backtop

Print E-mail del.icio.us 7 comment(s) - last by Complinitor.. on Jun 23 at 7:07 AM

Sirius believes spaying is important -- it has excised many of its most popular channels from its iPhone app, a move some analysts say will leave it unable to proliferate in the wild.  (Source: Subaru Part Small)
No Howard Stern Show for you!

Barely avoiding bankruptcy thanks to an eleventh hour investment from Liberty Media's John Malone, Sirius XM satellite radio has been floundering as its automotive partners have struggled and its subscriber numbers seeing a drop for the first time in the company's history.  Sirius XM remains extremely popular, though, and its stock -- despite dropping to penny status -- has an almost cultist following.  So when Sirius XM announced it would be releasing an iPhone app, fans cheered, envisioning scores of new subscribers.

The app has at last released, and there's some excitement around it.  The excitement, however, is dampened by the fact that Sirius XM inexplicably removed many of its most popular channels.  States a Sirius XM press release:

Some select programming, including MLB Play-by-Play, NFL Play-by-Play, SIRIUS NASCAR Radio, and Howard Stern, will not be available on the iPhone and iPod touch. Listeners will continue to be able to access that programming through the platforms they are currently offered on.

So what remains?  According to Sirius XM, programs include, "Oprah Radio, MLB Home Plate, Martha Stewart Living Radio, SIRIUS NFL Radio, NHL Home Ice, PGA TOUR, Opie & Anthony, Mad Dog Radio with Chris Russo, Playboy Radio, The Foxxhole comedy channel presented by Jamie Foxx, Blue Collar Comedy Radio, CNN, Fox News Talk and NPR."

The company adds, "SIRIUS and XM subscribers can also listen to 100% commercial-free music featuring exclusive shows from SIRIUS XM’s satellite radio service such as Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour and Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure, as well as 24/7 music channels such as Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Radio, The Grateful Dead Channel, Eminem’s Shade 45, Jimmy Buffett’s Radio Margaritaville, “Little Steven” Van Zandt’s Underground Garage and Outlaw Country channels, B.B. King’s Bluesville, Willie Nelson’s Willie’s Place, Elvis Radio, Siriusly Sinatra, Metropolitan Opera Radio and many others."

However, many are not satisfied and are irate at seeing their favorite programming removed from the app.  Writes ZDNet's Larry Dignan in his blog, "Color me not interested. All that waiting for an iPhone, iPod Sirius XM app and you get hit with a big letdown... Gee thanks for giving me all the stuff I don’t listen to regularly."

The real mystery is why Sirius XM chose to make such a move.  Conspiracy theories abound (mostly involving Apple or AT&T), but there's been no official word from Sirius XM yet.

Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
Dump Sirius XM!
By AlexWade on 6/18/2009 6:55:57 PM , Rating: 4
I did after they promised not to raise rates and then started to charge for online access. Anytime you charge more for the same level of service, it is a rate increase.

This is just another example of Sirius XM screwing the customer. Do you really think Sirius or XM would have done this pre-merger? I know they have competition, but the lack of competition for satellite radio has made them not care about the customers.

I had XM within the first month of launch. The music channels was great. Good selection and no annoying DJ chatter except on the unsigned band channel and that was NEVER about the DJ but always about the band. It wasn't perfect because they had the stupid channel promos and started off with a few commercials. All that changed post merger. Every 15 minutes the DJ would come on and prattle on about nothing for several minutes. I am not paying to hear your life story! I still have a month left on my subscription but I unplugged my receiver last month because I couldn't take it anymore.

It is a shame Sirius XM screwed up so bad. I still pin for might have been. Sirius XM could have been a home run.




RE: Dump Sirius XM!
By Lord 666 on 6/20/2009 2:43:10 PM , Rating: 2
Same here. Cancelled subscription 2 months after the channel changes. The backseat driver in my family, the toddler, noticed they were not playing her music anymore on 116.


Spays?
By TomZ on 6/18/09, Rating: 0
RE: Spays?
By feraltoad on 6/18/2009 10:15:41 AM , Rating: 5
Instead of "neuter". Implying that the Sirius XM iPhone app is a b1tch?


So what's the problem?
By mofo3k on 6/18/2009 3:20:39 PM , Rating: 2
I don't see what the big deal is, I mean, MLB, NFL and Nascar probably have restrictions on their contracts that prohibits their use. The Howard Stern thing is weird though, although I don't really care about his show personally so I don't have a problem with that one.

The only complaint I have is that they still don't have a 'True' replacement for Fungus 53 from XM.




use pocket tunes app...
By queuetrip on 6/18/2009 5:53:38 PM , Rating: 2
as of 9:30pm eastern time I was listening to Howard stern on the Pocket tunes app, so it works for me. (at 10 dollars it did seem like a ripoff, but the app works really well, and it also works though the starbucks wi-fi.
(Though I have the upgraded internet audio option on my sirius account.)

not sure about the free app mention in the article.




By Complinitor on 6/23/2009 7:07:58 AM , Rating: 1
I have a Samsung Omnia and I have been able to listen to XM since I got it, without an extra charge or an "app". Why the BLEEP would you want such a crappy item that you had to pay $10 each time you want to do something new? AT&T's service sucks. I give it to those of you who have unlocked your phones. Now go unlock ISpooge and get free apps. Otherwise - STFU about your brick!




"There is a single light of science, and to brighten it anywhere is to brighten it everywhere." -- Isaac Asimov













botimage
Copyright 2009 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki