tex2670

I admit I'm not a huge fan of Stern's typical stuff, but he is an amazing interviewer. The last week of the year, when they just string together all his interview from the year--it's the best. And if it's with a celebrity that you like, trust me, you will enjoy it throughly. SiriusXM doesn't give him hundreds of millions of dollars for nothing.

oldcajun

Their pricing policy is all screwed up. I was planning to renew for my wife's car but forgot. I got an E-mail offering the 6 mo for $30 if I would renew. They then offered the same deal for my car and included wider access. My guess is that most people renew at the end of the trial period without pressing them for a deal. They will deal if they think you are going to quit. I have wondered what the deal might have been if I actually let the subscription lapse. We listen to Sirius/XM a lot except for music which we play from our phones thru the USB connection.

JDR76

patgilm

rogerh00

I've never renewed because I refuse to give them my credit card number so they can automatically renew. I'm also not in my car as much anymore.

I recently received an offer in the mail that let me pay by check so I did that for the first time. $25/6m I'll see what happens in 6 months for a renewal which I probably won't do.

The thing that bothers me is every car I've had has XM radio installed whether you want it or not. Anyone know how much the radio costs? XM sure has a sweet deal with the car companies.

UDel

Yep, Stern is a excellent interviewer. Howard Stern is the only reason I ever got Sirius and why I still have it though I don't listen to it much. When Stern first went to Sirius the show was hilarious, yes it was the filthiest show but it was also really funny especially with the Sal and Richard phony phone calls, unfortunately when Artie left Stern totally changed and went really PC. Stern and the show is completely different in many ways now then he used to be, it not nearly as funny and Stern is a total PC hypocrite now on many things he criticizes but he is a much better interviewer now and gets better guests because he is not focusing on getting naked girls in the studio anymore. I was just listening to his interview with Steve Martin, I think it was a re run but it was excellent, you really don't get such a detailed interview from stars anywhere like you get with Howard Stern now and he does tend to get better guests now.

As far as Sirius/XM, I still have it, still go through the threat of cancelling every 6 months to get the 5 or 6 months for around $30 but for $5 or so a month it is worth it. I used to pay $11 or $12 a month when it first came out but it was better because you got online streaming free, you could add radio's free, etc and then they took that away and raised prices more and more every year until I said I am not paying more then $5 a month. If they won't let me have the $5 a month deal I will cancel and doubt I will miss it much, Lithium and Metal channel are pretty good and a few others but I just don't listen to them much to pay any more.

scooky

Mine just lapsed. They called for deal, I declined.
I did try it out a bit during the trial. It was sort of valuable when I was on a long road trip as I didn't have to keep searching for new stations every few hours.
However, I get a lot of reception issues. Most noticeable in the mountains which isn't surprising but even during my daily commute when the sky above me doesn't even have trees or overpasses in it. I really don't get it. Good weather, clear sky's, intermittent reception skips.
My wife says she would prefer to listen to staticy FM than skippy XM.
I might be more interested if the music was non stop. I'm not a fan of DJ's talking.
I'm also biased towards local sports radio talk which they don't have.
Overall, not a good fit for me. I can see benefits for some scenarios and people however.

SW17LS

I also listen to Howard off and on and agree with you about the change in the show. Its both a good and a bad thing...

Johnhav430

Not just that, how about 4G LTE, On*Star, built into vehicles whether you choose to activate or not. On my 2007 BMW, sat radio would have been an option, no idea how much the hardware was but I think hundreds. It truly isn't free--ever see the price of a 4G LTE module on a panasonic toughbook (because it can be ordered without, then retrofitted)? Put it this way, it's not $49, $99, $199, it's more, about $295 discount.

Just me, I'd be less willing to provide a checking acct#, than a CC#, although I see your implication....you can dispute a transaction on a CC, but unless fraud, CC cos. will put the charge back when the merchant claims it's valid, then it's on your credit report that you disputed a valid charge (internal to the cc co.). Meaning you can't simply dispute a charge if say you forgot it would auto renew, etc. The only sure fire way to get charges removed, is to work it out with the merchant, and they remove it. It's a myth that a consumer can easily dispute any/all credit card charges--the merchant holds all the power.

jrmckinley

Certain music stations definitely have commercials.

I've had Sirius/XM since the day Stern joined (2005 I believe). In the last couple of years some of the music stations have started playing commercials which drives me crazy because part of the allure initially was no commercials on music. I only listen to things like Classic Vinyl, Coffee House, Reggae channels, etc. and none of those stations have commercials. However, my kids like different music so occasionally I get suckered into putting it on some of the "hits" channels (channel 2 for sure) and they have commercials. You'll notice the text on your screen will mention they're broadcasting via some FM radio station in NYC (Z100 I think) so you get commercials when XM doesn't "own" the station.

jrmckinley

I've had satellite since 2005. A few thoughts:
1) I can't really think of a company that I dislike more from a customer-service stand point than XM. I cringe every time I have to call them. Customer service agents with not-so-great English who simply follow a script 99% of the time is not a pleasant experience.
2) I pre-pay every 6 months. I set a calendar notification to remind me in 6 months to call and be prepared to cancel. It's incredibly frustrating but it's all part of the game- after my 6 months expires they will jack up my rate (at least double, sometimes triple) so I just call, negotiate and if I don't think I'm getting anywhere with negotiating I will just cancel my service (even though I want to keep it). Every time, I wait about a week and the emails and calls start flowing in and I get a deal that I'm willing to accept (about $5 to $7/month). Sometimes I time my cancellation around a vacation so I don't really miss out on anything.
3) That being said, if I cut XM completely I'm not sure how much I'd miss it. With unlimited data plans and great streaming music options (Spotify being personal favorite), and things like I Heart Radio which live-stream my favorite sports talk shows, I'm not quite sure what keeps me as an XM customer. But that's exactly what they want..!
4) I think when Stern leaves it will be the tipping point for XM to take a serious hit. I think a decent % of their subscribers are Stern fans first and put up with paying for the service to listen to him. Too many options (as stated in #3 above) for music, sports talk, news, and even Podcasts & audio books which are a great way to burn time in the car.

Johnhav430

Strange that you find agents speak not so good English. That has never crossed my mind, and I have had to call every 6 mos. back to early 2012. What do you have against the way people speak in Wisconsin? Then again maybe you mean prior to when I started calling in 2012.

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

I purchased a lifetime subscription back when I picked up my IS in 06. Purchased for $400 + $100 to transfer from my IS to my GS and I'm looking at $500 for 12 years of service and counting. It's not too far off from the 6/25 prices you guys have had, but not having to remember to call in is great. I find myself listening to the talk stations far more than the music stations so audio quality isn't as important

jrmckinley

Not sure I understand the Wisconsin comment- I've always spoken to someone who is clearly not from, or based in, the US. They're HQ'd in NYC (and DC I believe) but it seems clear the customer service agents are outsourced outside of the country based on the 12-15 interactions I've had.

mmarshall

Each to his (or her) own, I guess, but I listened to him a couple times when he first started doing his show, and I simply couldn't take the vulgarity and obscenity he was using. I lead a clean life, and strictly avoid that kind of stuff....don't even care to listen to it. He and his parent Infinity organization were fined by the FCC, but even that didn't stop it.