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Suburbanite · Nov 29, 2004, 05:05 am

Firstly XM Radio, the original, already has a larger number of members than Sirius (three times as many). However, Sirius has the better programming and management, with the likes of Howard Stern joining it as well as the NFL. It seems reasonable to presume, at least, that Sirius will eat up XM Radio. Or, if XM Radio can handle its own, though the chips are stacked against them, the result could be enough competition to generate two powerful programs greater than radio... though not for some time. Meanwhile, paying a monthly fee for radio, something loved for its free-ness seems ridiculous. XM and Sirius are similar to HBO in that it they are commercial free and better programmed entertainment for a cost. When HBO started and throughout its carrier the television market has been nothing but booming. Radio, however, is a slowly dieing medium. XM and Sirius are not just competing against radio. They are competing against CD players as well as the new iPod and other Mp3 players which have been eroding away at Radio since their creations respectively. Now XM and Sirius are trying to jump on this bandwagon? I don't think things bode well for either.
What is certain is that satellite radio is going to put a huge huge huge dent in FM and AM radio.

kharmajunkie · Nov 29, 2004, 10:30 am

That being said, radio wouldn't be a dying medium if the FCC would've let them alone and not regulated free radio into a corner.

Suburbanite · Nov 29, 2004, 01:51 pm

Very true. The FCC, an unconstitutional creation, is just the dumbest thing I've ever seen.

harumscarum · Nov 30, 2004, 05:58 pm

I am curious to see how far(ethically wise) people will go on satellite. It is telling that HBO wins every kind of award for their shows because the writers are not handcuffed by the FCC. Public radio is a joke because of companies like Clear Channel that can control an entire market. I believe the death of radio is not from the fcc but the continual consolidation of stations to Mega Corps. Mega Corp can control the market and the advertising and could care less about the customer.

When Stern goes to SIRI next year there will probably be a big shift. SIRI stock has been climbing pretty good the last couple of weeks.

JohnLockeRocks · Nov 30, 2004, 08:50 pm

In my opinion, they both deserve my vote. Like harumscarum said:

--I believe the death of radio is not from the fcc but the continual consolidation of stations to Mega Corps.

I agree. Here in Houston, Infinity closed down a really cool Texas Music (alt-country) station and replaced it with "Smooth Jazz". It's not like Houston needed four country stations, but was there really a demand for 24/7 elevator music? C'mon!

And Clear Channel, the *******! About a month ago, they shut down the only real rock station here in town and turned it into a Tejano station. Wow, now we have 63 Spanish radio stations! Yay!

How about the only station that plays new stuff? Well, they're run by some company out of Pennsylvania (!!) that consistently plays the same crap by Ashley Simpson and Britney Spears over and over. I really like to listen to little girls who can't write their own music, oh yeah!

Maybe if more folks start heading for satellite radio the local stations'll take notice...

Suburbanite · Dec 1, 2004, 06:15 pm

Well I live in LA so we get a lot of new music and all that, rock, hip-hop, whatever. Though, I hate listening to a song on the radio because there are always 5 second ound gaps for bleeping. KROQ does something somewhat cool with their censoring, they bleep out FUCK like F**K instead of just ****.
Also, I didn't realize this, but there is no monthly charge for Sirius, i might have been wrong when I said there was.

Dec 3, 2004, 09:50 am

Well, the larger base will be tougher to overcome. The herd mentality plays a part. Everyone else has XM. Why are you on Sirius?

I think it is similar to the console wars. The XBOX is clearly a technically superior machine, but the huge base of the PS2...

harumscarum · Dec 3, 2004, 10:26 am

Last I read Sirius has about 1/4 of the users of XM. The big things Sirius has going for it are NFL and Stern. Neither company has any kind of financial numbers that look good. There is a monthly charge for Sirius but I believe for some satellite televisions it comes free. I know they are also coming out with radios that can provide either service so the consumer will be able to choose from either one without having to buy additional equipment.

As far as clear channel I have always enjoyed: http://www.clearchannelsucks.org/index.php

Ken Carman · Dec 3, 2004, 12:26 pm

I went with Sirius for two reasons. I looked at XM's programming and found it lacking compared with Sirius. At the time Sirius has three Left channels, two Right channels and an MOR talk. XM had one, Right-leaning I would guess. It also had more interesting music options. The second reason is I believe Clear Channel owns XM and I hate monopoly seeking entities. Their first goal is to turn anything interesting into limp over cooked noodles.They take less chances, like the Gay channel on Sirius. My wife and I find it interesting. I never knew the gerbil up the ass South Park episode had some basis in myth. Apparently there has been a long standing myth that Gays do that sort of thing.

