirius subscriptions. I hope someone from Sirius XM is reading all of these.....
I was not happy with the merger to begin with, and my 81-year old dad who is on my "family plan" will be even more unhappy if they start screwing around with Willie's Place and Bluegrass Junction (so far...nothing big has changed). Have Sirius in a new Dodge Ram truck, and it's okay, but I chose XM over Sirius several years ago because the programming was more to my preferences. Which goes to show ya–do your research, do your budgeting, go with your best plan....and someone will eventually make a decision for you anyway.
I liked the "non-canned" feel of XM–not so "slick" as Sirius, and I don't care what they say–we XM listeners will have put out $$ eventually for new receivers...just watch.
Hey... I'm all for bringing back AM radio.
Digital AM anyone? Wish I had startup money.
The thing about Sirius, you don't want kids in the car.
Give the folks at Xm a piece of your mind:
http://email.xmradio.com/a/hBJGBV$B1n5OOB7W-EM$AN$772F/xm71
I had Dish network, which had either XM or Sirious for a while. A couple years ago I switched to DirecTv, which had the other service but I don't know which.
The music service that came with Dish Network had much better programming, but their also had way too many commercials for being "commerical free". They said their commercials weren't commericals, they were product advertisements or something in response to an E-Mail I sent. I just hate commercial free music that advertises products between songs.
Anyway I hope the music improves because whatever DirecTV has (had?) has been awful.
My XM radio has been cutting off a lot lately. I wonder if this merger is the reason why. As much as I love my XM if service goes bad, I will drop it like a hot potato.
This morning, fully 75% of my presets were either gone or had changed. They killed Beyond Jazz, leaving only *one* "real" jazz channel. One.
There are eight country channels, three Christian channels, two NASCAR channels, six hip-hop channels, dozens and dozens of sports/rock/pop/talk channels, yet only one jazz and one blues channel left.
Here's a hint to the idiots that developed this lineup: One of the major draws to satellite radio is the availability of non-pop/rock music. Terrestrial radio doesn't offer that, so satellite is where it was... until now.
I personally know of at least six people that are heavily considering canceling their subscriptions as of this morning.
I didn't realize they were doing the switch either. I am not a fan of the Sirius programming at all. My husband had Sirius a few years ago while I had XM and I could clearly tell the difference. Yes, he got rid of his Sirius after a few months. I already miss XM and it's only been 24 hours.
totally bummed about losing X-Country. it was a unique station, and will be sorely missed.
the best two words about sirius: PLAYBOY RADIO!
My gripe is that there was nothing communicated to subscribers until the changes this morning, not good business practice. Is this an omen of things to come? I too miss XM72 Beyond Jazz and before that XM51 Music Lab. The Dead channel is a plus and my wife will like the E Street channel. But a shout out to management, please communicate any future changes!
I was a longtime XM subscriber but dropped out earlier this year. I've got an iPod with an extensive library of music I like, and an AM/FM radio with news, Public Radio, musice and more.
I haven't missed XM and don't really care to pay anymore for listening to music I already own....
I have already experience the reformat. My favorite punk rock station fungus53 was turned into a 24 hour AC/DC show with no warning. I cancelled my subscription as soon as that happened. I was never happy about the merger i knew everything would change. I am very disapointed in XM and serius for this!
I turned on my car this morning and everything was out of place and wrong. The people I listen to every morning weren't where I left them last night. Where's the broadway guy, cinemagic, the soul street people, the decades announcers. This stinks. Why not just add to the original format instead of screwing up all of the good things that xm does. Do we really need another easy listening station? I like the addition of Bruce but I say again, bring back the other format!
I noticed the change today as I tuned into one of my favorite channels, only to find that it's been removed.
I used to be a Sirius subscriber before switching to XM in 2007.
I am a huge dance/techno fan. One of the reasons I preferred XM's 81 (B.P.M.) over Sirius's 36 (The Beat) was that B.P.M. just plays music, while The Beat had DJs talking for minutes at a time about this, that, and the other and giving those stupid "shout outs" to everyone in the world – when I would just want to hear music.
If I want to hear someone talking, I'll tune into talk radio. When I listen to B.P.M., I want to hear great music (one of the reasons I don't bother listening to regular radio anymore).
That being said, I tuned into B.P.M. today to hear some music to get me pumped up for my afternoon and instead got some DJ go on and on and on about how great his program is...for 10 consecutive minutes.
It got me so angry that I turned it off.
I really hope that this isn't how it's going to be...
.... Aight i'm disappointed.... they got rid of my reggaeton channel, got rid of 2 good hip-hop stations, 2 good Latin channels...... but there plenty of crap i never listen too........
Give them some time to figure out the corks, come on take it easy. If you keep canceling, their profits will thank, there will be more layoffs. Need to be positive to get out of this recession.
Just don't take my BPM (XM81) away. Best dance music, best djs. Whoever said the dance channels suck and don't have any dj personalities has never listened to BPM. Tiesto, Corsten, Carl Cox. You name it, they are on there.
Well, as a Sirius subscriber I'm least than thrilled. The merger took away the Punk channel, the channel I listened to most. Now if I want the occassional punk song I have to sit through Snoop Dog, Korn, Beastie Boys, My Chemical Romance.
Not to mention that it seems like the play lists on the rock channels are sounding more and more like traditional commercial radio, with the exception of Little Steven's Underground Garage which continues to play a nice variety of bands commercial radio wouldn't dream of playing.
We'll see how this all pans out, but looking at the new lineup I am not hopeful.
I was stunned this morning when my favorite preset Suite 62 suddenly had a DJ... Besides the convenience of listening to my favorite style of music wherever I travelled (love long road trips), I treasured not having someone gabbing over and around my music. I was honestly confused at first, wondering how I'd manage to change my station. Then, I heard "This is Sirius..." and saw the program was called "Heart and Soul" Argh... What a huge disappointment. I'm so bummed.
As an XM subscriber, I'm willing to give Sirius XM a chance, but Chrome is a major loss. Putting it on the 70's channel? Are you nuts?
We cancelled our XM in our vehicle that was shipped with it (GMC) because I hated the commericals and the stations were nothing remotely close to what Siruis had to offer.
If I hear commericals on Sirius, I will very bummed.
Glad to hear Siruis is taking over and we hope to get more of the same programming and excellent sound.
Goodbye Xm, glad to see you go!
I used to have Sirius, but had to switch to XM when I bought a car with it built in. I loved my Sirius stations – Octane, Lithium, etc. and was completely thrilled today when I got in my car and they were back!
I am okay with the merger but not sure why have to get rid of some stations. I agree with Curtis who commented earlier about Sirius Shuffle, that was a great station and was excited it was still online at least, but now that is gone as well. I agree Curtis, they need to bring back Shuffle or a station that is just like it. They have plenty of room for "all" the stations and if they are going to put Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, and Led Zepplin 24-7 station, how about putting Kiss 24-7? Sirius still rocks, lets keep it that way.
SiriusXM killed DISCO–no more channel 83 "The Chrome".
I was hoping that the merger would get rid of all of the annoying DJs who wasted valuable music time on XM, but it looks like we're going to be stuck with annoying DJs from Sirius wasting valuable music time. I haven't had a chance to check out all of the channels, but thank goodness America Left is still up and running so I can get my Stephanie Miller, Ed Schlutz, and Rachel Maddow. If they get bumped, I guess I'll go the Ipod route. And Howard Stern????? He hasn't done anything funny since Reagan's first term in office and that was only once or twice. If you want to hear something REALLY funny, listen to the podcast of "The Bob and Tom Show"!!!!!!
It would have been nice if the consumer who is paying for Xm/Sirrus was notified of the takeoever. I never received anything in the mail or e-mail stating that XM was going defunct. Not happy at all. Sirrus needs to address this issue. Is the pricing the same? What changes will we see or not see? Communication is key, and is somewhat lacking here. Not a happy customer at this point.
I purposely subscribed to Sirius because Howard Stern was on XM.
And oddly enough, you couldn't get CNN on the online version of XM. Maybe we will be able to go to cnn.com now and actually get a cnn broadcast, unless Sirius put themselves in the blocking position that XM was. CNN, pay attention, they are messing with your viewers. And yes, Sirius will soon be delisted off of the market if this merger doesnt improve somethign at their oddball corporation.
Thanks for the Pandora.com referral guy, but still, no CNN there either.
I have had both Sirius and XM and it was clear to me that XM had the more free radio experience, deeper catalog and wider variety. I am SIRIUSLY upset about the new lineup and am contemplating dropping the service.
TJ, the stiletto is great. It works in most buildings, unless you're on the bottom floor, then it gets a little sketchy. (i.e. I have reception on the fourth floor of my 40 floor building, but have limited reception on the third floor). But, you can always connect online if reception is limited.
Howard Stern could be the only channel on SirisuXM and it would still be completely worth the $13. If you haven't listened yet, do it, even if you were never a fan. Also, channel 33, All LED ZEPPLIN all the time!
I've been with XM for over 6 years. Squizz was my favorite channel and I loved all their DJ's. I was sad to see it has now been renamed Octane and I wonder which DJ's will get to keep their jobs...Octane's originals or XM's? And now that they've merged channels....can accounts be merged also? My husband has Sirius in his truck and I have XM in my car, shouldn't we be able to have a family plan with the second line at a reduced price? 2 weeks ago I called in and was told no, but they also told me they didn't know when or if channels would merge.
Wow, the paid subscribers aren't even told when the paid-for subscription is canceled? And they are lining up with open checkbooks to get suckered again with the "latest" forum to be peddled....What did PT Barnum say about suckers?
SUCKERS!!!!!!
No boombox or backspin!!!!!, they say to go to Alt Nation if I like boombox and hip-hop nation if I liked backspin, wow that helps...thanks for nothing!
All ELVIS all the time!!!!! Its a dream come true! 🙂
I think the worst part of the merger is Howard Stern. As long as O&A are on, I'm still in.
WHHHHHEEEEEEE I lost my favorite channels....
I've been a Sirius customer for 2 years now, and have had XM in many rental cars, only to find myself turning to local radio and CDs. The Sirius programming is FAR superior and am almost never without a tune I enjoy. XM on the other hand was maddening. How many times can you play "Under the Bridge" on the 90's alternative station? Give it a chance, you'll be thankful XM is gone.
I am disappointed in Sirius. This new format is not all I’d hoped it to be. I started a little over three years ago when Stern moved over and the format has been great for music. But it appears as of today there is no longer uncensored music playing. The also took two stations I listened to on Sirius of the air. This makes no sense. So Howard still won’t be censored but now the songs playing are? I too am thinking the $22 a month im paying for the two radio's I have are now not worth it. Sirius XM needs to rethink this process.
I'm a new XM subscriber. it came with the car I just purchased. Honestly, I don't really care for it at all. The content is fine, but the sound is worse than old-school AM radio to me. I'll listen to my local FM stations and drop XM when my free year is up. When I listen to Jazz or Blues, or even (heaven forbid!) Disco, I want to hear the sizzle in the horns and the cymbals. I get none of that on most of the XM stations that sound like internet radio being streamed at 14.4k.
I'm a Sirius subscriber and I'm sad about some of the compromises we've had to make as well. My husband and I have both lost a couple of channels we had grown to love and we're thinking about abandoning it outright. Not sure.
As far as those worried that XM / Sirius would go bankrupt, I think they would try to raise prices before folding. I think a lot of the Sirius and XM die-hards would pay $20 a month rather than lose the radio altogether.
Since I am a Sirius Radio man, I am happy about the mix. I was a bit surprised at work today where we have XM that Dusty Street was on Classic Vinyl. I am happy that Bob Dylan show is now part of the mix. I listen to both, XM at work and Sirius at home and on my Harley and I have always liked Sirius better. But I think now we both get the best of both worlds.
I had the same morning commute experience. Can't imagine Sirius not telling us in advance about the change. We are buying their product and getting this kind of service? I guess all us XM subscribers will have to get use to a lower (much lower) level of customer service.
