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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 |
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Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was once a entertainment account it. Look complicated to far brought agreeable from you! However, how could we be in contact?
I didn't want this merger (or, more appropriate, Hostile takeover) from the start. Everyone talked about how it was the only way they would both survive, but I can't believe that. If Sirius or XM failed, someone would come along, buy them out and rebuild with a better business model.
But no. Now we all have to just deal with it. I bought into XM for Opie & Anthony back in 2004 and fell in love with the music (Squizz, Lucy, Ethel). Uncensored music, fantastic variety and DJs that did their job with very little improv. Now, Sirius pushes their DJs and their format into the equation. DJs talk in to the songs and "hit the posts" like they are on FM, the same GnR Metallica and Disturbed songs 5 times a day (and I LOVE Disturbed). Why can't the DJs say the name of the new Crue song? It's not called "M F'ers of the World" and it's on an XL channel. If it's because your DJ doubles on a Christian rock channel, then she doesn't belong on Octane!
I've already warned my family that I may be cancelling XM. As soon as O&A are finished with the BS that Sirius is dishing out, I will be cancelling and resorting to downloading MP3s to my phone and making it my primary source for ALL of my entertainment.
Way to go, Mel... you managed to destroy one of the most innovative entertainment sources since TV. Thanks.
I have just called the corporate office (202-380-4000) to leave a message of my discontent. Channel 83 needs to be reinstated. (I'm sorry, but 7 and 64 do not replace.) Since the merger I hear 1 song an hour that I want to hear. I don't hear Boogie Nights anymore like I used to.... The whole thing of playing no so happy mood songs is not going to keep me a subscriber. I'm not paying for 2nd rate music, right artist – wrong song, etc. So please lets get on the ball. I will discontinue if they keep playing crap. We need to voice our dissatisfaction and hopefully we will get somewhere. HELP
I have both or had both. I got Sirius just for Stern but listened to XM. They had better music and deeper and obscure tracks not just the same tracks you can hear on terrestrial radio. My fav station was the Boneyard. Totally blows away Hair Nation. I hear Boneyard is coming back in 09 but with a different format. Sirius sure blew this deal....
save your money and the economy use free radio
Leave it to SIRUS to take what used to be included under XM's basic service and start charging extra for it. They took NASCAR from XM and now they combined, they want more money for it. I guess I will probably stop my subscription. Just because I want to hear a NASCAR race doesn't mean I want to listen to Playboy. What a rip off!!
I hate this merger. Ethel is gone and replaced with a poor substitute. Now we get to hear edited versions of songs. Also, I chose XM originally because it DIDN't have that idiot Stern on it. The baseball channel is the only reason I haven't canceled it yet. Lose the DJ's, and the repetition. Listen to your customers.
I am very disappointed. First they take the punk channel and turn it into 24/7 ACDC.
Then they lie to me (and many others who phoned or wrote to complain) and said punk would be back.
Now more good channels are gone. How many talk channels do we need?
Do subscribers really want channels that only play one band? Recession or no recession
they have shot themselves in the foot, the only advantage they have is being the only show in town.
And yes I pay for radio when I am a trucker in Canada where there are no stations at all the satellite can be great.
Well it was great, now I have over 100 channels of junk I don't want to hear.
But I still have Ellis, Howard (yawn) and half a dozen one band stations 🙁
I will cancel by the end of January if no improvement.
Another dissapointed XM subscriber here. Ethel was a great station, and now there's annoying DJs on it with lame unwanted quips. This is not change for the better. I don't care about Howard Stern. I am glad that the baseball channel hasn't changed, though. Why was this merger allowed to happen? Now there is no competition, and the customer gets an inferior product. I hope it fails. I'm cancelling my subscription when it is up for renewal.
i got in my car this morning and realized half of my tuned stations were gone, or changed (ex. top 20 to 20 on 20)..i was pisst lol...anyway i think its about time that they merged. I think having to satellite radios out there is ridiculous...i guess we just have to get used to this
o and to the owners of the satellite radio company..good job on changing the name! morons lol
I have been an XM customer since 03 and I WAS excited about the merger thinking I would be getting more channels and a wider range of music. I am VERY dissappointed with the loss of some channels and the play selection on the new channels. Just not the same! This is the first time I have flipped channels and can't find anything worth listening to! I find a song and as soon as its over I am flipping again. It takes me 30 to 40 minutes to drive home from work and for 3 days straight I couldn't find anything playing and opted to put my headphones on and listen to my Ipod. They better figure it out quick or I am dropping it! I can flip channels on free terrestrial radio.
One more thing... Why don't companies like Sirius just ask the consumers what they want? Wouldn't that make things much easier? In this web 2.0 world all a company like Sirius would have to do is let people interact on their site and then when they come up with a channel lineup the existing subscribers could vote on the channels to keep/remove/add. Thoughts?
To the Sirius fans I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your station is about to go bankrupt. The stock is only trading at .$15. I hate Sirius !! XM had more customers, had all of the major car companies in the world. Sirius cannot even afford to pay Howard Stern his $500 million in shares. I hope they do file for banruptcy that way XM could have a chance to revive.
Sirius is a great option for people like me who continually get sick of "my" music. I get sick of the songs I have on my Ipod (4 gigs worth) and want something fresh and new. Sirius is perfect for this and I truly hope they don't go bankrupt. I love hearing phish and dead songs from live shows that I've never heard before. Sirius is fantastic... I have my fingers crossed.
The changes are pointless. Not one improvement on the XM lineup. Now if they gave us back the NASCAR we had two years ago without having to fork over extra for Howard Stern's channels of 48/7 drivel.
Of course XM broke (intentionally?) their comment page on the web site,so you can't even complain.
My follow up: called SiriusXM Customer Service today and made sure I wasn't on auto-renew. My one-year subscription is up in Jan. Will not renew. Don't need to hear DJs, commercials, etc.
I have an Ipod, CDs, FM, etc. and a 10 minute commute to work. XM was a luxury to me that I now can do without.
Got a kick today out of a CNN article on the SiriusXM stock price at $0.17. To everyone who's all excited about the merger, do you think satellite radio will last a full 2009? Seriously (no pun intended), I'm interested in others' comments. Please post.
I understand the merger was done because of the shaky financial going-concern issues around both XM and Sirius' operations individually. Together, do those concerns increase, decrease, or continue to prolong the viability question?
I am very unhappy with the change. Why they would replace XM's alternative rock stations with Sirius stations is beyond me. Lucy to Lithium??? Every other song Lithum plays is awful.
PLEASE!!!! Bring back Boombox, there is plenty of room in the 30 range for it.
To put it simple, I HATE IT! How in the world could you take away Flight 26? Will probably cancel my subscription.
I have always found it absurd that anyone would pay for radio,. especially in big cities where there are many radio formats to choose from. I would buy the service if I were a trucker or traveling salesman, because there are patches of "nothing" on the open road . If I don't like what's on a radio station I simply play my cds or ipod through the system jack.
A petition for all of those XM listeners, especially those that think "OUTLAW COUNTRY" is no replacement for X-Country –
http://www.petitiononline.com/BBXM12/petition.html
Let's let the management know that they're going to lose us if they don't do something, and soon!
*PLEASE* cut the DJ chatter. I've been an XM subscriber since 2003 and have it in all 3 of our cars but this incessant talking is enough to make me nuts. I've got a 20 minute drive to work and am now "treated" to a DJ's voice 3 or 4 times during that period when listening to the previously "music only" 80's and 90's channels. If I wanted to hear a DJ every 5 minutes, I'd switch back to FM - and I just might!
Oh, and RIP Lucy!
from Beyond Jazz to Spa? How lame is that?
I have a huge CD collection so I've never felt like paying for satellite radio was worth it. Unless they offer frequent live jazz that isn't commercially available, which doesn't sound like it will be the case on Sirius FM.
Back to my CDs.
I miss having access to Sirius channels since we switched from Dish Network to AT&T U-verse. I loved First Wave, but I think you'll find they play an awful lot of Cure, New Order & Depeche Mode. I also loved the coffee house. I wish AT&T would partner with Sirius to offer their music channels. The ones offered by AT&T aren't nearly as good...
Air America is now only on until 7 PM CST, then the channel is dead until midnight. Really? 7PM Why? There are plenty of other shows on that are now silenced. And seriously, does there REALLY need to be a Jimmy Buffet channel?
Fungus - RIP
Lucy – RIP
Fred – RIP
Ethel – RIP
My subscription to XM .... RIP
I am very very upset that the stations has changed.
It seems this article is only telling half the story. I've been with sirius for a year now and as a result of this merger sirius programming has also changed. The sirius signal was not just diverting to all XM recievers. Many XM characteristics (such as station names, personalities and PLAYLISTS) have been mixed with sirius. Whereas playlists on sirius used to play more popular music, as a result of the merger i'm hearing all sorts of boring stuff that never got played before for a reason. I plan to cancel my subscription at the end of this month.
While a Sirius / XM merger was already apparent, the lack of XM and/or Sirius notifying customers of the change and new channel lineups was uncalled for.
I drive 1.5hrs one way to work and was extremely disappointed to learn that Flight 26 was some other channel, not to mention additional changes on the other stations I frequent. That subsequently led me to disconnect my service yesterday and opting to purchase a FM transmitter for my iPhone.
Furthermore, I called to cancel my service and now you want my opinion on why I am cancelling. Had you been paying attention in the beginning of the call you would have known. Had you been worried more about your customer service than your bottom line, I might still be a customer...so at the rate of $10-15/month, I will go and assist Starbucks with their bottom line.
to me the crowning insult was that they called the shift on channel 44, "renaming" Fred as First Wave. Sure it's nominally the same genre, but that's where the similarity ends
If they had set out to design an way of doing a channel to totally tick off the Fred listener, First Wave is just the ticket – short playlist, high repeat, awful dj's. Cancelling one of two radio's, holding the other on two month probation while I beef up the ipod.
To your point, Fred did hit a few bands pretty hard (Depeche Mode is an acquired taste) but at least it was a LOT of DM songs, not just a few... Sirius is MUCH more repetitive.
Why weren't the people who pay for and support radio and television (remember us, the customers, without whom would any company even exist?) notified of this change? Why weren't we polled about what WE want? (polling – we've become very with this against our will, too.)
On a similar note: Since we're already paying obsence amounts of our quickly dwindling paychecks for satellite services, why must we also be subjected to commercials?
Thank you for providing the opportunity to voice our opinions.
Couldn't disagree with you more regarding your take on 1st Wave/Fred. As a long time listener to both, I've found the playlist of Fred to be much more diverse then 1st Wave. Fred played common named bands but the beauty of it is that they played lesser know songs from those bands. 1st Wave is simply the Top 40 for New Wave with an awful rotation. I was extremely (!) disappointed to see Fred replaced.
I'm with Fred, Where is "movin' easy"...previously channel 4 on Sirius. The new spin literature directs Movin Easy listeners to some channel that is pure muzak! Not at ALL what we used to have. Now, not a single light rock channel that isn't current driven. The Bridge is probably the closet thing, but it is currently Led Zepplin through the end of the year and it really not the same thing. Snooze.
Why get rid of both radios classic dance and disco channels? Strobe on Sirius and Chrome on XM are both gone! I thought the merger would be good - adding to the list of choices not removing some. They should have kept at least one of each genre that they had in common and the others that were unique. I will seriously consider cancelling my subscriptions if this is not fixed!
After Sirius cancelled most of my favorite XM channels I decided today
to CANCEL MY SERVICE.
So long XM loved being a customer and spending my money on your service. But now as most of XM is gone so am I.
Thanks, Sirius CEO and the FCC for allowing this to occur.
BTW, your cancellation dept. hung up on the first attempt.
The second time the woman sounded exhausted and overwhelmed by yet another XM customer cancelling.
Sirius CEO if you bring back XM channels and hosts pre-merger I will gladly sign up again but for now your satellite radio service isn't worth a dime.
bc
All my views have been expressed in this lovely blog. I'm going to give SIRIXMUS another two months and see if they are paying attention. If there's no change I'll be cancelling after 4 years. One things for sure they are definately leaning towards a top 40 format. I take nothing from musicians (I don't play anything), but do we really need 24×7, 365, Elvis, Grateful Dead, and Springsteen! There was a demand for this!
I can only hope something new and better comes from this.
I encourage everyone to copy this link and send it to Sirius, XM or who ever they are.
Yesterday, When I noticed my Sirius was now Sirius XM and that some of my presets (Strobe) were "empty", I kept a positive attitude being that I have listened to XM in some of my friends' cars and didn't think it was half bad (Fred was pretty cool). But TODAY when I hopped in my car for my Friday morning commute to work and did NOT hear Pete Tong's Essential Selection....I freaked. I am still going to give it a chance but already the selection on Area 38 seems weaker and BPM is just sad. I am going to listen this weekend and find out if I change my mind. 🙁
I cancelled my XM account today, and man did I have to run the gauntlet to do it ( a dozen calls, 3 hours on hold, multiple disconnects).
I cancelled mainly because they dropped Beyond Jazz, which I listened to regularly. There is no replacement for it in their lineup.
This XM Siruis merger reminds me of the talk re: GM and Chrysler, or "Let's take 2 mediocre, money-losing companies, and make them into one huge, even more mediocre money-losing company!"
Brilliant.
After listening for a few days, I can say: there's no difference. I am disappointed that I have to be available to listen to TOm Petty, rather than tune in any time on Thursdays or Bill Anderson on Tuesdays (but they have not gone away), but the other stations play music comparable to XM's old line up. That said, I miss Rogue Calls (noon to 2) on XCountry and I haven't heard enough Ray Wylie Hubbard. But I still have Bill Wax on Bluesville and Real Jazz. So, as long as they play the music I pay them to play, I'll deal with DJs who are a bit slicker. Most comments seem to be along the lines of comfort with former presets, but the only thing that really matters is the music, and hearing it without (too many) promos and commercials.
Not a happy XM subscriber at the moment. They took away Fine Tuning, the most eclectic radio station ever. The two stations they suggest listening to instead don't even come close. And what's the deal with making us purchase extras to get The Best of Sirius. Just give us the stations!
Consolidating both lineups made alot of sense. I am really happy now to have both MLB and a slew of new music to listen to like E Street Radio, Greateful DeadRadio and Underground Garage....combined with the great alt station already on XM...Just great. 100% glad this happened
I have been a XM member fro the last four
years & talked about it so muich that my wife had it
installed in her car as well. MUCH to our extreme
displeasure the stations that we loved are now history
& all but forgotten.
This new line up of Sirius-XM completly
sucks. There was a reason I didn't subscribe
in the first place to it & now it's shoved
in our throats & we are ment to
stand here & take it.
Bring back the Originial
line up, it was perfect the way
it was.
I'm still adjusting to the change. Luckily, the main music channel I listen to, they adopted the XM platform. As long as Opie & Anthony and Ron & Fez are still around, I'll probably stick with it.
Can you please stop all the complaining? you sound like my 4 year old son! Sirius has all the stuff XM had. 60's, 70's, 80's, Blues, Jazz, heck even an Elvis station. And as far as the DJ's go, there's nothing funnier than listening to Barry Williams (Greg Brady) Introduce 70's music. So get over yourselves, renew your subscriptions, and embrace a little change! Hooya!
Sirius is very FM / Clear Channel Radio – I love Springsteen but have heard Badlands now 6 times in 24 hours – very Clear Channel to repeat the hits alot.
They fired the best hosts on the baseball channel – Mark Patrick and Chuck Wilson and now it is becoming inane jockicity and combat radio that Sirius preferred to program.
Call and cancel no matter your opinion and you will get 3 months for free!!!!
Same here Jason! I only used to listen to 2 stations- XM65 The Rhyme (Old school Hip Hop) and and the 130 POTUS election channel. with 65 gone and Barack elected, I have nothing to listen to now!
So where is Vin Scelsia? Can't find him, or Larry Kerwin, and what will weekends be like without The Kennedys in the morning?
XM has nothing like Sirius Disorder and losing that is a big mistake.
CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION!!! I refused to pay for something I didn't want so I cancelled yesterday. If enough people cancel they might see we're unimpressed. I want Fungus 53, 65 The Rhyme, 66 Raw, and 150 Comedy all back and the way they were!!! I was paying $10 for 6 stations and now 4 are gone or different!
GIMME MY:
53
65
66
150
BACK, then I'll sign back up!
I am a longtime Sirius subscriber, baffled as to why they eliminated the punk channel as part of this change. XM apparently dropped their punk station as well. Faction plays some punk, but overall, it's not as good.
Give us our punk back!!
The whole reason I switched from Sirius to XM was because of the limited playlists and the lack of customer service with Sirius. I especially did not like the DJs on Sirius that are constantly butting in taking up precious music time. I mean, isn't that the reason we are purchasing satellite radio....to get rid of the talking on music stations.
I'm with Donna, I may cancel my membership as well and just go use my MP3 player....
As you can see, the customer service is lacking as they made very critical switches and changes without (1) notifiying their client base, nor (2) informing their clientel of any changes.
Having Steph Scamardo,Warren Haynes wife as DJ for Jam On is enough for me to keep all three XM receivers hooked up.
I would compare this to joining a group because you feel you have similar points of view and ideals. You did not join the other group because they were the antithesis of your ideals, beliefs.
Then both groups are one. Not because ideals change, it is just more cost effective.
You are now a subset of new group. A SUBSET.
You researched the two groups and made you a decision on what you expected and wanted. Spent your money, got the contract and now...it does not matter. You do not matter.
Good Bye
I'm an XM subscriber. I first signed up to listen to Opie & Anthony. (saw little Yimmee last night for his book signing)
I also got turned on to "Music Lab", which blayed a lot of Jam Bands and Phish. XM took it off their regular channel lineup. But with the Sirius programming merger, they not only brought back a jam band station (jam-on, stupid name), but they added an all Grateful Dead channel.
They kept other favorites of mine like Old Time radio, where they play old radio dramas. VERY interesting to listen to.
If they keep playing obscure stuff you cant find on regular radio, I'll stay subscribed.
As long as they keep Opie and Anthony that is!
FRUUNKISS!!
I've been a Sirius suscriber for two weeks, love it. I have not had a chance to get used to anything yet, hope that's a good thing.
How could my radio be one way on one day and then the very next day everything be changed?? How could they get rid of the Strobe and Classic Hip Hop? Why didn't they canvass the subscribers? The only reason I got Sirius was for Backspin! I'm totally lost...I guess it's IPod Playlists from now on...*sigh*
I am very dissapointed by a number of programming changes to the XM Side. This "merger" (a.k.a. takeover) was the worst thing to happen to XM and Sirius.
because I have a taste for all types of music XM was the only place to be. I had a rental car with Sirius last year and I hated the programming!
In my little opinion, XM was better. Unfortunately, now my place "where disco doesn't suck" is gone. and the programming for the 3 stations is horrible and all mashed togather. The rap stations are more violent then the classic stuff that 65 used to have.
It seems like they took everythign that is good and got rid of it. Hey but at least I still have Opie and Anthony! RAMMMOOOONNNEEEE please slap the Program director at Sirius XM for me?
I subscribed to XM Radio mainly for the MLB content. I'm a Minnesota Twins fan, but I live in Kentucky now. There aren't a whole lot of games broadcast down here, unless the Reds are involved. However, I also listen to the comedy stations, ESPN, and, of course, the music stations. My employer has Sirius radio, which is played in the office. Many of Sirius' music stations (at least, the ones that are appropriate for an office) seem to play on a loop. If I heard "Wildfire" at noon one day, I knew I would be tortured with it for at least the next 10 days at a progressively earlier time, until it got to the point that it would play before I arrived in the morning. I don't really run into that with XM.
That being said, I understand that they had to merge in order to stay in business. I prefer XM, but am willing to give the new mix a try. In addition, it HAS improved the music at work. If it's still a loop, it isn't as obvious.
Absolutely no communication to the millions of subscribers as to what you were doing and when??? Totally uncalled for. If I WANTED Sirius I would have subscribed to it. I wanted XM Radio. Sirius is crap. I want my XM Cafe & Flight 26 back. Their replacements are crap. and crap is not the word I want to use.
I love XM Sattilite Radio!!!! I hate change!!!!!!! As others have discussed, no warning is not any fun. Further, you get used to things and now they are gone?.?.. The first day I considered canceling my subscription and tossing $300 worth of equipment (that is how much i loved XM, enough to add it on). but...... I will give them a chance, all be it a small chance to fill the void, I feel, was left by the merger.
If listened to the POTUS channel yesterday and they have a show
called Stand Up with Pete Dominick. It is a politcal show and I usually only listen to political talk for 5 minutes. This show is the best I ever heard
Beyond Jazz and Audio Visions adios. Too bad....
I have sirius service, & I went with them because I like the music selection. I was told by a sirius rep on the phone that we would be getting the best of XM & Sirius. That is not the case at all!!!! We get less, & they have the nerv to want to charge 14.99 for the best of XM on the sirius side. WTF!!!!! I hope another company steps up to compete with them. I will be cancelling service, & I will use my Ipod again. This company has lost total focus on their customers value, & doesnt know about customer satisfaction! I bet they wont even look at how many people are upset with the musicstation line up. Who ever made the changes to the selection should be FIRED!!! SIRIUS NOW SUCKS!!!!!
This merger should never have been allowed.
Now many of my favorite XM channels are gone.
I feel that those at Sirius LIED TO XM Customers.
I never wanted Sirius that's why I bought XM.
I've been happy with it now for years.
XMX, Soul Street, Fred and many many other channels I loved
are now GONE. As our their wonderful hosts.
The FCC sold Americans out by allowing this.
I sure wish Barack Obama would demand a reversal of this con game on XM subscribers and Americans coast to coast who loved XM.
I've been screwed over already by DISH network TV earlier this year when they abruptly dumped the 15 -20 Voom HDTV channels.
Didn't ask their customers would we like that.
They just did it. And now this from Sirius satellite.
I am debating if I will continue giving my money to this new company who obviously could care less about XM customers.
These CEO's obviously have **** for brains.
Or maybe just NO brains at all.
Nothing like feeling you've just been spit on as a long time customer.
Thanks Sirius.
Thanks FCC.
And even thanks to the idiots in the boardroom at XM who sold out your customers.
I may just buy and IPOD and say to hell with satellite radio.
bjf
XM40 is the best station on radio. PLEASE do not tamper!
As a subscriber to both in the past, currently XM, I am glad to have the music channels from Sirius back. They offer a more hit related playlist as opposed to Obscure or random playlists like XM. I am happy.
Radio is dead. Do yourself a favor and get an interface installed in the car that will charge your iPod as it plays.
Nothing sucks more than an Ipod...I mean, any MP3 player without a radio is pure inanity...and having to use the awful ITunes store? NO THANKS!...Radio WILL ALWAYS be around, way after you are gone to the world...
Purchased new car with XM already installed. Was disappointed that Howard Stern wasn't on XM but have enjoyed none the less. However, now that SIrius and XM are one, I am still disappointed that I have to pay an added cost to get "The Best of Sirius". If it's one company now, why are XM customers being punished
The switch was handled poorly. There should have been some preparation for it.
I listened to Fred, Lucy, and Ethel. 1st Wave may be promising, Lithium seems similar to Lucy, but Alt Nation is a poor substitute for Ethel. And if you are going to change personnel, why do you keep that arrogant moron, Cane?
On the other hand E Street makes the pain go away some.
As a Sirius customer for over 3 years, I can seriously say that I am disappointed with this new line up. Every morning, I would listen to Pure Jazz and in particular Paul Anthony. I enjoyed listening to him because he played songs that you don't normally hear on the radio. I looked forward to the Verve Vault which contained songs that were no longer in print.
Yesterday, I get in my car and they totally changed the format. They still say it's classic jazz but it is far from it in my opinion. I am a fan of traditional jazz and what I hear on that real jazz station is more contemporary than anything.
Another great station that they got rid of that I am extremely pissed about is Backspin. I am a fan of old school rap. The rap of today is pure GARBAGE. I enjoyed listening to Dana Dane, Curtis Blow, Lady B, The Awesome Two, etc. Now, I have nothing. When I called Sirius this morning, they had the nerve to say that I catch an "hour" show on channel 40. That is not going to cut it for me. I lprefer the 24/7 station.
