60s on 6 moving to channel 73, changing name to 60s Gold.

[CTListener]

I really don't understand why they moved it. It's kind of like Low VHF analog stations, most of which are on UHF now, still identifying as Channel 2, 4, etc. The channel doesn't reflect any reality anyway. It's arbitrary. Why change it?

My theory is that they're grouping the stations that appeal largely to baby boomers and older (along with the two children's channels) in the 70s -- oldies, standards, classical, blues, Broadway. And the easy listening channel, whose target demographic is now largely over 75, is nearby on Channel 69. The more recent decades channels remain in the single digits, mixed in with other channels designed to reach a younger audience, which is where the corporation wants to see more growth.

Adding more baby boomers and senior citizens is a loser's game at this point -- a good portion of them are going to either die or not be able to afford their subscriptions due to medical expenses and other factors within a decade, which means the amount of money SXM can soak them for over time is limited. Get a 30-something soccer mom to subscribe because the music of her teen years is on Mosaic or the 10 Spot and they've tapped into a nice little pocketbook to drain money from every month for years.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

On the app it makes no difference. But for anyone with a car like mine, you work your way up and down the dial, presets notwithstanding. So it’s not the same as the virtual channels concept.

 

[Kelly A]

I really don't understand why they moved it. It's kind of like Low VHF analog stations, most of which are on UHF now, still identifying as Channel 2, 4, etc. The channel doesn't reflect any reality anyway. It's arbitrary. Why change it?

I don't work there anymore, but if you'd scroll up the thread; you'd see my plausible explanation. To save your index finger the workout, here's what I posted:

"My guess is with a free sample period coming up, SXM wants to put their seasonal and specialty channels sooner in the channel line-up. Part of that is because someone who isn't familiar with SXM, may start at lower channel numbers and sample channels up from there. A listener under 55 probably wouldn't be interested in hearing 40's standards, Gawd awful Doo-Wop, or 60's tunes anyway.
Remaining fan's of those decade channels will always seek them out, no matter where you park them."

Honestly, aside from the first world problem, this is a simple matter of changing your receiver preset to the new channel.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

The only thing that surprises me is Holly has been relegated to 105. Back when something like 3 or 4 was the limited run channel, that was prime real estate for the wide appeal holiday channel. I get that’s where the space is with so many others have been launched.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I'm surprised some channels such as Escape (Beautiful Music) and All 1940s will survive. You'd think they'd be on the internet only classification before a Soft AC outlet.

Escape tried that. It was one of the biggest mistakes they ever made. They had to hire people to answer the phones.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Sure they did 😆🤣

 

[Deleted User]

I cancelled my SiriusXM shortly after the pandemic, when I lost my job.
Driving my wife's car tonight, I was shocked to discover 60s on 6 was gone. It took a while to search for it.
Not a good move.
I won't be returning to subscribing anytime soon.

Your wife has a SXM subscription, which means she can create a streaming ID, which you can then use via a data connection, the SXM app on your phone, and Bluetooth to listen to it in your car.

You are already paying for a subscription you are not using

 

[vchimpanzee]

Your wife has a SXM subscription, which means she can create a streaming ID, which you can then use via a data connection, the SXM app on your phone, and Bluetooth to listen to it in your car.

You are already paying for a subscription you are not using

If I remember correctly, there is an extra fee for web access.

 

[Deleted User]

Nope, unless you are really skinflinting, they are included

I have THREE EFFN PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS, none are more than 80 dollars a year, plus fees and taxes and all three have streaming included and I use two of the three almost daily

 

[vchimpanzee]

Nope, unless you are really skinflinting, they are included

I have THREE EFFN PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS, none are more than 80 dollars a year, plus fees and taxes and all three have streaming included and I use two of the three almost daily

It must have changed since Escape was restored to radios, then.

 

[JBraddock]

Escape tried that. It was one of the biggest mistakes they ever made. They had to hire people to answer the phones.

