The Potential of Sirius XM 2.0

[Barry]

Linked below is an interesting article that discusses how Sirius XM cut out much of the deep and niche music programming that made satellite radio an appealing alternative to the tight playlists and bland formats of terrestrial radio.
But the article also offers a glimmer of hope for a possible return of some of the beloved music channels that have been axed, and the addition of others that offer additional variety. The new technology on the way, Sirius XM 2.0, should make it possible for at least 40 channels to be added. Hopefully they will help restore some of the music programming that made satellite radio a delight for fans of various niche formats and deep playlists.

Article About Bringing Back Music Variety to Sirius XM: http://siriusbuzz.com/has-sirius-xm-become-like-clear-channel-and-can-they-become-better.php

 

[Ai4i]

Must they reeeely wait a full decade before combining their bandwidth into a single network?
Yes, I know what happened when the FM band was relocated from seven meters to three, but I would go out and spend a couple hundred bucks for a new network with twice as much content.
They need to start producing receivers that will work on the present network(s) but also on the future 25 MHz wide network.

 

[nocomradio]

So in other words its the fault of having to pay royalties?

What a crock. I wouldn't listen to anything coming from Sirius anymore including this round of manure.

 

[JohnnyElectron]

40 channels - IF they choose to put decent music on them with deep playlists - AND at what audio quality level??

 

[ironbear]

I doubt there is any cost savings in limiting the songs and artists played at all. The very similar internet radio Soundexchange agreements under the DMCA are essentially a pay per song, regardless of who or what they play.

I spent a few days with XM recently, and had real issues with the audio quality on some channels, ultimately switching back to FM. Poor sound is why I dropped Sirius, too. There's your trouble, Mac.

 

[Casey]

I doubt there is any cost savings in limiting the songs and artists played at all. The very similar internet radio Soundexchange agreements under the DMCA are essentially a pay per song, regardless of who or what they play.

I spent a few days with XM recently, and had real issues with the audio quality on some channels, ultimately switching back to FM. Poor sound is why I dropped Sirius, too. There's your trouble, Mac.

You are right about the sound quality. In fact, I would argue that AM stereo sounds better than anything on either Sirius or XM. However, content is important. Where I live, the content variety on AM/FM radio is simply terrible. The playlists are terrible, the news/talk stations are almost purely talk these days, all broadcasting the same programming. This seems to be the major driving force behind satellite radio.

 

[TheBigA]

The issue with satellite isn't the programming, but the monthly fee. The number of people who want bigger playlists and niche formats isn't enough to pay the bills. More deep cuts and obscure music isn't going to add that many new subscribers. So the company has to pick a few areas where there are enough potential subscribers to make it worth their while. But at the end of the day, the general view is that the public doesn't want to pay for radio, whether it's satellite, internet, or otherwise. Free is it. Long ago, XM decided it would provide commercial free programming for a fee. The question satellite needs to answer is if that business model is holding them back. Could they grow more by providing music on satellite with no monthly fee? Because unless they do something dramatically different, I see no reason why they will grow beyond their current level of users.

 

[Ai4i]

Original model was to go all commercial, but the NAB pays the commissioners too much for that to have been allowed. We, the royal plural, have been paying for radio anually ever since we discovered NPR.

 

[wprt949]

bring back RAW that channel put shade 45 to shame

 

[JohnnyElectron]

Here's a thought - make Satellite Radio pay for itself with the crap channels that it has now; THEN PAY ONLY for the 40 new channels with 2.0 and the niche channels and real programmers with live on-air presence and wide playlists - that I'd pay to buy a new radio, otherwise, I will not.

 

[TheBigA]

I don't think they have bandwidth for 40 more channels. For every new channel, something has to go.

 

[JohnnyElectron]

XM had a patent where they had a way to use a different polarization method to nearly double the effective bandwidth of the satellite offering.
I don't know if this is already being used for "Sirius Backset Video" or not?

Can anybody chime in?

I'm trying to remember what that technical name of the method was, but it would not kill the current bandwidth, but allow for many more offerings.

It is also possible that they're NOT going to use this method and 2.0 is just some scam that uses WiFi or an Internet hook-up with your radio.

 

[Ai4i]

XM had a patent where they had a way to use a different polarization method to nearly double the effective bandwidth of the satellite offering.

The late MobaHO! transmited Japanese channels with lefthand polarity and Korean channels with right hand polarity.
This system can only be used where all receive antenæ are circularly polarized.
Any linear polarized receive antennæ will produce a cacophony of interferrence onto which no lock can occur.
It can not be changed unless everyone is shifted to one network as the other network is re-established with new consumer gear.

 

[Mike Sheridan]

I received a call from Sirius/XM over the weekend. The nice lady came up with all kinds of deals to try to get me back. Low price monthly or yearly subscription, a new receiver deal, etc. I told her I lost interest when they dropped Cinemagic.

My daughter keeps telling me I don't need the spend money on satellite radio. I have more music on my iPod than most of their channels. I can't argue that. The audio quality of my iPod is far better too. They really need to do something about the awful sounding audio, it's not getting any better.