Radio – Regular Guy

They Don’t Miss Me

brian — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:43:20 +0000

A little more than a month ago, I made a big change in my routine. I cancelled my subscription to Sirius XM and switched to pretty much podcasts only for my daily commute.

In reality, the change was not that drastic because I had slowly drifted away from satellite radio into podcasts over the past few months. As I noticed myself switching the connection to my XM receiver less and less, I could use the monthly fee for something else.

When I called to cancel – you have to call to cancel, no online option – I prepared myself for a hard sell. A lot of skepticism still exists about the viability of satellite radio so I figured they would do whatever it took to hold onto a customer.

All I got was a half-hearted attempt to get me to buy the online package. No discounted rate. No free month. No effort to keep someone who has subscribed to the service for more than nine years. Apparently, they’re OK with their position.

So am I. Even though I enjoyed a bunch of the stations, I don’t miss satellite radio at all. I created a special playlist for when I drive long distances with my wife – she has much different taste in music than I do, something which the satellite could mitigate. I have more podcasts downloaded than I can fit into my two-hour daily drive. I even drug some old CDs out of storage to put into the car.

Others who have cancelled their service warned me I would start to get offers in the mail to renew my subscription. So far, bupkis. This hurts my feelings. Why don’t they like me? Are they mad I hadn’t upgraded my receiver in about five or six years? Do they think I’m fat?

In the end, it doesn’t matter. I might take up a good offer if I could cancel before the full rate kicked in. Or I might pass altogether because I have a new routine in place. I’m just a little surprised that they let go of a subscriber that easily.

Do the Math, Rush

brian — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:32:12 +0000

So apparently, Rush Limbaugh has opened his big mouth again and said he wants President Obama to fail.

I don’t get into politics here too often because I think most people have their minds made up, and the level of political discourse in this country often resembles your average argument over a toy by a pair of 4-year-olds. I will make an exception this time because of one nugget in that story.

Limbaugh is heard on some 600 radio stations across the country, and more than 14 million people listen to him at least once a week.

Since Rush didn’t complete college, I’ll do a little math for him. More than four times the number of people that listen to you voted for our president.

4 x Rush = Obama

So please stop acting like you are the voice of the people. You have had problems accepting people of color in strong positions on their merit so please just stop acting like you care about the people.

Elvis, Bruce, Jimmy and Frank

brian — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:39:32 +0000

For more than a year, I have followed the news of the XM-Sirius merger. I have had XM radio for nearly six years now and really looked forward to getting the best of both services.

The first sign came a few weeks ago when XM subscribers could start to buy the “Best of Sirius” package, which featured the Howard Stern station, NFL games and a few other things. I didn’t have any need for that stuff and waited to see what the rumored “a la carte” packages would bring. I even considered buying a new radio unit if that helped me get a better channel selection.

The company announced some good news today. They have migrated some channels from each service to the other one, meaning I have a whole lot more to listen to in my car without paying more money or buying a new radio unit. I couldn’t be happier.

At first glance, I think XM listeners got the better end of the deal. I am excited about having channels dedicated to Elvis, Springsteen, Jimmy Buffet and Sinatra. I got in the car today and only a few had migrated over to my radio. I hope it’s just a software thing and they all show up soon.

What the Hell, XM?

brian — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:57:34 +0000

Over the past four years or so, I have come to rely on XM Radio during my hour-long commute. Since I come from southern Pennsylvania to the suburbs of Baltimore, I had to deal with unreliable frequencies and way too many commercials before I got satellite.

Now I have a constant signal with plenty of options and very few interruptions. But something very, very bad happened yesterday.

I hopped in the car for the ride home and poked around my presets. Like usual, I started on my A group and worked through my main music channels before going to my B group, which is a mix of music and sports. I didn’t find any music I liked and ESPN Radio was at a break so I went to B-1, one of my standby stations. ESPN News – constant sports talk with short commercial breaks since they were just simulcasting the TV feed.

It was gone. Poof. Like Bill Belicheck with one second left in the Super Bowl, it just disappeared. Something called ESPN Xtra had taken its place and instead of the constant updates from analysts and athletes on “The Hot List,” I had to hear Michael Kay’s show out of New York blathering on about the Giants.

Listen, XM. I got your service just so I wouldn’t have to listen to the ramblings of sports talk personalities about the teams I like, I sure as hell didn’t sign up to listen to some jackass New Yorker.

I found out when I got home that ESPN Xtra is a combination of the ESPN News feed along with some talk shows from local ESPN stations. And, to make it even more special, they will broadcast Bill Simmons’ podcast a couple times a week.

Shoot me now.

I have waited patiently for XM and Sirius to merge, but I think I might just drop XM after this and get Sirius. They still have ESPN News.

I Like the Sound of This

brian — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:35:54 +0000

XM and Sirius have announced details about their plans to merge. In short, you can get a bunch of channels from each service or have a choice of 50 or 100-channel “a la carte” packages. The 50-channel deal will be cheaper than the current prices, but seemingly restricts you to one service, while the 100-channel deal will cost more, but gives you a chance to pick channels from the competing service. They will also have music-only, sports-only and family-friendly packages. The press release goes into greater detail.

I have had XM for close to five years now. I hardly listen to more than 25 channels on a regular basis so am up in the air on what I will do if this passes. The 50-channel package will more than cover my interests, but I would love the chance to have Sirius’ Elvis, Margaritaville or Sinatra channels on my radio.

The A La Carte packages are cheaper or close to what I pay now, but you need a new radio to get those. They always find a way to make you pay. The packages which let you keep all your XM programming and choose some Sirius channels will cost me about three extra bucks a month. I have to decide if those Sirius channels are worth a few more dollars a month.

I also have to see what kind of sports programming will be available to choose from the Sirius lineup. I don’t listen to sports a ton on my radio, but might want to pick package that gives me NFL games or soccer just in case I am in the mood.

Who the hell am I kidding? I’ll switch to something new I’m sure just because it’s available. You can’t go wrong with two seperate 80s channels on the radio.