Since I already paid for this month, I'll stay for now. But if I don't see any changes by next month. I will be canceling my subscription.
Even though I'm probably part of a small group, I'm definitely missing all the great house/underground jams of The Move on XM 80. Its alleged replacement (Area) is NOTHING like The Move, nor is it as remotely as good. Also, I guess you can add me to the list of peoplegiving a big thumbs down to XM for dropping old-school rap. Oh well, at least they haven't messed up The Groove. Yet.
When XM came online, I subscribed to the service asap. I am a hardcore jazz fan and loved the channel line up of XM 70 Real Jazz, XM 71 Watercolors and XM 72 Beyond Jazz.
I usually traded off between 70 and 72 Beyond Jazz during my morning and evening commute and the horror of it all hit me when I found 72 Beyond Jazz was gone and no suitable replacement was offered.
I can stand the loss of another favorite XM 83 Chrome, but Sirius has no real alternate choice and the website references XM 7 70's as a second choice, clearly the programmers in their decision making process had no clue what Chrome 83 was all about and never listened to 72 Beyond Jazz.
Like most newer car owners my receiver is built into the car, so I will likely retain the service for the near future, however, if the lineup is not more inclusive of the diverse programming I expect from a pay service provider I cannot say I will pay the premium to include satellite service in my next vehicle.
We all knoow commercial radio stinks, but why pay for crappy choices on a monthly basis. The last thing I want from a pay service is a bunch of rap music stations, way to many rock stations, and more talk radio, I can get that for free on FM.
This is a horrible change. Like everyone else I got into my car in the morning on my way to work and noticed that all my favorite channels were gone. Not only did I love the music on The City, Lucy, and Ethel but I also loved the DJ's. I've tried giving the new channels a world but they just really dissapoint me. I now have resorted to my ipod for all my listening. XM just lost another customer!
First off, Ron and Fez-noon to three.
I'm not happy as an XM subscriber to have all these changes. I upgraded my subscription and added the "best of Sirius" package for the NASCAR and NFL channels to complement the awesome job XM has done with the MLB package.
But the music stations changing like this for both XM and Sirius users was unannounced and uncalled for. The customers of both services, when they were separate companies, signed up because of the uniqueness of each company's offerings
XM has Opie and Anthony in the morning, and Ron and Fez afternoons.
Sirius has Howard, Bubba and Scotty Ferrall.
But we subscribers stayed with our units because of the freinds we found on our music stations.
Now all of those guys are either gone, or are working to introduce all of us to this new format.
And doing this unannounced makes all the customers, both XM and Sirius feel like we are not that important and we should just shutup and get used to the changes Mel Karmizan is making to cut costs.
To that I say "Fruuuuunkis!" because I'm XM, and I'm sure I saw a Sirius user already give the 'ol "Bababooey"
E-Lo, come in from the HARPO wilderness and save us all.
And Sirius units are still toaster ovens to me compared to the great equipment XM offered us customers.
And lastly, Ron and Fez, noon to three.
The main and sometimes only reason I have paid for XM is to listen to Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour. I hate having to go back to searching the sked for it. I also hate the slicker soul on the soul station and the even more weak-kneed bluegrass on the bluegrass station.
I agree with the person who said that no good ever comes of mergers.
I have no interest in Howard Stern.
I want my XM!
x-country was the best radio station on the planet. jesse scott and marty fitzpatrick are awsome and will be sorley missed.
rip xm
I have been an XM subscriber for a couple years now. I absolutely loved it. I raved about it to all my friends. Got my parents to sign up for it. Broadcast radio in Phoenix, AZ is so terrible,I felt like XM was a miracle. Today, I was so distraught to realize so many of the old channels were gone. I am especially upset about losing Ethel and Lucy. These Sirius stations, "Alt something" and "Lithium" are just not the same. The playlists are obviously much more narrow. I can hear this kind of stuff on my local alt stations. This isn't what I use satellite radio for. Oh my, who do I have to bribe/beg to get Ethel and Lucy back?? This sucks. I may cancel my subscription. Hello full time iPod? Maybe.
As a resident of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, our "regular" radio stations are dismal at best. They also pulled our only Smooth Jazz station last year - which was very disappointing to say the least. I am an XM subscriber, so seeing that our local stations suck, I will stick with the merger to see what happens. It COULD be worse (i.e. local stations), and XM Sirius kept Watercolors (Smooth Jazz), which is what I listen to all day long while working. Give this a chance, people!!
Once my year runs out I am others are cancelling our service, they ruined XM and they ruined the channels on sirius as well, The best channels are gone, others are replaced, its horrible right now.
why in gods name would a company turn things for the worst, first they want to charge for xm channels on sirius and now they completly killed XM radio and then removed and changed the sirius channels as well and not for the better mind you. My 80 gig zune will now be my main way of listening to tunes in the car.
I miss Sirius Vault and The Bridge. Their replacements are, so far, inferior. Doesn't matter, though. I'll stick with Sirius-XM as long as the FCC cannot reach Howard Stern. My freedom to listen: that's what I am paying for.
I am a fan of Latin music. When it was my Sirius, I had Universo Latino and Rumbon. Now, that it's Sirius-XM, they eliminated Universo Latino and Rumbon. Now, the only Latin music station is Caliente, no choices, if you don't like it, no other station to listen to, this is a step backward.
but what happened to sirius disorder!?! and backspin?!!? no good.
I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back!
I only paid the $7 bucks a month for Squizz. It was the first station that actually played the type of rock I enjoyed. I'm glad Bodhi and Mr Random are running Octane. If they weren't, I would be canceling and going back to my CDs.
What's with a chic doing the mornings on Octane?? She sounds like she should be on Public Radio. Lame chic jokes!
I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back! I want Squizz back!
I'm not happy either. a 4 year XM sunscriber and NO COMMUNICATION what so ever as to what was happening. I may cancel by Xmas.....
Sad, really sad. I HATE mergers.....
Has anyone else who was a Sirius subscriber before this disaster noticed that stations/songs that never played the radio-edited or "clean" versions of songs suddenly are? Specifically, I've now heard it on Octane, Lithium, Faction and Shade 45 so far.... I'm hoping it was just a temporary thing....
And add me to the list of complainers about the punk channel going away. The suggestion that Faction is an appropriate substitute is ridiculous, especially given that Jason Ellis takes up the *entire* evening drive time and thus very little music is played, let alone any real punk.
I listened to 3 of the latin stations on XM. THEY HAVE NOW MERGED THEM INTO 1 STATION. They took country, rock and hip-hop and mixed it into 1 station. When I called to cancel they told me I have everything in one. No it's not! I don't listen to rock. And when I want country, I'll just switch to country. Called them today to cancel and they hung up on me! Had to call them twice to cancel. I'm not paying for them to remove the stations I want!
I am beyond disappointed that XM 76 Fine Tuning is gone, I mean, literally gutted. I miss the shows, the format, the variety, the DJ, and the fact that it is the only station where I heard bands like Porcupine Tree, Mostly Autumn, and Ozric Tentacles. RIP, XM 76 Fine Tuning. You were my main reason for being with XM, I listened to you everywhere.
I'm thrilled! I chose XM for the sports, but I like the music on Sirius better. Now I've got the best of both worlds.
I subscribe to both services and both have different things that I like and it looks like most of them have come together with the new lineup. Once they gt MLB on the best of XM package, I will pare down to having just Sirius
I have heard both and have been a Sirius subscriber for over 2 years. If the price goes up, I'm out. I feel that Sirius had/has a better product but am a bit concerned about the merger. I hope the N.F.L. channel stays.
I was suprised that the change came so quickly, without any "official" notice that it would be changing and removing some stations on a particular date. But, I have to say as a REAL hip-hop listener – the new hip hop chanels are MUCH MUCH better than before. I was so sick of hearing mostly mainstream BS (you know cars, clothes and H***) all day... Over and over the same stupid songs. I was SO HAPPY when I heard Wu Tang, Beastie Boys and underground peeps that don't get the recognition they deserve. They also play older jams that take me back to the days of break-dancing...
why did they stop with the year notes after the song title on Big 80's? They have been dong that forever on sirius (and still do on the 60 and 70s channel, but gone from the 80's.) Great to have the year the song came out for memories on where we were when the song came out....bring back the year notes please!!
I am completely disappointed with the merger. I have been an XM subscriber for about a year now, I enjoyed the free trial period for the service and mostly kept it for a few main stations that I listened to. I have heard talks of the merger prior to the conversion but as a CUSTOMER, never received notification to the change in service I was paying for. You wouldn't pay for a subscription to Sports Illustrated then all of a sudden, the publisher starts sending you Golf Digest... I signed up for the service because of THOSE stations. And fine, you changed the stations, stuff happens, but as a consumer of your product, who pays on time every month, I expect at least the courtesy of being notified so I can cancel my subscription before the conversion. Instead, we were weasled into keep our subscriptions active. This is unacceptable.
The mapping of the station changes don't seem too bad. I am pleased to see Siriusly Sinatra, Met Opera as new ones. Its good that they kept Deep Tracks from XM.
I don't understand why they got rid of XMX Ch 2. That was all of their own programming. I really enjoyed Artist Confidential, Dylan Theme Time Radio and Buried Treasures looping on it.
I hope they add a coupleo f more holiday channels. It has been great on XM to be able to choose between a couple of different styles of Christmas music.
Thank God that I can choose NOT to listen to Howard Stern!
if ur an royal customer of one of the two service or both and hate the changes. wake up. this merger was the final nail on Satellite radio's coffin. both services couldn't cut the mustard in the business world. why do u think they merged. now that they merged they are gonna lose some customers thanks to the changes happening to the services. now would be the right time to cut ties with SiriusXM if you hate the changes. so there for you have something that can get wireless internet connection, then just sign up with live365 or slacker or other internet radio services. i'm sure Wi-fi internet connections will be in car radios in a few years, so in the end Internet Radio will win and SiriusXM will fall.
... just calm down ... nothing happened ... you'll find another channel that you like, assuming the one you like is gone ... the reason we listen to satellite radio is because it's million times better than the "free" airwaves and we do not want to program and carry around the icraps and the zunes ... I have 4 subscriptions and it's a luxury I like and I'll keep ... original content cannot be replaced and I'm too busy to download podcasts (and I don't steal music) ... I admit that some choices were odd to me (channels kept/gone), but I and majority of you will get used to it ...
I'm not liking it yet. I'll give it a little bit. Everyday when I turn the radio on new channels just magically appear. The one good thing is the Led Zepplin radio.......but that is going to get old real soon. And some stations are repeating songs ALOT! I didn't get that with the XM. Let's get a Jimmy Buffet station on there...do we have that already?? Oh and please don't get rid of any more country stations...it's pretty much the only reason why I haven't cancelled the radio yet.
I was an XM suscriber and then a Sirius suscriber. They both had their merits, but we chose Sirius about two years ago and dropped XM. Sirius was fine until this week when they dropped some of our favorite stations without even giving us a "heads-up". We liked sirius so much that we purchased two lifetime subscriptions, but what they did this week is very poor customer service. We listened to Universal Latino every day, it was the only station that played modern Spanish music and now it is gone and there are no other options out there for us and we are stuck with two lifetime subscriptions. they may have got over on us, but the service will not grow if they keep making such poor decisions and not taking the customer into consideration.
Thank you, Jeff, for finding that information for me. I really appreciate the help. I'm with you, Carol. It takes me back to some really great times in my life.
I am SIRIUSLY disappointed. The decision to get rid of Channel 82 The System makes me absolutely furious. It was by far my favorite channel and largely what I paid to have access to. I do like the other dance channels but they simply do not play the same type of music. The System has a large and loyal fan base - remember the outcry a few years ago when XM temporarily replaced The System with holiday music? Sirius has single handedly, without any notice, made what is already a tough 2+ hour daily commute even more painful. I thought the advantage of satellite radio was supposed to be a large variety of programming options that reached out to a broad range of listeners. Limiting the already few dance channels seems backwards. "Everything All the Time" seems more like "Something’s occasionally" now.
I looked at the schedule for the 70's. It doesn't have Wednesday on the page, but I DO see several times for Casey Casem (all in Central time)
Saturday 11:00am – 2:00pm
Sunday 8:00am – 11:00am and 11:00pm to 2:00am
I liked that show too. Guess I'll be used the Inno to record it.
