IANA hard core XM or anything else listener. But overall XM is vastly better than broadcast radio which is frankly unlistenable. But like cable TV, it’s still far too yakyak and advertiser heavy. Zero is the only defensible amount IMO.
I’d be happy to pay a premium for zero yakyak and zero ads. But it needs to be truly absolutely, no chiseling ZERO.
Just like I’d happily buy a newspaper or magazine with zero ads or a zero-ads news website I didn’t need to adblock to become tolerable.
Sadly nobody seems to believe that a subscription market for zero ads exists.
And yes, in the ~4 years I’ve had XM in the car, the repetitiveness of my chosen channels (admittedly vintage themes for various vintages and genres) has gotten larger and larger. I used to hear period stuff I’d never heard or only rarely heard. Now it’s all big hits all the time. BOORRRing!!
As far as I know, the only SXM channels which have actual ads (rather than occasional promos about other channels) are:
At least some of the talk channels (I don’t listen much to those, so I’m not sure how pervasive it is, but I remember ads on their NFL talk channel)
Channels which are simulcasting TV programming (mostly the news channels); in those cases, SiriusXM is running ads during the times that the TV program is also running ads
On the music channels (at least, on all of the music channels I’ve ever listened to), it’s (usually) DJs, and the occasional aforementioned promos, but no actual ads.
True. But advertising themselves is still an ad. I’m paying a subscription for content, not for promotions, self- or otherwise.
I still think all advertisers should have to pay me to expose me to their ads. Not vice versa. I realize that hits kinda close to home for you; no personal attack intended.
I had it for free for about a year. When it ended, I found I didn’t miss it. I only have short drives these days, FM is good enough for a ten minute trip. If I had a long commute or something, I might consider it. Also, Howard Stern has somehow both lost the viciously funny streak that defined him, AND managed to become a miserable, bitter old man, exactly what he always criticized his father for being.
I bought a used car with satellite radio. They very randomly have free “sample” broadcasts, limited number of stations, maybe for one week? Not sure, I sometimes luck onto the freebee but I recall one time it blanked to the 800 number before I got to work, though usually I can catch many days. My biggest complaint is the sound quality, sometimes the music and especially the DJs sound like they are in a port-a-potty. I am not an audiophile, I download lots of lossy MP3s of bootleg shows 50 years old of who knows what generation that sound better but SXM, they work on quantity over quality. I understand that business model but it has no interest from me unless free. Station repetition is also a problem especially if it is noticeable with extremely “freebee” limited access, bad marketing also.
This is what keeps my SiriusXM subscription going. These channels play the music of my era, and are hosted by people who are emulating the on-air hosts of those long-ago days. Actually, I find that they are a lot less “talky” than what I recall, but that may be because they’re not mentioning such things as the time, current temperature, and a reminder to stay tuned for local news, weather, and traffic at the top of the hour. All of those things will be different if you’re broadcasting continentally, so eliminating them makes airchecks shorter.
The exception would be Cousin Brucie’s show on the 60s channel. He should have retired years ago–he’s in love with his own voice, and you’re lucky if you get three songs in 30 minutes. I remember radio in the 60s, and he doesn’t just push the boundaries of the talk/music ratio of those days; he knocks them down, kicks the remains, and Will Not Shut Up. He’s too “talky,” but Pat St. John (60s), J.J. Walker (70s), and Alan Hunter (80s) aren’t. So I’ll keep my subscription.
For a number of years in the 2010s, I was driving across Canada once a year, and it was nice to have the same station and the same hosts accompany me across thousands of miles and a few time zones. I’m not driving quite so far these days, but I still do drive long distance, and enjoy not having the radio (and the seemingly-endless commercials) fade into static every few hundred miles.
I have 60s on 6 as one of the presets on the radio in my car. But, if I’m channel surfing, and the program info for 6 shows his name when I switch to it, I immediately switch to a different channel. You’re exactly right, he just talks and talks.
And, what’s worse, not only does it appear that he has his “normal” show, but they also do “encore” rebroadcasts of his show. Someone at SXM must really like Cousin Brucie.
I listen mostly for The Bonfire on Faction talk and sometimes the Bennington show. I do like that you can hear every football game and every baseball game. I like hearing the broadcast teams from other cities than NYC.
The music has been bad for a while. The playlist on each channel is tiny. When the company was split XM was much better with more good music stations. The merger was not good news.
Thanks! 309 isn’t available in my channel line up and I’m going to cut back further next payment time. Too expensive now. If there was an alternative, I’d cancel too.
I dumped it in my Sonata at the end of Feb when my subscription was up. I had to lie and tell them I was selling the car, and even then, they kept trying to get me to go month-to-month till it “sold.” Nope.
