New SiriusXM Channel LineUp

[PLRX]

May 4th, new channel line-up for Satellite Radio

http://www.siriusxm.com/pdf/11-1524_SIR_WebLUs_5_4.pdf

[mike100]

The way I feel about XM is about the same as you feel about the pig-farmer drivetrain place.

Those guys billed me for service I didn't order (I never gave them my CC #) and sent my shit to collections. I was so pissed I canceled 9 months of remaining Sirius service in my DD so I wouldn't forget to waste time later begging them to let me leave.

Sirius XM can eat a dick.

(I liked the actual radio service- too bad they have an unethical business plan).

[skyzzics]

The future of satellite radio is very much in doubt. As more people get smart phones all kinds of stations will be accessible, free. The same is true for digital cameras and video cameras. If you have stock in XM sell it and short it.

[Frizlefrak]

I've had XM since 2003 and love it. But I can see where their days may be numbered. If I can clip my phone on the dash of my car and listen to any online content anywhere.....

And we have a fairly new classic rock station out of Juarez here that I'm listening to in preference of XM....

Rock 105

I would still miss the Boneyard and Hair Nation if they were to vanish.

[C4fan]

I've always liked XM or Serius radio but just couldn't get around the price they ask and never could quite get their tactics either. We basically pay for the equipment to receive the signal. So, once they have paid for the rights and equipment to put the signal out, there shouldn't be much more overhead except for the billing dept. I'm not a financial wizard but I would think it would be to their advantage to get the price down to were it's affordable and get more people paying for it. They waste too much effort trying to trick people into paying for the service too.

[Frizlefrak]

They're paying a ton for talent, royalties, and licensing too. I don't recall how much they paid Howard Stern and Oprah, but it was staggering. Flying the birds in geosynchronous orbit can't be cheap either. Their fixed costs are huge.

[mike100]

Yes, it should be simpler to buy it...like pre-pay. I would use netflix as an example. You pay your $8 a month and when you stop, so does the service. It could all be done online without the legions of call center people.

Problem is that it cost a billion dollars to launch those satellites.

Also, smart phone internet based music is not free. Most people pay $80-$100 a month to have a phone with a good data plan.

[socalman]

Originally Posted by Frizlefrak

They're paying a ton for talent, royalties, and licensing too. I don't recall how much they paid Howard Stern and Oprah, but it was staggering. Flying the birds in geosynchronous orbit can't be cheap either. Their fixed costs are huge.

bought mine Dec 04' for the Howard move.

Howards show was $100M a year (people always thought that's what he got paid, but that's for the entire crew, engineering dept. studio build/lease etc. New contract, no idea this time, but it supposedly wasn't as large.

Oprah got $50M and that was just to use her name and have her idiot friends be the 'talent'. She's never been on the station.

[C4fan]

I'm sure they pay big bucks for research teams to tell them how much to charge to get the best revenue. Unlike buying a car, where they have to purchase materials and labor for each one, once they buy Opra and Howard that's it whether they sell it to 1 or 1 billion (except possibly for royalties). You can sell 1 subscription for $50 or 2 for $25 but if you market it right you might be able to sell 2 for $35 and be that much richer. Or you might end up just selling 1 for $35. The latter is how I do my financing and probably why I'm not in charge of anyones marketing.

[RedLS1GTO]

...all I know was that on the morning of the 4th my GMC truck changed all of my preset channels to the new ones. When I left the truck on the 3rd it was on channel 17 (country). When I got in on the 4th, my radio was on 58. Big brother is a scary mofo.

[socalman]

Originally Posted by RedLS1GTO

...all I know was that on the morning of the 4th my GMC truck changed all of my preset channels to the new ones. When I left the truck on the 3rd it was on channel 17 (country). When I got in on the 4th, my radio was on 58. Big brother is a scary mofo.

'thank god I'm a country boy!'

[mike100]

Originally Posted by RedLS1GTO

...all I know was that on the morning of the 4th my GMC truck changed all of my preset channels to the new ones. When I left the truck on the 3rd it was on channel 17 (country). When I got in on the 4th, my radio was on 58. Big brother is a scary mofo.

I took the Onstar antenna off of my '08. They kept calling me trying to sell me shit, but what it also meant was that they could spot you anytime they wanted to. It also was because I saved money when I needed a windshield because the '05 models had onstar as an option so the basic coupes had a regular piece of glass without the mount for the antenna. $300 vs $500.