On My Soapbox (rant mode on!)
Every once in awhile you just need to get a few things off your chest… today is one of those days.
How long have we been warning people about the digital transition? If you watch any television you have the date of February 17th etched in your head. If you’re not ready for the digital transition by now chances are you won’t be ready in June either.
The idea to postpone the switch is going to hurt the economy, satellite retailers have been reporting a brisk increase in business as consumers worked to make the switch before the switch was flipped. Now with the delay until June consumers can sit back and relax and not take action. Even if the switch is flipped in June many of those folks who have not made the switch will not notice or take action as those folks don’t stay inside and watch TV in the summer and won’t take any action until the fall when it gets cool outside. Satellite retailers are expecting the phones to stop ringing now that it appears that the switch will be delayed.
But since the new provision still allows for TV stations to pull the switch in February I do not expect many broadcasters to continue broadcasting in Analog after February 17th. The costs of keeping the analog transmitters are a huge cost for broadcasters.
I say just pull the plug in February and let’s move on. If you don’t know about the digital switchover by now chances are good you don’t watch television anyways.
And now a Sirius Rant
I have been a fan of Satellite Radio since the beginning, I got my first satellite radio back in 2001. Over the years both my XM and Sirius subscriptions have given me thousands of hours of entertainment. I didn’t have an issue when XM raised their rates from $9.99 to $12.95 a month because they added the feature to listen to XM online.
Since the merger was approved my love for satellite radio has quickly gone away. In November many of the great satellite radio channels I loved and the personalities who ran them were all gone. To me overnight satellite radio went for a service that was worth paying for to nothing more the subscription FM radio. Besides many stations being cut or changed the playlists for many stations were also drasticly cut. Instead of hearing the music from the 70’s and 80’s we are now fed the greatest hits from those decades. Instead of DJ’s who knew the music and respected it we now have MTV VJ’s who talk over the music and rather talk about themselves then talk about the music they are playing.
I understood why Sirius XM had to merge some of the channels together and get rid of some of the staff, but why did they have to cut the playlists? They already had all the music available to them. I don’t get the reason why now they feel the need to recreate the feel of listening to FM radio, as I am paying for a service to get away from FM radio.
I have given Sirius XM a chance to fix their issues, but the latest thing that is going to push me over is Sirius XM’s new pricing. As I understand it Sirius XM made a concession to the government to not raise rates for 3 years. Sirius XM will be keeping the base price on their radios $12.95 however the online streaming which was part of the service will not cost and extra $2.99 a month. From where I sit this is a price increase on the base plan which to me is in violation of their agreement for the merger. In other words that as of March 11th to get the all the same services I get now I will have to pay $15.94. This to me is a price increase. The internet service should be included on the first radio at no additional cost. Anything other than that is a price increase on the base package and again I see this as a violation as their terms to the merger.
Sirius XM is also increasing the price for additional radios the price is going up an additional $2 a month to $8.99 a month. I don’t have a problem with them raising the rates on the secondary units, nor do I have an issue with them charging extra for streaming radio internet access on the secondary radios.
XM is now trying to get customers to pay in advance for their service to avoid the price increase, Sirius XM is even offering a lifetime subscription plan as well. Personally knowing Sirius XM’s financial situation I would avoid signing up for long term service. Sirius XM recently changer their customer service agreement to add the following line to 8(E) which scares me, it reads “IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT THAT WE CEASE BROADCASTING THE SERVICE, WHETHER AS A RESULT OF A LIQUIDATION, BANKRUPTCY, OR OTHERWISE, ALL PREPAID SUBSCRIPTIONS WILL BE TREATED AS NONREFUNDABLE.”
I personally have been yelled at on the online forums for voicing my displeasure with the new pricing and being accused of wanting to kill the company. This couldn’t be further from the truth I have loved satellite radio, but in the recent month almost everything to love about satellite radio is gone. They removed all the good services and personalities and now want us to pay more for less service, how much should a customer take? Are we just supposed to sit here and take it? I think not.
Already reports are being posted at popular online sites such as XMFan.COM of customers who are upset calling to cancel their radios. It seems as though already Sirius XM is making it hard to cancel service where you must talk to an operator and then be transferred to the cancelation department. It is when you are transferred the issue arises as you are put on hold then hung up on (and then you need to call back in again and do everything all over again) or you are put on hold forever and when the cancelation department finally answers they try everything under the sun to keep you as a customer and won’t just simply cancel your account. This is outrageous and reminds me of the old AOL service who gave you trouble when you tried canceling. My advice to you is if you do decide to call and cancel to record your call, and if they give you any trouble post the audio to the internet.
As I said before I loved satellite radio, but honestly how much are satellite radio customers supposed to take? It looks like I will soon be calling and waiting on hold forever, something I don’t want to do but I seriously can’t take it anymore.
Please leave your comments and let me know you thoughts on the subject.