What happened to Fine Tuning? Sad Sad Sad
I too was very upset this morning on my drive to work – XM 41 the boneyard was no more – I wonder if I will still be able to get my Eddie Truck fix on Monday afternoons.
BONEME!
As a DJ on Sirius 36 The Beat's "Adrenalin" mixshow each week, the pain is also being felt on the side of the Sirius subscribers.
Take note of OUR new channel line up at Sirius. My station went dark last night in favour of BPM taking over the flagship dance music station slot. After 3.5 years on the air as a mixshow DJ, I am now off the air and 36 The Beat falls dark into the history of satellite radio.
This merger was the worst idea ever for the consumers. Now we're paying the price for allowing the FCC to permit such an injustice to the listeners.
DJ JC Simon
Ottawa, Ontario Canada
Youngstown, Ohio USA
I'm miffed about XM2 disappearing, and taking Bob Dylan Wednesdays and Tom Petty Thursdays with it. Their shows apparently will still come on channel 40, but either in the middle of the night or in the middle of my workday. I'm also really angry that I wasn't warned about these changes ahead of time - I thought my radio was on the fritz this morning when I tried to go to XM2 and got nothing. Boooo, you guys. Boo.
Are you kidding me??? XM's Rock stations were deplorable! Deep, Big and Top Tracks could never establish a definitive personality in my mind. They were no better (and, sometimes, worse) than "plodcast" radio. I found myself switching between stations every other song.
We rented a car with Sirius, and went on two, 6-hour trips. I never ONCE changed the station (I beleive that I was listening to the Classic Rock station). Sirius DJs and Program Directors are much better than their counterparts at XM.
XM who? Sirius who? Irrelevant. Unimportant. Paying a subscription fee for what is normally free is absurd in this economy.
I also am not thrilled with the new lineup. I thought Chrome was an awsome party channel because it really worked for the 40 to 60 age group. Fred was cool to listen to around the house anytime. These are gone and it sucks. I was considering a new XM radio for my Christmas Wish List, but now I'll just keep the old roady xt and and decide if I'm going to keep both of my units active, or just dump one or both and get an ipod.
I didn't like XM radio and gave up my subscription several months ago. I hated that between almost every song on the decades stations they advertised themselves! I figured I paid so that I didn't have to listen to ads and that really made me mad. They had no good classic rock station. The closest thing they had to classic rock was Top Tracks and at one time they played endless metal on it. Metal should be on a metal station. I know a lot of great broadcast stations that have great classic rock. If I had to listen to "Down by the River" by Neil YOung one more time on the way to work I thought I would scream. I prefer something a little more upbeat on the way to work. I didn't like their blues station either. My brother had Serius for a while and I lied the music I heard on there and they had a great blues station but I got tired of waiting for the monopoly to take place and got so disgusted I just gave up and decided to stop paying for crap and go to my ipod.
you all now have howard stern. Be happy. Enjoy it.
I get XM for free...I have no idea why – so, I don't think I will call them with any complaints.
Have had Sirius for 2 years. XM in one of my cars the last 3 months for Beyond Jazz. Beyond Jazz is gone, so is my XM – I never liked XM's ClearChannel-like rotation on most of the popular music channels.
I wish I heard DM, New Order or the Cure very 3rd song on Fred. You never heard them. You heard Oingo Boingo and other obscure acts of the 80's. I'd rather hear mainstream stuff.
I can't believe that with a huge merger we still only get 3 dance channels. Why can't we keep f XM 82, a rebroadcast of world space dance music. No more Zoltar, Victor Dinaire, Above & Beyond, or Store N Forward. Truly a loss.I feel ripped off!
this was very sneaky....may cancel soon....morons didn't even send us a line-up change card....next comes the price hike to pay for Howard Stern! operating just like the fed!
We, as Americans, have to stand together and fight these corporate dictators
START WITH A FLAT TAX RATE: EVERYONE PAYS THEIR SHARE
I discontinued my XM subscription a year ago when they kept raising the monthly charge on me. In the end, I was paying 18 bucks a month to listen to cnn on the radio. I never listened to the other stations, simply CNN, and the price for cnn was a value at 7 bucks a month, yet not at 18.
When I called, they had a bunch of confusing plans that I could choose from to "keep" me as a customer, yet, not my original 7 bucks, so, I said my goodbye along time ago, and with the Iphone, I dont look back. Technology killed technology for me.
Sirius has until the end of this year to replace channel 36 THE BEAT and channel 116 KIDS' STUFF (for my 5-year-old). If they don't, I'm letting my 3-radio subscription lapse, and I'll return to listening to local FM radio and my iPod.
I bought XM three years ago for baseball. Since there are 7 years to go on MLB's contact with XM, which presumably transfers to Sirius XM, I'll be OK with the switch. I'm concerned what the jazz programmers will do with the Sunday period voted to New Orleans jazz (the real "classic" jazz). I will be royally pissed if they scrub that.
NOOO!!! Need my Boombox!!
Just another example of how this corporation didn't give a **** about long-time subscribers. I purchased a 5-year subscription just prior to the insertion of commercials on the Clear Channel stations (100% commercial free my ***). Thanks for making me pay to hear commercials, again (like going to the movies)! Now, I'm not ever again going to get the stations that I paid to hear. So much for the prognosticators that predicted that XM would come out on top, since XM didn't subcontract for the production of its components. Frankly, I have an iPod connection in my truck and it has been the favored source of entertainment since the commercials. Guess I'll say goodbye to XM and goodbye to my money for the 5-year subscription, since I'm already saying goodbye to my retirement investments and most of the equity in my home.
I have had both Sirius and XM, and by far loved XM some much more that I made sure the new car I bought had it. What a bummer this morning when I turned on the radio and my stations were gone.
Looks like it's time to Cancel my subscription.......
I hope XM's terrible customer service will now be better.
I was a bit shocked this morning when I turned my car on and the channels went through the "updating" process and the channel I was listening to last night was no longer available (Backspin Ch #43) on Sirius. I got my subscription to Sirius as soon as Howard Stern announced he was leaving. I have loved it ever since.
Sirius is now offering the "Best of XM" package for Sirius subscribers and the one item on XM that I want is noticeably missing from the package - MLB. I will be really disappointed if I have to pay extra for that come next season.
In any case, I love Sirius and look forward to figuring out where all my favorite channels are now located.
I miss my Lithium! Where's the grunge?!? Not digging the change thus far!
I am so happy. For me Sirius music always beat out the same XM classic rock stations. I can't wait to hear Carol Miller, Mark Goodman and the rest of the Sirius DJ's. Sirius rocks!
I've been a Sirius subscriber for over two years and my in-laws were XM people. When I was deciding on a system I didn't care for XM but liked what I had heard on Sirius through a friend. I love Sirius and didn't know what to think of the merger. There are so many stations, there should be something for everyone. I love the fact that NHL is back on Sirius! Also Sirius gave us Metal heads 5 different stations to listen to. My Hard Attack is changing it's name but as long as Jose is there and Ian I will be happy. They will lose subscribers but the numbers show that they are also growing. Have fun with the ag and hog report for those of you leaving, because here in Kansas satellite radio is the only way to go.
I am so happy. For me Sirius music always beat out the same XM classic rock stations. I can't wait to hear Carol Miller, Mark Goodman and the rest of the Sirius DJ's.
I am very unhappy!!! No Notice, No email, amd I wake up and 2 of my favorite stations were gone!! Not a great way to start the day out!! Bring back "The Beat" and Old Scool Hip Hop!!!! It will take some getting used to and Im sure I'll be over it in a day but come on Lets Class up these mergers and not take away from the ones who made the Jump to Sirius or XM but add!! There is many open stations and skipped numbers. If anything they should add both and takover radio!!
When I got into my Jeep this morning and turn my SIRIUS tuner on, a messge popped up telling me that the stations were being updated.
What gives? My "Reggae Riddims" is now "The Joint". What's that supposed to mean? The Joint. Is it insinuating that people who listen to reggae automatically smoke the herb? Why not call it The Spliff or The Bong? My 2 cents. Thanks.
Maybe they will not play Red Hot Chili Peppers every 20 minutes on Lucy, or for that matter just about every alternative or rock leaning channel.
Got in my car this morning and the radio (Sirius) went into "download update" mode. Couldn't figure out what happened until I noticed that some of my presets had changed. Where did the Led Zepplin channel go? I hope I find it.
I'm excited to hear the changes. My 16 year old son said that Sirius now has a XM channel that he loves. So I'm going to have an open mind and see how it goes. I bought a lifetime subscription so I couldn't cancel even if I wanted to. But sattelite still beats commercial radio hands down. So what are all you people complaining about.
Live with it.
I just renewed my subscription to "XM".
Big fan of XCountry....found "Outlaw Country" this morning.
What a pile of crap!!!
Sirius apparently thinks it's hip to put a "baaad name" on pop country drivel. I don't need DJ's that run off at the mouth...I'm in it for the music--new stuff I can't hear elsewhere by up-and-coming artists that mainstream recording companies won't back.
XM is Haagen Dazs rum raisin...Sirius is store-brand vanilla.
I want my oney back!
I am a bit confused. Does not XM have a significantly larger subscriber base than Sirius?
All I have to say is, I'm glad Liquid Metal is still there. It's in fact the ONLY station on my favorites storage that still exists. Thankfully, Sonny Fox is still on what was "XM Comedy". Now that station is called "Raw Dog Comedy" which sounds like it should only be playing Martin Lawrence and DJ Hugley. If Sirius cared less about making their station names seem "kewl" and cared more about making quality programming that sets itself apart from the norm, I wouldn't be as worried. I've heard Sirius before, and there's a reason I went with XM. Oh but Sirius has Howard!!!! OMG!!! Who cares?
Beware Sirius Subscribers....XM Music Channels are coming and they SUCK
I really miss Michael Yo On E! And E! entertainment. I would like to see these shows return!
What no one is mentioning is that previous XM customers wanting the Howard Stern, NASCAR and previous Sirius exclusives...that's gonna cost you more money. It's not just getting folded in.
I can deal with the stations changing and with everything folding together, but give me what I'm already paying for without asking for more of my money.
There is this new thing called a MP3 player, where you can pick every single song you want to listen to. Always.
Please! I tried listening to Howard Stern when I lived in NY, back when it was free. I didn't like him then and I like him even less now. My car came with XM and I have really enjoyed it. I will give the change a chance, but if I don't like it, I certainly won't be renewing next year.
I will reserve judgment until I give the consolidated Sirius XM a long listen. However, having subscribed to both services for extended periods, I am hopeful that all of the music directors at XM were summarily dismissed with the merger. Sirius was by far the better service for music. XM, in my opinion, couldn't string two good songs together. It was horrific.
I was never much of a fan of XM. However, I am a lifetime subscriber to Sirius and I love it. The majority of the channells and themes are similar to XM, so XM fans should like Sirius. And for those who live in rural areas, you can't get any better than Satelite Radio. My only recommendation is to hurry on the lifetime subscription because Sirius is going to stop running it come December.
This is bullsh*t. Did I miss the memo?? I knew they were going merge but my god.. how about a little warning about a subsequest lineup change?
Soon XM/Sirius will go the way of WorldSpace.
To all the "smart guys" with jokes about satellite subscribers paying extra for the radio, keep in mind there is free tv too....but most of us still pay for better tv....same thing applies to satellite radio.
J.Crosbuzon...you probably PAY EXTRA for TV, TV with commercials even... and more expensive than radio. Talk about losers. =o)
This is a good thing people. The music programming on XM was pathetic. Sure they did well at the niche channels, but all the rock channels were programmed by Hippies. Top Tracks-Sucks, Deep Tracks-Sucks. The only thing good about XM was MLB Baseball. Now I can listen to music too.
And to lolocaust and J Crobuzon, what's the difference between paying for cableTV and paying for radio? I'm sure neither of you get cable since that would be eating the same cake.
Let it go. We have XM in one car and Sirius in another plus on a boom box. Sirius is way more supierior. XM DJ's sound like they are in a bathroom. Bad audio and the playlist on every channel was weak.
Welcome to Sirius. Now you know Sat radio.
The best part of these comments is seeing how unknowledgeable most consumers are about what's going on around them. You didn't know XM programming was gonna change? What do you think happens when your business gets merged into another. Same thing happened when TechTV got bought out by G4. Lost a lot of good shows but everything worked out in the end. G4 got a whole lot better.
Some people are complaining about the music programming...guess what it's the same stuff! There are numerous comments so far about no longer being able to get certain music channels that I know for a fact are on Sirius. It probably isn't the same channel number anymore morons, try looking around.
I highly recommend commercial radio – free and keeps a segment of our economy employed. Lots of find folks working in the industry.
I just hate how secretive the whole channel change seemed. I didn't find out until I turned on Eddie Trunk on the boneyard on Monday and he said this would be his last show on XM, so I did a little research and found out my favorite channels (Lucy/Ethel) we're going away along with some of the staff.
I will miss the Lucy program director (Don Hutton I think) for sure. I thought he did an amazing job with the channel. I'll miss Ethel just in name only it seems (Alt. Nation common that's a lousy name), the DJ's there we're bad and didn't seem to have a clue most of the time and I hear the Sirius ones are even worse. Eitherway I will miss Lucy for sure, the name really doesn't bother me, it's just losing the PD from Lucy who I thought was really good.
I've had XM for 6 years, I got XM because I liked some of the programming over Sirus. Now 2 of my regular stations are totally gone, and 2 have been replaced with something similar, but not the same. I'm sure there is nothing wrong with Sirus and I'm sure I'd get used to it.....but I'M NOT PAYING TO "GET USED TO" anything. My XM subscription runs out in a couple months, bye bye XM, call me when you put my stations back on and I'll sign back up.
I had been waiting for the merger to finalize before buying and subscribing to satellite radio. But with all the complaints about the now-merged product maybe I don't want to spend the money on the expensive hardware and on the monthly fees. I think I'll stick with regular radio for a while longer.
I was originally with XM in '04 and left in '06 when they got rid of my favorite channel, 61 The Flow. In fact, The Flow and the other XM music stations were the main reason I chose XM over Sirius. The Sirius music lineup was very homogenous and commercial in my opinion. Anyway, I came back to XM last month once they started offering the best of Sirius package so I could get NFL games. I thought that would mean that they'd keep the rest of the lineups fairly separate. Imagine my shock this morning when I turn on my radio to see Suite 62 (a more commercial version of The Flow, but still pretty good) replaced with Heart and Soul and The Rhyme (CLASSIC HIP HOP!) replaced with some crappy Lil Wayne type songs. I'm a stockholder in SiriusXM (I got it for 25 cents a share, hey), but I'm afraid they're going to run off all the subscribers, which is far too much of their revenue.
Bring back The Rhyme 65! It was the only station I really liked, and since I am cursed, it was one they chose to get rid of.
Wow, you PAY EXTRA to listen to the radio? What a bunch of cake eaters.
http://www.somafm.com/ . Enough said.
You people need to all get a life. If nothing ever changed we'd all be listening to the Lone Ranger and Tonto on Grampas old AM raido. Like was said earlir,,, paying for raido is almost as dumb as paying for bottled water.
For people raving about Stern and Bashing O&A.........Stern's contract is up in a few years.........won't re-sign....he has more money than TRUMP!........enjoy Howie and the hole while they last.
We are going to miss Flight 26 (now the pulse). I will not renew, it's time to move on to my iPod.
We purchased a new car in August that had a regular radio; IPOD connector and satellite radio compatible (both options). We knew the merge was going to happen and really wanted Sirius anyway so we have them put the Sirius module in and then happily ordered our service. Then when the merger was official, we added the Best of XM package (Oprah is still there and I have her on my Sirius account). Now we have the best of both worlds ... I have too many options now but I am happy with our satellite radio choice. I feel the music choices are great! If I don't like a station or what is playing currently, I just change the station.
So this is why I heard a lady talking on 49 this morning. I thought I had the FM radio on!
The DJ didn't even talk about the songs which might have been interesting, she was talking about a car for sale on e-bay. I don't pay to hear garbage and I won't support Howard's 14 year old mentality shows.
Some of us don't have the option of listening to terrestrial radio – because there's nothing good on. (NYC radio sucks) XM was my source for new and interesting music. I'm not sure yet how it's going to shake out... I'm not thrilled that they got rid of Billy Zero on XMU, but so far the programming seems similar. I wish they had fired that buffoon Cane on AltNation/Ethel though. That would have been a welcome change! Thankfully they left The Verge alone (although grouping it with the Foreign music channels is stupid). But why is Cinemagic on hiatus until January?! I don't get that at all.
I just got a car w/Sirius a month ago and was loving Boombox. Sirius seemed to be strong for electronica and alternative remixes. We already had XM and I loved Ethel and Lucy for XM's strong Alternative music. Now with all those gone I doubt I'm going to renew. Hopefully with all these negative comments they may rethink their decisions!
Change is good!
Sorry, XMers. You backed a loser. Don't be surprised that the spoils of war go to the winner.
In time you will realize that you have now gained much more than you think you have lost.
Sirius is here to stay, baby!
As a Sirius subscriber, I must admit I was hoping the merger would allow me to have Lucy as opposed to Lithium. My boyfriend has XM, so I've spent many hours listening to Lucy. It had less repeats and more variety of bands. The whole merger has been a disappointment. I though we were going to have more choices and less cost, what a bust! I feel like those of us who raised our voices to support the merger have been screwed over. Thanks for nothing Mel Karmizen!
@ the folks who are missing Cinemagic, check out StreamingSoundtracks.com
I love SQUIZZ, the person who posted about the gross promo spots on squizz is seriously wierd thats why the channel had the XL on it before. squizz was for the hard rocker liberal folk anyway. I'm gonna miss all the funny promos and such such as sir squizz a lot among others. I hope they can make fun with octane in some way cause i'm already missing it.
I came from XM and I really miss XM the City 67. Sirius 67 Hip Hop Radio uses profanity in the songs but have No XL icon listed online. THIS IS WHAT channel 66 Shade 45 XL is for. Profanity. Hip Hop radio, get rid of the profanity in the songs on channel 67 Sirius! Very disappointed so far!
As a Sirius listener, I love the DJs on the music channels. If I just song after song without interruption I can listen to my IPOD. The DJs on the music channels provide the human touch and connection which makes the radio experience special because you know there is at least one person out there in the world that likes the same music you do. Take a deep breath Xmers. Everything is gonna be alright!!
The decade music channels on Sirius were FAR superior to XM's. My fun and fabulous "Big 80s" was replaced with depressing REO speedwagon on 80 on 8. HUGE mistake.
I don't use the music stations, if I wanted music, I'd burn a CD, plug a USB drive into the stereo port, etc. Sirius has been great, I've lost nothing I ever listen too. I'm not even sure the true future of Sat-rad is even in music as such. CNN, Bloomberg, college football, and now we get all of the rest of XM to boot. Odds are most people will not really notice or care, and those who do will typically stick with it.
yeah to Bob! That's why I started with Sirius in the first place!
I have had both XM and Sirius and like Sirius a lot better than I ever liked XM. I have a friend that just bought a new car and went from Sirius to XM and he hated XM and was always listening to his IPod, so he's happy about the switch over that happened today. However, as with all changes things will take a while to get use to and I'm still dreading the possiblity that Sirius is going to change some of my favorite stations.
what a bad day. i'm glad i didn't drive to work this morning, it would've really started off bad. i can't believe they got rid of the rhyme, it was the best. fungus has been gone for a month at least, also terrible. howard stern, who cares. i like music, not commercials. the only thing i like so far is that they added the led zeppelin channel not long ago. i'm really just amazed they did this to all of us, their customers. i would think the sirius listeners have more to gain but i know they chose sirius for a reason and also feel violated by this merger. now we have d.j.s all over the air, that's a tough one to swallow for xm listeners. i'm severely disappointed.
All you Sirius subscribers who claim that the DJs are better than on XM...the reason I got satellite radio was so I did NOT HAVE TO listen to DJs. I don't want to hear their mindless rabble.
My father has Sirius and it's horrible. Give me my XM back and quit screwing with my lineup!!
My subscription may go away if this doesn't get better.
If it makes some of you XM folks feel better, we Sirius subscribers lost some of our stations too! Our classic hiphop station has been reduced to a daily show on one of three(whoopty doo!) hip hop stations. Not to mention, the hiphop stations (excluding Shade45) appear to be censored now....time to let the Satellite go if this is the best they can do!
Sirius has always been better, and now it will be the best of both services merged together. Although I'm a bit disappointed in the XM decade channels (90's, 80's)...is there anyone interested in ALL of the music from one decade? Grunge rock to boy bands and everything in between....?? The way Siruis had been grouping music together was much better than XMs approach, so I am very concerned about any further programming changes.
I have Sirius...Some of the XM names have came over also..a few of my presets were different this morning too.
I Have XM channels on my dish at home. I wasnt impressed with them so that is why I chose Sirius.
Change is Change,learn to live with it.
I am the 4th person on this comment board to be upset at losing the Punk channel. I can't believe they replaced it with a 24/7 AC/DC channel.
I emailed Sirius and they said they are planning to bring it back in January. Hopefully that is true.
I love having Howard Stern...goodbye XM!
they both could not survive with all the money they spent. i am glad we still have one around. i tried to listen to FM but it is brutal. long live Sirius. Try the NFL Channel 124 GREAT
I've got the Stiletto 2 and it is awesome! I listen to it at work (the 44th floor of my building) WITHOUT those cumbersome headphones or WiFi (can't leech off of my company's) and get a 2 out 3 bar signal without interruption!
Also, the recording capabilities are an added bonus!
Where is BUZZSAW and what is Boneyard... I don't like this. Please don't touch Hair Nation or I'm gone........
Got in my car this morning and drove without even realizing that I didn't have an XM radio. Never had; don't know if I ever will. Had to drive in silence... What a great way to relax... Recommend highly!
Its about time they shut that horrible satellite music company down, I was a subscriber for 6 yrs before cancelling, and when i first got it the quality was excellent, but over time the price went up and the quality plummeted because they split the signal way too many times and it ended up sounding like am radio.
that's what they get for ruining a good product.
hope sirrius learns by their mistake
DON'T SACRIFICE QUALITY FOR QUANTITY.
I agree
Give Richard Christie his own channel!
Saw 70's on 7.....20 on 20..TOP TRACKS is now Vintage vinyl
But we now have E-STREET RADIO all BRUCE all the TIME
I am gonna reserve judgement
and PAY EXTRA FOR HOWARD STERN?..LOLOLOLOL
Opie and Anthony all the way!!
Christine at 1:18 pm ET, you aren't the only one. Where else could we hear 80s Metallica or Slayer or Anthrax or Testament? I'm supposed to be happy with Y&T? Huh? Bring back Boneyard!
I was furious when they put 29 the Punk channel as AC/DC. But, was told it was temporary and now it is gone. If it wasn't for Howard I would cancel and still might.
two words:
Howard Stern
paying 12 dollars a month for radio is absolutely moronic either way. i can't wait til Sirius goes bankrupt
Sirius shares are now at 25 cents so I think all our arguments are moot. I haven't touched my reciever at home since I've discovered Pandora online. Sirius has been a poorly run company since day 1. They paid way to much for Stern and Martha and there hardware has been laffable. Even with the gains from Stern they are mired in debt and really dont seem to care, maybe they are waiting for a bailout check.
Personally I've been waiting for this merger to happen before subscribing to satellite radio. Does anyone have any advice about the type of player I should get? I'm not in my car much so I was thinking about something like a Stiletto. Does anyone know much about this player and if so, will it receive XM? How about reception in a building?
Thanks in advance for your suggestions/advice!
Please, please, please DO NOT TOUCH XM's Old TIme Radio with the best host on the planet, Greg Bell and The Power. Leave these two stations alone! Hands off!! They are the main reasons for me getting satellite radio.
