Internet Killed the Satellite Radio Star 368
theodp writes "As Sirius XM faces bankruptcy, Slate's Farhad Manjoo reports that the company has bigger problems than just the end of cheap credit. While it has what seems like a pretty great service — the world's best radio programming for just a small monthly fee — Sirius XM has been eclipsed by something far cheaper and more convenient: the Internet. Load up Pandora or the Public Radio Tuner on your iPhone, and you've got access to a wider stream of music than you'll ever get through satellite. So forget the satellites, the special radios, and the huge customer acquisition costs, advises Manjoo, and instead focus on getting Howard Stern, Oprah, the NFL, and MLB on every Internet-connected device on the market at very low prices."
flycast.fm replaced it for me. (Score:5, Interesting)
I can run flycast.fm on my office pc instead of my xm radio and they have also released a blackberry and iphone client.
The blackberry client works well so long as I'm not moving. If I am signal fluctuates and the music drops out.
Re:flycast.fm replaced it for me. (Score:4, Interesting)
Well, doesn't sound like a great solution then if you can't really use it while you're driving.
Also, I can't run flycast or anything like that on my office pc.. those things are not allowed. I can aim a sat. antenna out the window though. Of course my main reason to keep sat. is not really the music; it's the other programming.
Sirius music channels always sucked.. and now XMers are suffering through that. I don't listen to the music as much... even in the few cases where I like the play list better. The problem is the Sirius DJs, that don't understand their stupid babble was the second most annoying thing about FM radio. The XM DJs were less chatty, and a few were actually good. But now Liquid Metal has an annoying bitch DJ that can't shut her mouth.. and she knows nothing about metal... because she's also on two other channels at other times of the day. Sad really.
Re:Bollocks (Score:5, Interesting)
I think what is happening is just as iPod became the unofficial name of a MP3 Payer, Kleanex became the unofficial name of tissues. Coke down south has became the unofficial name for Carbonated Soft Drinks. the iPhone is getting its reputation as a smart phone or an internet aware phone. Which is a growing market. I think the point still hold true. How many people with satellite radio or how many people with iPhones, from my experience I have seen more iPhones (even more smart phones which can do the same job) then satellite radios. A smart phone you can carry anywhere with you Satellite radio don't have much of a market as a portable unit. And normally just hooked into cars. So the iPhone (as the term of a powerful cellphone) could unseat Satellite radio
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Radio? What's that?? (Score:4, Interesting)
I never had any interest in satellite radio and not because I am adverse to paying for music.
1) The radios were too large/comples
2) The reception indoors was spotty
3) Having to sign contacts and such was an immediate turnoff. Reminds me of the crap with cell phones.
4) Having to pay for EACH radio didn't help matters
And regular radio? Ug.
1) The advertising is so extremely annoying- as if designed for 3-year-olds
2) Screaming advertising or major volume jumps
3) Same ads over and over and over and over and over
4) Poor sound quality
5) Idiotic DJ's
6) Poor music selection. I mean, we must have 30 radio stations, and 3 types of music, none of which I like.
I stopped listening to all radio eons ago. I just have mp3 everywhere. Granted, even with many hundreds of CD's, it still gets old after years.
And the true irony? The Neilson Radio Ratings packet just arrived in my mailbox yesterday. This is the third time. I keep telling them I don't listen to *any* radio, and they keep saying "oh, well that is valuable information, please fill out the forms with blanks".
Re:What Farhad Manjoo misses (Score:4, Interesting)
The problem is that those satellites are very expensive. Another is that XM reinforces that signal using repeaters in big cities, so that is some expensive infrastructure as well. Not only that, XM was fined for using higher power repeaters than they were permitted, and not using them in the locations where they had permits to put them.
$800 per year for a cell phone? (Score:4, Interesting)
the point is that the next generation of "normal people" phones (the generic ones that people with little money get) will be of the iPhone caliber
Even people who pay something ridiculously low like $90 per year to Virgin Mobile for a phone that they use mostly to arrange a ride home? AT&T quoted me a price eight times that for the kind of smartphone service plan you're describing.
If I have to carry a cell phone anyway, it is damn convenient when it is also a music device that I can integrate into whatever stereo I happen to be near.