Instead of offering the best of both worlds, they've now offered a great big load of crap.
Do we really need a 24/7 Grateful Dead station? 24/7 Springsteen? A Jimmy Buffett channel?
The killed off the Move, with which Luis Baro did a fantastic job, back in the day – all house, typically deeper, techier stuff. They ended Chrome, which was old-school disco and house classics (basically, what you'd typically hear at a Body and Soul party). The only dance stations are the typical trance station, and some cheesy breaks/big beat/commercial house station that's basically the old BPM. No more Audio Visions, replaced with a more commercial new-age station. No more classic rap/hip-hop station. Argh!
Today I canceled 2 of my 3 XM radios and both of my Sirius radios. I am so disgusted with what they did this morning, removing many of may favorite stations including Fred, Lucy, Ethel, Soul Street, XMU, and many of the decades channels. yeah, they replaced them, but with the limited playlist, corporate rock of Sirius.
I've been a subscriber to both for more than 5 years and always found Sirius to be bland and shallow compared to XM. I listen to Sirius mostly for the NFL, Stern, and NPR.
Now I find myself listening to satellite radio that is not all that different from the terrible over-the-air radio I've been hearing for decades.
The merger was supposed to bring choice and diversity and a stronger XM. Instead we got the worst of both, brought to you not by innovative programmers but by corporate bean-counters.
Shame on you XM and Sirius.
I'll be spending a lot more time with iTunes and Pandora now.
As for my last XM radio, I am only keeping it for the NavTraffic feature. Hopefully I can subscribe just to that cheap service.
I listened to a wide variety of channels on XM and was pretty shocked at the sudden and unannounced changes. There's a reason I was paying for radio rather than listen to the watered down monstrosity that is FM. Now that reason is gone, and i will respond by cancelling my two subscriptions.
If they don't bring back Bob all day Wednesday I'm cancelling.
I am – make that was – a happy XM subscriber for 4 years. I don't know what Sirius sounded like before but I just know that what I have today doesn't sound like XM anymore so I'll guess it's more Sirius-like. And that sounds like FM minus the commercials, which may be fine for some but really understates what XM used to be. I truly appreciated the XM personalities (like Kandy, Sonny, Bruce) for their onair brevity and enjoyed getting to know them over time. Sure, I suppose it's neat that some original MTV VJs were still available for the Sirius gig, but I'd rather hear more music. Glad my car has CD but wish it had an mp3 dock now. I'll miss XM and wish the new SiriusXM good luck.
Well as a Siruis subscriber, i'm not to sure of the merger yet.
For example. They are offering a packege known as the Best of XM.
Excuse me, want to listen to what Oprah has to say. I already get two NPR channels. And live play by play GOLF???
As a trucker, i wish they would re do the trucker channel aka Roaddog 147. Get rid of Freewheelin, and Jonsy. Add 24 hour live programing over night and on weekends, rather than repeats of the week day shows.
I do like the chance to now hear Tom Petty's show, and the all Led Zepplen channel brings back some flashbacks 🙂
I don't like the fact i have to go buy a new reciver, in order to listen to the xm channels.
Just the same, it's much better than ground based radio
kathy casey-wheeler wrote:
I am just wondering if the Casey Kasem countdowns are still going to be on the ’70’s and ’80’s channels. I turned it on last night when it was suppose to be on and he wasn’t there. Does anybody know? Thanks.
And I want to know too!!! This was something I looked forward to every weekend, hearing the Old Top 40 Count Downs (fond memories of my teenage years and early 20s).
To quote "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" that is what XM and Sirius needs to hear from all subscribers of XM or Sirius!
The original AT40 countdowns are still on 70's on 7, but it looks like the 80's ones are gone from 80's on 8. Overall, the decades channels are improving. I have Sirius, and we kept Magic Matt Allen and J.J. Walker, got AT40, and lost Barry Williams on the 70's. We gained Wolfman Jack and kept Cousin Bruce on the 60's – all good news! I just wish they'd kept the 80's AT40's on channel 8.
RIP XM
SIRIUS has sucked the soul out of XM....
Radio will never be the same and i don't mean in a good way.
what? I just subscribed 11/01. I would normally never spend money on something like this but I got it with my new car and just fell in love. If it doesn't match up to my expectations, guess I'll go back to my CDs.
I am just wondering if the Casey Kasem countdowns are still going to be on the '70's and '80's channels. I turned it on last night when it was suppose to be on and he wasn't there. Does anybody know? Thanks.
Why is the Verge grouped with the latin channels?
Out of my 12 presets in my car, I lost 9 of them. I didn't even know this was happening? I feel like I didn't get to say goodbye to old friends...I don't think renewal is in my future...especially if Sirius plays commercials. I am not going to pay to listen to commercials, I can get that for free on local radio channels.
Used to have access to 4 Latin stations on XM and now it is down to 1.
XM & Sirius leadership seem ignorant of the little known fact to them about the largest minority around the country these days.
SAD....
As former music director of the Loft I can tell you that the art of radio died along time ago at XM. The original idea, to be a haven for radio, theater of the mind, adventurous programming, a place where that connection you're speaking of Todd, between the jock and the listener is a magical connection based on trust... they could have rocked it, they were so close... they could've really been a powerful option to the iPod, etc.... that's what they had, that's the only thing in my opinion satellite radio had going for them that no one else did, that they should've maximized and marketed. That connection, that trust, that's what people pay for. That's worth something. A jukebox isn't worth anything. Instead, they buried it underneath all the big-name stuff like Oprah, etc... I'll never forget the day that all these posters went up in the hallway in the program department of all the syndicated shows, pictures of people who were never in the building, who really were even programmers... just a brand. And there we were, real human beings who were slaving away, working hard every day because we genuinely cared about radio, about the art of radio. We were like, where's our framed posters? As usual, XM ignored us. The original programming always took a backseat but was the best thing going. That's what made it interesting and unique and not a jukebox. What an incredible marketing failure. Anyways, it's sad because there's really niche group of people out there who are extremely valuable, who understand this... the art of radio and can't imagine life without it. That magic something. Besides, any company that would let Matt The Cat, possibly the greatest DJ that ever lived, go clearly doesn't care about quality. RIP indeed.
kate@outlandosmusic.com
For years I had XM in my car (because it is GM) and Sirius at home (because of Vin Scelsa, The Kennedys, Steve Earl and others) So I became very familiar with both. A month or so ago my Sirius radio failed. It was out of warranty so I cancelled my Sirius subscription, plugged my old but still active XMToGo receiver into my home antenna and waited to see what Sirius would do about combining their programming with XM. I knew it was coming even though they wouldn't tell me when because it never made sense to have so much dupication in programming after the merger.
Now the new lineup is in and I must say I'm very pleased because I now have a lot of what I liked about Sirius available in my car as well as at home.
I see people complaining about the DJs on Sirius and missing the unannounced music channels on XM. Well, I found XM cold and detached and frankly not much competition for my Ipod. When I want music only I've got most of my cd collection already on it. Sometimes thats all I want to listen to.
But there are a lot of times I want more than that. On Satellite radio I want something different. I like the DJs, I like the experience they pass along. I like my music with a bit of style and attitude mixed in. When I'm driving I want someone to challenge, entertain and help break the monotony of the road. Play something new, something I haven't heard, mix in artists I wouldn't think of myself and suprise me a little. So now I think I'll listen a lot more in the car. I'm happy even though Sirius Disorder didn't make the cut. I have hopes for the revamped Loft.
I hope Sirius/XM does well, I'd hate to have to go back to the choices I had before the satellites were sent into orbit and the radio world was changed for the better.
Our no. 1 XM channel, X Country Channel 12, HAS CHANGED FORMAT. We currently pay for 3 XM subscriptions, but my old man is so upset that his Texas Mix station (Channel 12) is changed up and now has DISC JOCKEYS who TALK, TALK, TALK, instead of playing one song after another, that we are probably going to CANCEL OUR XM SUBSCRIPTIONS. Mergers only benefit the corporations' executives. In mergers, the customer is always the loser!
Sirius is heads and shoulders above XM. Why would they ever axe channels like boombox and backspin??? They merge with XM and the place goes to crap.
I can't believe they took off XM 65 The Rhyme. No more old-school hip-hop. Each station they now have plays the same trash. Could have at least given me a heads up before pulling my favorite station. Sucks!
"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."
Ummmmm.....you might be dissappointed with that one. Just add the Smiths in the mix.....
I specifically chose Sirius for their blues programming over the XM version. Now I have the XM version because they decided to keep the XM blues channel only. While others may feel that the XM version is more diverse, I like what I like and I feel betrayed by Sirius. I am seriously thinking about cancelling. Heck I might start buying cds again as a result.
I've been a Sirius subscriber for about 6 months now, and I love it! I can see why XM folks would be upset, but give it a try...I think you'll eventually be pursuaded to stay.
I don't understand those who have an intense dislike of DJ's, however. One of the main reasons I subscribed to Sirius in the first place is the fact that all 4 surviving, original MTV VJ's are on the 80's channel!
If you don't want anyone to speak at all between songs, turn off the radio, hook up an iPod and have a ball! A few years back, stations were turning to the 'Jack' format (no DJ's whatsoever), and it sucked!
I'm very upset with this merger. There was ZERO communication about line up changes and users had no chance to have any input before the new lineup was dropped on us. My favorite channel, XM72, Beyond Jazz is gone. Where am I going to find that music elsewhere? The answer – NO WHERE
No wonder these companies were bleeding cash; they don't give a damn about their customers.
I've had Sirius for quite a few years and have been an avid listener of Octane 20 and noticed something different when I got in my car and heard two songs i had never heard before. I hope this doesn't mean my favorite channel is going in a direction I'm not going to like.
XM music had been creeping toward FMism for the past three years by losing the music experts and replacing them with FM radio ego-DJs and "programmers." Sirius' music was always the shallower of the two satellite services and sounded like FM only sans commercials. The takeover of XM by Sirius (essentially that little mutt mascot peeing all over XM) completes the transition.
And with it, my 6-year XM subscriptions, all 5 of them. This new company is treating its paying customers poorly (thanks for the advance notice of the changes, yeah, right, sure) at a time it needs them more than ever.
"Alos changing the classic name ethel to ALT Nation is awful………..Lucy to Lithium???? Come ON!!!"
People, seriously.... there are some issues (such as a favorite station being completely eliminated) and then there is nit-picking. Who gives a flying feather what they NAME the station. It's all about whether or not the content is any good.
Leave my Deep Tracks alone!!.....E Street is cool but the sound quality on the Foxboro '03 Springsteen show was was gawd awful, even for a hard core fan. Not a good start! XM was like a great vinyl album....it made you feel warm all over...don't screw it up guys!
So much passion ... yes, those us who have been tired of the force fed crap of commercial radio we finally found solace (for a fee) in satellite radio and for those us who have long commutes and love the sound of our favorite channel in the backgound while we're doing chores, we are irritated that the friend we've counted on to entertain us has been altered without so much as an e-mail.
Yeah, we knew it was coming eventually but there was more notice that we could pick up Howard on our XM subscription if we'd like (and I chose to – that's cool, of course), than to let us know that the music stations have been completely been reworked.
The programming of the XM alternative and hip-hop channels taught me about artists that I might have heard about back in the day, but exposed their music to me in a new light. I've listened to FirstWave for a few hours now this afternoon and the programming is like that of a soft rock station and not of a cool college alternative playlist from the 80s and 90s that I had become accustomed to in channels like Fred.
I got XM over four years ago based on the recommendation of a friend who had both sirius and XM and knew how diverse my musical interests were. The Sirius-XMU channel is similar so I may lean to that more but as far as the cheesy playlists for the other alternative channels, I'm not impressed.
Single tear runs down cheek .... goodbye Fred, Ethel, and Lucy.
I'm writing an e-mail to Sirius, but from what I've read on boards about their customer service, it leaves something to be desired, so I guess it doesn't matter, does it?
I also got in my car and realized that my favorite dance station The Beat on 36 was gone. I signed up for Siruis many years ago because I didnt like BPM on XM. Now there is all new programming and I dont really like the music. Why couldnt they just have had both channels? I am disappointed. This was supposed to be a Siruis XM merger, why is Sirius taking a majority of XM's stations?
