New Sirius lineup

[magicjellybeans]

Actually they decided to keep the XM channel names but the Sirius DJs will be on most of those decade channels, with the exception of a few of course.

Alot of the channels sound like XM to me,Im a sirius sub and Im ready to smash my SL2!
All is lost,thanks to UNCLE MEL

 

[Walter Graff]

Alot of the channels sound like XM to me,Im a sirius sub and Im ready to smash my SL2!
All is lost,thanks to UNCLE MEL

Yea, I was a bit worried yesterday while in the car. It sounded like diluted Sirius. My wife came home and complained too that she thought Sirius sounded terrible, more like XM. I hope not, and that it was just yesterday.

 

[stevenNOLA]

Actually they decided to keep the XM channel names but the Sirius DJs will be on most of those decade channels, with the exception of a few of course.

Alot of the channels sound like XM to me,Im a sirius sub and Im ready to smash my SL2!
All is lost,thanks to UNCLE MEL

I HATE the XM 80s channel that replaced "The Big 80s". My local 80s station (KHPT) plays better music. *SAD*

 

[Snafu]

When Lee left XM actually got better. Lee was the problem.

 

[JimmyJames]

BS. Abrams was the soul and conscience of XM programming.

 

[AZJoe]

This is actually quite amusing. After reading scores of posts on this and other boards, I find many Sirius subs thinking their Sirius sounds like XM and is ruined, and XM fans thinking their service has been turned into Sirius and are upset!! LOL Many people who are complaining have never even listened to the other service, and are just going with what they have heard about the other one. I happen to have had both services for years. It cant be both ways, or can it? Did they actually "merge" and we have something in between- a real combination of styles?

 

[rf_chaser]

But fear not XM listeners, you are going to have a better service.

If I had wanted "Infinity Rehash," I would have gone with them instead of XM. But then if you like 40 song rotations on every channel, then Infinity Rehash is the service for you. I LIKE diversity in my radio listening. That is why I LIKED the old XM. Sirius is NOT a better service and this change just goes and proves it. Looks like when my XM sub expires, I will go back to terrestrial radio. If I am going to get garbage, I would rather get it free and not pay for it. (maybe it is time to dig out that old shortwave radio and see what is happening there.)

 

[Walter Graff]

But fear not XM listeners, you are going to have a better service.

If I had wanted "Infinity Rehash," I would have gone with them instead of XM. But then if you like 40 song rotations on every channel, then Infinity Rehash is the service for you. I LIKE diversity in my radio listening. That is why I LIKED the old XM. Sirius is NOT a better service and this change just goes and proves it. Looks like when my XM sub expires, I will go back to terrestrial radio. If I am going to get garbage, I would rather get it free and not pay for it. (maybe it is time to dig out that old shortwave radio and see what is happening there.)

That sounds like your best bet. No need to pay for something you don't enjoy. Shortwave isn't what it used to be though. Stations like the BBC don't broadcast on shortwave anymore and most of the bands have gone the way of digital data for the most part.

 

[Kent]

This is actually quite amusing. After reading scores of posts on this and other boards, I find many Sirius subs thinking their Sirius sounds like XM and is ruined, and XM fans thinking their service has been turned into Sirius and are upset!! LOL Many people who are complaining have never even listened to the other service, and are just going with what they have heard about the other one. I happen to have had both services for years. It cant be both ways, or can it? Did they actually "merge" and we have something in between- a real combination of styles?

Like you, I had both services. I think it's important to remember that those who picked one service made their decision for their own personal reasons. In some cases, it very well may have been someone picked Sirius because it wasn't programmed like XM or vice-versa. While I agree that some people are definitely going off of what they've heard others say when they've never heard the other service, it's important to remember that listeners aren't stupid. They know the station they were listening to on Tuesday afternoon doesn't sound the same now. Something I mentioned yesterday is that I've found myself changing channels more on the combined service than I did on the two separate services. So, neither sounds quite the way it did before the merger.

