What the hell, XM???

[rebfandan]

So I checked my inbox today and saw an e-mail from XM customer service telling me my account requires immediate attention. They inform me that as of March 11, my rate will go up $2 per month. Now, I expected the jump in fee after I first heard about the merger, but what I don't like is losing my XM online capabilities unless I extend my service contract before March 11.

I realize the e-mail went out a couple of days ago, but are Sirius subscribers getting this message as well? And for all you Sirius/XM users, do you think it's still worth it? I have been very unhappy since the merger because the variety just doesn't seem to be there anymore on any of my favorite stations. Plus, my service contract doesn't end until December 27, 2009 - practically a year away! I want your 2 cents: Is is worth it to extend my contract now to keep the online service (which I love having at work and think ought to be included anyway if you pay for a year in advance as I do), and should I even consider renewing when December 27 rolls around?

[Forrestandjen07]

Yes I have gotten this email(sirius)

but I had plans on adding my radio to a 1 year contract with the best of Xm anyway

and have already done it.

[Dexter Morgan]

I have a friend who has had XM from the get-go, and cancelled his subscription about 2 years ago. Somehow, they never turned off his service, and he hasn't gotten billed for it, so now he gets free XM. Hopefully I get the same "treatment" when discontinue my service next month.

[olds403]

I had XM for 3 years(bought the 3 years prepaid for 9.99 a month) and didn't even use it for the last year. The commercial free music channels were ok but I liked the talk stations, and the commercials and xm promos on those were getting ridiculous. In a 15-20 minute ride to work I was lucky to get MAYBE 7-8 minutes of actual show. I thought the online service sucked because it was music only, didn't have any of the talk shows available to listen online. Finally just let it run out without renewing it. Then they wouldn't leave me alone, wanted me back. I decided that the content is not worth the price, maybe for 5.99-6.99 a month but not 10-13 dollars a month.

[Clark Kent]

I would be worried about extending my contract more than a few months. Sirius/XM has serious problems going forward with their balance sheet and business model. It would not surprise me if they declare bankruptcy in the next six months as the stock is very close to being delisted and almost worthless.

[ManUtd]

My last 2 cars have factory-installed XM and I only signed up for the first year of each when they gave me a promo rate of $5/month. After the promo period they would offer over $10/month for their service and since I don't think it's worth it at that price I canceled the service.

[tntkain]

I haven't gotten that email and I didn't think they were allowed to raise the price, according to the merger

[Bigdog]

Originally Posted by Blu Atlas

I have a friend who has had XM from the get-go, and cancelled his subscription about 2 years ago. Somehow, they never turned off his service, and he hasn't gotten billed for it, so now he gets free XM. Hopefully I get the same "treatment" when discontinue my service next month.

Had the same thing happen to me, originally had pre paid for 3 months of service, never agreed to go beyond that but took them almost a year to finally shut off my service. They kept trying to bill me and thankfully the credit card i had used previously ran out of exp date so they couldn't get a nickel off me.

Xm at least was horrible, i would have trouble justifying even 5 a month for the crap service they provide. When the damn satellite wasn't disconnecting all the time, the channels just recycled the same play list day after day and was getting more repetitive then FM radio.

No thanks and i give it another year tops before we start hearing about them both going under.

[rragland]

Originally Posted by rebfandan

So I checked my inbox today and saw an e-mail from XM customer service telling me my account requires immediate attention. They inform me that as of March 11, my rate will go up $2 per month. Now, I expected the jump in fee after I first heard about the merger, but what I don't like is losing my XM online capabilities unless I extend my service contract before March 11.

I realize the e-mail went out a couple of days ago, but are Sirius subscribers getting this message as well? And for all you Sirius/XM users, do you think it's still worth it? I have been very unhappy since the merger because the variety just doesn't seem to be there anymore on any of my favorite stations. Plus, my service contract doesn't end until December 27, 2009 - practically a year away! I want your 2 cents: Is is worth it to extend my contract now to keep the online service (which I love having at work and think ought to be included anyway if you pay for a year in advance as I do), and should I even consider renewing when December 27 rolls around?

Hi, REBFANDAN,

I received the same e-mail solicitation from XM concerning listening online stating that I could continue to listen free but I had to pay for 12 months all at once, so I declined the offer.

I do not subscribe to Sirius, so I am unaffected by this.

Ever since Channel 18 Elvis arrived, variety doesn't matter because that is all I listen to.
HOTTY TODDY!!

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

I would be worried about extending my contract more than a few months. Sirius/XM has serious problems going forward with their balance sheet and business model. It would not surprise me if they declare bankruptcy in the next six months as the stock is very close to being delisted and almost worthless.

I agree with this statement. I would love to get either XM/Sirius but with the amount of debt becoming due this year the possibility is definitely there for the company to fail or be bought out. I'm not willing to risk buying equipment that might be worthless in six months. From US News and World:

Sirius Satellite Radio. (SIRI - parent company; about 1,000 employees; stock down 96%). The music rocks, but satellite radio has yet to be profitable, and huge contracts for performers like Howard Stern are looking unsustainable. Sirius is one of two satellite-radio services owned by parent company Sirius XM, which was formed when Sirius and XM merged last year. So far, the merger hasn't generated the savings needed to make the company profitable, and Moody's thinks there's a "high likelihood" that Sirius will fail to repay or refinance its debt in 2009. One outcome could be a takeover, at distressed prices, by other firms active in the satellite business.