Rant mode Off. 
Reaper commented:
I guess that I\’m one of the few that\’s happier with sat radio AFTER the merger. I\’ve been an XM subscriber since very early on. Since the merger, I actually have more choices for the kind of music I like (80\’s hard rock). The only thing that I don\’t like is Sirius DJs talking over songs, XM DJs never did that. As far as paying for streaming, my company doesn\’t allow streaming music because of bandwidth issues so I have an XM PCR. One benny of this approach is that I use the fantastic (free) XtreMe PCR software to automatically tune to favorite artists/titles. It\’s sat radio customized for me!
David Chapman commented:
Mel Karmazin and his Sirius XM buddies in DC are going to soon see that arrogantly raising rates again and again is going to lead to the financial death of their company. Far from generating more revenue for them, it is going to have the opposite result. People are getting tired of being gouged, and for Mel to now disregard his vow to the FCC not to raise rates for 3 years is unconscionable. I am done with Sirius XM! Nice job, Mel!
Kingofku commented:
I don\’t think sat radio will die anytime soon. It will take some time for the programming to level off. Personally, I don\’t like what they did to the decades channels. You\’d think Cousin Brucie was a god, they was they promote him. I\’m glad they (Mel K.) was smart enough to keep most of the 60s on-air staff and it is a pleasure to hear some new voices on the 70\’s. They have to learn to compete with terrestrial radio not try and conquer it.
Max931 commented:
Good article Scott, i cancelled my Sirus for the car and it took 20 minutes. I like the idea of sat radio but now i stream on line for free with aol radio. Plus where we live we have good local radio i have an hd radio picked out and will be getting it here soon. Plus we get stations from 3 different cities lots to choose from. Does anybody know how long Sat Radio will last my guess it will be gone in 3 years. Max.
dlsnyder commented:
I saw the writing on the wall and cancelled my Sirius subscription just after the merger and just before the programming changes. I get plenty of free streaming music from the internet in my car via my pocket PC. Did I mention its free?
Peter commented:
I hope the broadcasters just drop their analog signals on the 17th as planned.I\’m tired of my tax dollars being wasted.I\’m sure we end up paying in the long run.For an example,my Dad is full aware and has an old analog TV in the kitchen not ready.When I offered to buy a new one he said don\’t bother,it\’s not going to happen yet.Wait and the prices will drop.I bet others are thinking the same.I think some stations aren\’t ready with the transmitters either.I hope in June it isn\’t delayed again.
I Quit commented:
All this, before I read this rant…
BTW, XM/Sirius has to renew $1 Billion in notes in the next few months, all notes have matured and are being called. Couple this with the fact, neither ever shown a profit, solo or combined in their entire existence.
They never did what they told the FCC their merger was all about. They never offered ‘al le carte’ as promised nor lower prices. Now add line 8(E) to the user agreement, the stock is junk, the share holders are suing… They’re insolvent. Period.
My belief, they\’ll be filling chapter 11 this year, chapter 7 shortly thereafter, bankrupt and off-air within 2-5 years. That is, unless the government throws them a bone… And the way the way the government has been handing out money like candy, I wouldn’t doubt XM/Sirius are lobbying for a bailout. Again, remember they’ve never shown a profit nor will they the way they’re organized now.
I just tried to cancel my subscription to XM (it expires February ‘09; 4 year plan). They said I had to call on that date. I disagreed and asked for retention, as I knew that\’s where I\’d end up. They disconnected me. I called again. This time, I\’m pissed and insulted… Had to talk to three more people. I got so tired of the round and round BS, I finally said, ‘I’m leaving because I can’t afford it.’ And in reality, it’s the truth. I can’t afford to pay for BS. She gave me three additional months, gratis - But told me I was still obligated to cancel by June ‘09 or I\’d be billed.
I had my credit card numbers rolled about a year ago… the card on file is invalid.
They tell you, your service will continue, and they will charge you, sending you paper billing if you don\’t cancel. This is marvelous XM/Sirius customer service - And its all off-shore. How absolutely pathetic.
Consider, I don\’t want Howard Stern ($500 Million for 5 years), Oprah, Opey, Extreme Right or Left, NASCAR, PGA, NBA, NFL, NHL, blah, blah, blah. I just wanted music without front-back sells (no jocks), no commercials, BBC, NPR, CNN, some jazz, classical, and maybe al little bluegrass… That\’s pretty much it. But no, they had to burry themselves in debt by adding all the above and more ‘junk channels’.
These morons have signed up all this extra talent, thinking they\’re the next best thing since TV. They\’ve missed the point. I wanted XM to get away from commercial radio - Not to pay for commercial radio.
Create an ‘al le carte’ packaging that allows me to pick 3 news, 3 music channels for $3, and I\’d be happy. All of you who enjoy all the channels, enjoy them, but I\’m not going to subsidize unbridled programming and spending. They’ve spent their way into bankruptcy.