As I also mentioned earlier, I like the fact that I don't have to pay for four radios as I only need two. I canceled my two Sirius receivers right after work on Wednesday. The XM ones have better reception, and the Sirius receivers don't pick up anything unique that I listen to. When Mel tried telling everyone the merger would benefit the consumer, I highly doubt this was what he had in mind. However, I'm sure we dual subscribers are in the minority. I also depend less on satellite radio for music exposure than I did even a year ago, and four radios was beginning to feel like overkill. I'm listening to internet radio more and more.

I also have to agree that Mel is probably gambling that people will grumble, complain and get over it. Time will tell if it's a good gamble or not.

 

[fredcantu]

I also have to agree that Mel is probably gambling that people will grumble, complain and get over it. Time will tell if it's a good gamble or not.

In the meantime the serivce saves a bundle by not having to program two completely separate satellite services. The $$$ question is how many people will actually cancel their satellite service as a result of the changes. I'm guessing after weighing the alternatives... iPods, Internet streams and terrestrial radio... most will probably stick with satellite.

 

[zman]

Actually they decided to keep the XM channel names but the Sirius DJs will be on most of those decade channels, with the exception of a few of course.

Alot of the channels sound like XM to me,Im a sirius sub and Im ready to smash my SL2!
All is lost,thanks to UNCLE MEL

I HATE the XM 80s channel that replaced "The Big 80s". My local 80s station (KHPT) plays better music. *SAD*

I have to dissagree. I think the new 80's channel has a bigger veriety of music now than it did when it was the SIRIUS Big 80's. I think it sounds a whole lot better now than it did before they merged the two channels. Funny how different people can view the same things two completly different ways.

 

[Kent]

In the meantime the serivce saves a bundle by not having to program two completely separate satellite services.

I'm sure they're saving a little, but I suspect it's not as much as it appears on first glance. With smart programming decisions, they could have cut the fat and kept separate services, which could have been packaged together as part of an a la carte or an add-on package. After all, both services were horribly bloated, especially XM with its pure jukebox programming on most channels. It's not terribly hard for one person to program two completely separate channels of the same genre, and it's even easier when one is run as a jukebox, which, of course, means you don't have to worry about people issues.

The $$$ question is how many people will actually cancel their satellite service as a result of the changes. I'm guessing after weighing the alternatives... iPods, Internet streams and terrestrial radio... most will probably stick with satellite.

In the short-term, you're probably right. The real question is what people will be thinking a year or two down the road. As iPhones become more popular and older phones continue to wear out, those satellite subscribers may become a lot less loyal.

 

[pell guy]

I Miss Movin EASY,Listening more to The BLEND,AND SIRIUS LOVE.
I really miss The BRIDGE,but is coming back in the new year.
So far I can say I liked 60S vibrations better than the XM sixties on 6 now being offered,the playlist sounds deeper,
but I "m not crazy about the jocks I've heard.

 

[The Atrium]

As a Sirius person, I am glad to have "escape" and "40s on 4". I do wish they would have gone ahead and just stuck ALL of the NHL games on instead of just one a time, at least that's I heard last night, just one game.

 

[EricStein]

Actually they decided to keep the XM channel names but the Sirius DJs will be on most of those decade channels, with the exception of a few of course.

Alot of the channels sound like XM to me,Im a sirius sub and Im ready to smash my SL2!
All is lost,thanks to UNCLE MEL

I HATE the XM 80s channel that replaced "The Big 80s". My local 80s station (KHPT) plays better music. *SAD*

I have to dissagree. I think the new 80's channel has a bigger veriety of music now than it did when it was the SIRIUS Big 80's. I think it sounds a whole lot better now than it did before they merged the two channels. Funny how different people can view the same things two completly different ways.

I personally liked the old Big '80s better than the XMified "'80s on 8." The Big '80s sounded better with its short sweepers and frequent use of them. Plus, the Nina Blackwood "Big 40" countdown was always something to tune in for, since it gave relevancy to what's happening to the artist(s) today instead of playing the old Rick Dees/Casey Kasem countdowns.

On the other hand, I do like the expanded playlist brought over from XM, but can't stand the frequent use of obscure novelty tracks that was (is) a norm on XM '80s.