[phlydude]

The merger should not have been approved as a Sirius buy-out of XM, XM should have bought Sirius (they were in better shape financially and had to sit there unchanged while the FCC debated on the merger of the licensing).

I think the Sirius channels suck ass and miss old favorites like Fred, Lucy and Ethel, Top Tracks (before they spun off to Big Tracks). There are some welcomed additions (Margarittaville and Elvis) but the losses far outweigh the gains.

I only keep it for my 1+ hr each way commute and mainly listen to XM202 / Siri 197 (Opie and Anthony). I don't get them on regular radio in my area and if I did, I would drop XM like a rock.

But I believe the price increase includes on-line access, so if you don't use it, don't pay for it.

[Wreck]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

I would be worried about extending my contract more than a few months. Sirius/XM has serious problems going forward with their balance sheet and business model. It would not surprise me if they declare bankruptcy in the next six months as the stock is very close to being delisted and almost worthless.

This is true, alot are saying they may both get bought out or charge more or declare bankruptcy and work under chapter 11 to get the crediters off their back until reorganized which isnt a bad idea granted they come up with a better business model.

[brettallica]

To speak on the cost of XM/Sirius, I definitely recommend buying it in yearly chunks of subscription; I would never buy on a monthly plan because they get a lot more money out of you that way. Plus, I don't want yet another bill to pay. I've got enough of those, so buying a year outright is good for me.

That said, if this company is going under, maybe it'd be better to not buy anything at all.

When I got my TL, it came with a free 90-day subscription of XM, as the tuner is built-in to my radio/dash/nav system. When the trial period expired, I told the douchebag operators who kept calling me that I would not buy it for $12.99 a month (or whatever it was -- something like that). Finally, one of the salespeople caved and I ended up getting them to offer it for $6 per month, so I just paid them $72 for the year. That is a bargain.

The same deal has happened each time my year has run out. I play cat and mouse with them until they finally just say "OK, we'll give you that plan again."

Suckaz.

[rebfandan]

Originally Posted by phlydude

The merger should not have been approved as a Sirius buy-out of XM, XM should have bought Sirius (they were in better shape financially and had to sit there unchanged while the FCC debated on the merger of the licensing).

I think the Sirius channels suck ass and miss old favorites like Fred, Lucy and Ethel, Top Tracks (before they spun off to Big Tracks). There are some welcomed additions (Margarittaville and Elvis) but the losses far outweigh the gains.

I only keep it for my 1+ hr each way commute and mainly listen to XM202 / Siri 197 (Opie and Anthony). I don't get them on regular radio in my area and if I did, I would drop XM like a rock.

But I believe the price increase includes on-line access, so if you don't use it, don't pay for it.

This has basically been my mode of thinking as well. The Sirius playlists just plain suck. When I listen to 90's alternative station (XM 54) it's Alice in Chains and about 5 other bands every other song that cover 10 years worth of music.

[Forrestandjen07]

Originally Posted by phlydude

The merger should not have been approved as a Sirius buy-out of XM, XM should have bought Sirius (they were in better shape financially and had to sit there unchanged while the FCC debated on the merger of the licensing).

I think the Sirius channels suck ass and miss old favorites like Fred, Lucy and Ethel, Top Tracks (before they spun off to Big Tracks). There are some welcomed additions (Margarittaville and Elvis) but the losses far outweigh the gains.

I only keep it for my 1+ hr each way commute and mainly listen to XM202 / Siri 197 (Opie and Anthony). I don't get them on regular radio in my area and if I did, I would drop XM like a rock.

But I believe the price increase includes on-line access, so if you don't use i don't pay for it.

Im confused, How could Xm got bought out if they were better shape finacialy?

werent they losing customers to sirius?


I love my sirius, SO MUCH great stuff, People just for some reason dont want to look past the two channels they listend to on XM and if they did they could probably find something even better

Like people were complaning about squizz being gone, well this is what OCTANE is for, and I think that is way better than squizz.

I did however buy the best of XM Mostly for the sports channels tho, I dont care for operah or opie and anthony.

Also I do not see satlite radio going out of business anytime soon, I think it well be here for years

[fatediesel]

XM was in better shape because they didn't have loads of debt. The only reason Sirius was able to buy XM was due to that debt, and now it is becoming time to pay back the debt and they don't have the money. I don't agree that XM should have bought Sirius because then they would have had the debt, I just believe that the government should have held them to their contracts which said they couldn't merge and then Sirius would have failed on it's own rather than possibly taking XM down as well.

[toef]

When I got my car 2 years ago, I got the fairly standard 90-day free trial for Sirius. It seemed nice at first, but over time I realized it wasn't something I'd really pay for.

It continued working past the 90-days, and I think I ended up having it for a little over 4 months before it was shut off.

After it was shut off, Sirius kept sending me offers to sign up, including a lifetime subscription for $199. I actually thought about doing that, figuring if the company was going to stick around, it'd be nice to have (although there were limits about how many radios you could transfer your account to, so it will eventually run out if you change your car/radio more than 2-3 times, or something like that).

[phlydude]

XM's share price was 5 times what Sirius' share price was - Sirius did a stock swap with XM to merge but the XM shares were disolved into Sirius shares.

XM had better equipment, better technology and better programming - Mel Karmazin was good for CBS for a while but hasn't done squat with Sirius except bring Howard over - before Howard, they were 350k subscribers strong with satellites that orbited in a big figure 8 pattern compared to XM's geo-synch orbits with almost 2 million subs...

Plus, I though XM had better compression and better overall sound quality / DJ quality