I have had both Sirius and XM in two different cars for the past 5 years or so. I never really found a station on XM that i LOVED. With the merger i am happy to have Sirius in all my cars.
LISTEN UP SIRIUS!!!!
Commercial-free music is a blessing! Make it perfect by ridding the experience of the DJ's altogether! My display does their job itself by showing me the artist and song title! No interruptions would be perfection!!!!!
I am a life time subscriber to both sirius and XM.
My take has always been sirius gets art and XM got GM.
Sirius has exclusive deals with artists like the Grateful Dead, Springsteen and more. I noticed that I now get these channels on my XM.
Oh and Sirius is less repetitious, the dj's are better and there is more variety.
This merger was supposed to improve both company's stations/channels. It amazes me that they narrowed our choices instead of expanded them. What a shame. A big let down by XM/Sirrius. I won't be re-subscribing.
I will miss XCOUNTRY on XM. Outlaw Country on SIRIUS is awful. 3 Hours a day of songs about driving big trucks. Mostly Classic Country and Pop like Clear Channel Country. Very little Alt Country/Americana. It's sad that SIRIUS offers everyting except a real Americana chioce. Welcome to the Revolution!
OH, YOU BIG BABIES!!! Crybabies. Ah...waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
I've had both XM and Sirius, and they are very very similar. I like Sirius' music better anyway. Stop crying, and give it a shot, and you'll soon like the Sirius selections better. Big Crybabies.
Plus, you get NFL. You get Howard. You get Baba booey.
And you get all the same music you used to have.
Not for nothing, but there is a REASON Sirius won out.
Get over your selves.
I have been listening to exactly TWO XM stations. Beyond Jazz and Cinemagic.
And sonofagun... one's gone for the next two months and the other is, well, gone.
Folding in Modern Jazz into Watercolors? Ummm... I don't think so. They playlist isn't compatable. So now I look forward to not ever hearing my favorite MoJa players any more.
Funny.... Sirius cancelled THEIR MoJa channel in '07. Apparently somebody over there doesn't like that kind of music.
So with my two fav stations gone, I'm now wondering why in the heck I'm paying for this service. I somehow suspect that I'll be cancelling in the coming months.
Well that's the final straw.. there's a reason I chose XM several years ago and that's because Sirius SUCKS. My brand new xMP3 would not turn on at all this morning (coincidence??) so I'll be returning it and canceling my subscription tonight. I'd rather listen to my Zune or FM radio than DJ's talking about crappy music.
I don't mind the commercials as much as the inane chatter on regular radio. Just a point, if I, in the least bit, could stomach Howard Stern, I would've purchased Sirius in the first place. I can't and I didn't for a reason, plus it's more blah-blah-blah that I didn't like on radio.
Miss Ethel greatly. Alt. nation not the same.
Before I say anything, has anyone looked at the Sirius stock price lately? $0.25. They might not be around much longer either. You can't keep losing $100's of millions a year, sign the talent they have signed and stay in business. Maybe Mel can pull the co. out of the crapper before we all have to go back and listen to broadcast.
I have/had both systems. Started with XM in the car and now have 5 subscriptions. One Sirius subscription in the new car. I got Howard back, but I must say the Sirius play lists are border line pathetic sometimes. There is repetition on both radios, but XM was superior. Especially with the older music. Sirius plays nothing obscure from the old days even thought both have claimed a playlist of 5 million songs.
One more thing. Has anyone experienced a "lack of signal" or inconsistent signal with Sirius. Especially when you drive? XM in the car occasionally would miss, but driving the same routes, same time of day, Sirius is pathetic. Go under a tree with no leaves, side of a hill, under a cloud, etc. and the signal drops out. Almost unlistenable, if that's a word. That's my biggest complaint.
I have been extremely happy with Sirius. There's a ton of good content and I really like being able to get all the NFL & NBA Games. I'd renew for twice the price. My wife loves listening to Howard Stern (that's why we got Sirius)
I got XM for Cinemagic (ch. 27) and now it is off the air until January 1st?! I don't mind it moving to another channel, but I hope the do not get rid of Dave Z.
I should request a partial refund.
No more Squizz... Are you kidding me? After renewing for 3 years only because of Squizz. Octane is awful. I've looked into canceling satellite radio – you can cancel without penalty.
All I can say is Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius 25...what more can anyone need?
As an XM subscriber from WAAAAAY back, and also a theatre director, I sincerely hope that the new lineup will keep what used to on XM28 (On Broadway). John von Soosten is a theatre genius with his knowledge of shows and the background of songs, and "Downstage Center" on Fridays gave an amazing look backstage with star performers. Kind of like Inside the Actor's Studio on radio. My XM28 preset is gone as of this morning. Let's just hope that the "flamboyant" Amaazing Seth won't be von Soosten's replacement, or the curtain has come down on Sirius for me.
I am both Sirius and XM subscriber. Sirius for my car and XM for protable radios. I too am not happy with the changes as eveyone else has spoken about.
But, if you want to see the future of Radio go to http://www.slacker.com. Once they add the satellite possibilities to this service it will signal the end of Sirius / XM.
need 29 punk back...
Stop complaining about small changes; we all should be happy that our satellite radio service still exists. I was worried that the merger would be rejected and both companies would flop and then all of us would be without any terrestrial radio alternatives.
Babba Booey Babba Booey!
I didn't even know the change was going to happen until I got into my car and realized my presets had different stations on them. I pondered if someone had messed with my car the night before. I guess some getting use to is in order, however, I do wish I had had some notice to all of it. Is this going to cause a rise in the monthly price?
I'm a Sirius subscriber and I'm disappointed, too. A few of my favorite channels have been replaced by inferior XM channels.
Hey Andrew...not saying anything bad about you, but have you also noticed that there's more commercial stations with the new 'improved' channel lineup? I'm a fan of 100% commercial-free stations. I hope it doesn't go the way of cable =o(
AudioVisions is gone and replaced with some piece of crap called "The Spa".
As a Sirius subscriber, I have lost one of my favorites in "Backspin" (old school hip-hop). They changed my "Left of Center" to "Sirius XMU" and I have no idea if it will be the same, although they did keep some of the DJs and the blog radio shows. Also, I now have "Deep Classic Rock" and can't tell if this will be the same as the prior deeper cut classic rock channel. Additionally, I can't tell what the hell "The Loft" is going to play and how different it will be from "The Coffee House." I am looking forward to "Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio" and am happy they didn't get rid of the "Underground Garage." Will "B.B. King's Bluesville" going to be like the previous blues channel Sirius featured? I hope so, as that was another favorite. One more thing, for my daughter, who is nearing 5 years old, I hope "Kids Place Live" plays the same music that "Kid Stuff" played, or she just lost her only channel.
For me, thank God they didn't get rid of Howard, but to be honest I don't know why they kept two channels for him. From a budget standpoint I would put more music on the channels, and less DJs, assuming the music doesn't cost more.
As to the music DJs, I would like to get more background information about the songs and bands they are playing, and less random talking in an attempt to fill time, be humorous and be interesting. The random talking usually goes nowhere and more often than not is not humorous or interesting.
In the future they should cut channels named for personalities who were not previously involved in terrestrial radio, i.e. Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, and Jamie Foxx. If necessary, just have one channel featuring these personalities.
First I lost Music Lab a year ago. Now Fine Tuning (one of its supposed replacements) is gone, too. Slowly, but surely, the magic of satellite radio programming is disappearing.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA XM is no more WAAAAAAA
I miss the Pure Jazz djs, they were very knowledgeable. Paul and Les lived the stuff, they'd play a cut, tell a story and I would go find the CD. I hope they bring them back to some extent. I was afraid of this, no DJs are cheaper. Sad..........
I got in my car this morning and could not figure out why my preset stations said something different. They took my favorite station off the air. Not sure if I'm gonna like the new Sirus/XM.
Well, I'm pretty much ready to cancel my 3 subs. They totally screwed up Squizz, which was the only channel I listened to. My wife is Sirius-ly angry with the country changes, and my son is furious with the changes to comedy... It's horrible...
I'm mainly a college/indie music fan and XMU was much more adventurous then the replacement (SiriusXM U?). Part of the reason I chose XM over Sirius. My wife's car came with Sirius from the dealer and she prefers that over all of the no-name indie songs I listen(ed) to.
I was fuming on the drive in to work this morning, and finding time in my day to cancel it all.
But then I thought, Wait, what am I going to listen to then? Broadcast Radio? HA!!! Even though I felt the DJ's on XM were much more talented, the Sirius alternatives are way better then any of the annoying FM stations in the Greater DC area!!
What's happened that people need to be entertained 24/7? I don't have time for this. I listen to local talk radio (WPLR) for laughs, traffic, weather, Classic Rock in the morning and on the way home. Why pay for satellite? It's just another hand in your pocket lightening your wallet. Cell Phones; texting. i-pods, PLEASE!!! Too many distractions. Focus on your driving or doing your J-O-B. I like peace and quiet when I can have it. Try listening to your own thoughts for a change.
I have XM, my girlfriend has Sirius. After listening to the Sirius lineup in her car on several occasions I came to the conclusion that Sirius sucks compared to XM. She agrees. Hopefully they won't destroy the XM play lists and lineups to badly....
I haven't been in my car yet today to see what has changed, but one thing I REALLY hope won't change is the traffic channels. Sirius traffic is HORRIBLE compared to the XM offerings. I got XM for two reasons: better traffic reports, as I do a ton of east-cost driving, and the fact that it did not have Howard Stern, whom I loathe. If the XM traffic is gone, then I'm absolutely cancelling my subscription.
Go to xmradio.com or sirius.com, leave feedback and tell them that the new channel lineup sucks. Also, the best of Sirius (and best of XM for that matter) sucks. The Best of Sirius is Howard Stern, Martha Stewart and Sports? Talk about a crappy radio service. And I'll knock Best of XM, which is more sports, Oprah and The Virus. I would have rather that the best of Sirius MUSIC stations, not talk.
XM Subscribers....get over it. I know a few people that had both and they all said the XM sucks. You will love Sirius! The music is great and the NFL package is the BOMB! Baaa Baaa BOOOOEY!!!
Don't dispair XM listeners. Sirius is awesome!! I would be devastated if Sirius went away...so I can understand your frustration, but trust me when I say you'll find a station you'll like...and then you'll grow to love it. There are so many gems out there, some personal favorites, The Spectrum, Classic Vinyl, Margaritaville, Little Steven's Underground Garage, Sirius Sinatra and of course Howard.
I too was suddenly shocked by my XM radios today! My favorite channel was 77: Audiovisions, and now it has been transformed to the somewhat similar 72: Spa. And my second-favorite channel was 76: Fine Tuning which the "friendly Sirius XM customer service representative" who I talked to on the phone today told me was now Channel 50, but actually 50 is The Loft and the playlist and format seem very different from what was on Fine Tuning.
I've had Sirius since 2002 and it is great, way better than regular radio, especially with the addition of Lithium. However, they canned a station like Beyond Jazz last year and now they canned it on XM, stupid idea. And, yes, I am mad about BoomBox not being around any more, another dumb idea. Sirius, stop canning stations without asking subscribers first. I, for one, could care less about RadioDisney.
I picked up XM because I could finally get good techno music and electronicica without annoying commercials or talking. I hate sports, can't stand talk shows, and really could care less about music older than I am. If it weren't for the newer undiscovered groups that play a good techno based rhythm I wouldn't care if I had satellite radio.
That being said, I'm less than pleased with this switch. I'm afraid these more sports and mainstream groups will over take what made XM great in my mind. This Christmas, the music channel that made fun of the holidays will be missed if they don't bring that back too. I'm not a holidays person so that was one of the few things that actually did kind of cheer me up during that time.