I liked a couple of the comedy channels, but it got to where I could recite along, since the same bits seemed to play over and over and over. Same with music - it was impossible to listen to The Bridge without hearing Deacon Blue or one of several oft-repeated Jackson Browne songs. So I would mostly keep it on the classical station, but it turns out, classical WETA is one of the few over-the-air stations that comes in clearly down here in the boonies.
On top of that, I’ve been retired over a year and I doubt that I’ve spent 10 hours a month in my car in recent months. So I found my old case of CDs and if I tire of classical, I’ve got tons of other things to choose - artists I’ve deliberately chosen over the years, so I know it’s music I’ll like. Spousal unit still has XM in his car, but he drives a lot more than I do and we’ve got him a $10/month deal that includes streaming on his computer, so he’s happy.
Longtime subscriber, also back from the XM days. There have been a few dropped channels that I miss - The Loft is the main one. And the Broadway channel was MUCH better pre-merger. Also IMO the variety on the main classical channel Symphony Hall has decreased in the last few years.
But it’s worth it for me for all the sports channels; and for music there’s still Spectrum and Lithium and Classic Vinyl… and, of course, the single greatest achievement in the history of Western media - the Grateful Dead channel.
I found with the comedy stations, it works best if you listen for a few months and then take a break for a few months (or at least listen less), that way when you go back, you’ll hear more new (to you) stuff and less repeats.
One thing I’ve been saying since the beginning is that I’d bet they’d have more customers and require less staff (which used to be outsourced to, like, Vietnam and it was a nightmare to talk to them since their accents were so thick) if they’d just have a better pricing model. Instead of charging $20/mo, and a lot of people learning that you can spend 20 minutes on the phone with them and get it down to $5/mo, charge $10, period. I know, I know, they’re probably making more money because so many people are willing to pay full price.
What’s interesting is that I had to renew my plan last May, I called as I always do but instead of talking to someone I got a recording and, all by pushing buttons on my phone accepted an offer to renew for $5/mo for a year. It was great and only took about a minute from beginning to end. I have to renew again next month, we’ll see how it goes.
I understand that, which is why I mentioned that maybe they could keep their commentary to a few seconds between songs. Like I said, I really don’t care what the weather is like wherever they’re broadcasting from.
But Steven VanZant is different. If you’re listening to that station or the Tom Petty station or any other station about or hosted by an artist, you’re likely listening, at least in part, for the stories. If you’re listening to 80’s on 8 or The Bridge or The Spectrum, maybe not so much.
Has it always been like this or just recently. I’ve never noticed it, but I know over the last year a lot of the DJs have been DJing out of their houses that could play into it. If they’re normally in a sound booth and now they’re in a closet or spare bedroom, it’s certainly going to sound different.
FWIW, I’ve really never listened to that station. I’m assuming it’s at least vaguely similar to the Tom Petty station. I listen to that station, at least in part, for the talking, not in spite of it.
I still like SiriusXM, I find I hear a lot of old and new music that I wouldn’t otherwise hear. And some of the shows and DJs are pretty awesome, like The Big Ass Happy Family Jubilee and Mojo Nixon on Outlaw Country, and One Man Revolution with Tom Morello on Lithium. Dallas Wayne and Paula Nelson on Outlaw Country are good people too.
I just get tired of negotiating them down to $60 per year. Come to think of it, the last time I negotiated in January it was really easy, let’s hope it stays that way.
I’ve been a subscriber for 15 years. I have 2 radios, but I have been pondering cancellation.
In Canada with 2 radios it’s ~$43/month. The main channels I listen to are:
Spectrum
CNN
Starz (just Dalton and Jessica on EW radio)
Lithium
My wife loves Hits 1.
The one thing is if I cancel, I hate to think I would have to listen to local radio! If you think repetition is bad on Sirius, try listening to your local FM radio station!
I have also found that coverage of Sirius has gotten worse over the past 5 years. When I first got the radio where I live (interior of British Columbia) it NEVER cut out while listening. Now when I drive to my parents there’s about a 30km stretch where it’s un-listenable because it cuts out so much.
Got the incentive in my 2019 4Runner. I kept paying for it since I do drive a lot in the mountains. I also have come to like talk ‘radio’
The commercial breaks are way, way too long for something I’m paying for.
And -
My Wife and I play cards or chess on weekend evenings. We like back ground music, and rock. I can almost set my clocks to when Paradise by the Dashboard Lights will come on (love the song but turned into a serious ear worm). It got old to I bought an Amazon Alexa. Just tell it to play an artist or album and we are good to go. Remembering a lot of music from my youth.