As an XM subscriber I received MLB for free. Sirius received NASCAR for free. Now I need to pay extra for NASCAR, but MLB is free? I will go without.
I had the priviledge of listening to both XM and Sirius and personally think that Sirius' format blows XM away. You just have to give it a chance the same way you did when you first got your XM.
My biggest disappointment so far is the replacement for the Sirius "Kidz Stuff" channel. My daughter and I listened to this for at least an hour a day. It was 99% music with only the occasional joke or station advert breaking up the otherwise-continuous stream of kid-friendly tunes. It was replaced with the "Kids Place" channel, which frankly is ill-conceived and basically plain horrible. They seem to play one song and then have some idiot blather on for 4-5 minutes. Neither my daughter (she's 4 years old) nor I want to hear the idiotic DJs, we just want some fun kids' music. Please bring back our beloved Kidz Stuff!
I have been a Sirius Subscriber for the last 3 years (3 tuners ands a home system). I have really enjoyed being able to get in the car and find something good to listen to and something besides commercials. As much as I love my Sirius, I was also upset about the changes to programming yesterday. I guess the changes made affected all of us in some way. Hopefully it will be better in the long run? Siriusly upset about BOOMBOX & BACKSPIN being gone. I also hope the changes made to the KID'S STUFF Channel that my 2 and 7 year old really enjoyed when we're in the car together on the way to school or taking a road trip, won't be too drasticaly different as it seemed to be yesterday.
Glad they kept BPM !!!!
I don't like the change..I will truly miss the DJ and talk on Soul Street compared to the slick middle of the road classics on Soul Town..also there is nothing that can compare to Beyond Jazz. I will have to think about my subscription.
The only reason I subscribe(d) to XM was Squizz (XM 48). The ONLY reason. I can't get this type of music here in the backwoods of Alabama. I don't care about MLB, NBA, or Howard Stern. Just this one station was worth the cost to me. Now it's been replaced with Octane. UGH. THANKS ALOT Sirius XM.
Oh, yeah. Cancel my subscription. Effective IMMEDIATELY.
There are very few happy about this. My God, a 24-hour channel dedicated to The Grateful Dead? That's what XM has come to?
I had XM for one year, several years ago. One day I was listening to my favorite XM station, Flight 26, and realised they were editing words out of songs. Next. NASCAR left XM and switched to Sirius so I cancelled my XM and bought a Sirius Starmate 4 and haven't lookeed back since. I found the XM programming to be inferior to what Sirius offered after I had the Sirius for awhile.
When Lucy Fred and Ethel died, it was like family members had died.
But when fungus was canceled, it was like my heart was cut out.
Enjoy your profits Sirius/XM, you won't be getting any more of my money.
Having been through a large corporate wireless merger, I would say the reason that no one was notified is because everyone involved probably had to sign non-disclosure agreements forbidding them to talk about it until it actually happened.
That being said, XM's music library blows. Boombox, The Beat, Maxim...gone. What a shame. Tried listening to BPM (Beat's replacement channel) for about an hour. What a horrible selection of dance music! No Oakenfold, David Guetta, Paul Van Dyk, no one! And Boombox was awesome for out there remixes and break beats.
Covino and Rich from Maxim survived, but Stretch and Devore and Diane were let go almost without prior notice (shame).
Overall, its pretty disappointing. But give it time, hopefully they will bring back a lot of our favorite stations.
I love it....bye bye XM! I'm a subscriber to both Sirius and XM and in my humble opinion, Sirius music channels are "WAY BETTER" than those that were transmitted on XM. Great Job Mel K, long live SiriusXM Radio.
p.s. Lets get that stock going up up up Management!
Oh MEL, are you reading this? I need my refund back track since 2004....and where are my favorite DJ's, like Xclusive....I'm petitioning for further changes....or CANCELLATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow..... You guys amaze me. We all took the plung into SAT Radio and loved our respective stations. It has only been a day and it seems like everyone is threatening to leave. I too miss my favs but give it a week or two before you jump to the negative. The only negative I have scene so far is the way this thing was rolled out. Other then that I am digging stations like "Elvis" and the "Coffehouse". I wish the NFL was not included in the normal subscripton and hope they realize that if they include ALL SPORTS MLB, NHL,NBA and the NFL in the basic subscription more guys will join......
Just give it 2 weeks........
No question that "the Loft" is a very poor substitute for Disorder. Please contact Sirius by e-mail and phone and tell them to make the Loft more like Disorder. Bring back Celtic Crush, Dharma Cafe, Bourbon Street Beat, Bob Dylan Radio Hour (not at all the same as Theme Time Radio Hour) and DJs like Meg, Rick Allison, Ghosty and Larry Kirwan. I called and the rep I talked to professed that Sirius in interested in listener comments. I have to believe they are. Call and then cancel if you have to. That's the option I'm taking.
How sad. You were so young. So pure. So true and the only vice I still had – XM XCountry – Alt Country as good as it gets – got gone.
Oh, I know it's not your fault – things change – but tell that to a broken
heart and it doesn't hear. It wants what it wants.
Oh, sure I can explain it , but I still can't make it understand.
Rogue Calls – no more. Too young to be this cynical. Too old to be naïve.
Oh, man,...Haulin' hay and double-plays. It was a summer without end.
Brand loyalty? I tell you about brand loyalty. I negotiated the deal on my new car around the addition of an XM – not Sirius – radio just for XM
XCountry.
And the election? What election? Don't matter who's in office. Bob Wills is still the King.
To conclude -with sadness in my heart, silence in my ears and apologies to Lloyd Bentsen:
Sirius Outlaw Country, I rode with XM XCountry.
I knew XM XCountry.
XM XCountry was a friend of mine.
Sirius Outlaw Country, you're no XM XCountry.
I think the people who are complaining about losing their stations completely have a valid argument. If your stations simply changed names, I wouldn't assume that all is lost. Check this list first:
http://www.xmradio.com/onxm/lineup.xmc
For instance, today I've been listening to the former 47 – Ethel, which is now 47 – Alt Nation. The same dj's are there (Cane) and the music lineup seems unchanged. I can't speak for all stations, but I would give it some time so that XM isn't processing 1000's of unfounded claims and misses one's that they should really pay attention to.
was anyone else annoyed by the very occasional commercials on the adult comedy channels? Oh, and the ad content was even more annoying.
I dumped XM because they dumped Beyond Jazz. There is no substitute for this channel on XM/Sirius. They played excellent and innovative modern jazz not heard oh their Real Jazz channel. I listened to this channel more than all the others, so there is no point for me to keep XM. I have never had Sirius, but I understand they dumped their modern jazz channel, Planet Jazz, a while back.
I am not interested in new offerings such as Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, NASCAR races, or the Grateful Dead channel, so see ya later XM. The forces of mediocrity have prevailed yet again...
We trusted them to merge well and they didn't.
The point is that Satellite Radio was supposed to give us choices. When there were two different services we did have a choice. We'd have to buy all new stuff to switch but at least it was there and we all felt better. Now they've merged and the choice is gone. The differences between the two services are so minor that they're irrelevant.
I'd describe it as a "bait and switch." I bought all this stuff to hear "On The Rocks" and few other channels but now they're all gone and I still own the radios, which don't do anything else.
Desmond Crisis (CNET Radio XM130, Launch though 2003)
Lefty, you don't seem to understand music, much less electronic music. Newer doesn't always equal better. The System was a very good channel and they played extremely new music through DJ shows. They would not purge songs from the system just because they were a certain number of months old. Shame on them! Opting for variety and quality over commercial/pop music interests.
The System was pretty much the only music channel I listened to. I don't know why they opted for Area over the System, considering Area is so close to BPM and the System is very different from both of them. The System is still online, so perhaps they will reconsider their choice in the near future.
More importantly, this act of taking away channels and reducing variety and choice is very close to a violation of the terms of this merger. Sirius-XM should really think twice about what they are doing.
I was in total shock yesterday morning when I turned on my sirus radio, channels were updated and no more boombox. I've been subscribing since the service first started and used to divide my time between chill and boombox. Then they changed the format of chill a couple of years ago and it became ELEVATOR MUSIC (somehow claming it wasn't at the same time). So 90% of the time I've been listening to boombox for YEARS. I was ready to cancel my subscription today but my husband says wait, they'll realize what a stupid mistake they've made and bring it back. I'm not so sure. But the subscription is not worth all of the classic rock stations in the world to me when I can turn on the radio for free and here those songs over and over. This was a unique station and I don't know where else I'm going to find new D&B music to listen to in the car. Possibly on the Internet at my desk...
This merger seems a lot like trying to merge the Democrats and the Republicans. No one is happy with the muddled mess and muffled message.
Based on the comments It seems that the XM/Sirius fans fall into two main camps.
XM fans like obscure music and no DJs.
Sirius fans like DJs and more mainstream music.
I will not comment on people who pay to hear Howard Stern. PT Barnum is smiling somewhere I am sure.
Having said that it seems that some of the channels on both services appealed to the passions of their listeners and that those stations were eliminated from the resulting merger.
If you have ever been part of a consumer focus group you will understand how something that had some obvious passion behind it has been homogonized by a corporation. Sadly money talks and stock holders listen.
I have been an XM subscriber since 2002 and loved the fact that the music channels were commercial and mostly DJ free. I mainly listen to Christian music and talk, classical music and the news channels. My favorirte channels seem mainly unchanged thus far.
Anything that stirs the passions of people attracts those that only see profits and the result is that the passion dies and the people move to something else.
Yes I am old. T
This too shall pass.
I have sirius at home (through Dish Net) and XM in the car. Although I like XM alot, Sirius is the better product and I am psyched that they switched alot of the channels I liked on Sirius over to XM. Hopefully, they don't raise prices further!
I was surprised to see that my favorite Sirius music station The Strobe was gone!! All I have now is Howard Stern and something called Calliente. I wish that Sirius had let the subscribers have some input as to which stations should stay or go. After all, I PAID to have Disco/Freestyle 24/7. Note to Mel Karmazin: Get the Subscribers involved in your programming. There's plenty of room to make us all happy.
I also am very disappointed that 82 – The System disappeared because it is awesome driving music for long trips and one of the stations that made my buy XM in the first place. I sent XM feedback on this move, and I think if enough people show disappointment about this channel being relegated to "online only", maybe they will consider bringing it back. I'm glad that it is not gone completely, but if you are going to carry the station anyway, why not transmit it to all receivers? Channel 80, formerly "The Move", now called "Area", has never been as good as System in my opinion.
What happened to Beyond Jazz? There is nothing quite like it and nowhere else that I can enjoy picking out new modern jazz artists. This was the main reason I had 2 XM radios (car and home).
So let me get this straight, now I have to pay for the channels I used to get for free?
I agree with the obvious majority this change is not for the best. I was excited when I first heard about the channels..but with a lack of communication and fair warning to customers ( I was listening to backspin 43 on Monday and poof it was gone on Tuesday no warning!) I agree with Lorenzo now I have 2 choices of commercialized hip hop. WhenI called the customer service line I was told they "combined stations that were similar, and discontinued those who were not as popular! ".Hello Backspin 43 old classic hip hop was not popular? I find that VERY hard to believe further more..I am getting what I can get for free- the same songs being played all the time..I got in my car yesterday and 40 and 45 were playing the same exact song by TI. Kanya at the same time..if I wanted that I could have stuck with FM!
Bring back Backspin 43!!!!
Yesterday, 95% of my XM listening pleasure (72, Beyond Jazz; 76, Fine Tuning) disappeared without warning. I nearly cancelled my subscription a while back when Channel 51(Music Lab) got the axe–now I will for sure. Satellite radio used to be somewhat provocative...no longer. You can have all that other stuff.
this change sucks they took away backspin, so now there are only 2 rap channels. why are there like 20 different rock channels catering to evey niche of rock, but just two hip hop channels. and now no old school. i want an east coast channel, a true school channel, just more hip hop. and it sucks I can't get the best of xm on my sirius. Mel Karmizan said that all existing radios could get the best of package, but yet my radio I bought lees than three years ago can't get it. what a rip off. If it wasn't for Howard I would cancel and as soon as he leaves i will.
