Let the Speculation Begin

Well now that it’s official and DirecTV has been spun off from Liberty Media as Liberty Entertainment my mailbox has filled up with people asking me what’s going to happen to DirecTV.

Judging from what I have been reading lately it appears that indeed the for sale sign is out, but now the question I have is, is it just DirecTV that’s for sale or is it the entire Liberty Entertainment Division?

And without taking office yet it appears that newly announced CEO Michael White already has plans of his own, it appears he wants to turn DirecTV into a global name. Not a bad plan if you ask me it seems to be what Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen is trying to do as well. I believe that here in the United States all of the low hanging fruit has been picked and the satellite companies are figuring out it’s hard to pick the fruit sitting up higher in the tree. Around the globe there is a need for satellite television service and there is lots of low lying fruit to be found abroad.

I believe there will be a lot of talk on both subjects in 2010. It’s something I will be keeping a close eye on.

XM Free Preview

As a long time XM subscriber I have been critical of the changes that were made when many of the channels merged with Sirius. I guess a lot of people had the same feelings I did and shut off their radios. XM wants to show those former customers that things have gotten better so from now until November 30th XM is opening up 60 channels of its service for free.

If you’re a former XM customer dig out your old radio and turn it on and you will be enjoying 60 channels of XM for free.

Here’s a list of all 60 free channels that you can tune into with your old XM radio.

Pop:
XM 5 - 50’s on 5
XM 6 - 60’s on 6
XM 7 - 70’s on 7
XM 8 - 80’s on 8
XM 18 - Elvis Radio
XM 20 - Top 20 on 20
XM 25 - The Blend
XM 26 - The Pulse
XM 28 - Escape

Rock:
XM 40 - Deep Tracks
XM 41 - Hair Nation
XM 44 - 1st Wave
XM 45 - The Spectrum
XM 46 - Classic Vinyl
XM 47 - Alt Nation
XM 48 - Octane
XM 49 - Classic Rewind
XM 51 - Coffee House
XM 53 - Boneyard
XM 54 - Lithium
XM 55 - Radio Margaritaville
XM 56 - Jam On
XM 57 - Grateful Dead Channel
XM 59 - Underground Garage

Hip-Hop/R&B:
XM 68 - The Heat

Dance & Electronic:
XM 81 - BPM
XM 83 - The Strobe
XM 84 - Chill

Country:
XM 12 - Outlaw
XM 13 - Willie’s Place
XM 16 - The Highway
XM 17 - Prime Country

Jazz/Blues/Standards:
XM 70 - Real Jazz
XM 71 - Watercolors
XM 73 - Siriusly Sinatra
XM 74 - Bluesville

Classical:
XM 78 - Symphony Hall
XM 79 - Met Opera Radio

Entertainment:
XM 156 - Oprah Radio

Holiday:
XM 4 - Holiday Traditions
XM 23 - Holly

Comedy:
XM 151 - Laugh USA

Sports:
XM 140 - Espn Radio
XM 143 - Sirius XM Sports Nation
XM 144 - Mad Dog Radio
XM 146 - PGA Tour
XM 175 - MLB Home Plate
XM 204 - NHL Home Ice

Talk, News, & NPR:
XM 121 - Fox News
XM 122 - CNN
XM 123 - HLN
XM 127 - CNBC
XM 130 - POTUS
XM 133 - XM Public Radio
XM 134 - NPR Now
XM 135 - WRN

Family & Health:
XM 115 - Radio Disney
XM 116 - Kids Place Live
XM 119 - Doctor Radio

Religion:
XM 117 - Catholic Channel
Give a listen and let us know what you think. Have a great weekend everyone!