Sirius (IMHO) has always been second rate for people like me, which is why I purchased XM instead. I own three XM radios which are all currently active... what a waste if it keeps becoming Sirius-ified. 🙁
Everyone, sounds like a bunch of whiners to me!!! Get over it! We all got satelite radio for one reason and that was because we were sick of all the ad clutter on traditional broadcast. I love my satelite radio and subscribed to XM in one car and Sirius in the other. I couldn't be more happy with the merger and to be able to have so many options is terrific. For everyone that can't get over the merger or the loss of a station, cancel your subcription right now and quit your complaining. There isn't anyone holding a gun to your head to subscribe. Got back to traditional broadcast and see if you are any happier!
What's all the fuss about? I listen to internet radio at work, at home and even in my car now with my new phone. And don't tell anyone....but you don't even have to pay for it! Check out shoutcast or itunes for streaming radio. I keep to the 24seven.fm stations myself.
i love sirius. i know i'd feel the same way as the xm fans if it went the other way. my choice for sirius in the beginning was always due to howard. howard got me hooked, the bonus is all the great music stations. give it a chance guys.
Don't worry, they didn't warn us Sirius subs either. Got in my car and Big Band was on! So we've got a bunch of changes too. Hubby has XM, so I'm glad to get a few of those channels – like The Loft. But don't worry Todd, you'll get plenty of the Cure, Depeche Mode and New Order on 1st Wave!
"Whaaah I have no XM! Whaaaaaa my favorite radio stations are gone!" Grow up you losers! You can finally listen to Howard Stern who is way better than any of those copy cat shock jocks like Douchey and Anthony. Bubba is also great. Maybe you guys can finally learn what good radio is all about. Viva la Howard!!!
FFFFFFFrrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuunkus!!!!!!!!!!
I was VERY disappointed this morning in the change. I understand the reason for the merger but an email that came thru at 3 am this morning (seriously) is NOT going to cut it. I liked XM better because there was minimal DJ garbage....So tired of DJs who are nowhere near as entertaining as THEY think they are......Step up Sirius or you are going to see a very large dip in subscribers
Bababooie!!
Damn, Sam. Sirius doesn't have the movie soundtracks stations. Guess I just saved myself a buncha money now that I don't have to buy a satellite radio for my car. 🙁
Argghhhh.... this is not good news. The new channel lineup is more limited than ever. And some of the 'suggestions' for replacing the deleted channels are absurd. How in the world is "70s on 7" a good substitute for Chrome (the old disco channel)? Get with the program, XM!
I wonder if you Sirius guys will have to pay extra for MLB like us XMers have to pay for NFL. I don't want Howard or Playboy or Martha. Just give me NFL. Why do I have to pay more???
Nothing but smooth jazz baby... and all is well on Watercolors 71... at least it was when I left for work this morning!
Sirius is sort of like the White House before last week's election...NO DIVERSITY!!!
I've subscribed to XM for 5 years and have been an avid fan of Soul Street and Suite 62. When I checked my email this morning I got the new lineup email from the wonderful folks at Sirius that I was now up a creek as far as good music was concerned.
I like Motown, grew up to it; but not ALL the darn time. I listened for 3 hours to Soul Town and 85% of the songs were Motown. I can scream. Soul Street had such a diverse playlist and now all there is is MOTOWN.
My 2 subscriptions are history Sirius.
I am a previous subscriber to Sirius and think this may be a welcome change to the line-ups currently available for Sirius subscribers. They have a variety of channels to choose from but they still play the same music over and over just like terrestrial stations. I can hear the same music without paying a monthly fee, so I cancelled my subscription. I don't listen to a lot of "Talk" stations so I don't know how XM compares in that area. Anyway, it can't be good that there is only 1 option for satellite radio now. I guess I'll wait and see before I subscribe again.
As a long time XM subscriber, and short term Sirius one (since March, due to new car) I am not happy with the changes that they've put in place. I'm glad to have Deep Tracks back in my car, but that's about it. The appeal of XM when I got it five years ago was no commercials, and varied programming that I couldn't find otherwise. We've still got no commercials, but, with the loss of stations like Fine Tuning, there's no longer anything on Sirius XM that you can't find elsewhere.
In their FCC filing to make the merger work, they noted that iPods are a competitor, and they certainly are. I fail to see how playing mainstream music that everyone is familiar with, or, even worse, "single artist stations" that play Led Zeppelin 24/7, is supposed to compete there. If I'm a big Zep fan, I already have all their music on my iPod, why am I going to sign up for satellite radio because they have an all-Zep station?
The cost of eclecticness (on a limited basis) is zero, with the potential upside of appealing to someone with something they don't already have access to. The cost of sameness (which is what the new channel line up reflects, not to mention the limited Sirius playlists) is that you don't stand out as anything interesting, and you've lost a key market differentiator.
Their programming philosophy makes no sense to this listener. I'll be cancelling my extra XM subscription, and will have to really think about it when my free year is up on the car radio.
PAY FOR Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, NASCAR & Playboy? NOT IN THIS LIFE TIME HAHAHA. For what we spend each month, they should be given to us. We shouldn't be forced to pay another $4 and change. XM...i've had you for years.......but you're making my iPOD look pretty sweet....
Fred (44) is now "First Wave"? Should a station called "First Wave" be playing EMF's "Unbelieveable"? No, that belongs on the '90s channel. Chill (84) also got gutted, nice work guys. Also, Chrome (83) got pulled. And the XM player which was buggier than ever is now just toally annoying. The reason this merger went through was because there are supposed to be other "alternatives". Maybe I should test this theory and go back to terrestrial radio and my mp3 player. Keep giving me reasons to bolt, guys....
Did they can Maxim Radio 108?
This is the FM-ization of satellite radio... the mediocre take over again...I will miss Fred...I loved Depeche Mode and New Order every third song....They better not mess with my Old Time Radio..if i don't listen to Jack Benny and Rochester at least once a week I go insane. We need more Bob Dylan airtimes....it is the greatest thing going...remember the show he did on guns and how he got into the history of the Krupp family of Germany...the guy is amazing... it's the most stimulating show on the air. Leave it to us to take somethinng as truly innovative and edgy as XM was and then allow it to be turned into schlock for the masses. Like the Food network...it was great when it first came on...now its a bunch of crappy game shows. ,,all the goos food shows are on the Travel Channel....oh well time marches on it can't be as bad as the 70's ever again...can it?
what's your prawblem? once you get used to sirius you'll like it
s i r i u s
don't be immature.
there's a dog park right by my house and i never have a prawblem with my signal.
enough of this xm stuff.
Bring Lucy back!!!!
That channel was great. I will probably cancel my subscription.
I tried both and Sirius was by far superior. I don't like however the fact that Sirius wants to charge more for the additional XM channels that I didn't like in the first place.
I too was SHOCKED by the change over this morning. I knew it would come at some point, but it would have been nice if someone gave us a little warning! I have been a loyal XM subscriber for a LONG time (and a Sirus trash talker) but I am trying to keep an open mind.
My XM Skyfi (one of the originals) is on to and from work, and all day in my office, and I couldn't believe the amount of DJ chatter this morning. That is one of the reasons I hate regular radio. So if they can keep that under control – and give us some good variety – I'll keep up my subscription. If not, I am going to have to become an Ipod loyalist like the rest of the world.
I miss Squizz!
Sirius was generous to rescue dopey XM. Sirius programming is 10x better than XM!
Sirius 20 Octane is my fav channel for those of you who like new Rock. hardattack channel 27 is good as well. There is also shady 45 for those who like rap/hip-hop. Sirius is a great service I LOVE IT!!!!
I have Sirius myself, have had XM. I *HATE* XM's dance stations, they don't have any DJ Personalities, just non-stop music. Now all of XM's dance stations are on Siruis with the exception of the Area which is the only station we managed to keep on Siruis, the rest just blow.
The Vault used to be a great channel on Sirius and now it sucks. Kristine Stone is no longer on the Vault (from what I can tell). Mergers suck.
I have had Sirius for about 3 years and love it. I do feel for you XM subscribers because if they got rid of Sirius I would be crushed. Any of the stations from 19-25 (minus Hair Nation /23) are great and you can't go wrong. I could care less about the personalities, that's why I left broadcast radio. So, welcome XM listeners and enjoy the music.
I guess I can deal but I had the same reaction this morning myself because I love XM 65, old school hip-hop. I'll see if I can warm up to it but honestly it's still better than FM radio because in Atlanta, FM radio sucks!!!!!!!!
I thought the whole point of the merger was to incorporate the best of both worlds. It just appears that Sirius decided to ditch all of XM's music stations and substitute wtih their own. Out of all the rock stations I regularly listened, not one has remained. This is such a rip off.
SIRIUS is way better, no worries. SIRIUS 32 is all you need!
I was glad the switch happened while I am still in my 3 month trial. I feel bad for anyone that just subscribed for more than a month.
Up until this morning when I got in my car and found that 4 of my stations had disappeared, and 2 others were not playing anything I enjoyed, I had been planning on subscribing. Not anymore.
I'm going back to broadcast FM and my mp3. At least when a station changes format, it's one at a time. Not all of my stations on the same morning. Way to go Siruis XM.
I have both XM and Sirius. Although I liked the content on XM better, my bigger concern is that XM always seemed more reliable than Sirius. I have had some difficulty with my XM receiver maybe a reset would help.
Hopefully, Sirius will start treating customers better. A warning about the change would have at minimum of what they should have done. Secondly, where is my discount for having a second radio now they are the same company.
I signed up for XM a few years ago because I got tired of all the talk on radio. I signed into XM online this morning and thought I was listening to the radio again. It the DJ talk continues I'm going back to regular radio. At least that way I don't have to pay to listen to useless babble.
I was soooooooooooo disappointed when I started the truck this morning and instead of going Beyond Jazz, I was greated to silence. After the shock was over, I pulled out the iPod and fired up "On the Corner" by Mies Davis!
Howard 100....... nuff said
Worse yet, XM didn't notify (via e mail or otherwise) of the changes! They simply took place and I'm furious. They took away Audio Visions (on of my faves) and simply let Sirius dominate the lineup. It bites big time.
Sirius has "stupid" radio such as the NASCAR channel (help me), ONE holiday tunes channel (XM had 4-6 of them!), the worst rock stations (who can take the Dead and/or Springstein 24/7) and I HATE, with a capital H, Howard Stern (who's pay, I'm sure, is going to cause my subscription to go through the roof).
I have home, car and the XM Boombox and am considering stopping all of it.
What a SIRIUS letdown.
Sirius is outstanding. They have TRULY commercial-free music channels with all of the music you seem to think you'll be missing from XM. Plus-there's Howard Stern. I think those of you who are long-time XM listeners will be pleasantly surprised!
I miss Ethel. She was a lovely creature. AltNation is, so far, exactly what I thought it was – the reason I did not activate the available Sirius in my new car and kept XM.....
Come on guys – the XM playlist is not the Boogeyman! My husband and I have had XM in two of our cars, and my new car had Sirius. We always listen to Channel 71 and 72 (Watercolors – contemporary Jazz and Real Jazz). And I preferred Watercolors to the Sirius Jazz Cafe. I was pretty surprised this morning during my commute to see the XM stations displayed. I think I would agree that if some channels have disappeared, Sirius should consider reinstating. I know lots of people prefer talk, but for me – hey, as long as the music is good, I will keep on subscribing!!
I only listened to old school hip and r&b. The r&b is there but not the old school hip hop. Come April, unless there is a change in programming, I am done with Sirius/XM
There are so many things to say, I don't know where to start:
I used to have Sirius and I have had XM for the past few years, I have grown to like XM so much more, and it's a shame to see that this merger seemed to have taken the worst of both stations and put them together.
What pea-brained execs decided what should stay and what should go?
Shouldn't they have asked the subscribers what they think?? WE are the ones who are paying to listen........
1. Fred- One of my favorite stations is now First wave, great, half the playlist and twice the garbage. I get to hear "alternative" songs that a 4 yr old would be familiar with. Fred delved way deeper into the alternative vaults than First Wave, which just skims the top alternative artists and just their more notable songs.
2. Chrome- A great disco/funk/R&B station. What makes this worse than Fred's situation, is that they didn't merge this with their Sirius counterpart, THEY JUST TOOK OFF BOTH CHANNELS. Please tell me what the reason was for this??
