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Sirius XM loses over a quarter-million subscribers in Q1 of 2024

TheBigA said:
Add to that: There are too many commercials. What about public radio? Too much begging for money. What about free streaming? They interrupt the music with commercials.

So people want it for free, and they don't want any commercials or pitches for money or subscription fees.

Oh yes, they also want their own personalized playlists. For free. No ads, no nothing.
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You're using too broad a brush. People pay for concert tickets and sporting events. In fact, they pay a steep price.

Musicians deserve to be paid for their work. The same for journalists who create worthwhile content. The problem is that EVERYONE now thinks they are "Content Creators". The Internet is flooded with garbage videos, podcasts, etc... I find the content on Sirius Radio to be OK, but the sound quality sucks. It's flat and lifeless. Commercial Radio is a wasteland. It's free, but fewer people care every year...
 
TheBigA said:
I think that's what I was getting at earlier in the thread. Because most streaming services are unhosted, people assume all music delivery is unhosted. That may be playing a part in why people are dropping Sirius. Also why broadcast radio struggles. I imagine a commercial free version of Jack would do well. While some view human hosts are value added, others see it as an interruption and clutter.
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Having song titles and artists on the screen is another reason for not needing or wanting hosts.
 
wildthangjim said:
We've had SXM in our cars for years and they always enjoyed Alt Nation. We all enjoyed the ad-free presentation. Recently my son was home and we were going somewhere with SXM playing. During a brief stopset, he says, "I HATE it when they talk in between songs!". So, for him, even commercial free radio is too cluttered.
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That's because the talk is pointless, especially on Alt Nation which I listen to semi-frequently. The breaks are voice tracked and could have been recorded a week earlier from what I hear. I already mentioned in a previous thread the last time I tuned in, the host was talking about her lunch and bathroom habits. Honestly, if that's all you've got, leave the mic off.

Programmers who provide guidance to the talent, and/or many of those who host shows today, seriously need to update their thinking on what constitutes actual entertainment value in 2024. That kind of radio might have worked 30-40+ years ago but I don't understand why it has to stay so firmly stuck in the past.
 
Theater of My Mind said:
The breaks are voice tracked and could have been recorded a week earlier from what I hear.
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Do you think having them done live would make them better? How? When was the music they're playing recorded?

Theater of My Mind said:
That kind of radio might have worked 30-40+ years ago but I don't understand why it has to stay so firmly stuck in the past.
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Probably why KITS and KVIL are getting better ratings by just playing unhosted music in the morning.
 
Personally, I think that having hosts on many of the channels provides a worthwhile differentiation from streaming services that are strictly non-stop music. After all, it is satellite radio. Naturally some of the personalities are more engaging than others, just as in conventional broadcast radio.
And for those that prefer a jukebox, the SiriusXM app has jockless versions of many of the hosted channels.
One issue may be that many subscribers may not even be aware they exist. Satellite radio offers so many channels, especially online, it is difficult to know about all of them.
 
Kelly A said:
And add another one that I just replied to: "I'm hearing dropouts in a particular area, so why would I pay for the service?"

So they want everything they want all the time, with no expectation of commercials or interruptions, no asking for donations,
don't expect any interruption to the service, and don't want to pay anything for the service.
No doubt I missed a few things.
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I believe the dropouts will occur when you are near a cell tower. It seems that the cell frequencies are adjacent to some of the satellite frequencies and that desensitizes the receiver. SirusXM has known about the problem for years and, I seem to remember, something about them suing some of the cell carriers. My wife's car and my daughter's radios drop out at the same locations. My radio is newer and has no problems at those locations.

Perhaps others can expand on this.
 
bigdonho said:
I believe the dropouts will occur when you are near a cell tower. It seems that the cell frequencies are adjacent to some of the satellite frequencies and that desensitizes the receiver. SirusXM has known about the problem for years and, I seem to remember, something about them suing some of the cell carriers. My wife's car and my daughter's radios drop out at the same locations. My radio is newer and has no problems at those locations.

Perhaps others can expand on this.
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Yes, that happens to me. Somebody on another thread here said that the offending provider is AT&T. If I'm within 300-500 feet from a cell tower, SiriusXM drops out. It happens a lot in my area. Rural areas are not a problem, even when driving by those gigantic cell towers that exist in the boonies.

I drive a 2017 Dodge Caravan, which is pretty old now, so I hope the problem has been corrected in newer vehicles. But in any case, I'm surprised that the FCC allowed this to happen in the first place, with frequencies being so close together.
 
Radiopaw said:
I also think MANY people wouldn’t pay to stream radio content when they can just simply stream podcasts they want to listen to or music playlists tailored to their need.
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The day may come that the free streaming option may disappear.

Radiopaw said:
Maybe a weird opinion, but satellite radio has less of a future than FM Radio. Their stream catalogue is simply counter intuitive into why people stream.
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Agree here. Satellite Radio is -- like OTA Radio -- dependent on a separate, "radio" device. Being that more and more audio entertainment is phone based, cell system and internet based, and more and more vehicles have BT connections between your phone and your car's soundsystem, I don't see Satellite Radio having all that much of an extensive future, compared to OTA radio, with is pretty dependable, and FREE.

Many times on RD I've read the comments by the knowledgable: "people don't buy radios."

You could probably add to that, increasingly, as the next decade passes: "people don't buy satellite radios." Except maybe some truckers, who may need satellite radios to be able to hear the same live feed across several hundred (or even a couple thousand) miles - with perhaps quite a few of those miles not having terrific cell service.
 
boombox4 said:
The day may come that the free streaming option may disappear.
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If it's up to the music creators, you could be right. They absolutely hate free streaming. They have a campaign called ''Music Has Value,'' to make it clear that music is not free. They hope to raise digital royalties to the point where they can't be covered by advertising.

boombox4 said:
Satellite Radio is -- like OTA Radio -- dependent on a separate, "radio" device.
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Although the purpose of the Sirius app is to replace the radio device so it can be heard on a phone or any other device.