I too was very disappointed and somewhat ticked off when i got into the car only to find several of my preset stations were no longer on the air or had changed completely. XM didn't forget to debit my account for the dues, but they CLEARLY forgot to send advanced notification that stations would be changing or eliminated and which ones they were. I received an email about the lineup AFTER the fact AND it didn't list all stations, just a few where some changes were made. I am highly disappointed they took away the Old School Hip Hop station, as that music is of my generation and timeless. Today's hip hop has a lot of cursing and mysoginistic material that wasn't really found in the Old School format. That music was a lot about just having a feel good time, dancing and some of it happened to be socially concious as well. NOW, they have rolled all hip hop into one station. If I want to hear Lil Wayne and them, I can listen to my local station and hear it 100 times a day as opposed to paying for the service. Although due to the merger it was apparent some things would change, Sirius/XM, whoever they are today CLEARLY missed the boat on communicating with its PAYING customers. POOR customer service practices. I will try it out for the next 2 weeks, but if I continue to dislike what it has to offer, i will be cancelling my membership pronto.
Where is my smooth jazz, not interested in watercolors, and channel
50 format has changed, please put it back don,t like the new format.
Bad Bad Bad. I have Sirius in the car, and XM in the house. XM is quirkier, more interesting, clearly the better content. Sirius is less thoughtful in its playlists and the stations tend to lack coherent character, feel thrown together. If this is the direction, merger should not have been approved.....regulators should take a look back at this and determine if Sirius has broken the terms of the approval - clearly they have undermined innovation, not enhanced it, with these changes.
Deeply disappointing, Sirius - this is how a monopoly acts!
I got into my car yesterday and my Sirius radio said "Updating" so I waited and then the channel i was on "Playboy radio" said INVALID CHANNEL!!! so i was confused. I had no warning that this was happening. all of my favorie DJ's are gone.. and the songs played on my favorite stations are different. I just renewed for a year and im not happy!!!!
I won't get rid of sirius ever under any circumstance provided the stern channels stay intact
so i understand if others are pissed if their programming gets deleted.
At the same time for satellite to be a viable medium some cuts will probably have to be made to keep it competitive. Not much you can do when the stock is at .26 cents and falling....
I'm a DirectTV subscriber and every Christmas season I look forward to Classical Christmas music. Now I only see one channel for Christmas music (Holly). Hopefully, they will bring back Classical Christmas.
I am a sirius subscriber, and I lost a lot of channels. Like my Jazz station, moving easy, many more..This was the worse thing to do..
I'm giving XM one month to bring back The Rhyme and Lucy, and if that doesn't happen I'm canceling my subscription and launching an anti-XM/Sirius web site.
If you are unhappy with the new channel line-up, don't bother calling the 800 number where someone in India will listen but do nothing about it. Call 202-380-4000 where they claim they are keeping track of what stations listeners want back on the air.
I don't know why I thought management in satellite radio would be better than the inept management of traditional radio, but I guess I now know they are just as clueless as the rest of the Mr. Carlsons.
I thought XM was the dominant company of the two, so why does this "merger" feel more like I now have a subscription to Sirius?
The clock is ticking, Sirius XM. Bring back The Rhyme. Or else!
Sirius has ruined XM. Wish I could switch... but can't as there are no satellite alternatives anymore. ugh! Might as well go to AM.
Being an XM subscriber for nearly two years, and not being completely happy with the channels that were, I see the new line-up as a good thing. The Spectrum is pretty cool and I like the dj's on Classic Vinyl – it sounded too automated before. Give it time, diehards – it's still a heckuva lot better than FM when you consider the variety factor. My renewal is up next month – I plan to continue the service.
I am very upset about the switch from Suite 62 to "Heart and Soul". They playlist is nothing like Suite 62. I hope I can end my contract with XM, this is not what I signed up for. You keep RAW but get rid of Suite 62? Patooey!
R.I.P. Suite 62, you will be missed!!
I like the Elvis station that is pretty cool. I wanted to get my parents a subscription for xmas, but now I am not too sure.
I've had SIRIUS for several years and have had the great fortune to enjoy XM music on my DIRCT TV. I'm hoping this merge of two wonderful programs will result in even more great options. Siriusly Sinatra is pitifully dull and repetatvie. So, hopefully XM will take that over. I prefer the Sirius 70's over the XM's, so I hope that will remain. See? maybe things won't be so bad!
Goodbye, XM. And hello... PANDORA!!!
Faction sucks. I want Fungus 53 back.
When friends asked me which satrad service to choose, I explained it like this: If you are going to listen 30 minutes at a time, and want to hear your favorite songs within that time frame, and really like a lot of DJ talk, get Sirius. If you want to be able to listen all day at work or take frequent road trips, and want to hear amazing music that you cant hear anywhere else, without repeats, get XM. While there is a market for both, the fact that XM had so many more subscribers shows that more people prefer the depth of XM over the more "fm" sound of Sirius. The fact that the merged system now sounds a whole lot more like Sirius instead of XM tells me that most XM subscribers will go to internet radio or ipods, and that the combined company will end up with only slightly more subscribers than Sirius had before the merger, and will probably now fail completely in time. R.I.P. XM. It was great while it lasted.
HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!HOWARD!!
To Chris in Toronto....What planet are you on???...The Sirius / XM changes took place here (Canada) and in the US at the same time. Check your Satellite Radio as it would have been updated. No one was immune to the changes including yourself. Just wish they offered NHL games on Sirius.
As an XM subscriber, here's what I'm hoping will come from the Sirius XM merger...
– Less DJ, more music. I hear that Sirius is more into DJ's and their personalities, I'm not interested in talking, so I hope the DJ's stay out of it.
– More music variety (sometimes XM lacked the variety that Sirius has.) Merge the two music collections together and go with it.
An idea for thought...I don't know if Sirius XM already does this, but is it possible to have stations with DJ personalities that please the Sirius crowd and stations that are mostly run on autopilot? If not, put both types of stations on the station lists, and you'll please both crowds.
Sirius XM needs both the SIrius subscriber and the XM subscribers to survive. If they start leaning more towards Sirius programming or leaning more towards XM, they risk alienating one group, or both.
Sirius came with my truck. I don't like it – cuts out all the time, so I use CDs or silence. I'll not renew whenever that time comes up – and I expect I'll buy an Ipod anyway.
Need 80s? http://www.1980s.fm
I'm a Sirius subscriber, and my channels were different this morning too! Channel 2, 4, 9, 12, 15, 18 . . . many of my presets were something very different from yesterday!! I hope the XM lovers will stick around long enough to give Sirius a fair shot. The prevailing theory that Sirius subscribers' programming didn't change as XM got sucked into Sirius is simply untrue.
After 3 years and 3 different receivers, I am giving Sirius the ax today. The lineup changes affected both sides of the fence and if the 20-minute hold time was any indicator, I wasn't the only dissatisfied customer.
When they moved NHL to XM last year, I was annoyed.
When they moved NBA and many college football games to XM this year, I was close to canceling or at least moving down to the "Music Only" option.
Today's lineup shakeup, especially the way they now censor songs on many stations they previously did not, was the final straw. Sirius XM can keep their sorry excuse for "a la carte" pricing, which - oh yeah - requires a new receiver to utilize.
I subscribed to XM because I didn't want to support that bonehead Howard Stern. Now I'm helping pay for his salary. Goodbye, Sirius, and hello to iTunes.
My favorite channel was "Top Tracks", which is now called "Classic Vinyl". Sirius has a DJ speaking on the channel, this is totally unecessary. Please remove the DJ!
I've had XM for years and also have it at work and it would have been nice if I had been notified and given a new station list. I just paid my yearly fee three weeks ago and you would have thought I could have been notified at that time.
I appreciate they at least changed the pre-sets for us so I wasn't stuck searching for where my channels went.
Broadway is still good but I miss Cinemagic – they better deliver on the promise to have it back on 1/1/09. I'm not 100% sure of the switch from Vox to MetOpera though; I get the feeling there'll be less variety and I'll miss my Wagner Thursdays
Other than that the switch is fine for me; I look at the lineup and I still see enough good stations that I wish I had more than 6 pre-sets in the car.
As 4 year subscriber, my biggest upset is the lack of professionalism involved with the change. I didn't receive anything via email nor snail mail regarding the new lineup. Plus, they took away some of the best channels. Thank goodness Cinemagic is coming back in 2009 or I would have been heartbroken.
"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!!" Bev had to laugh, but I couldn't agree with you more! The OnBroadway channel now is awful I may cancel my subscription because of the DJ on this channel, he talks way too much.
I started as an XM sub, then switched to Sirius a few years ago. I was bummed that a few of my favorites were on Sirius, but as of today I feel like I'm getting the best of both worlds. The main stations I listen to on Sirius are still there, or they have the XM 'version'. Now, I also get the odd formats that XM had. So far, it's all good to me.
I have been a subcriber since the beginning in 2002. I have 9 xm radios. Should say Had. I canceled them all. I hope that sirius misses my $75 a month $900 a year.
When sirius gutted the stations a month ago I listened until this weekend to see what would happen. Things did not get better. They even got worse.
The play list has been narrowed down to sirius standards.
XM was the boss. They had the best, most knowledgable DJ's the most wide range of programs. I had access to sirius for about six months and IT Sucked.
With the loss of Matt The Cat, Ken Smith, Bobby Bennett, Leigh, The Doctor, and The sixties on six staff, it is just another version of clear channel.
Without the Jocks and the deep play list ,I can get and listen to an Ipod for a lot less money.
When I called to cancel they tried to talk me out of it. The guy kept saying give us a chance we will be bigger and better, you can even sign up for the enhanced package (for more money) and get Howard Stearn. If Howard Stearn is their bigger and better they are way off in La La Land.
I AM GONE.
The big losers today are the satrad subscribers who actually LIKE music (Simpsons reference: "But chief... what if they actually *like* pizza????") I've been an XM subscriber for two years; the value in it for me was hearing new music that I'd never heard before (you know, what radio USED TO be...) on channels like Beyond Jazz, The Move, The City... I really loved the Rhyme, too, as a child of the 80s. All now gone. 24-7 single-artist channels
I think it it speaks volumes that the defenders of the channel lineup renovations hold Stern & football up as evidence. Garbage. The satrad providers can have a great time giving the masses the same commercial rock & pop that terrestial radio already has, but they won't be getting any more of my money for it.
Sirius overall offers so much more than XM. I have Sirius for Howard and my wife has XM in her car.
The music channels are virtually the same, just different names. Lucy and Lithium are nearly identical.
Look at the best of sirius and the best of xm it is not even a contest as far as which lineup is better.
What I would like to know is why a notice was not sent to all XM Radio subscribers in the mail to inform us of the changes to the stations that we have come to know and in some cases love?! They certainly send the bill fast enough!!! Will I be getting into my car tonite and find out that besides Chrome 83 being gone; will XM6, XM7, XM8, 46, and 49 be all gone and what about the comedy channels? I cannot access XM from my work computer and I do not have one at home, so how am I supposed to know what settings play what music,etc? And I abhor Howard Stern! A poorly handled transition in my opinion XM and Sirius. And as someone else wrote – I also thought XM bought out Sirius! This is a service I paid a lot of money for (long term contract) and I expected better customer service!!
I agree that having DJ's who are knowledgeble about the music and interesting personalities makes great radio. I've been a Sirius subscriber for 3 years and love listening to Andrew Loog Oldham on Underground Garage 25, Larry Kirwan on Disorder 33, Mojo Nixon on Outlaw Country 63 and all the DJs on Pure Jazz 72. I haven't explored the new XM offerings. Where can I find Bob Dylan's show? Also I know that Robbie Fulks used to host concerts at Chicago's Old Town School of Music that were broadcast on XM. Is that channel still around or is it being incorporated in Outlaw Country?
I know that satellite radio is still hemorrhaging cash. Let's all hope this merger allows it to survive. Over the air broadcast radio has become totally unlistenable to me.
I was excited that I would have NASCAR back on my XM and thought for just a second that it was a great switch. But lo and behold, they have taken my favorite NASCAR talk show and (presumably) put it on the NASCAR channel and now I have to pay extra for it! This is crappy! What was once free is now an extra. I thought cable TV was the only one that did that! What a disappointmnet!