Give me some reason to the madness........
So now we see what the point of the Sirius-XM merger was: namely, DaimlerChrysler, part II. By what I'm gleaning from the majority of the posts here, they all same to be saying the same thing: XM seems to have gone the way of the Dodo and is like Atari, now just a brand name rather than an identity.
I suppose I should have seen this coming; this is an unfortunate way of change. And I'm going to miss several of my favorite programs (XMU's Pitch Control) and channels (Lucy, Ethel, Fred, etc.). In the end, all I can say is that Sirius should remember that people bought XM for what it is and not for a Sirius clone, or there will be an exodus akin to what regular radio is dealing with.
I'm disappointed for an entirely different reason – I was one of the original 20 or so XM employees (working with Joe Titlebaum) that nursed the concept of XM in the basement confines of an office building in Georgetown. It's like seeing your baby leave home, vaya con dios, XM.
So, that's what happened to my favorite channels. They've been discarded. I've been a loyal XM customer since 2002. I am downright peeved and what's with not notifying their customers? After scanning up and down, I already see the difference and agree with whoever said that listening to a DJ that's not only familiar, but someone you like, is just wrong.
I'm so used to XM, I rarely listen to FM while in my car. I guess time will tell if I cancel or not.
RIP XM, I'll miss you.
Careful Sirius, you might lose alot of loyal XM'ers.
To Sirius – if you're smart, you'll broaden the scope of what you play.
My sister Alice (she's crazy sometimes) asked me if Sirius XM is going to give Fred his own show now?
First XM Killed off my favorite style of music (prog rock) by pulling the plug on Music Lab and now with Fine Tuning gone. I'm highly upset.
Such fantastic artist's such as Marillion will not be played on the new merger.
I have been a Sirius subscriber for a few years. Some things for you XM subscribers to hear:
1. The Alt station on Sirius is pure garbage. I am a big alternative music listener, and their AltNation channel is rubbish. All they play is pop-punk. It should be illegal to label it "alternative". First Wave on the other hand is really good, as is Lithium. If you want new alternative, try the "college" radio station, now called Sirius XMU. Its more obscure stuff, but at least it isn't Blink clones.
2. The DJs are annoying, but its still better than listening to commercials.
3. They didn't tell us Sirius listeners about the change either. I got in my car this morning, it did an update, and a bunch of my channels were gone, moved, or changed names. I got to work, and checked my e-mail. there was a mass mailing from Sirius in there about it. So don't feel bad, we didn't get a lot of info either.
4. If you dig 80s tunes, the Sirius 80s channel is really good. It has all of the surviving original MTV veejays as DJs. That in itself is pretty cool.
Anyway, I am hoping that with new channels and new customers, some of the stuff I didn't like about Sirius will change.
Personally –
It was a little awkward getting in the car today and not understanding what happened to 3 of my presets. I got to work and logged online and got the new line up and have been listening to the new stations ever since. Some stations are actually better and to Bob channel 113 is special broadcast for each holiday and right now channel 81 has contemporary holiday music.
To all the negativity – give it a week. I had XM for 2 years and my husband was a sirius subscriber. After numerous trips with him (driving) I switched, due to the variety. XM played alot of the same music every hour.. Not so with Sirius (Unless you are on 01 – top 40 hits).
My biggest letdown was the lack of communication from XM/Sirius/whatever as well. Not a single email came to my XM account about what was going on. How hard is it to put an email together, especially something in plain text?
Other than that... I've never listened to Sirius so I guess we'll see what happens in time. I picked XM in the first place though because I didn't want to support Howard Stern, so unless it's amazing I'll probably cancel.
We Sirius subscribers lost a lot, too. For one thing, the decade stations–now known by their XM names, like 50s on 5, 60s on 6–were much better on Sirius. I'm afraid they've been XM-ified. And perhaps the greatest satellite radio station of all time, Sirius Disorder, is now gone. It's a shame.
I don't care what the FCC says, it's a monopoly. I'll give Sirius a chance, I mean what choice do I have (see monopoly) it's not like I want to listen to the crappy local stations (yes you Dallas, TX) if I did I wouldn't have bought the XM in the first place. We'll see, I guess...
I had Sirius and recently got XM, and much preferred XM. My main complaint with Sirius (and one that has already been mentioned) is that the DJs talk too much! And they talk over the songs, which used to drive me up the wall. If I wanted to listen to people talk, I could listen to broadcast radio for free. I pay to enjoy good music. If the new combined company continues in that old footstep of Sirius, it will definitely be goodbye for me!
Give it time. Sirius is far superior to that of XM.
XM died the day they got rid of Fungus 53!
noooooooooo where is my boombox!!!!!
The switch this morning made me really mad. Every channel I had on favorites is now something else and from what I've heard worse then it was before. One of my favorites The Rhyme is not completely gone and there's not even a similar station to take its place. The channel they suggested is not even close to the original. I just got the Best of Sirius package and feel as if I got duped because its basically an entirely XM free line up now.
I have my cheers and jeers for the change as an XM Subscriber. My big cheers is having Nascar back on my XM Radio. For two years I had to annoyingly find where the local radio station was playing a race when I'm on a road trip. How missed not doing that. Also glad to have the NFL though I wish there was an easy way for XM people to listen to the games online. Being a 49ers fan in Redskin territory is not easy. Of course now I listen to Howard Stern on the way to work and Bubba the Love Sponge on the way home (resign him Sirius!!!). I also am in a way glad Squizz became Octane. It looks like Grant Random and Bhodi will be in Octane, and I won't miss those horrific, gross and not funny promo spots they use for the channel.
My jeers is of course no more of the System, and The Rhyme. The lack of seeing a XL on the channel line up next to Octane also worries me.
Its still better then FM radio so quit your whining and do a little scanning will ya? How do you think us Sirius people felt after 15 + years of tuning into Howard every morning and then suddenly he wasnt there for us anymore?
I've been having a bad week and was so looking forward to getting into the car this morning to listen to Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio. Imagine my surprise when XM2 wasn't even listed. Started scanning the other stations and alot of the names had changed. Some of the channels that used to be commercial free are now playing commercials or there are DJ's talking between every song. Guess we should have known they were going commercial when Fungus was changed to the ACDC station. What's next....the all Brittney Spears station?
I was really bummed this morning on the way to work. They replaced my favorite station, to which my radio has usually been tuned for the past 2.5 years, with an “ambient music” channel called “spa”. It’s really sad…
I probably won't resubscribe this year.
Jamie
Imagine my surprise when I got in my car this morning and discovered my favorite Sirius station overtaken by it's XM counterpart. I liked nothing about it before (had XM on my satellite provider) and one reason I chose Sirius over XM. I guess this will take some getting used to by all of us.
CRAP, I forgot Bodhi!!! You kick Grant's ass you kick ass so much!
Please tell me that Plash Phelps is stil the DJ on the 60's. What a tragic loss if he is gone!!
YOU XMers now have HOWARD STERN!!!! I hope Opie and Anthony go bye bye....
I LOVE MY XM. At Thanksgiving one year, we were asked what we were thankful the most for during the past year and my first thought was my XM. And I am a 45 year mom! You mentioned Fred and my favorite station is Ethel - please don't change the format!
Where is Meg Griffin and Sirius Disorder? It was my favorite of all the Sirius channels.
My solution, I bought a new stereo with a MP3 file reader with an USB port on the faceplace. I can just plug in my 8 meg flash drive into the front of my new stereo, filled with over a thousand 80's songs. I just have the stereo set to randomize the files. Instant radio station, no chatter, not in the mood for teh new song, just go to the next. Works wonderful. Sure I can have XM or HD radio with the same stero, but why?
I subscribed to Sirius back when satellite was in its infancy. After Sirius started retooling their so-called "urban" (R&B/hip-hop) stations, I bailed for the better offerings at XM and have been there for over three years. I was seriously disappointed today to find that The Rhyme (65) has been replaced by some mainstream new hip-hop channel. For those of us who appreciate old-school hip hop in all its glory and can't stomach the newer (terrible) stuff...this is a huge setback. I am also not too thrilled with the updated format on the former Suite 62, which is now Heart & Soul. When I buy a new car within the next year, I will probably cancel my service and stick to my mp3's.
Long live SQUIZZ!!! I'll miss ya buddy! Grant Random rules! Octane is good I guess... I hope the DJs rule.
I started as an XM listener but jumped to Sirius when XM scummed out and added commercials to the music channels after specifically advertising themselves as "commercial-free radio." XM had some format advantages, but I enjoy Sirius and they've never yet lied to me. I hope the XM executives responsible for the marketing deception were fired.
We've had XM for years (car/home), then got Sirius when we purchased our boat. We continued to subscribe to both simultaneously. I have to say, I always preferred Sirius. I am excited about the change that occurred today. Especially Margaritaville and the Led Zeppelin channels. Yay, Sirius!
I have been a Sirius subscriber for about a year now. I checked out the new channel list and found that Backspin is no more. It is one of the main stations I listen to. I thought with this merger we would be getting more music...not losing stations. I am very disappointed.
I was VERY unhappy this morning when I got in my truck. It sucks so far. They've gotten rid of all Audio Visions accept some channel called SPA. Audio Visions was the best channel for long drives. If they don't broaden the menu, I'll be cancelling my subscription.
Everyone is complaining about XM being gone. Don't forget, us Sirus subscribers have lost channels too. XM subscribers are not the only ones being inconvienced.
I have been a Sirius subscriber for many years, actually switched from XM. I love it! To the person wondering if there will be holiday channels, rest assured there will be. There were at least 3 halloween channels this years and there are always Christmas channels. To all XM subscribers, please give it time. I'm sure you will be happy in the end. Octane channel 20 ROCKS!
As a long time Sirius subscriber, all I can say is have patience. Its like switching from cable TV to dish network, the same material is there, just takes time to get used to where it is!
Think of it as having the best of both worlds. You still get MLB, but now can get the rest of the sports. And dont foget Howard Stern (you either hate him or love him!)
I was upset that the Rhyme (80's hip hop) and Chrome (disco from the 70's) is no longer around. I miss Beyond Jazz as well. As long as they kept XM Chill and the Move (now Area) I guess I can get used to it. Hopefully they won't get rid of the baseball package, otherwise I will definitely cancel.
I have to say that I was ticked when I got in the car this morning and found a number of my stations changed or gone for good. Where was the notice to XM listeners? Is this how Sirius treats it's paying customers? And DJ's talking on the stations left??? I got XM for the express reason of now talking just music. I have about 3 months on my 1 year subscription so Sirius, you'd better do some good things or say good bye to what would have been a loyal customer.
I've had XM radio for about 3 years now and the one thing I always have enjoyed was the diversity of the music programming. So far today, as I'm transitioning to the new Sirius music programming, I find myself very leery the same appeal will be there with the kinds of music being played on the stations I listen to (XM48 Squizz, now Octane; XM47 Ethel, now Alt Nation; XM41 Liquid Metal; same name but same DJ's?). My brother has had Sirius for about the same number of years and he always said to me that XM had better music but Sirius had better talk personalities (Howard Stern, etc.) I hope Sirius doesn't think they can skimp on the music programming in the hopes that XM subscribers will flock to their "Best of Sirius" lineup for additional cost. If Sirius XM were smart, they'd try to get better shows on board that appeal to larger audiences and provide quality entertainment like The Bob & Tom show out of Indianapolis.
When I originally previewed both XM and Sirius, I hated Sirius with a passion. It was everything I was trying to get away from. The slick packaging, the repetitions of songs everybody already knows (and tends to sing at sports events), and the general frat-boy mentality. I didn't feel that Howard Stern was really that big of a selling point.
XM, on the other hand, let me experience many different types of music I never would have come in contact with otherwise. French rap, obscure Jazz, the occasional classical piece that even NPR doesn't throw on the turntable, were all there. It was more for the laid-back alternative/indie music crowd than "greatest hits" . It was nice to have a channel that covered most of my childhood with its music, and I loved Fungus.