I've had Sirius for quite a while now. I had stopped listening to the radio. Now I have a problem stopping. We're glad to pay extra. My only criticism is they haven't taken the music far enough and their play list is too limited. They could have a whole album side-playing/ whole CD playing channel. Whomever programs the Folk channel knows NOTHING about Folk music. And for some reason there are artists they NEVER or rarely cover. From my perspective.... Chicago (the creative, album side stuff), Rundgren, Christine Lavin (rarely at best), David Wilcox, Ponty... well I could go on but for those who listen I'm sure you have your own list.

They have a great opportunity to go where FM started to go and chickened out, and where AM started to go until it became almost totally operated by the Right. I don't mean just more "Left," or Libertarian or... For instance there was a guy in Atlanta who used to do fantasy talk radio, a GREAT concept. One of his schticks was about his very old aunt Zelda who had a lot of money and had put him in her will. She was in the hospital hooked up to tons of machines. He claimed he wanted to stop her suffering. Listeners would call and make suggestions like cutting off the power grid. The next day he'd come back and say he had almost got arrested, tell the whole story, and ask for more suggestions. It was funny. It was brilliant. It made you think about the topic like no standard rhetoric spewing pundit can.

But Howard is right, programmers are mindless sheep. (I WAS one... once.) Both XM and Sirius need to be more creative.

Suburbanite · Dec 3, 2004, 12:38 pm

Quote:

Quote by: harumscarum

Last I read Sirius has about 1/4 of the users of XM. The big things Sirius has going for it are NFL and Stern. Neither company has any kind of financial numbers that look good. There is a monthly charge for Sirius but I believe for some satellite televisions it comes free. I know they are also coming out with radios that can provide either service so the consumer will be able to choose from either one without having to buy additional equipment.

As far as clear channel I have always enjoyed: http://www.clearchannelsucks.org/index.php

Last I saw the membership of Sirius was about 700,000 to XM's 2.5 million. However, they just got former Viacom COO Mel Karmazin to serve as CEO, which will probably give it huge turnarounds. And don't forget, the stern transfers are going to be huge. Go to New York, and start talking about "Howard" and everyone will know who you mean. He is an icon over there and when he moves over in 2005 or 6 or whatever just imagine the membership jump. Also, remmeber, Sirius radio came in after XM, so Sirius has a bit of lag time sure.

Compugasm · Dec 7, 2004, 01:53 am

I did a google search on "XM vs. Sirus" months ago, and found a side by side comparison. Sirus either tied, or beat XM on every category.

Suburbanite · Dec 7, 2004, 02:33 am

they seem to have a better product from where i can tell

tivodan1116 · Jan 3, 2005, 11:53 am

I think it's based on personal preference. I saw someone up there complaining that their Sirius doesn't play a lot of Rundgren, etc etc.... XM I think has a much more wide variety of music. Rundgren specifically is on all the time on about 4 different stations that I can think of.

Granted, as an XM customer, I am slightly uncomfortable with ClearChannel having a stake in it, but let's be serious (no pun intended) --- As soon as the price is right, Infinity/Viacom will buy a stake in Sirius since both their biggest former executive- Mel Karmazin, and their biggest celebrity - Howard Stern -- are now jumping over to it.

tivodan1116 · Jan 3, 2005, 11:54 am

I should add that I think everyone who has either service agrees-- No matter which service you use, if you're coming from the perspective of a frequent FM-AM radio listener, either service will have you pissing your pants with how good it is.

mvanepps1 · Jan 18, 2005, 07:11 am

howard stern comes in 2006.

Ken Carman · Jan 19, 2005, 07:58 am

Quote:

Quote by: mvanepps1

howard stern comes in 2006.

JUST in 2006?

Spartacus · Jan 19, 2005, 10:28 am

From my perspective, the difference comes down to sports. Sirius does the NFL but XM has baseball. For me, that's more bang for the buck to go with XM since there is more involved listening to baseball everyday as opposed to football once a week.. Not being much of a Howard Stern fan, his entry into it all means little to me but I understand the attraction. I have not subscribed yet but then I don't live in a vast wasteland of radio either. The classical music station where I live is fabulous and *commercial free* so I have the best of all worlds.