Sure they did 😆🤣

When Escape programmer Marlin Taylor retired, the geniuses at Sirius decided to take Escape off the satellites and relegate it to streaming-only. Think about the target audience for Escape and the probability that they would go through the effort it takes to stream something.

The suits didn't know their subscribers. Escape was removed from the satellites on August 13, 2015. All hell broke loose. Escape was restored to the satellite lineup on September 15, 2015.

That they might have had to assign more bodies to the unsubscribe desk (you must call to cancel a subscription) is not at all out of the realm of possibility.

Anyone with even a casual awareness of the habits of older satellite subscribers saw this train wreck coming a mile away. But apparently not the mensas in the satellite C-suite. Unforced error.

🙄

 

[JBraddock]

If I remember correctly, there is an extra fee for web access.

Nope, unless you are really skinflinting, they are included

I have THREE EFFN PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS, none are more than 80 dollars a year, plus fees and taxes and all three have streaming included and I use two of the three almost daily

On the XM side, they changed the second-tier 'Select' subscription to include streaming for no extra cost a few years ago. Before that, you had to order the highest-priced 'unlimited' tier if you wanted streaming included, or pay something like $5.95/mo extra on top of the second tier subscriptions.

 

[vchimpanzee]

That they might have had to assign more bodies to the unsubscribe desk (you must call to cancel a subscription) is not at all out of the realm of possibility.

Anyone with even a casual awareness of the habits of older satellite subscribers saw this train wreck coming a mile away. But apparently not the mensas in the satellite C-suite. Unforced error.

🙄

I interpreted it as the complaint department.

 

[Kelly A]

If I remember correctly, there is an extra fee for web access.

Nope. If you have a subscription, that includes streaming.

 

[Kelly A]

That they might have had to assign more bodies to the unsubscribe desk (you must call to cancel a subscription) is not at all out of the realm of possibility.

Farmed out. SXM has nobody answering phones. Not even a receptionist.

Anyone with even a casual awareness of the habits of older satellite subscribers saw this train wreck coming a mile away. But apparently not the mensas in the satellite C-suite. Unforced error.

Rightfully so, more focus with any media business isn't on Boomers and senior citizens, but the future audience. Granted, they still need to keep whatever subscribers they have, but likely there aren't new boomers signing up.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

“All hell broke loose” sounds a bit like “went viral.” It has no real meaning. A relatively small number of people get themselves all worked up and they’re convinced by their own echo chamber that it’s far more impactful than it is.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Nope. If you have a subscription, that includes streaming.

On the XM side, they changed the second-tier 'Select' subscription to include streaming for no extra cost a few years ago. Before that, you had to order the highest-priced 'unlimited' tier if you wanted streaming included, or pay something like $5.95/mo extra on top of the second tier subscriptions.

 

[Kelly A]

"On the XM side, they changed the second-tier 'Select' subscription to include streaming for no extra cost a few years ago. Before that, you had to order the highest-priced 'unlimited' tier if you wanted streaming included, or pay something like $5.95/mo extra on top of the second tier subscriptions."
There is no XM side. SXM is treated from a subscription standpoint, as one entity.

 

[vchimpanzee]

"On the XM side, they changed the second-tier 'Select' subscription to include streaming for no extra cost a few years ago. Before that, you had to order the highest-priced 'unlimited' tier if you wanted streaming included, or pay something like $5.95/mo extra on top of the second tier subscriptions."
There is no XM side. SXM is treated from a subscription standpoint, as one entity.

Yeah, I wondered about that.

What I have heard--and I was wrong about the extra cost to stream--is that there is an XM package, a Sirius package, and a Sirius/XM package.

 

[gr8oldies]

Yeah, I wondered about that.

What I have heard--and I was wrong about the extra cost to stream--is that there is an XM package, a Sirius package, and a Sirius/XM package.

No, not really. It's all branded SiriusXM with different tiers of service