The channels I discovered as of this morning have a different feel entirely. I'm not even bothering with the mainstream stuff, and dove deep in to the list to make sure the world music was still there. I'm hiding there until until "Faction" starts sounding more like Fungus did and I can be sure there will be holiday music channels, as another mentioned.
It's not that all change is bad... it's just that the feel of XM was very different from the feel of Sirius, and I feel like I'm losing more than I'm gaining in this merger.
I listened to The System while in my automobile and Audio Visions to put me to sleep at night, then while I slept. 95% of my listening was these two channels. The Chill has been around for a while but It's not as appealing to me as Audio Visions. With these two stations gone, I'm cancelling my subscription for both the in-house and car receivers.
Hey now! They changed Left of Center??? That is so not good.
I am also waiting for baseball. NFL Channel is great, especially Peter King on Wednesday mornings. And we all know this switch is all do to the #1 radio personality, Howard Stern. And he introduced me to Bubba the Love Sponge which made my radio experience better. When will they say "Bye" to O and A?
I have Sirius, I've had Sirius since 2003. My mom's car had XM. Whenever I was home to see her I would try to listen to XM and I couldn't. I found myself listening to the regular radio. I am very pleased with Sirius. My husband listens to Howard, I listen to Hits 1 and the Pulse along with Siriusly Sinatra. My dad has Sirius and loves the comedy channels. I think once people get over the change they will be quite pleased with Siruis.
I'm also upset about The System (XM82) vanishing. The new channel on 80 is not nearly as good. Reading all the other comments is rather disheartening. I hope Sirius listens to what the XM customers are saying.
I've been a sirius subscriber since HS announced his move. Today I find Backspin, Boombox, and Buzzsaw are all gone along with many more? I'm thinking of canceling and just downloading stern for ipod. Work blocks the stream anyway. Backspin? who in their right mind would remove old school rap?
being a sirius subscriber for several years, i find no problems. my stations still there and kickin. one question i have for everybody saying it is too repetitive, haven't you only had it for one morning now? how can it already be repetitive? each genre usually has several stations, try another one
Dave...will you be my emotional friend!
I actually missed Sirius. I had to change to XM when I leased my new car. The channel I listen to on Sirius had a much better playlist than XM. So heres hoping the new Sirius/XM will adopt the Sirius playlist.
Don't jump to conclusions just yet the merger is the best thing for both companies and for us the listening public, We would have no satilite radio since both companies would have been out of business in a year or two if not for the merge, look at the station listings and you will find something to make you happy I know people don't like change however just chill you will find something you enjoy plus all sports & Howard Stern & others. I have 5 Sirius subscriptions & 2 XM going forward I will still have all 7 in my cars, boat, home & portable radio. I am so pleased to have access to all the programming offered so I ask that you relax & enjoy what you have before canceling I bet you find something on one of the many stations that you can't live without. good luck...
I switched last year from XM to Sirius. XM's classic alternative station was crap and Sirius 1st Wave is much better (although a bit too much repetition). The only thing I missed was POTUS and now I have it! So, all's right with my radio world.
Wh-wha-what?
I just somebody comment that Sirius Boombox was gone!!!
What a sad day, indeed. They played great mashups.
I had XM from the beginning and switched 2 years ago. Couldn't be happier. Just give it a chance and you will see.
Imagine my surprise when I came to work this morning and no longer had 110 and 113 on my presets. Finally found that classical and classical pops had moved to 77 and 78. When I went to 77 and 78, although the display says I should be listening to Weber, Mozart and Tchaikovsky, etc., what's playing is elevator music, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra and the like. NOT a first good impression SIRIUS.
Wow...why do the Sirius DJs talk so much? Zip it guys... I already know what song is playing from the display!
Radio is dead. Do yourself a favor and get an interface installed in the car that will charge your iPod as it plays. I've had one in my car for years and don't even have any stations preset on my radio. What's the point? I have 20,000 songs at my fingertips and I don't have to worry about liking the next song or listening to some out of touch douche ramble on about nothing. Well worth the small investment.
I'm a big fan of 80's metal – especially the more obscure stuff that never got much airplay. So imagine how disappointed I was to turn on XM41 this morning to discover it's now called "Hair Nation" – a channel that plays nothing but "hits" with a condescending tone. I did hear that a number of the original XM channels are being revamped and will return in January, but if it's anything like the current Sirius programming, I'll be canceling my subscription after 7 happy years with XM. Sad...
..and a Babbabooey to you all!
I've been a Sirius subscriber since January '06.
I love Howard to death, and as much as I love it for music and news programming, sadly I am still disappointed with 1st Wave. It's as if they took the worst elements of the cheesy Top 40 style-format and applied it to the alternative sound from the 80's, so all you really hear are the songs you can still hear on terrestrial radio. I dig Richard Blade – the man has a wealth of knowledge that rivals just about anyone, but it feels like they've forced him to play nothing but Yaz. I'm hopeful maybe the merger will bring over some talent with a little more edge. Guess we'll have to wait and see...
I'm a Sirius subscriber and was horrified this morning when three of my top 5 stations disappeared! No more Sirius Punk, apparently we're supposed to be satisfied with the 15-20% of the time that Faction plays pop-punk mixed in with heavy metal and (c)rap. Plus Pure Jazz (72) is now GONE, replaced with "Real Jazz" from XM which in the 10 minutes I listened in the car this morning, is absolutely *not* the classic jazz that I loved an was referenced in an above post. No DJs either Matt D in what I heard, so it looks like Pure Jazz is history as well.
I've heard nothing but complaints this morning from both Sirius and XM folks. I think they're going to lose a lot of subscribers over this decision.
I have noticed over the last few months my XM reception has gone downhill drastically I didn't attribute it to much other than being in the mountains... but now it is starting to make sense.... if I don't start getting better reception I will be canceling my subscription.
I don't mind the new stations... love the fact that I have all Bruce all the time if I want that. But I am wondering where will my holiday stations be....
Mixed reactions. I was hoping some of what I liked on Sirius would somehow migrate to XM. Sad to see Chrome gone and no classic dance station remains. Also, I feel sorry for the Spanish music audience – all the Spanish stations disappeared in the merge, so it's everything on one channel whether you like it or not.
Bah! Sirius is a huge slick mega-corporation that can't be trusted!
The whole satellite radio experience is becoming such a gigantic exercise in frustration. I've been a subscriber of both services since 2003 – Sirius for two liberal talk stations + OutQ, and XM for music. Now with Sirius gutting their liberal talk (plus Folktown and the recently-departed Disorder) and XM's music totally gutted by Sirius, the only station I really need satellite radio for (as opposed to my Zune) is OutQ. Except OutQ is one of the very few stations that I cannot get on my XM Inno, either as a crossover station or by paying the $4.99 Best of Sirius fee. So, to recap: no OutQ crossover, no Fred, no X Country, no Ethel, and 70 stations of Sirius which are so weak that I have paid an additional $12.95 to XM for YEARS.
Oh well, Zune pass, here I come.
I don't know too much about XM, but I had Sirius for a couple of years. After a while, I found the music channels to be repetitive...different stuff than commercial radio, but almost as repetitive. In this economy, I don't think I would ante up $15 a month for second-rate service.....
I got XM in February of 2002, and I loved it. I thought little of Sirius until the vehicle I purchased in November of 2004 had a Sirius unit. It took a while, and I grew to love Sirius. Margaritaville, The Dead, etc. The only channels I missed from XM were Deep Tracks, the comedy channels, and MLB. Be patient, you may be happier in the long run.
Couldn't disagree with you more about the playlists on Sirius being narrow! I have Sirius in my car and XM at work. XM (any given station) plays the same 50 or so songs everyday almost at the same time of day...it's like clockwork, I can set my watch to it! You would think that the artist on these XM stations only wrote two songs in their entire careers.
I think this will definitely be a win-win scenario for subscribers with variety and the consolidation of all the sports onto one source.
So sirius merged, cut out my FAVORITE station entirely not to mention my favorite show- Yo on E! (which kept me from road rage in evening traffic!) and doesn't share any of the XM channels like Oprah and I am supposed to be happy as a paying customer for channels that are the same essentially as those I can for free? Both companies had unique attributes and chanels so one would think that the big brains in the office would play up these attributes rather than killing them both! This is not a good business strategy and I am REALLY close to exiting from satellite radio all together!! Wake UP SIRIUS XM- people are NOT HAPPY!
i subscribed to sirius a few years ago, and can't live without it. hopefully the merger will be a great way to bring about some fresh music and faces, etc. it would be great to have some more holiday music channels, like the kind on the riley martin show.
I probably won't be continuing my subscription. All of the stations I listened to on XM have been dropped. No more Lucy, no more Ethyl, etc. I'm surprised O&A are still on. I don't want to listen to some DJ on Sirius's station. The whole point of paying for the radio is not to listen to that crap. Also, it would had been nice to have received notice about this.
Edit... The holiday songs comment was to Bob, not Matt D.
Sorry
I had a Sirius radio before I purchased a vehicle with XM pre-installed. I always missed the Sirus stations I used to listen to. Once I emailed a suggestion regarding one of their (XM's) stations playlist and how it compared to Sirius radio's equivalent station (which I preferred). The response I received was that they had award winning programming and that they were unwilling to change it. They didn't even have the customer service skills to at least say, "we'll consider your request, thank you for subscribing".
I'm happy with the change.
Never liked the idea of one company controlling that much of the airwaves either tv or radio. I've never subscribed to either because i do the CD thing everywhere.
I have been a Sirius subscriber for a while. And don't forget we are having a change too. One of my presets no longer exists. And the names of some of my favorate stations got changed (hope they are still just as good). A few new DJ's got added to some other channels.
It will be an adjustment for all.
Also to Mike D.
Yes Sirius does play holiday songs. For halloween they had a spooky channel. It was fun 🙂 They do it for every holiday so you should be ok 🙂
I for one am disappointed in the merger for other reasons. I specifically bought Sirius for the NBA, NFL and Howard Stern and now I am being told I have to pay extra for what was a standard part of my Sirius subscription–just to get the NBA again. I used to feel sympathy for Sirius for the FCC . We were told that the merger would benefit everyone, but that is clearly not the case. If I'd know this was going to happen I would've joined Clear Channel and everyone else in their opposition to the merger. Sirius and XM evidently had an agenda to nickel and dime people after the merger. There was a reason I didn't buy XM.
As long as Sirius XM keeps Opie and Anthony and Ron and Fez (noon to 3) I will continue to be a subscriber. When they are gone, I'm gone
I was very disappointed (and confused) when Fred, Ethel & Lucy were not on my presets this morning. Confused because Sirius didn't take any pains to notify me that my favorite XM channels would be going away.
I've already heard the same some on one channel twice within a few hours. I hope to be proved wrong... but if first impressions are anything I fear I may be cancelling and switching to iPod fulltime.
Many are missing one of the key points about the merger: without it we might have lost BOTH Sirius and XM. Both were losing money and the merger makes the operation much more viable. There will no doubt be some short term problems for both Sirius and XM users but that is far better than losing them altogether. I also think the new operation will adjust and offer what the customers want even if it takes a bit for them to figure that out.
I think it is pretty sleezy the way their was no warning on stations being changed or axed. Sirius has lost my business. My only hope is XM comes back under a new name.
have been a SIRIUS subscriber for almost two years, also know XM. it will stlll be light years ahead of radio!!
its all good to me. my choice was always "howard or baseball". I opted for howard and never regretted once. just good clean unclean fun. the music to me, and i may be wrong based on the xm comments, was always six of one half-dozen of the other. now i will have baseball as well.
i pay for the right to hear artie lang talk to reta...er..."slow adults"...that's my choice and its been more than worth it.
I already miss Lucy...Lithium is not the same!
The thing wrong with the old XM 70's station is that the program director refused to play songs that he considered too obscure, like the Partridge Family's "Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque" or the Osmonds "Crazy Horses". Right now, I'm listening to the Sirius XM 70's channel to Gunhill Road, a song I haven't heard in nearly 40 years! Viva le new 70's station!
as a Sirius subscriber, I hope I can finally get baseball games now....