The family owns four vehicles, and not one of their car stereos has a line-in jack. What workaround has worked for you?
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Citation needed (Score:4, Interesting)
Sirius XM has been eclipsed by something far cheaper and more convenient: the Internet.
Where are you living that adding 15,000 minutes (ca. 8 hours/day) of streaming 64 kbps from the Internet to your monthly mobile phone plan is "far cheaper" than a subscription to satellite radio? Or were you talking about recording at home and then time-shifting to the office or the car, for which satellite radio would still hold a significant lead in convenience?
Re:Why I dropped my Sirius subscription (Score:3, Interesting)
I listen to Howard and Bubba mostly every day I can (Howard Mon-Thurs, Bubba Mon-Fri)
Howard stated this past week that if Sirius ever went away, so would he. He has his money... why should he stick around?
But, to be honest, Sirius is not going anywhere.
Sirius brings in $2 Billion or so a year in Subscriptions and Radio Sales. The problem is the startup debts were too great to maintain in a problematic economy. They owe $3.9 billion. Which, in all honesty, is actually not bad. Most people I know who own homes own a $250,000 house but only make $45,000-$70,000/year. In contrast they are in better shape than most individuals.
At present there are two companies looking at buying a good chunk of it to help put them back in better standing. One being EchoStar [wikipedia.org] (former parent of Dish Network) and I believe the other is the parent of Comcast, or former parent or something.
They are hoping one of these companies buys a large portion of their debt (in turn owning a large portion of the company via equity). It's basically going to come down to a bidding war and Chapter 11 Bankruptcy is their "get out of jail free" card.
Chapter 11 will allow them to sever contracts that are not making any money. I, personally, don't know anyone who listens to the Oprah or Martha Stewart Channels (do you?). Combined that could be a nice chunk of savings.
Howard will not go anywhere. His job was to bring the listeners to Satellite. He needed to bring at least 80,000 subscribers to pay his yearly salary. They currently have ~20,000,000 subscribers (w/merger).
As for the sound quality loss I have not noticed at all. Although I only listen in my car and work vehicles I dunno if thats much of a test. :-)
Re:too BIG to die (Score:1, Interesting)
I think they have to talk over the start.
It makes it a public performance, and they don't need to pay the performer.
Re:Bollocks (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:So how's this gonna work in my car? (Score:2, Interesting)
I'm with you here. The internets are pretty limited once you're out on the road. I think Pandora is great, but it doesn't stream live anyways - so no live content (news, talk, etc) there. For all intents and purposes it downloads and mp3 and plays it, downloading the next one while you're listening.
XM gives me access to a variety of programming without having to pay $7.00/mo to multiple individual websites so I can listen to their shows on the internet - which again isn't available nearly as much outside population centers. It also gives me several news options, a variety of music, etc all without having to screw around with finding a website on my iPhone while doing 75mph down the freeway.
I'm considering cutting the XM just because of budget stuff, but I'm actually considering cutting the CATV first, because the stuff that I watch on TV that isn't broadcast happens to be simulcast on XM. Just need to find a reliable, inexpensive way to timeshift XM.
Re:Radio? What's that?? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:So how's this gonna work in my car? (Score:2, Interesting)
This topic comes up on /. every few weeks, and everybody says the same thing "Duh why do I want XM radio when I can stream intertubes!" Like you, I use XM radio IN MY CAR. ALL THE TIME. It's never even occurred to me to want XM radio in my office. I have my entire music library here and can easily cue up anything I want to listen to. I like XM because it goes anywhere in my car, and I don't have to plan out a playlist for every trip into the next town.
I really don't want XM to go under. I like it too much for driving.
Re:Good Physics. (Score:4, Interesting)
Though it's rather a niche segment, many people watch a sporting event and tune into the radio broadcast coverage of the game to listen to the radio announcers. The team's own radio announcers are oftentimes much better at knowing what the hell's going on than the ones on TV.
Re:Bollocks (Score:1, Interesting)
Actually, Howard's 5 year contract has another 2 years on it. And when you figure that more than 50% (I think the number is actually over 60%) of the Sirius listeners are their for Howard it might actually make sense to try to extend his contract. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if half of the Sirius subscribers left shortly after Howard does.