The one bright spot I see was merging the XM playlists with Sirius names and personalities on the urban channels (most notably, "Heart & Soul"). Too bad they couldn't make room for "The Groove" on Sirius.

Now, the $50,000 question is whether or not the combined Sirius XM is making use of the unreliable XM music server (that had crashed hard in the past)?

 

[Walter Graff]

It's been a few days and I'v had a chance to listen. Had to drive to and form Buffalo so got in a lot of listening. First off, I'm happy that not a single one of my presets had to change. As I said earlier, this would basically be Sirius with a sprinkling of XM. I do like the addition of 40's. I hated when the old Sirius standards went to Sinatra. That station should end when the contract runs out. I did notice a bit of change overall on some stations like 70's and 80's but nothing to bad. Seem to have lost a bit of personalty though. I liked the 70's disco with Joe Cosi on seventies last night. He used to do a similar program on one of the other strobe channels. Overall it's all good.

As for complaints. When you hang out on a board like this it makes it look like everyone is complaining. But since this board is radio fans it looks far worse than it is. The reality is that no one is complaining to any degree outside of the XM fan boys who lost the most (pretty much all of XM) and a few Sirius fanboys. I was told by a friend at Sirius that they have very few complaints.

Interesting point about better reception with XM although the sound quality was worse for me with XM when I did side by sides the other day so I'll stick with Sirius receivers. And I've got the pre-reFMed versions so the FM transmitters work on my entire property.

And unlike those on this board, most everyone is either Sirius or XM and not both so they will lose few subs to this merger.

Right now it makes more sense for them to keep the seven sats and two different services as distinct. Until they balance the books and make the next move when it all becomes one. It's never good having two brand names that do the same thing. You loose on both when you do.

But overall this was a great transition for us Sirius subs. Nice music channels, and talk is still there the way I like it. And best of all classic rock still plays more great songs in a row on one hour than all the terrestrial stations do in a day.

 

[RadioStarOne]

In the short-term, you're probably right. The real question is what people will be thinking a year or two down the road. As iPhones become more popular and older phones continue to wear out, those satellite subscribers may become a lot less loyal.

iheartradio now has 773

 

[RadioStarOne]

In the short-term, you're probably right. The real question is what people will be thinking a year or two down the road. As iPhones become more popular and older phones continue to wear out, those satellite subscribers may become a lot less loyal.

iheartradio now has 773 radio stations that one can stream to their iphone. Who needs either Sirius or XM? And when your home you have everything on the internet to stream to your computer. Again who the heck needs either XM or Sirius lee defiecent programming?

 

[Walter Graff]

Video was supposed to kill film, the internet was supposed to kill TV, satellite was supposed to kill terrestrial. So far internet radio has been a bust as much as marketers like to predict it's growth. Right now estimates are that only 13% of Americans do listen to the internet for radio in some form or fashion, akin to shortwave listeners 20 years ago. Sure you can get hundreds of internet stations on your iphone. You can also use any of the new MP3 cell phones for music. But most folks don't and no one knows if they ever will. One can't run a business worrying about what the future might hold outside of what your business model is, he can only do his best running his business now for what it does best. I can listen to Sirius on my Iphone too, big deal. It's not so much about what the possibilities are as much as which possibilities interest folks. Radio listening over the air is up as of late. So much for new ways of listening. So far none of the new fangled ways of listening have taken off, they've simply found a niche. Until someone makes those methods more viable and more important, desirable, it's all just talk. There is radio, internet, Mp3, and a slew of other ways of listening. All have their place and none is or will be the only or the predominant way of listening. Rather each fits it's niche. And now with the opening of white space by the FCC we have a new method of broadcasting to folks too. But listening is never about what's new and cool, but what fits peoples lifestyle. It's simply too easy to turn on a radio in a car, than to deal with internet listening in that same car.

 

[BoscoGoldBear]

OK, answer me this: what about those of us who loved classic disco on Chrome and/or The Strobe? Where do we go to now? If these 70s channels are anything like the Boston classic hits terrestial stations, it's friggin' all-Led Zeppelin all-the-time!