I was against the merger for all the aforementioned reasons… I knew it wasn’t going to change the way they do business.
Back to the basics is the only way XM/Sirius will have a chance…
Who ever purchases the service(s) will likely make a profit, if they keep it, very simple…
Lane commented:
I\’m very disappointed with Sirius in light of these new charges.
I got Sirius for Stern and have been increasingly disappointed with that program due to the amount of vacation they take. I mean, even if Howard wants to run off for 10 weeks of the year, why can\’t everyone else come in and do live shows? I used to look forward to listening to the show, now sometimes I forget to listen after one of their absences as I have replaced it with NPR or something.
Now to hear that I will have to pay extra to listen to his show. It\’s the only station I listen to at home, and because I work out of my home, there are days where I never touch my car radio.
So when March rolls around and the change takes place, I will be canceling my subscription. I drove across the country this past summer and LOVED Sirius on the road, and will consider using it again for road trips, but paying a monthly fee for radio I barely listen to in these hard times seems a poor use of my income.
Scott Greczkowski commented:
Bubba,
Yes I have said that we are not ready for the transition, but with that being said no matter February 17th or June 14th we still won't be ready.
The government drew a line in the sand for the switchover, and now they are trying to move that line in the sand.
Lets just get it done and done now, as no matter when the switchover is done the issues are still going to be the same.
Bubba commented:
Scott if I recall correctly you were the one who said that all Hell was going to break loose when we switched from analog to digital. We just aren\’t ready said you. I disagreed saying that if people aren\’t ready for it on Feb. 19 they are never going to be ready for it. The recent changeover in Hawaii seems to have gone relatively painless and I suspect this one will too. Of course the media will be searching for even one Joe Blow out there in Podunk Flats who can\’t get digital through his antenna, isn\’t wired for cable and in the wrong place for satellite. God help us if Joe is a minority! He\’ll probably get a spot on Larry King to rave and rant and blame the evil politicians! I\’m with you now though…let the changeover take place. If people aren\’t ready after almost free converter boxes and a year of almost constant public service TV spots, well that\’s just tough you know what!
Glad I\’m not a satellite radio customer. I\’ve got lots of satellite and other music included in Dish service, have an iPod for walking around and travel and have recently discovered www.slacker.com thanks you you. As much as some would disagree it\’s nice to have some time when music doesn\’t play in the background too or have some of us reached the point where it has to be with us 24/7?
dougm0 commented:
I\’ve had one lifetime sub since 2005. Seems I MAY break even on my sub before the company goes bankrupt but its looking doubtful.
Pepper commented:
WHAT! My 1956 Philco black and white TV is gonna quit working unless the government buys me a box? I cannot believe they are doing this and did not have any kind of media campaign to inform people like me.
riroon commented:
It\’s redundant after the first two posts, but AMEN.
I loved my XM for the past two years, until the merger. It was laughable when they axed Fred, X Country, Raw, Beyond Jazz, and Vox and tried to convince us the replacement channels were just as good. Then Mel K tells everyone (including the \’hundreds\’ of listeners who threatened to cancel) that we need to be sure he makes money, regardless what we think of the service (Reuters Media Summit, 11-08).
Sad to see it go, but I can tell you Steve Jobs is a bit happier and my iPod a bit fatter since 11-19-08 (the day I cancelled my sub).
MikeW commented:
I recently had a new system put in my van. I\’ve had an XM unit in there for several years. When I added the system, I had a choice between adding XM or HD to the head unit. I chose HD and continue to use my SkyFi2. Hearing the FREE options available via HD radio, I now see why Sirius/XM will fail. As HD radio becomes the norm, SUXM will become unnecessary. I might miss MLB games, but that\’s about it. As for online streaming, there are several free options available. I managed to squeeze out a $77.00/year deal back in August and will let that run out. Once it\’s done, so am I. I truly disliked every aspect of the recent channel changes (especially the VJs and \”Saturday Night special\” programming on the 70\’s and 80\’s channels. Too much yakking going on. Do they not realize I have an LCD screen that tells me who is singing and the name of the song? Do I care that the lead singer\’s favorite sandwich is Tuna Fish??? NO I DON\’T.
Robert Smith commented:
I agree wth everything you said. I had Sirius from the start and also had a large amount of stock. They had no concern for us as stock holders and now no respect as customers.
Alabaaster commented:
I couldn\’t agree with you more! I just found out today about the fee for online listening. I loved that feature and listened every day online at work. I noticed too, how the programming totally sucks now. The 70\’s station is TERRIBLE, whereas before it was so good. I am reconsidering Sirius now too. I got it in the first place because of Howard Stern. The first \’gotcha\’ was when he played commercials. I was totally under the impression it was going to be commercial free. But after his justification, I could understand.
What are our options?
