Here is a letter that is circulating around on the internet....

To: KJMWEB@fcc.gov, Michael.Copps@fcc.gov, Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov, dtaylortateweb@fcc.gov, Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov, antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov, letters@washpost.com, national@washpost.com

Commisioners Martin, Copps, Adelstein, Tate, McDowell, and Department of Justice,

XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio certified before the merger that customers would not lose choices of channels. That certification was part of the conditions that allowed the merger. They lied. As of November 12, They have eliminated many of the channels that have no counterpart (i.e. Fine Tuning, Boombox, Chrome). Instead we get payola-esque single-artist channels. And, as far as diversity is concered, 75% of the Spanish-language channels were dropped, a clear act in bad faith regarding their promise to maintain diversity. As a result of the merger, consumer choice has been markedly decreased. As a result of the lost channels, the net per-channel cost has risen. The FCC and DOJ should investigate the merged company to insist that they adhere to the conditions of the merger and restore the channels that were eliminated by the merger.

Here is a letter that is circulating around on the internet....

To: KJMWEB@fcc.gov, Michael.Copps@fcc.gov, Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov, dtaylortateweb@fcc.gov, Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov, antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov, letters@washpost.com, national@washpost.com

Commisioners Martin, Copps, Adelstein, Tate, McDowell, and Department of Justice,

XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio certified before the merger that customers would not lose choices of channels. That certification was part of the conditions that allowed the merger. They lied. As of November 12, They have eliminated many of the channels that have no counterpart (i.e. Fine Tuning, Boombox, Chrome). Instead we get payola-esque single-artist channels. And, as far as diversity is concered, 75% of the Spanish-language channels were dropped, a clear act in bad faith regarding their promise to maintain diversity. As a result of the merger, consumer choice has been markedly decreased. As a result of the lost channels, the net per-channel cost has risen. The FCC and DOJ should investigate the merged company to insist that they adhere to the conditions of the merger and restore the channels that were eliminated by the merger.

You still have the same number of music channels and talk channels.

Nothing in the merger prevents them from changing music formats on any or all channels. That's ridiculous. Do you cry to the FCC when your local FM channel changes formats?

Yeah, why don't people calm down and give this a few weeks to make up their minds. There's so many channels give them a listen and see if it is worse, or maybe better.

If it is worse, then cancel. I've been with XM for over 6 years and I'm not sure if I'll continue to stay with them. I've only listened to the 60's so far, and it's pretty much the same. But if my other favorites aren't good, then after the 1st of the year I'll be gone.

if you guys are deciding your subscription based on 2 channels of 150 channels, then you have some problems....

I have no plans to cancel my subscription (after all, the main thing I subscribed for is MLB). However, not everyone listens to a lot of channels. If you've got one or two that you listen to a lot and they are deleted or changed to something you don't like, I can certainly understand why you'd want to cancel.

That being said, I do think it's easy to overreact to changes like this. If there are similar channels to the ones that you used to like, it's probably worth giving it a couple of weeks to get a true feel for the replacements. It might turn out that they're not as bad as your initial impression led you to believe.

Now, in some cases channels were deleted without an adequate substitute. For instance, I listened to Fine Tuning quite often. Now there's nothing on Sirius-XM with a similar playlist. I have already expressed my disappointment to XM, but didn’t bother making idle threats to cancel my subscription. I need my Detroit Tigers baseball and won’t cancel until I lose that.

I'm surprised there hasn't been an outcry about the suspension of Cinemagic here on AVS. I assume we are all movie buffs and I already miss that great channel. There is no other channel that carries that type of music, hence it would qualify under that notice above...

i'm surprised there hasn't been an outcry about the suspension of cinemagic here on avs. I assume we are all movie buffs and i already miss that great channel. There is no other channel that carries that type of music, hence it would qualify under that notice above...
x2 :(

if you guys are deciding your subscription based on 2 channels of 150 channels, then you have some problems....

i would... no nfl channel, no subscription for me...

I'm surprised there hasn't been an outcry about the suspension of Cinemagic here on AVS. I assume we are all movie buffs and I already miss that great channel. There is no other channel that carries that type of music, hence it would qualify under that notice above... I listened to Cinemagic more than any other channel. All I can do is cross my fingers and hope this is some weird temporary glitch. If we get to January, and it really is gone (or gutted) I'll give serious though to leaving.

if you guys are deciding your subscription based on 2 channels of 150 channels, then you have some problems....

I only listen to Sirius in my car. There is absolutely ZERO point in listening to Sirius at home with the number of better quality internet radio stations available.

I listen to about three channels of Sirius in my car. The last thing I want when I am trying to focus on driving is to concentrate on sports and talk radio. I usually listen to music that I feel doesn't compete with my primary task (driving) and that usually means I tune into the electronic music stations or one of the Spanish channels (not knowing how to speak Spanish makes it easy to listen to it and not let it distract me while I drive).

At the very least, SQ needs to improve or else I cancel my service. Why on earth would someone want Sirius when they can use an iPhone and an unlimited data plan to stream any one of a thousand internet radio stations with better sound quality??!?

I listen to about three channels of Sirius in my car. The last thing I want when I am trying to focus on driving is to concentrate on sports and talk radio. I usually listen to music that I feel doesn't compete with my primary task (driving) and that usually means I tune into the electronic music stations or one of the Spanish channels (not knowing how to speak Spanish makes it easy to listen to it and not let it distract me while I drive).





I hope your Joking.!

I hope your Joking.!


Hmm.. nope!

We did this lesson at driver training where we had to have a conversation with a passenger and then remember something on the radio while navigating a tight cone course. Compared to not trying to listen to something or have a conversation with a passenger, the difference in driving accuracy was amazing.

And people wonder why cell phone use while driving is frequently frowned upon or banned.:rolleyes:

Spanish channels are a total waste of bandwidth! This is the U.S.A- the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were written in english, not spanish. If someone wants to listen to spanish programming, they should take a drive down to Mexico; they'll give you all you want. Otherwise, I see no reason why my sq of my xm sourced music should be degraded all in the name of catering to people who don't wish to speak the language of our country.

Spanish channels are a total waste of bandwidth! This is the U.S.A- the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were written in english, not spanish. If someone wants to listen to spanish programming, they should take a drive down to Mexico; they'll give you all you want. Otherwise, I see no reason why my sq of my xm sourced music should be degraded all in the name of catering to people who don't wish to speak the language of our country.


Its called demographics you dope!

Spanish channels are a total waste of bandwidth! This is the U.S.A- the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were written in english, not spanish. If someone wants to listen to spanish programming, they should take a drive down to Mexico; they'll give you all you want. Otherwise, I see no reason why my sq of my xm sourced music should be degraded all in the name of catering to people who don't wish to speak the language of our country.

It's called music, you dope :p

While I live in Canada I don't drive around listening to French music. I just like the sound of Spanish music even tho I don't understand a word of it :rolleyes:

OK, look TR was a great president, and I agree in no foreignisms. But this is a fee driven service, and therefore is driven by who is willing to pay.

BTW, you could agrue the same thing with all the rap stations, or opera station; they clearly are not in English. Well at least most of the opera isn't. But that is not the point.

Enough of the people who pays the bills want it, so it is there. Besides, the SQ of sat raio has never really been that good, and the car has way to high of a noise floor for serious listening.