the xm sirius merge is going to happen.. i talked to the XM customer service rep the other day and they are merging, but they did not have any current updates on it.. look for them to merged by the end of this year...

 

The Department of Justice approved the merer. It still has to be approved by the FCC.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/24/news...ion=2008032415

 

I don't doubt that they are going to merge, and I hope that they do, I was just commenting on what wasachevyguy said that they have already merged, when in fact they haven't. Like Blueflareside said, the FCC still has to approve the merger, and the whole thing could still be shot down, though I don't know why it would be. Does the XM service rep you talked to work for the FCC, cause if not, he or she is talking out their ars!

 

Sirius -- Elvis Radio Channel 13!!!!

Long live the king

 

I have Sirius in the pick-up and XM at home via DirecTV and I prefer Sirius all the way around. Music and talk, Sirius is the one I prefer. I even use my Sportster boombox in the house rather than listen to XM over the home stereo.

 

I would go with XM simply for the fact that I had both, and Sirius is acting like a real ****sucker.

I canceled my Sirius subscription in February and have received NOTHING but constant calls from them asking me to re-subscribe since. Not only do they call, but they call 3-4 times a day for 2-3 days straight. I have asked them 3 times to put me on their do not call list, but that hasn't seemed to help yet. My last complaint to them was this past Thursday.

 

XM, DirectTV, DishNet, they all do this. Not quite to the extent you describe though, but very annoying.

You couldn't pull my Sirius away, love it.

 

There is no way for anyone to tell anyone else which is better... doing so is really a waste of time. Each play different types of music even when the channels claim the same genre.

I had XM for about 2 years before buying a car with Sirius. External units are far better then built in units (unless it has the nav system and/or multi line display. Going from channel to channel, one at a time just does not cut it.

Right now I'm liking Sirius content a little better but Sat radio beats terrestrial radio hands down.

I was a little against the merger as it obviously _will_ given them a monopoly and this is what they promised the FCC they would not do but now I'm all for it. As I mentioned, I have both radios and the monthly charges on the primary units is way to much. If they merge I'm hoping only 1 of my 2 units will be considered primary and the others will be 1/2 price (currently 2 XM and 1 Sirius). The XM radios are not a big deal as XM will offer 1/2 price deals. But Sirius won't budge.

 

Not sure what you are trying to say about sirius' prices but I have three sirius subscriptions, primary subscription is lifetime and the other two are at 1/2 price each

 

So $400 for sat radio is not expensive. Question... what happens when that radio fails? It can only be transferred 3 times and at a cost of $75/transfer. Also, with this pending merger their new radios might be a much better deal.

Yes, it is cheaper in the long run (almost 3 years to break even, providing the initial radio lasts that long) but $400 is a little steep for most people to pay out of their pocket all at once. Also, if you don't have that specific service for 3 years, you loose big time (i.e. what other plans will they come out with if they merge? Perhaps the price will drop or less costly plans will become available).

Then you really need to compare apples and apples. A person can get XM for $77/year. Based on this cost the Sirius lifetime subscription would take a little over 5 years to pay for itself.

Would I pay $80 for a year? In a heartbeat and I'd be happy about it.

 

Hey tcope, talked to sirius when I did the lifetime sub (have had the unit for almost 3 years, sirius receiver for a JVC headunit, with no problems) and told them I would be switching from a JVC to a Kenwood before too long, which means a new sirius receiver for the Kenwood, and they told me they would just do a receiver swap at no charge. Was paying a little over $300 a year for 3 subscriptions, so it only made sense to go lifetime on the primary sub. only paying $150 a year now for 3 subs. I'll just have to wait and see what happens after the merger.

 

Sirius all the way

 

I prefer Sirius for music actually. I listen to mainly modern rock/alternative and they don't seem to repeat the same songs as much as XM does on those particular genres. XM has better classic rock stations though. I think the merger will be good, but honestly could give two *****s about Howard Stern.

Satellite radio still beats regular all day long. It's worth current prices to have newer music and no commercials. I laugh when I hear a catchy song on satellite radio because its guaranteed that in 2-3 weeks it will be played nonstop on the local stations.

 

Why settle get both!
But if I had to choose (and keeping the merger out of mind) I'd go with Sirius. It has 4 rock stations on there I could live out my days listening to. XM doesn't even come close to having a channel with similar programming as far as nu-metal is concerned ie; hard attack. also, gotta love the punk.. and I love the 90's alternative Lithium, followed by Faction.... I don't ever get to Octane or Buzzsaw because there's always something good on the first 4

 

My vote goes to XM. I hate Sirius so much so that after my free term ends I will not be renewing it. Terrible compared to XM.