You would think XM or Sirius would inform their subscribers about the channel changes well in advance via an e-mail. We are their customers. They already send me garbage via e-mail, why not something important!
as a long time Sirius subscriber, let me tell you. the best thing that ever happened to XM was getting brought into the Sirius fold. you've got Howard, Led Zep radio, the Grateful Dead, and anything else you can think of. bask in the glory of satelite at it's best. Sirius XM is the greatest
Change is good, but to remove classic music channels such as Backspin and the Strobe and not replace them with their XM counterparts was plain foolish. The reason why we all get satellite radios is to satisfy our different music tastes and to hear music we have not heard in years. I've been a Sirius subscriber for over four years and I have been very happy for the most part, but they dropped the ball here. And do not even get me started about STILL NOT GETTING AT LEAST THE MLB CHANNEL!! That is ridiculous.
Brett... Yeah, I didn't realize that 72 changed. I'm trying to keep an open mind and so far so good. I think things will settle out as the two teams merge. I did hear Rhonda Hamilton on this morning followed by a new DJ that I presume came from XM.
I'm hoping they still keep Les Davis and Train Tracks as well as the Blue Note Hour. I was *just* starting to dig Sunday 78s too. I hope it is still around. I also miss James Browne but he disappeared months ago to move to the blues channel.
I'd say from my brief listen this morning for every one new thing I hear that I don't care for, there are 3 or 4 new things I love so, thus far, it's an overall win.
I was extremely disappointed with the programming change this morning, dumping many of the the hallmark XM channels. I will especially miss the loss of John Clay's insights and music trivia 70's on 7, Pat Clark with his 60's selections in the afternoon, and Top Tracks on XM 46. I'm afraid I have yet to fully realized all the changes. I subscribed to XM exclusively for the quality of their music programming. I have not seen an upside to the Sirius-XM merger
I am cancelling
I was listening to the former XM150 at lunch today and a comedy DJ was going on with a caller about the caller's illness and how a dose of Geo. Carlin would cheer him up. Do I care? Of course not – just play comedy, bit-after-bit.
I'll give SirusXM a try but if there's all this talking and ads, why would I pay for that? This is a tough economy at paying for radio would be the first thing I'd cut – and I will if satellite radio become just like terrestrial radio.
Wait a minute!!!
Last time I checked, XM and Sirius were going to "assess" the channel line-ups after the merger, keep them all unchanged, and only slowly begin migrating some channels into each lineup from the other side.
After that, they told Congress they were going to consider introducing new radios to allow for both sets of line-ups to be accessible, given the slight differences in spectrum use and technology, etc. As well as to accomodate the sheer increased number of channels.
When was it decided that they were going to abruptly shift programming like this??? Usually, the weekly "What's on XM" e-mails give a good advance notice of station changes, but I saw NOTHING about this kind of massive lineup change!!!
All I saw was the lame "Best of Sirus" package now being available (e.g., Stern, baseball, NASCAR). I never saw any notice about this happening!!!
OMG!
– Bill
I was EXTREMELY dissapointed this morning when my pre-set Suite 62 was turned into Heart & Soul... Suite 62 was more progressive R-N-B and Neo-Soul, not as commerical. Also The City which had amazing hip-hop & r-n-b DJs has been replaced by the extremely commerical Hip Hop Nation! Where is my New Music Tuesdays??? GONE GONE GONE...
I will give Sirius a chance for one month – otherwise the iPod is my new music station!
Everyone relax, as one poster has already stated, give this adjustment period more than a few hours before freaking out. Everyone hates change, that's obvious. But give it a few weeks, a month, 5, whatever and then pause for some reflections. Clearly, it's sad when a favourite station has moved or change or been deleted, but people saying they will go back to commercial radio??? Are you kidding me? If you dig constant commercials and repeated songs, go for it.
Give it time, that's all this Sirius gal asks
As long as you leave OnA alone, you can do whatever you want with the rest of it. As Mr. Karmazin stated on the boys show (and allow me to paraphrase) Satellite Radio needs to offer the customer programming it cant get elsewhere, or some quote very similiar to that. I can get all the music that I want to hear all day long from my MP3 player. For me, its not about thier music channels, never was and never will be, Do with them as you will...
Sirius sure tried to sell us XM subscribers "the best of Sirius". They did not say anything about the change before or after. The could have put "welcome" messages on the air. I did not notice this morning because I was listening to my usual news channels. I did notice this afternoon when I went to listen to music. I then noticed that my channels had changed. Just another example of how business is interested in the money and not the customers.
As so many of you have said, I hope I get used to the change. My first earfull was not a happy one.
I'll miss Xm. It'll take some time to get used to sirius. Hopefully everything will work out for the best. Though I do think that XM could've told all it's loyal listeners about this change that happened today. It's pretty deceitful. I've been with XM 6+ years now.
...geez, you guys loved XM so much, it's too bad that you didn't pay more for it and keep it from having to merge with Sirius in the first place.
I love the comments from the Sirus fans like "you'll love it when you get used to it" 🙂
and what if that never happens? Oh well 🙂
back to MP3s and CDs for you
Charlz, so far, the Joint has been 1000 Tons of Megaton better than Reggae Rhythms!
Although this is considered a MERGER, there have been several layoffs already at XM. Continue voice your concerns to save XM.
Listen change is not always a bad thing. I am a Sirius subscriber and i too woke up and saw some channels had changed. I looked on the sirius website and got a new line up. Only difference for me is the channels were different numbers. Trust me you will find you taste in music you just need to get used to the changes, Join the revolution!
Howard is on channel 100 & 101
Wow, with all the free music and talk and news on AM, FM, iTunes streaming radio, websites, and cable tv radio (well, it's not free but included), people are paying for radio?
They already moved Claire B Lang and she is not even on at same times. I always decided if I had to cut back it would be pay radio. I drive 100 miles a day and Dr. Laura is my sanity. lol
I usually have my radio on ESPNRadio, so I didn't notice the change immediately, but I heard a commercial about the changes and checked when I got to work. No more XM Cafe? I really hope the new replacement doesn't just play radio-friendly artists. I've heard some really great, unheard-of artists on there, as well as some artists that I was familiar with, but hadn't really listened to before. I'll be glad to get the additional sports coverage, but I hope the selection is at least as good.
I'm not happy with the changes. I think I should have seen this coming when they tried to get me to pay for "The Best of Sirius," and I was thinking they couldn't be serious about those channels being their best.. Now I'm thinking they're probably right about what they do best and Sirius will never be what's best for me....
As long as they keep Opie & Anthony, I'm fine with the changes made. If they decide to drop O & A, I cancel all of my subs.
As a subscriber of both at certain periods. Sirius is a significantly higher quality product on just about every level. It has more sports & talk programming, as well as a broader variety of music selection. I couldn't be happier that XM merged into Sirius, and not vice versa. If that was the case, satellite radio would have lost a die-hard supporter.
I'm in the middle of a program and then radio goes updating programming. I will cancel XM now, just needed a reason and my favorite shows are gone
Competition, charge-what-the-market-will-bear, etc.
As a person who has listened to both XM ad Sirius, I chose Sirius in the end. Why? Can't say, but I found the signal cleaner and the songs more diverse in the long run.
Obscure hiphop and jazz – got it.
Old radio shows – got it.
Classic vinyl – got it.
News – got it.
Don't despair XM users: there's a Sirius channel for you.
And to those who asked about "seasonal" music, yup, there's that too.
Let's give it half a chance and see what happens..
(PS: the jazz stations are great!)
As long as they keep Opie & Anthony, I'm fine with the changes made. If they decide to drop O & A, I cancel all of my subs.
No more Chrome! They told me 70's on 7 has the same content clearly does not sadly I will be canceling the service...
I'm so disappointed to hear my beloved Lucy is gone. 🙁 Now what are my options? I haven't ever listened to Sirius...can someone post a comparison type list?
XM 65 THE RHYME !!!! I WANT IT BACK!!!
I'm starting a march to the Washington DC office and get that back. I need to figure out who to talk to get this station back. I can't BELIEVE they expect me to listen to Lil' Scrappy and Joe Buck and all the other rapper wanna-bes.
I was really saddened to lose my favorites. One is supposed to return in January, but... I may cancel and just listen to my CDs. Unfortunately we subscribed to XM for several family members who travel. I hope they've been expanding their CD collections. So far the Sirius stations haven't impressed me that much.
I am really hoping that this works out for us, the subscribers. I really enjoyed my XM radio and am willing to give Sirius a chance. I am disappointed that the Christmas music is starting a couple of weeks later than before and it looks like there is only one channel for Christmas music. Yes, I am one of those people that enjoys Christmas music right after Halloween. I figure we only get two months out of the year. I hope that there will be more of a selection soon. Thanks.
I called and cancelled today since they got rid of the stations that I listened to in order to merge the Sirius stations over to XM. I have to say, the stations they brought over were the reason I left them and went to XM in the first place!!!!
This will take a little getting used to. I don't like having the DJ on classic vinyl. I hope the new company reads these comments, but somehow I don't it will make a difference.
I miss my E! channel. Doe sirius have anything comparable??
I'm going to miss Sirius Disorder, which was far superior in range of music played to what is on its suggested replacement, The Loft.
My cousin Ash called me up this morning asking me to flip through my Satellite radio only to find unexpected changes. It feels like everything is out of place and I'm cautiously optimistic. It's like the movie ID where Aliens takeover the airwaves. At least BPM is still on.
I have both XM and Sirius and my biggest complaint is the lack of any communication to us the subscribers. As long as the bill is paid you don't hear anything. Sad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Allan...like I've said a few times already, it seems more stupid to pay $45 or more for commercial television than $9 a month for commercial-free music.
Let me add my 2 cent (plain) I had stock in Sirius that is worthless now because auto sales are "kapoot" and I also just renewed my subscription to XMSirious for another year, but this might just well be my last.
Does anyone know if you can combine the two accounts now? I have Sirius in my house and XM in my new car. It will be cheaper to have them both thru one company.
Oh yeeah, I'm now a Sirius subscriber. Much better music selection if you're into punk and/or hard alternative rock. Plus, they have the PGA Tour channel too! BONUS!
In satellite radio as in politics, change is good.
Todd, fret not. You will love 1st wave!.
I was a Sirius subscriber until I bought a car that had XM pre-installed.
It was horrible, Fred did not play enough Cure, Depeche Mode and New Order (they happen to be my favorites – along with Siouxsie and the Banshees who are also a staple of 1st wave).
I love both stations and have not purchased a CD since I started my suscription 3 years ago! I love listening to old school disco and songs I heard growing up. Sirius and XM had a station on each, now they're both gone. Very disappointing!
Well good news for past XM customers. You won't have to listen to commercials anymore on the music stations. I had XM for 3 days in my boat and got rid of it cause I swear I heard more commercials on it then regular radio. I've had Sirius for years in my autos and I switched my boat over to them.
OH yeah, by the way....I am now a Sirius subscriber and loving it! Much better music selection (for those who like punk and/or alternative rock). Not to mention Howard Stern. Plus, they have the PGA Golf too. XM is going down!
Fungus will be sorely missed!
Being a long time XM subscriber I have to say there was a reason I picked XM over Sirius. Channel selection was one of the reasons. But alas the almighty dollar has spoken and Sirius is now in charge and can change whatever they want. Now with no choice for satellite radio except Sirius we can go back to old radio or "learn" to like Sirius.
I must be in the minority. I am excited about the merger. Sure there are a few changes, but with the Dead, E Street and Jam channels, this is way better. Quit complaining that you had to reset your presets. Its all good. It beats no XM at all.
I have been in constant mourning since the powers-that-be at XM disbanded its Fungus channel. Not a mere peep from any of the coorporate heads has been heard from or since as to their logic. To me, the charm of having satellite radio was its unique choices in their music stations. Instead, in its place they created an AC/DC channel. In God's name, why would anybody want to hear the same band 24/7?? I have since canceled my membership because of the lack of communication from these coorporate heads.
Wow, I'm really surprised at the negativity, but think it's more of a reaction to the abruptness as opposed to the actual content.
For me, a Sirius subscriber, 90% of my listening time is split between Howard 100 and 101. Other 10% or so? Lithium, Coffee House, Octane...some really good music channels, not sure on the others but there's not a lot of chatter on these (none on Lithium, in fact).
