# Sirius/XM Radio and Chapter 11. What will this (eventually) do to the consumer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 12, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-radio-and-chapter-11-what-will-this-eventually-do-to-the-consumer/485487 "2009-02-12T05:05:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-radio-and-chapter-11-what-will-this-eventually-do-to-the-consumer/485487/1 "2009-02-12T05:05:46Z")
[Sirius XM Radio may file for bankruptcy](http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gJEP29Tbcjs1TWmmdx6kYhQzuvng) I know the short term is some restructuring and a new owner, right? What about in a year or so? What if the company just can’t make a go of it? What happens to the equipment people spent good money on? Worthless bricks? Paperweights? What about contracts? Is this a luxury that’s destined to become no more due to the economy? ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-radio-and-chapter-11-what-will-this-eventually-do-to-the-consumer/485487/2 "2009-02-12T14:14:33Z")
Great. I just bought a 3 year subscription. Agh! ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-radio-and-chapter-11-what-will-this-eventually-do-to-the-consumer/485487/3 "2009-02-12T17:36:02Z")
My subscription is prepaid till Oct 09. I told them i would not be renewing because they got rid of he system channel and replaced it with a big stinking pile. When you re-jigger your whole line up and make poor decisions about channel selection you’re running your business into the ground. I think there’s a big subscriber base but Cap 11 will allow it to destroy the existing contracts and come up with something more workable. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-radio-and-chapter-11-what-will-this-eventually-do-to-the-consumer/485487/4 "2009-02-12T17:39:08Z")
Whoa, that doesn’t sound good at all. Is the economy completely to blame, or is this a failure resulting from their “no ads” business model? On the plus side, I didn’t realize Clear Channel was in that much trouble. That’s what you get for replacing the best classic rock station in the area with country. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-radio-and-chapter-11-what-will-this-eventually-do-to-the-consumer/485487/5 "2009-02-12T20:09:45Z")
In the end, it’ll likely be something similar to what happened with the dot-com bubble burst in telecommunications. Lots of lines were laid, which took a lot of money to do. The companies then crashed, and other companies bought the infrastructure for pennies on the dollar. They can now turn a profit on the lower cost (to them) lines. The original company that laid the lines went broke, as the up front costs were never paid back on their revenue realizations. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-radio-and-chapter-11-what-will-this-eventually-do-to-the-consumer/485487/6 "2009-02-12T20:38:43Z")
> [@hellpaso](#): > > Great. I just bought a 3 year subscription. Agh! I’ve still got two left on mine. God, I hate terrestrial radio now. I hope I don’t lose my satellite music. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sirius-xm-radio-and-chapter-11-what-will-this-eventually-do-to-the-consumer/485487/7 "2009-02-12T20:50:31Z")
Nix panicus. The equipment is there, and it’s unlikely someone will come along and steal it. Sirius/XM goes tits-up, and someone else with a better business model gets rich on the pickings. **butler1850** hit it most solidly. EchoStar will move in, buy up the remains, fire Stern (can’t happen soon enough!) and roll out a new, leaner, meaner XM by year’s end.