Nov 29, 2004, 05:05 am	#1 (permalink) (top)
Suburbanite BANNED Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3,203	XM Radio vs Sirius Firstly XM Radio, the original, already has a larger number of members than Sirius (three times as many). However, Sirius has the better programming and management, with the likes of Howard Stern joining it as well as the NFL. It seems reasonable to presume, at least, that Sirius will eat up XM Radio. Or, if XM Radio can handle its own, though the chips are stacked against them, the result could be enough competition to generate two powerful programs greater than radio... though not for some time. Meanwhile, paying a monthly fee for radio, something loved for its free-ness seems ridiculous. XM and Sirius are similar to HBO in that it they are commercial free and better programmed entertainment for a cost. When HBO started and throughout its carrier the television market has been nothing but booming. Radio, however, is a slowly dieing medium. XM and Sirius are not just competing against radio. They are competing against CD players as well as the new iPod and other Mp3 players which have been eroding away at Radio since their creations respectively. Now XM and Sirius are trying to jump on this bandwagon? I don't think things bode well for either. What is certain is that satellite radio is going to put a huge huge huge dent in FM and AM radio.

Nov 29, 2004, 10:30 am	#2 (permalink) (top)
kharmajunkie year of the monkey Location: Milwaukee, Wi Posts: 663	That being said, radio wouldn't be a dying medium if the FCC would've let them alone and not regulated free radio into a corner. Sanity is the playground of the unimaginative. anonomous Words we say, never seem to live up to the ones inside our heads. Chris Cornell

Nov 30, 2004, 05:58 pm	#4 (permalink) (top)
harumscarum Igneous Magma Posts: 183	foo I am curious to see how far(ethically wise) people will go on satellite. It is telling that HBO wins every kind of award for their shows because the writers are not handcuffed by the FCC. Public radio is a joke because of companies like Clear Channel that can control an entire market. I believe the death of radio is not from the fcc but the continual consolidation of stations to Mega Corps. Mega Corp can control the market and the advertising and could care less about the customer. When Stern goes to SIRI next year there will probably be a big shift. SIRI stock has been climbing pretty good the last couple of weeks. under construction.... Last edited by harumscarum; Nov 30, 2004 at 05:58 pm. Reason: terminology

Nov 30, 2004, 08:50 pm	#5 (permalink) (top)
JohnLockeRocks Junior Member? Hah! Location: Houston, TX Posts: 54	In my opinion, they both deserve my vote. Like harumscarum said: --I believe the death of radio is not from the fcc but the continual consolidation of stations to Mega Corps. I agree. Here in Houston, Infinity closed down a really cool Texas Music (alt-country) station and replaced it with "Smooth Jazz". It's not like Houston needed four country stations, but was there really a demand for 24/7 elevator music? C'mon! And Clear Channel, the *******! About a month ago, they shut down the only real rock station here in town and turned it into a Tejano station. Wow, now we have 63 Spanish radio stations! Yay! How about the only station that plays new stuff? Well, they're run by some company out of Pennsylvania (!!) that consistently plays the same crap by Ashley Simpson and Britney Spears over and over. I really like to listen to little girls who can't write their own music, oh yeah! Maybe if more folks start heading for satellite radio the local stations'll take notice... "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer cell." Do you make things better where you live, or do you screw things up and live in the suburbs?

Dec 3, 2004, 10:26 am	#8 (permalink) (top)
harumscarum Igneous Magma Posts: 183	Last I read Sirius has about 1/4 of the users of XM. The big things Sirius has going for it are NFL and Stern. Neither company has any kind of financial numbers that look good. There is a monthly charge for Sirius but I believe for some satellite televisions it comes free. I know they are also coming out with radios that can provide either service so the consumer will be able to choose from either one without having to buy additional equipment. As far as clear channel I have always enjoyed: http://www.clearchannelsucks.org/index.php under construction....

Nov 29, 2004, 01:51 pm	#3 (permalink) (top)
Suburbanite BANNED Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3,203	Very true. The FCC, an unconstitutional creation, is just the dumbest thing I've ever seen.

Dec 1, 2004, 06:15 pm	#6 (permalink) (top)
Suburbanite BANNED Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3,203	Well I live in LA so we get a lot of new music and all that, rock, hip-hop, whatever. Though, I hate listening to a song on the radio because there are always 5 second ound gaps for bleeping. KROQ does something somewhat cool with their censoring, they bleep out FUCK like FK instead of just **. Also, I didn't realize this, but there is no monthly charge for Sirius, i might have been wrong when I said there was.