I think this is a necessity for the two firms to eliminate redundancies. As for folks who still think it's a monopoly, I'm guessing they've never heard of local radio, ipods, cds, the internet...
Goodbye satellite radio.
It was 4 and a half great years with XM.
Experiment FAILED.
DJ's belong on AM radio and not on my subscription radio. I paid for the service so I can listen to music without interruption, and any kind of DJ blather is just as much of an interruption as commercials are.
The worst DJ's are the ones that think it is a talent to talk all over the intro to a song, and stop talking just before the singing starts. What goons.
Sirius XM should save themselves a chunk of change, and get rid of All of the DJs on this subscription service. Talk about unnecessary.
I have Sirius and my husband has XM. I never liked XM and thought that Sirius was much better. Imagine my surprise this morning when some of my channels were gone (Strobe, Backspin, Buzzsaw – although I'm hearing that it will be back) and the names of other channels have been replaced with XM channel names. I guess we'll all either have to get used to this or cancel our subscriptions en masse!!!
If they TOUCH BPM I am canceling... I was very disappointed to find the stations I really liked had changed Big tracks to classic .., Lucy to Lithium.. ect.. the lineup had better be just as good or better than I was listening too.. Though on the big tracks to classic rewind, it wouldn't hurt my feelings to play a LOT less Bruce Springstein.. but on that note, I have heard a lot of John Melloncamp today. I like him, been to his concerts but can only take so much of any artist during the day. Sorry John..
I'm sorry they've apparently fired John Von Soosten. He was a little goofy, but he knew enormous amounts about Broadway. I listened to the 'live' show at noon and it was indeed pretty dreadful. I guess we just get songs now–no special programs (like the theme programs that von Soosten used to have, which were lots of fun). Less interesting, but we'll have to see whether the quality of the selections goes up or down. Dylan is still on (I heard him today on the Folk channel) but I can't tell whether they've dumped Mary Sue Toohey, who is actually a folk singer–imagine having someone who knows something about the subject as a DJ!!!
Just to let everyone know.....I think change is good. I love my sirius and will not go back to regular radio. They play the samething over and over again.
XM changed every single music channel I listened to (Ethel, Fred, Lucy, etc), and replaced them with similar Sirius channels. I guess it's fine, and at least Opie and Anthony are still on the service. If they go, I go.
I listen to CNN on XM every morning on my drive to work, but I want to hear my favorite R&B channel Suite 62 this morning and to my surprise as I pressed all of my pre-programmed channels, ALL my channels are different and the vibe of music isn't the same. It will take me some getting used to.
On XM, Boneyard should come back January 15, 2009 when it replaces the AC/DC channel.
I listen only to XM or my iPod (or CD's) and quit listening to regular regular radio to get away from the talking heads who seemed to think I could really care less what they thought.
I always turn the channel when the talking starts. I rented a car once with Sirus and was totally disgusted. Commecials-ok, I understand, but why all the talk?
I have always liked Sirius better. I bought a new car two years ago and it was equipped with XM, so I tried it and I hated it. I told my husband as far as I was concerned he could cancel it. Of course he didn't and he listens to it, but I refuse to. I have my ipod in the car and that is all I really listen to now.
I have had both XM and Sirius. I can tell you that XM in my opinion was garbage at best. I stuck with Sirius and have been very happy ever since. XM's music stations were obscure and their talk shows were terrible. With Sirius, I got the music I liked like the 2 classic stations and Margaritaville, I got Howard Stern, and I got Bubba the Lovesponge. I could care less about anyone or anything on XM except for the sports. Everyone who thinks that XM was so great and now wants to cancel their subscription just doesn't get it. Quit crying. If you don't like it, go back to crappy "free radio".
At least they left my beloved XM Comedy alone. True it is named different now and has some new things (noon hour request show) but I can live with that.
I now have to find my alternatives to Squiz and The System though...
RIP to my favorite station, Fine Tuning.
Went to turn on my favorite station this afternoon – 861 Chrome..yes, I am admitting it...I danced to many of these favorites during summers at Fire Island in the late 70's..early 80's...at nearing 50, I still find myself dancin' around the house ...it kept me in shape..now what? say it isn't so.....enjoying my white wine now on Friday nights just won't be the same....We were BORN TO BE ALIVE!!!!
Been XM listeners for years and loved loved loved it. They had edgier programming and I loved it.
But will they show Special XMas like they have in the past, with all those odd holiday songs? The comedy stations changes so will the same programming still be there? I also loved listening to MLB games. But I will not pay $4.99 a month for "Best of Sirius" since all I want is NFL games! I don't even listen to Oprah or Opie/Anthony within my base package so I won't pay to hear Howard Stern or Martha Stewart.
We'll see how this goes but we may have to get rid of our 4(!) XM radios. Based on the feedback, watch their stock price go down to $.10 per share. Satellite radio is a great concept but greed and idiocy already ruined.
I don't understand why they watered down all of the best stations on XM and didn't give us anything in return..Not that I was particularly excited at the prospect of listening to Martha Stewart all day, but at least it would have been an addition.
If I had wanted sirius I would've bought it when I made the decision to get satellite radio. I basically miss my old stuff and while I won't cancel my subscription, at this moment it doesn't look too likely that I'll renew it either.
What really is mind boggling is why sirius took a successful product and changed it to make it theirs rather than keeping it its' own entity-especially when there are subscribers involved.
I'm sorry XM users will be losing their favorites, or some of their stations are getting moved. Let's remember why this is happening, though: both companies have been on the ropes, and they realized they couldn't do it separately...but they might have a shot at it if they pulled together.
As painful as it is, some of that content has got to go, simply to balance out the books. I'm just hoping we can still keep 40-50 good stations after all the hacking and slashing is done. I'm just finishing my first year with Sirius, but I'm hoping both user bases can keep getting the good stuff we've had.
Satellite radio is dead in 5 years.
I thought I was the only one who was a wee bit upset about the switch. I'm a faithful XM subscriber, and I've raved so much about the variety, I recently had a friend join the club. I hope they liked what little exposure they got to the way things used to be... LOL!
Today, I'm sad that one of my favorite stations, The Rhyme (65), is gone. Others have been replaced by Sirius' version of similar formats. Somehow, I just don't think my listening experience will be the same.
Signed,
One Sad XMer
Oh my.
SIRIUS Disorder was one of the most original stations ever. The music they would play went from rock, to blues to standards to world music etc... You never knew what to expect. And they where always playing new music. Well those days are OVER as of this morning! They are trying to pass off the LOFT as the Disorder replacement.
I was afraid of this, Disorder may not have been a big hit, but it had a loyal following.
Lets hope this is not a trend and they make the same mistake old radio made, playing only popular music and forgetting the rest!!!
I was afraid this would happen. I had Sirius for nine months and chucked it in favor of XM, which had a much larger playlist. The only thing I liked of Sirius was Cousin Brucie on Saturday night and the Discovery Channel station, and they got rid of the latter. Husband still has Sirius; we listen to the 60s channel on Saturday and then again on Sunday and its the same stupid playlist as it was on Saturday and sometimes the same as it was earlier in the day. If I hear "Me and Bobby McGee" one more time, I'm going to barf. And now we have Elvis radio and Bruce Springsteen radio...who wants one artist 24/7?? At least they didn't combine the standards channel with the 40s channel like Sirius did...YO! not the same thing, you idiots. Who cares about Howard Stern ("the mouth")...what could ANY man say that is so good that could possibly entitle him to two channels? I wish they would offer an ala carte so I could get ride of the sports channels on both services. Why should I pay for crap that both my husband and I hate?
Brian – Thanks for the feedback on the Sirius Stiletto and yes, Howard Stern is the main reason I'm looking to subscribe. Mornings just haven't been the same since he went into orbit. Thanks again!
Now it's time to get HD radio. It has stations with out annoying DJs – the secondary stations have noo commercials and no slicksers with groovy voices blabbing on and on. i hate the ads and mindless chatter while driving (actually i hate it all the time) . HD is coming standard a bunch of new cars – not sure how to retroactively get it. but will try to figure that out now that XM is gone. Loved Franks and Fred.
Missing my friend XM 12 X-Country. This stationed turned me on to so many artists which I would have never had been introduced if it were not for XM.
I'll give the change a chance. If I find positives that offset my dissapointment I may keep paying the subscription. If dissapointment continues I will take the $20 I spend towards XM and pump into new music on itunes.
For those in dissapointment – you may consider getting an ipod and using the free radio service Pandora. This app is free. You enter in an artist which you like and Pandora radio continues to play that artist and artists like the artist entered. It is quite cool.
.... grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... there are 21 rock stations... that's like 50% of the freaking programming where's the good oldies(1)/latin(1)/hip-hop(4) stations
yea time to whip out the Ipod/MP3 CD's ...... damn i'm so disgruntled
I see everyone complaining that XM channels have gone away, but Sirius subscribers are in for some changes too, many of our stations have changed or gone away as well.
And I can't say that Sirius was any more communicative with their subscribers about the progress of the merger.
We've had the Best of XM package available for a while now, and then last night the e-mail with the new channel lineup.
Never a good thing to see your receiver tell you it's loading new channel lineup, cause you know your presets just got pooched.
i had xm switched to sirius and liked sirius better. but the point i want to make is both were loosing money and this was done to survive. if not there would be no xm or sirius and back to crappy free raido with 40 minutes of commercials 10 minutes of dj talk 10 minutes of the same 5 songs played over and over again.
So, based on the emails, I guess my Lucy and Ethel are no more. Bummer. I have no use for Nascar, no use for Howard Stern, and no use for sports out the wazoo, so I'll definitely miss my XM. I still like satellite over regular radio, so hopefully I'll learm to get over my initial dislike.
Since SiriusXM has eliminated punk from their service, what's next? I suppose in 3 years there will be 150 channels of the same 50 songs in various phases of repeat. Actually, I expect the company will not exist in 3 years, since no one is going to pay extra for the same pablum they can get on broadcast radio. If a punk station doesn't return to the lineup soon, I will be canceling my subscription.
Hey Ryan...I'd like to be your emotional friend. Sounds like you need one. 143.
I'm still not over the deceit of XM radio looking me right in the eye and promising there will never be any advertising on their satellite radio that they make me pay for. Nothing they do (or any promise they break) in the future will surprise me.
Geez! First it was my Music Match getting taken over by Yahoo Music who totally pulled the plug on all the great Music Match Radio content, now this! I've been an XM subscriber for years and knew there were talks with Sirius, but would it have killed them to let their subscribers know what was going to happen? I'm outta here.
Quite honsetly I've never understood the need to PAY for radio. What a stupid thing to pour money into. Not worth the money nor my time. Something tells me that with the change over many more people will agree with me.
Some of Sirius is gone, too, like Indie Talk. Thank God that Pete Dominick is still on it, but Vinnie Politan and some others are no more now that it's POTUS.
I haven't been happy with XM since they took music lab off about 18 months ago. Found many new progressive bands that I had never heard of before, Porcupine Tree, RPWL, etc. But I still love Deep Tracks, and the DJ's are my friends! Thanks goodness they didn't change that one.
My husband had Sirius for awhile in his Ford, we both felt the music was more "watered down" then XM.
The Strobe and Boombox are gone. They want me to listen to the 70s at 7 and Alt Nation as substitutes The 70s channel has one disco song per hour, and no classic house, freestyle, or classic dance on it. Alt Nation has never played anything Boombox has on it.
Unless they come up with a compelling reason for me to stay, then I have spent my last dollars with them.
The new line up is simply awful. My favorite channels are gone or have been replaced by very mediocre alternatives. The only couple of channels from Sirius that I actually enjoyed listening to in my friend's car have not made the move to XM or have been removed today.
I have been an XM subscriber since year 1. I am not going to renew when my account expires or if I get fed up with the new line up sooner than expected, I will cancel and get a refund.
I hope they plan a replacement for The Rhyme (Old School Hip Hop). They always seemed to find a song, that maybe you wouldn't want to purchase back in the day, but definitely appreciated hearing.
Has anybody tried out slacker.com?
What happened to Sirius Disorder – Where's Meg, Vince, David Johansen, Celtic Crush, Dave Marsh?
I am very dissapointed and may have to cancel my subscription!
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.