XM or Sirius Satellite Radio - What's Better For News?

[vonSeggern]

If you are into Howard, Bubba the Love Sponge, and Maxim. I guess Sirius is the way to go.

If you are more news oriented XM has a slightly better offering.

The music is about the same.

Both companies are competing heavily and changing programming choices. Sirius just got NASCAR, XM has baseball. Sirius has Martha, XM has Oprah. If you chase the programming, in six months the other service will offer something that you wished you had gone with them.

Both companies need to make some profit or there will be a lot of angry customers holding the "bag" (receiver).

Me, XM. You, it's your preference. Get the service that suits your needs and don't question your decision.

[satchrox]

competing with eachother has taken it's toll...

Soaring marketing costs are one of the reasons that a director at XM Satellite Radio has decided to resign from the company

Pierce Roberts Jr., the director for XM Satellite Radio has recently stepped down citing constant disagreements with the other board members on issues critical to the company. Roberts also gave a warning that says XM may be facing a crisis in the future if the company cannot properly cut spending, as the company's fourth-quarter loss was greater than initially reported. Analysts have revealed the fourth-quarter loss now stands at a whopping $268.3 million. Higher costs have been due to marketing and the dire need to continually recruit new listeners.

XM is currently the largest U.S. pay-radio service, but has an unclear future in which Sirius Satellite Radio is making XM nervous. The stock now sits at $23.98, and has dropped 29 percent in the past year.

[vonSeggern]

NEW YORK -- Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. reported a wider loss in the fourth quarter Friday as costs for building its rapidly growing base of subscribers mounted.

The company, which added shock jock Howard Stern to its roster last month, lost $311.4 million compared with a loss of $261.9 million in the same period a year ago.
Revenues more than tripled to $80 million from $25.2 million.
Sirius' shares fell 39 cents, or 6.9 percent, to close at $5.26 Friday.
Sirius and XM are spending heavily to expand their businesses, which charge about $13 a month for dozens of channels of commercial-free music, as well as talk, news and sports.
(AP)

Hard to say who will win - or even make it. Believe it or not, both companies are expected to reach a positive cash flow this year.

Oops, this is a trucking board. Sorry!

[ben45750]

I have had both, I used to prefer Sirius until Howard came. I now listen to XM and cancelled Sirius subscription. I guess I caught the virus!


Grrrrrrrrrr...........

[PA Examiner]

I have had both, I used to prefer Sirius until Howard came. I now listen to XM and cancelled Sirius subscription. I guess I caught the virus!


Grrrrrrrrrr...........

I agree, It's nice to hear bits that are nice and fresh; not 18 months after someone else has done them better. I caught hoo-hoo's first show ( on a friend's reciever), shame how the 'king of all media' sounded so tired. I was very glad that I had bought XM. I usually catch a little bit of 'the bbhoys' when I am waiting to catch Ron & Fez on my drive home.
Plus I enjoy the Deep Tracks and Fine Tuning channels. Then there's Open Road and Ask networks for talk/news. I am glad that I bought XM.

Alright, where's the rest of the 'pests'.

[Big Rhino]

Fox News is coming back to Sirius on March 15th.

XM has better trucking channel, in my opinion.

Sirius has better sports programming - NFL, NCAA Basketball Tournament, NASCAR in 2007, etc.

I have both, but listen to Sirius 90% of the time.

[N2TRUXS]

Me myself I perfer XM since they have a better trucker program. Also they have Nascar radio, but they also have a good news and weather program......Good luck.....Mike

[sssheapaul]

I have had both, I used to prefer Sirius until Howard came. I now listen to XM and cancelled Sirius subscription. I guess I caught the virus!


Grrrrrrrrrr...........

Xm's 2ND generation of portables will be out this spring. They are the size of small IPODS and can also be used as a MP3 player.

Once these come out, i think Sirius(aka the little doggy) will have problems, since they still do not have ANY truly portable units ..... but then again i am a little biased :wink:


punchin' out

[Toothpick]

Yep...Fox News is back. Just checked my email. So now that Fox News is back and with my favorite sports covered, Sirius a keeper.

[Longsnowsm]

Me myself I perfer XM since they have a better trucker program. Also they have Nascar radio, but they also have a good news and weather program......Good luck.....Mike

Just a FYI, If your a NASCAR fan, NASCAR is moving to Sirius starting next year on a 5 year contract with them. Since I am not OTR yet I am not a subscriber to any of them yet, but NFL and NASCAR on Sirius is a deal breaker on XM for me. So I will be with Sirius next year I think.

Longsnowsm

[Mattangcobra]

I'm on Sirius. My Fav.'s are Midnight trucking, Bubba The Love Sponge, Raw dog comedy, Dave Ramsey. And of course the music channels

[xcretedrvr]

XM all the way. Sirius has a real lack of quality on all genres. The trucking channel is way better too on XM. When you think quality then it has to be XM. Better equipment, programming and future. Nascar went for the money and not quality and they will suffer because of it. Sirius has a dog for a symbol for a reason. But then again many people like going for crap stuff so for them Sirius is perfect.

