View Full Version : Will other technologies be the death of subscription satellite radio?



BBatesokc
07-18-2010, 04:48 PM
Was having an interesting conversation the other day with a few friends regarding satellite radio subscription services.

Three people I know pay for satellite radio in their cars (one has the option to take his out of the car) - two recently gave up their subscriptions because their listening needs could be met for 'free' with other technologies they already owned (iPhone, iPhone, iPad). They simply use Internet enabled radio (don't know the actual term) to listen to virtually any station in the country and many stations around the world. They say they actually mostly use it to listen to local stations when traveling outside the OKC area. Also to listen to sports.

What's your thoughts - do you currently pay for radio? Do you think its days are numbers? Do you think there will (for the foreseeable future) be a place for subscription radio?

Me personally - I'm not a huge radio fan so I've never considered paying for radio. I listen to local stations wherever I am or just listen to the music library in my iPod.

Easy180
07-18-2010, 05:50 PM
45 minute commute so I Ipod it to work and normally listen to Sirius on the way home to catch up on the news

Could certainly drop it on a dime if the budget tells me to...Would think satellite must be fielding lots'o cancel calls in this lovely economy

bluedogok
07-18-2010, 06:13 PM
I have three Sirius subscriptions, two plug-n-play units (one at my wife's office, one between my car and motorcycle) and one SAT factory option in my wife's 4Runner which we bought in April.

I originally got it because I was commuting from Austin to Dallas weekly in 2004 and tired of the same old local crap and then having to find a station when the next faded out and grew tired of CD's. If I am going to listen to corporate radio, I might as well not have to listen to 20 minutes of commercials, another 10-15 minutes of mindless talking (for music) and then have to change it when the signal is lost. Being that Clear Channel is HQ'd down in San Antonio, they and the other large corporate media companies have a hold on the local market even changing the most "local" station (owned by Emmis out of Indy) in the market recently in the quest for better ratings, that was about the only local that I listened to. I used to listen to a lot of radio when traveling and listening to the local stations wherever I was, I also found some that were worth listening to online back before RIAA neutered the online listening world driving them off the internet for awhile until they got the fees sorted out and then only the biggies did it at first. I had pretty much quit listening to local radio in OKC before moving ito Austin in 2003, it was the same crappy schtick everywhere, I just grew tired of all of the juvenile crap that was on stations that I used to be big fans of.

I also listened to a lot of sports so that was nice, now I use it to listen to OU and NFL broadcasts. I also listened to quite a bit of sports talk and the local stuff around here is mind numbingly Whorn-centric, so much so that even most of my UT friends can't stand listening to it preferring to listen to ESPN Radio.

Lauri101
07-19-2010, 02:23 AM
I have a "lifetime" subsciption to XM/Sirius - only for car on factory-installed system with navigator. (Honda Accord)
I originally got it because of lots of windshield time on job and couldn't find anything to listen to in OK that I liked.
Since I paid big money and have no intention of trading in my car for a long time, I have no regrets. I surf through news and comedy and listen to 70's during morning commute.

It's for the lifetime I own my car - a 2004 V-6 with only 60K. Can do one transfer to an after-market receiver for $75 to continue.

MadMonk
07-19-2010, 03:58 PM
I've never paid for radio and don't really have a desire to. Between the iPod, CDs and free radio, my needs are well met.

bradzilla
07-19-2010, 09:33 PM
dropped xm/sirrus after having a subscription for 5 years. long story short....

-had service and liked it
-every year i would call and say i wanted to cancel, each year they would offer it to me for 6.99 per month instead of the 12.99 (plus music fees)
-each time it was a massive pain to get my service restarted, literally on hold for 30-40 minutes to talk to someone in the cancellation department who could give me the special rates
-decided to cancel it, im only in the car 25-30 minutes each way and its one less bill to mess with each year.

overall xm/sirrus is worth it if your in the car alot, but for a person who is just doing a daily commute its hard to justify unless you do a lot of long road trips (which we dont do anymore).

Easy180
08-02-2010, 09:44 AM
Thread sorta prompted it but I canceled XM this morning from 3 vehicles...similar story as brads as they offered 5 per thru the end of the year

Have a kid now and my toys need to decrease to pay for his...lol

bradzilla
08-03-2010, 10:32 AM
Easy - The first week i was worried that i was going to miss it, but the selection of radio stations we have here in town are better than i expected.

fuzzytoad
08-03-2010, 11:10 AM
The channel I listen too about 95% of the time has no alternative outside of the realm of satty radio...

Easy180
08-03-2010, 04:01 PM
The channel I listen too about 95% of the time has no alternative outside of the realm of satty radio...

I hear ya...I really only listened to Jam On and MSNBC...but found myself listening more and more to the old iPod as time went on...Wifey rarely used hers so she had no problem saying goodbye to hers

Kerry
08-06-2010, 09:36 AM
I can stream about 1000 radio station through my Windows Mobile Phone at www.thestreamcenter.com. Works great for driving down the highway. My phone has an audio out jack that I plug into the accessory jack on the DVD player and I get the radio station through the car speakers.

SoonerDave
08-20-2010, 04:30 PM
Was having an interesting conversation the other day with a few friends regarding satellite radio subscription services.

Three people I know pay for satellite radio in their cars (one has the option to take his out of the car) - two recently gave up their subscriptions because their listening needs could be met for 'free' with other technologies they already owned (iPhone, iPhone, iPad). They simply use Internet enabled radio (don't know the actual term) to listen to virtually any station in the country and many stations around the world. They say they actually mostly use it to listen to local stations when traveling outside the OKC area. Also to listen to sports.

What's your thoughts - do you currently pay for radio? Do you think its days are numbers? Do you think there will (for the foreseeable future) be a place for subscription radio?

Me personally - I'm not a huge radio fan so I've never considered paying for radio. I listen to local stations wherever I am or just listen to the music library in my iPod.

Had XM for a complimentary period after I bought my 2004 Buick, kept it for about a year at $9.99/mo, but when they jumped to $12.99/mo (or something of that order) I bailed. They even offered to turn my radio on for FREE for three months, and I said, "yeah, sure, for nothing." I get constant inquiries about rejoining and I'm just not interested. My car isn't even our main family vehicle anymore, so there's really no point in wasting the money.

Bottom line, its a dead-end technology that will end up morphing (IMO) into a streaming technology like Netflix and Amazon's extant services. Satellite, as a "reinvented" OTA version of "traditional" radio, is a solution in search of a problem.

ExtremistPullup
09-01-2010, 03:38 PM
Opie and Anthony XM 202

I'm from NY need my fix

Satellite radio will have its place, but could always improve.