Of course broadcast radio is trying to do the same thing.
 
One unique (and, IMHO, very important) aspect of streaming is that the audio and video codecs used for streaming can be easily updated with a software download (provided the device has enough computer processing power), it's impossible/difficult to change the FM stereo radio, ATSC 1.0 DTV and satellite audio and audio/video codecs, IIRC, when MPEG-4 for video appeared, Dish Network and DirecTV had to exchange the hardware STBs to make MPEG-4 decoders available.

I haven't researched the status of Hi-Fi stereo audio codecs, they may already be about as low a data rate as possible now, but a new video codec (VVC) is on the horizon which needs more processing power, it can squeeze HDTV into about 1/2 the previous data rate for the same picture quality.


Kirk Bayne
 
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I subscribe to Sirius XM for one channel, "Symphony Hall", to be able to flip between two classical channels in my car as I do not like string quartets or solo violins or cellos. The other classical channel I listen to is WCBU 89.9 HD2 which airs "Classical 24" 24 hours a day. If I do not like the song on one channel I can switch to the other. I do not like the majority of Symphony Hall's Sunday programing though which includes opera and choral music which i hate.

I wish Sirius XM had more than one classical channel on the satellite when they have so many talk, rock, pop, hip-hop and country music that I do not like. Obviously they are programming for a younger audience but throw in one classical channel to get that audience as well.

My favorite Sirius XM channels are the streaming only Classical Pops channel and the Symphony Hall music only channel which is most of my listening at home. I like classical pop better than regular classical music and like the non-stop classical music better too that the satellite channel with speciality programs that I do not like. One big advantage the Sirius XM classical channel has over the NPR classical HD2 station is it does not interrupt the music every 20 minutes to play 1 minute of spots promoting the NPR news main channel that I do not care about or want to hear about. I turn it off every time those come on.

My drive to work is only 10 minutes and that includes driving downtown where my job is located through a short tunnel, overpasses, taller buildings, and high walls that block the satellite signal so it does not even come in very well part of my drive.

The classical Pops channel has a woman voice over that periodically come on with annoying cheesy sayings that they have played for many years. Both satellite radio and FM radio do so many things I do not want to hear and find very irritating.

I also do not like the new Sirius XM app. It create a couple extra steps to get to my classical channels that it is annoying. There is nothing I want to discovery as it says and I do not want to add anything to my library that they put on top. Fortunately most of my home streaming to Sirius XM is now on my new Digital Grace radio so I do not have to use the app very much.

The cost of Sirius XM is a consideration because I do not make a lot of money and I do not have cellular service on my phone to save money.
 
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I have to agree with Brian. Channel 78 is the only reason I have a Sirius/XM subscription. I have to make a 30 minute drive, mostly through a canyon. The FM classical music station is a rim-shot and even with an HD-3 re-broadcast, there is basically no FM in the Canyon. Sirius/XM is the only signal there. I listen to Sirius./XM Pops at home on Alexa (set for stereo). The streaming services really don't know a d*** thing about programming classical music so I don't use those. When Sirius/XM goes off into baroque or choral, I end up with a flash drive on which I have 427 of my classical music favorites.
 
bigdonho said:
I believe the dropouts will occur when you are near a cell tower. It seems that the cell frequencies are adjacent to some of the satellite frequencies and that desensitizes the receiver. SirusXM has known about the problem for years and, I seem to remember, something about them suing some of the cell carriers. My wife's car and my daughter's radios drop out at the same locations. My radio is newer and has no problems at those locations.

Perhaps others can expand on this.
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But the question is: Are you going to not subscribe to SXM because there are dropouts in certain locations?
 
KeithE4 said:
Yes, that happens to me. Somebody on another thread here said that the offending provider is AT&T. If I'm within 300-500 feet from a cell tower, SiriusXM drops out. It happens a lot in my area. Rural areas are not a problem, even when driving by those gigantic cell towers that exist in the boonies.

I drive a 2017 Dodge Caravan, which is pretty old now, so I hope the problem has been corrected in newer vehicles. But in any case, I'm surprised that the FCC allowed this to happen in the first place, with frequencies being so close together.
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Going into Great Smoky Mountains National Park and climbing toward Clingman's Dome, eventually we lose the signal. I'd think climbing 6600 feet would make me closer tothe satellite LOL.
 
TheBigA said:
If all a host does is ID the songs, then you're right. Or replace them with AI.
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Good Time Oldies has DJs but they say very little about the music. They just talk about fun stuff, probably the same things you see in click bait headlines. If we're lucky they say who we just heard and if we're really lucky what the song was.
 
bigdonho said:
I believe the dropouts will occur when you are near a cell tower. It seems that the cell frequencies are adjacent to some of the satellite frequencies and that desensitizes the receiver. SirusXM has known about the problem for years and, I seem to remember, something about them suing some of the cell carriers. My wife's car and my daughter's radios drop out at the same locations. My radio is newer and has no problems at those locations.

Perhaps others can expand on this.
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Good to know. I'm noticing more 5G signals in my area and I wonder if that could have something to do with it. I have an older car but my wife's 2021 experiences the same dropouts.

BTW, I'd say the above is an example of an informative and a respectful post. Thank you!

Replies on this forum often come with arrogant attitude that causes the thread to spiral into a pissing match. That seemed to have calmed down recently until a few days ago. I hope the moderators are taking note.
 
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