[serbyy]

My self personally bought into xm for XMLM channel 42. They have since nixed it to allow for more bandwidth IE: MLB and what not.:evil: Not happy about it but the nice to hear the O&A boys. Been a long time since their stint here in the Boston listening area. Open road is great. Lot's of great conversations and some really weird conversations with people calling that make you say"damn.. i wish they hadn't admitted they were in the trucking industry" There is a slew of news's channels. BBC is a favorite. They cover news out side of the us most times. Three comedy channels. E! is a guilty pleasure of mine. Most of the music channels are decent. Very wide play list. I have yet to venture to the little doggy company, though I have considered to check it out for the hard attack(metal). I'm also sure they have some very comparable stuff. So it really breaks down to which sports you can do with out.. And if you like O and A over stern or vice versa. Some one had mentioned here to check out each website and listen to the channel samples. I think XML still allows you to Test drive their on-line content for 3 days Free. You won't get every channel but could give you a good idea what they have to offer. I'm sure Sirius has something similar. Good luck.

and no.. i'm not a XM recruiter lol.. just sharing my experiences with XM.

[RollOver]

XM all the way. Sirius has a real lack of quality on all genres. The trucking channel is way better too on XM. When you think quality then it has to be XM. Better equipment, programming and future. Nascar went for the money and not quality and they will suffer because of it. Sirius has a dog for a symbol for a reason. But then again many people like going for crap stuff so for them Sirius is perfect.

Better future? Apparently you've been brainwashed by XM. XM as of right now is sweating it's face off. You may not like him, alot of people will say they don't like him and that's fine, but the fact still remains, Stern has made one hellacious dent in this market. Also, keep in mind that Sirius just picked up NASCAR for 2007, I know of some drivers that have XM for this program alone, and will soon be going to Sirius -3 people I know that isn't many, but you have to take into consideration the MANY NASCAR fans there are out there. What has XM done to retaliate? Picked up Oprah Winfey.....

As for equipment, I'd say both are equal in quality. I've used the XM Delphi Roady 2, and the Roady XT. When I went to Sirius, the unit I picked up was more user friendly, and just as quality built. I don't see the argument here.

As for the programs these two contain, I think it's a matter of opinion. I didn't like the rock/metal choices that XM offers, and that was one of my major deciding factors for switching to Sirius. I don't care for XM's talk/entertainment line-up, and that played a major role aswell, in my decision. XM may have a larger fanbase "right now", but they also had quite a headstart on Sirius, this is just like Sony, and Microsoft in the video game realm -Sony had the jump, Microsoft is now reaping the rewards.


I normally wouldn't get emotional over something like this, because frankly...I could give a rat fink what you, or anyone else listens to. But, since I am a converted Sirius user, I kinda take this post personal. If you like XM better, that's fine, but there is no need in insulting Sirius users based on your decision.

[xcretedrvr]

Bull all the way. I also went and got Sirius last year because I wanted NBA as I am a huge fan. I had both units. The sirius units are crap by far. The XM MyFi is a true unit that you can take with you and listen as the program is actually on. The Sirius Doggy outfit has nothing comparable to this. Their "mobile" unit has to be in a docking unit and the program has to be downloaded to take with you. Hah. I got rid of the crap Sirius and now have just the XM unit. I will get the bug for the NBA when the playoffs roll around again but this time I will not waste my money on starting the Sirius unit back up and leave it in the closet at home.

And XM is hurting huh I read here. Well the following day the report came out on earnings, Sirius's came out and their earnings was even way worse. But of course no one speaks of that. Nascar went for money and not quality that is all it was. They will regret this decision as they should. Sirius is losing so much more money than XM because they throw money at anything. XM has been way smarter and it shows. I personally think Sirius will wisen up and finally fire the idiots and bring in more level headed leaders but for now everything about Sirius has been second rated compared to XM.

Since this is a trucker forum then I will guarantee that the trucker channel is great on XM. One main problem I have had with the XM unit I have is I have too many favorites and need more buttons.

If you are a Stern fan though you will have to get Sirius though so no choice there. And I agree that it is great that XM lets you have a free trial online to listen but they should have on more channels. Most of my favorites that I think are great are not on the online feed. This is a shame.

[RollOver]

Bull all the way. I also went and got Sirius last year because I wanted NBA as I am a huge fan. I had both units. The sirius units are crap by far. The XM MyFi is a true unit that you can take with you and listen as the program is actually on. The Sirius Doggy outfit has nothing comparable to this. Their "mobile" unit has to be in a docking unit and the program has to be downloaded to take with you. Hah. I got rid of the crap Sirius and now have just the XM unit. I will get the bug for the NBA when the playoffs roll around again but this time I will not waste my money on starting the Sirius unit back up and leave it in the closet at home.

And XM is hurting huh I read here. Well the following day the report came out on earnings, Sirius's came out and their earnings was even way worse. But of course no one speaks of that. Nascar went for money and not quality that is all it was. They will regret this decision as they should. Sirius is losing so much more money than XM because they throw money at anything. XM has been way smarter and it shows. I personally think Sirius will wisen up and finally fire the idiots and bring in more level headed leaders but for now everything about Sirius has been second rated compared to XM.

