XM Sirius vs. Sirius XM vs. Local Radio
May 27th, 2009 by FuzzTagged as: fm, sirius, xm radio.
When XM and Sirius merged last year, many figured that the new company would give listeners the best of both services. After all, providing separate programming is expensive and defeats the purpose of the merger: cost savings.
That hasn’t happened.
I first purchased an XM radio when it was rolled out in Wisconsin in either 2000 or 2001. In 2004, I dropped the service for a few years, and then picked it up again in 2007. Last month, when I traded in my Pontiac for a new 2009 Ford, my service switched from an XM-branded radio to a Sirius-branded one.
After owning both brands, here’s what really irks me about the two:
- Many good stations from XM (20 on 20, Fox Sports Radio, Kiss, et al.) are not available on Sirius.
- The “Best of XM” package on Sirius does not include any of the really good stations. In fact, most of the “best of” stations are quite horrible and should simply be dropped altogether (especially XM Public Radio, The Bob Edwards Show, and The Virus).
- The “Best of Sirius” includes: Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, the NFL, NASCAR, and Playboy Radio. That’s a little more value than the garbage that comes with the “Best of XM” package.
- Though my car is new and came out after the merger, some of the stations do not show the right channel name yet. Backspin (Sirius 39), for example, displays some other station name.
- The packages cost the same, except XM has over 170 channels, and Sirius has 130 channels. The audio quality is the same, so why is the price the same for 40 less channels on Sirius?
I’m going to let my Sirius trial expire and go back to 100% local radio. Sirius XM needs to get serious (sirius? 
). What they truly need to do is merge everything together at the same price point, get rid of similar talk stations, and increase the perceived value for the subscribers.
Local radio already has the highest value for its ’subscribers’: it’s free. Plus your local radio stations do great things for your community, including: offering up-to-date local news and information from local personalities, employing local staff, promoting local events, and the programming is just as diverse as you’ll find on XM or Sirius.
June 6th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Regionality is inherent in the broadcast. Put local talent behind the mic consistantly, and I’ll bet the broadcast will remain more marketable then any canned content stream. We need to get the ownership issues in broadcast fixed.