I have really enjoyed XM in the year that I have had the my car that came with it.
Imagine my disapointment this morning that several channels have changed. I knew that Sirius were merging but not that we would lose a ton of channels in the process. Looks like back to local stations and I=pd for me as well. 🙁
Sirius is great...I never really had XM, so I can't compare. But satellite radio is WAY better than terrestrial radio, there is no doubt. My buddy Eric (he's an actor) has Sirius hooked up on his wheelchair, and he can't stop listening to the Rod Stiffington show...I guess I'll check it out.
I have both XM and Sirius. The merging of the stations is fantastic. Although relatively happy with XM, Sirius was by far the better product. Now everyone has the best of both worlds.
Did anyone else have their XM radio quit working this AM as a result of the switch? I called XM and they said my account was still active, and recommended I take my vehicle back to the dealer to ahve the radio checked out.
My wife and I were one of the first 100,000 XM customers. We've listened to Sirius, it's not the same. In fact, it's not even close.
Goodbye, our friend and traveling companion. It was fun while it lasted...
Attention Sirius: cancel my subscription effective immediately.
Seems to me Sirius must have been better otherwise, the buyout would have been the other way around. ANY satelite radio is better than broadcast.
I actually gave up my BMW to my husband for the new Honda which has the XM radio. I was crushed this morning to learn that things have changed. Channel 83 (Chrome) is gone. I hope that this change will be a good one.
These two stations combined will offer more, and eventually be beneficial to all subscribers. I love the enormous variety as well. Bobby Grandville
I've been a sirius subscriber since 2001. I absolutely love the service and, I'll admit, am a little happy that it was Sirius taking over XM and not the other way around.
There is a lot to listen to on Sirius. I usually listen to 1. Hits One (the top songs in america), 9. Sirius Pulse (The 90s), 8. the Big 80s, 20. Sirius Octane (modern rock).
The one channel I can't believe they got ride of was SUPER SHUFFLE. It was like taking an ipod of your favorite songs and hitting "shuffle all". It was what I used to tune into when I couldn't decide what I was in the mood to listen to, and now its gone. Maybe they'll bring some version of that from XM back to Sirius?
Anyway, don't be leary. Sirius is truly awesome. I've had absolutely no bad experiences with them whatsoever.
I've had XM for about 4 years now. I loved it, and promoted it to everyone I knew. However, I will not be renewing my subscription come December. They got rid of my favorite station, Fungus, and replaced it with an all AC/DC station. If you want to listen to AC/DC all day, buy a box set. Then they tried to tell me that I could hear the same music Fungus used to play on other stations. HA! I guess I will be getting a Pandora for my car now. Way to lose customers, SiriusXM.
Sirius didn't communicate to XM's customer base because it was a MERGER! Not a buyout. XM employees are still there, just not under a different brand. Blame XM. And Baseball on the radio?! BLAH, like I need to fall asleep in the car.
I've been a Sirius subscriber for nearly 3 years, and I am excited about the merger. I just hope the commercials stay away, and look forward to any new creative programming they can come up with. Change is good, as long as you don't become too fat to fish! 134 LG.
I am highly upset that my only reason for subscribing to XM was to listen to 66 Raw. I am really upset that the subscibers didn't get fair warning that some of their favorite DJ's would not be on the stations they listened to the next time we decided to tune in. Poor management of the transition to me and I will be voicing my opinions to the heads of XM via email. And by the way, I thought XM was buying out Siruis!??????
Mergers are never...EVER...any good for consumers; they are driven sometimes by necessity but often times by greed. As an avid XM listener, I am already put off by a number of changes to the programming. Hey, look, I can get Big N Rich and Carrie Underwood on darn near any radio station in the country. I sure as heck don't need to pay for that garbage. Part of why I laid down money to subscribe to XM was to get the traditional country, the new age music, the southern gospel...the kinds of things Sirius either didn't provide or didn't do a good job with. I hated this merger when it was announced, and like it even less now that programming changes have gone into effect.
I woke up this morning and discovered all my favorite stations were gone. It's a sad sad thing, and threw off my morning commute.
xm65 Classics of Hiphop has been replaced by commerical garbage. As a matter of fact there are 2 garbage rap stations.......GIVE ME BACK MY CLASSIC HIPHOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Alos changing the classic name ethel to ALT Nation is awful...........Lucy to Lithium???? Come ON!!!
I am close to saying goodbye to satellite radio myself. I use my MP3 player more and more. I listen to the 80's a lot and that channel has been having technical issues for a month or more.
Jumps back 15 minutes in time and the screen display stops changing. I've also had no sound out of that channel several times but others all work fine.
The only positive thing so far about Sirius for someone who has been with XM for 4+ years. I like having the year at the end of the song title on 70's...
Otherwise not too pleased at this point. Ready to drop out of the game and get digital radio and MP3 player built in to van!
This is why I objected to being forced to buy XM radio as a part of the new high-end auto I bought three years ago. It locked me into a service I knew had little chance of lasting as long as the car would.
Since it wasn't possible to buy the car without it, I demanded, and got, a price cut that represented the cost of the XM over the cost of standard radio.
Of course, now I have to simply sit back and wait until the analog radio is useless as well.
Car makers should be forced to standardize the radio rack so that the radio/player/etc can be upgraded as the technologies change. Cars outlast the player and radio technologies anymore.
First I was confused then disappointed when I realized that some of my favorite XM< stations were either gone or underwent a DJ change. Soul street will not be the same and Chrome has hit the dust- it was replaced with a channel that was a combo of joke telling segements and music. Things better get better XM or else I am out of here!!
I'm not happy about the switch either, but from other angles. The new Blues channel on Sirius seems to have taken much of the Blusville playlist from XM, which focused on Blues from the 30's and Southern Delta blues. Buzzsaw is DOA until mid-January when AC/DC radio ends. I'll miss the Grits n' Gravy and Sunday Sabbath until then.
However, if you are an XM subscriber, Sirius has great stations. Lithium is excellent. It has been on the Sirius list for two years and doesn't use DJs. It is just straight music and ZERO commercials. Classic Vinyl will focus on 60's and early 70's rock (i.e. the Vinyl period). If you like mid 70's and 80's rock then Classic Rewind (i.e. the Cassette period) will appeal to you.
I'll give SiriusXM a pass for now. If the new entity starts running commericals on the Sirius side, I'm done.
What are you talking about Bob? Before Howard made the change, XM was the behemoth of satallite radio. Don't get angry with Sirius because XM dropped the ball on that signing.
XM had already taken the first step (coordinated with a similar change on Sirius) when the eliminated the Punk channel, Fungus, to replace it with 24/7 AD/DC!!!
Move to Canada... no changes here. The XM & Sirius merger hasn't changed a thing for XM Canada or Sirius Canada.... oh, and bring a coat, it's getting chilly here.
Where's my "Moving Easy"?????
The surprise just wasn't for XM suscribers, us Sirius subscribers noticed some immediate differences as well. One of my presets is gone entirely and the station it was as far as I can tell no longer exists.
I love my Sirius and in no way will switch, but it isn't just a shocker for XM subscribers.
All things take a bit of getting used to. XM was a comfy place. Been there for years.
At least I still can choose not to listen to Howard Stern.
bob –
I listen to Sonic Theater almost exclusively and they announced yesterday that the name was changing, but not the programming (at least not yet!). I hope they leave it alone – Orson Scott Card's Universe, Twilight Zone, Powder River, etc have become staples in my long commute.
DJ's now on the channels I like. I will probably be canceling. What a dismal turn of events so much for the merger being good for the listener.
You are paying for a friendship with that personality... fiendships should not be something you pay for... I suggest that you go back to the old good "Radio" the one you alwas have in the car, at home and might ignore... just because you have a nicer looking friend that you have to pay for, and at the end of the day he only cares for their investors and ignores what you really got their service for...
The System was a great station. Area is ok in it's own right, but it's not the same.
As an XM customer since the beginning, I'm a little upset about the way Sirius has (has not) communicated to the XM customer base. I never received any communications from Sirius about why I should continue with them and not drop the whole thing. I have no idea what the changes will be and I only know it's going to change because of the news I read.
Sirius, please try a little goodwill PR to your new customers who are losing some of their favorite music channels. The XM customers are loyal and addicted to thier preset channels. Tell us change is good and maybe we'll believe you, but until then...
I am (was) a long-time XM subscriber. I got introduced to XM years ago, and loved the channel lineup and the decent service.
Since my first introduction maybe 4 or 5 years ago, I've had cars that have XM installed and cars with Sirius installed. I always went back to XM – even installing an XM receiver in the cars that had Sirius in it.
I dislike Sirius, their format, their "greasy, used car dealer" sound, and the programming they choose.
Now, with ZERO competition I'm forced into a crippled version of the XM radio I previously enjoyed. And within time, I fully expect XM to have a smaller footprint within the Sirius lineup.
Even today, my channels have been reorganized and my favorites have moved to different locations. True, not a HUGE deal – but just the begining, I bet.
R.I.P. XM – You will be missed.
Todd, you really hit home for me. I am one of those people that listened to XM mold into what I wanted from radio. I got my first system back in 2002 and enjoyed everything XM offered. I trash talked Sirius to my friends....convincing them to go XM. I'm hoping that the stations don't change that much.....that my $13 a month gives me a say in what happens. Sadly, I know that isn't the case. Farewell XM....I miss you so........
Don't worry, you'll be quite comfortable with Sirius, and their "Mp3J's" are terrific.... now if they would just offer us satelite internet access......
The Fred Essentials were great. I feel just the opposite – Sirius seems to have much more repetition than XM did (we had both & canceled Sirius). The worst part so far is all this blather between songs! I don't need a DJ to tell me what the song is, it's on the display! I bought this so I could hear music, Sirius would do well to stop talking about it & just play it!
I've been a Sirius subscriber since 2003. Once you get used to the change, I don't think you'll find yourself disappointed at all.
I *highly* recommend Pure Jazz 72 for classic jazz fans. It's really the only station I listen to. The DJs are very knowledgeable and the playlists are supurb. They can be a little slow at delivering new music but this is a *classic* jazz station after all (unlike other genres there is still "classic" jazz being made today).
I personally think this is terrible. XM was always the Mets to the Sirius Yankees. Does Sirius have a holiday station I can count on for St. Patrick's Day and Halloween? What will happen to Sonic Theater?
Oh, I like Sirius much better. We had XM for a year or so, and we loved it for MLB games, but the music was so obscure. On EVERY STATION. I like hearing great old songs I forgot about. And great new songs, too. But songs that I've never heard 'cause they weren't great to begin with? B-sides of one-hit-wonders' albums? That's what I found XM to be.
I don't have Sirius, but I've had it many times in a rental car and it keeps me almost as happy as an audio book. And that's pretty darn happy. I hope it makes you happy, too.
Beyond Jazz was unique. Getting rid of it is a sure sign that XM is narrowing its focus. For music lovers, the material is even more important than the personalities.
XM, RIP.
I'm mostly disappointed about The System (XM82) being replaced with a new, similar channel. None of the programs I've come to enjoy are being mgirated. Admittedly the channel is still available online, but that doesn't help me when I'm in my car.
I was quite disappointed to get in my car this morning to find Sirius Boombox 39 gone. I never heard mention that it was going away so it was a surprise.With two of my six presets now gone renewing my subscription is looking less likely.
I couldn't agree more. I was disappointed when I got in my car this morning and noticed the names of my presets had changed. I've also noticed the the content played on some stations seems to have narrowed, especially on the Alt Rock station that has replaced XM's Ethel. Hopefully I will find some of my old favorite DJs still hanging around. Otherwise, it will be the ipod connector for me!
I'm not too happy that my favorite stations went away ..
Top Tracks to Classic Vinyl
Lucy to Lithium
I could go on and on....
Got in my car this morning with my favorite talk radio channel on and it, of course, was gone! I didn't realize the switch had been made until I got to work and looked up channel listings. I'm bummed and may cancel if I don't get happier soon.