Since this is a trucker forum then I will guarantee that the trucker channel is great on XM. One main problem I have had with the XM unit I have is I have too many favorites and need more buttons.

If you are a Stern fan though you will have to get Sirius though so no choice there. And I agree that it is great that XM lets you have a free trial online to listen but they should have on more channels. Most of my favorites that I think are great are not on the online feed. This is a shame.

Bull all the way, eh? Spoken like a true XM fanboy. Have you even used Sirius? Wait, you said you had it for NBA, so surely you wouldn't lie to prove your point? ALL Sirius units are junk? You're basing your entire experience with the Sirius franchised units off the "one you had". Hmm, my XM Roady 2 went to the pot, so I had to buy a new one, the XT. I guess that means I could rightfully say that all XM's units are total crap, and think I'm right. Interesting.

Oh, for the record, Sirius does have an online trial.

XM is smart, and they have made wise choices? Yea. dishing out $55,000,000 for Ophra Winfrey, when she's not even going to be on the show is an outstanding business move. We'll see about that. As for XM hurting, I never said they were hurting -I said they were "sweating their faces off" -"feeling the heat from the little dog" (gay comment, nice one) I hope you operate a CMV better than you comprehend. Like I said, it doesn't matter to me which one you use, this is not my problem. XM is a fine service for those who like it, as is Sirius. This boils down to "opinion" something that cannot be challeneged

I'm quite finished with this BS, "X" driver. Pffft. Had you attempted to be a tad more tactful in your posts, I wouldn't have replied at all, but being called a liar just chaps my arse, especialy when I know I am right Have it your way, I'll have it mine. You have anything else cool, witty, and delightfuly tacky to add, do the mods a favor and send me a PM

Later.

[dj4monie]

I'm about as anti-trucker as a person driving trucks can get...

Last thing I need is to hear a bunch of limited educated boneheads having an opinion on everything from the White House to how the new school at NASCAR has ruined the sport. I can't listen to the Siruis NASCAR channel and its actually a Auto Racing channel, but you could say that about Speed TV as well... If I hear another rant about Dale Jr, I'll hurl...

I've had both and I've choosen Siruis over XM for its music offerings mostly, I used to love Air America, but they moved to XM and I when I found out Randi Rhodes was TAPED DELAYED I said no thanks to changing.

I do miss The City on XM, I do like it better than Hot Jamz on Siruis, but hey you can't have everything or can you?

I installed a Pioneer DEH7500MP in my last truck and had the option of having both. I was tired of my Screamer GT's lack of sound quality anyway, so I got a Siruis Direct Connect tuner for the Pioneer, replaced all the stock speakers and even added the Siruis subwoofer. I guess my days of working at car stereo shops has me not happy with anything else than aftermarket sound quality.

So I was bumpin... T.I never bumped harder in that cab.

Get whatever turns you on, neither are better at this point, its basically a flip of the coin.

[scooby]

I had XM in my truck. I bought it to listen mainly to the trucking Bozo and Bill Mack. The problem is that when I took a year off of driving I cancelled my subscription. Now that I'm back to driving I decided on Sirrius because i do listen to Howard some mornings just to here what things he has to say. But I love Nascar and they are coming over in '07. I know XM has a better trucking channel hands down.Surrius uses the trucking channel for a combo of trucking news, comedy and sports.Thats the only down fall I see .Just my 2 cents

[mudawg]

I had X-M until Howard made his announcement and as a fan of his there was no choice.The music stations are definitely a lot more defined,you won't hear Chicago played after Black Sabbath like you would on X-M {Some stuffed suit thinking there}
The trucking station might be better on X-M for those Billy Big Riggers that like that kind of stuff.For myself I need to be able to understand the people speaking to get anything out of it and to me it sounds more like CB-onics than English.
When X-M hired the 2 non-talents from Worcester and wanted to charge people more money to hear them when I or for that matter most subscribers wouldn't listen to them for free so to fix their blunder they upped the rate for everyone and removed the premium channel.Now in another desperate move you can listen to them for nothing on regular FM while you pay a subscription fee.That reason alone would tick me off had I kept my X-M and was a fan of theirs.I pay a fee to get something you can't get anywhere els and yet with X-M that's not the case even their music channels can't claim to be commercial free anymore.
I know a lot of people are happy with their X-M so I let you in on something that will save you X-M'ers some doe,if you call into X-M and tell them you want to cancel to change to Sirius they will drop your rate down to as low as $3 a month and that's a fact.
As far as news goes I think you can get about the same on both.If your tilted towards believing that no matter wrong or illegal something is it's all right to do as long as it's being done by a religious right winger then they both have FOX News.If you do not have your head stuck into the sand they both have non bias news also.
Bottom line no matter which one you go with it's a whole better then 8-tracks or AM static.They both will survive but if X-M could have closed the deal with Howard they would now be the only game in town.They went from 600k to more than 4 million in less than months how's that for a WOW

[ben45750]