Dec 3, 2004, 09:50 am	#7 (permalink) (top)
StoneWT Guest Posts: n/a	Well, the larger base will be tougher to overcome. The herd mentality plays a part. Everyone else has XM. Why are you on Sirius? I think it is similar to the console wars. The XBOX is clearly a technically superior machine, but the huge base of the PS2...

Dec 3, 2004, 12:26 pm	#9 (permalink) (top)
Ken Carman Just plain WEIRD Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 1,490	Sirius I went with Sirius for two reasons. I looked at XM's programming and found it lacking compared with Sirius. At the time Sirius has three Left channels, two Right channels and an MOR talk. XM had one, Right-leaning I would guess. It also had more interesting music options. The second reason is I believe Clear Channel owns XM and I hate monopoly seeking entities. Their first goal is to turn anything interesting into limp over cooked noodles.They take less chances, like the Gay channel on Sirius. My wife and I find it interesting. I never knew the gerbil up the ass South Park episode had some basis in myth. Apparently there has been a long standing myth that Gays do that sort of thing. I've had Sirius for quite a while now. I had stopped listening to the radio. Now I have a problem stopping. We're glad to pay extra. My only criticism is they haven't taken the music far enough and their play list is too limited. They could have a whole album side-playing/ whole CD playing channel. Whomever programs the Folk channel knows NOTHING about Folk music. And for some reason there are artists they NEVER or rarely cover. From my perspective.... Chicago (the creative, album side stuff), Rundgren, Christine Lavin (rarely at best), David Wilcox, Ponty... well I could go on but for those who listen I'm sure you have your own list. They have a great opportunity to go where FM started to go and chickened out, and where AM started to go until it became almost totally operated by the Right. I don't mean just more "Left," or Libertarian or... For instance there was a guy in Atlanta who used to do fantasy talk radio, a GREAT concept. One of his schticks was about his very old aunt Zelda who had a lot of money and had put him in her will. She was in the hospital hooked up to tons of machines. He claimed he wanted to stop her suffering. Listeners would call and make suggestions like cutting off the power grid. The next day he'd come back and say he had almost got arrested, tell the whole story, and ask for more suggestions. It was funny. It was brilliant. It made you think about the topic like no standard rhetoric spewing pundit can. But Howard is right, programmers are mindless sheep. (I WAS one... once.) Both XM and Sirius need to be more creative. Last edited by Ken Carman; Dec 3, 2004 at 12:29 pm.

Dec 7, 2004, 01:53 am	#11 (permalink) (top)
Compugasm Son of X51 Location: San Diego Posts: 3,639	I did a google search on "XM vs. Sirus" months ago, and found a side by side comparison. Sirus either tied, or beat XM on every category.

Dec 7, 2004, 02:33 am	#12 (permalink) (top)
Suburbanite BANNED Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3,203	they seem to have a better product from where i can tell

Jan 3, 2005, 11:53 am	#13 (permalink) (top)
tivodan1116 Juris Doctor Location: Brockport, NY Posts: 2,040	I think it's based on personal preference. I saw someone up there complaining that their Sirius doesn't play a lot of Rundgren, etc etc.... XM I think has a much more wide variety of music. Rundgren specifically is on all the time on about 4 different stations that I can think of. Granted, as an XM customer, I am slightly uncomfortable with ClearChannel having a stake in it, but let's be serious (no pun intended) --- As soon as the price is right, Infinity/Viacom will buy a stake in Sirius since both their biggest former executive- Mel Karmazin, and their biggest celebrity - Howard Stern -- are now jumping over to it.

Jan 3, 2005, 11:54 am	#14 (permalink) (top)
tivodan1116 Juris Doctor Location: Brockport, NY Posts: 2,040	I should add that I think everyone who has either service agrees-- No matter which service you use, if you're coming from the perspective of a frequent FM-AM radio listener, either service will have you pissing your pants with how good it is.

Jan 18, 2005, 07:11 am	#15 (permalink) (top)
mvanepps1 Sedimentary Rock Posts: 1	howard stern comes in 2006.

Jan 19, 2005, 10:28 am	#17 (permalink) (top)
Spartacus voyager Location: where I am free Posts: 111	From my perspective, the difference comes down to sports. Sirius does the NFL but XM has baseball. For me, that's more bang for the buck to go with XM since there is more involved listening to baseball everyday as opposed to football once a week.. Not being much of a Howard Stern fan, his entry into it all means little to me but I understand the attraction. I have not subscribed yet but then I don't live in a vast wasteland of radio either. The classical music station where I live is fabulous and commercial free so I have the best of all worlds.