Buyers Guide to Satellite Radio
To begin with, there are a few similarities to mention.
1)Both XM Radio and Sirius offer the same activation process. One purchases the equipment, has it installed, chooses their service plan, and activates the subscription. Both offer activation via online or through a toll-free number. Each require an individual code.
2) Both XM Radio and Sirius offer equipment which allows users access to their services virtually anywhere. Home, automobile, personal use, boats, offices, etc. Both have affiliations with different manufacturers such as Delphi, JVC, Sanyo, Kenwood, Panasonic, and Audiovox – to name a few.
3) Both XM Radio and Sirius are offering $30 rebates on selected equipment.
4) Both XM Radio and Sirius offers free ground shipping. XM Radio has no charge for shipping. offers free shipping on equipment purchases over $49.99.
5) Both XM Radio and Sirius offer the same type of service plans.
6) Both XM Radio and Sirius have one-time activation fees.
7) Both XM Radio and Sirius offer monthly packages of $12.95.
8) Both XM Radio and Sirius offer traffic and weather packages for an additional cost.
9) Both XM Radio and Sirius offer one year and multi-year packages.
10) Both XM Radio and Sirius offers service plans for business accounts.
11) Both XM Radio and Sirius offer discounts for more than one receiver per household.
12) Both XM Radio and Sirius have three satellites orbitting our earth.
13) Both XM Radio and Sirius offer basically the same type of equipment.
To help us make a more informed decision, let us explore each satellite provider in detail.
XM Radio was founded in 1992. Their corporate headquarters and broadcast facilities are located in Washington, D.C. There are other offices nationwide, with an international office in Yokohama, Japan.
Financially speaking, XM Radio is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange as XMSR. The current trading price of their stock is $12.89 per share (as of July 16, 2006). In the second quarter of 2006 approximately 6.89 million subscribers started service. This is impressive.
XM Radio has service plans that can be customized to meet customer’s needs. A prepaid one or multi-year subscription is also available.
XM Radio is factory installed in over 140 car models in 2006. They have an automotive affiliation with GM, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, and Toyota. For interested consumers, it is recommended to check availability for their current cars of other manufacturers.
XM Radio, known as having ‘America’s largest playlist’, offers over 170 digital channels. They offer channels containing sports, talk, comedy, children’s, and entertainment programming.
An added bonus of XM Radio is the XM Radio Online. Here, subscribers have the option of listening to XM Radio via their computers. It is included with a XM Radio subscription. Or, it can be purchased separately. XM Radio gives subscribers the pleasure of listening to 80 channels of various entertainment on their computer. This includes 70 music channels and an uncensored comedy channel.
NOTE: As a sample of XM Radio for home usage, simply turn to the music channels on your satellite received television. There one will find music from the 40’s through the 90’s. Each era has its own channel. Once the tune begins, the disc information is posted. For instance, one can read the performer, composer, and recording label. The drawback is the fact it is only displayed for a few seconds.
For personal usage, XM Radio states it offers the smallest and lightest equipment in personal satellite radio. It offers the only satellite radio combined with a MP3 player through Pioneer.
As far as various program channels are involved, let us start with programming available for the sports enthusiast, XM Radio has an exclusive contract to offer Major League Baseball games. XM Radio advertises it as ‘every game, every team’. XM Radio claims to offer the most play-by-play sports in the satellite industry. XM Radio also has exclusive satellite radio partner contracts with the following sports:
* Racing : Nascar and Indy Cars
* PGA Tour
* NHL – ‘Home Ice’ is the first hockey channel offered. Plus, play-by-play action during Stanley.
* College sports: Big 10 football, men & women’s basketball
Pac 10 football, men & women’s basketball
Acc 10 football, men & women’s basketball
Also offered by XM Radio sports programming is ESPN News & Radio, Fox Sports Radio
For subscribers interested in talk radio, XM Radio offers a variety of stations to suit any taste. A sampling of the wide variety available are the following:
* Extreme XM – Noted for being the most controversial talk around,
* Family Talk – If the less controversial is more to your liking, this XM station is for you.
* The Power – Known for being the first 24-hour African-American talk station in the nation.
* Open Road – For trucking personnel. Included in here is ‘Land Line Now’ – a news show
for the professional driver. This is a unique XM Radio talk offering.
* The Agenda – A popular XM Radio talk show with Joe Solomnase
* Fox News, and Air America Radio are amongst the other talk shows available
For those interested in comedy, XM Radio offers a few choices to suit any preference. Amongst the choices available are:
* Laugh USA – this comedy radio station contains no offensive nor crude language. It offers
pure, clean fun. Celebrities include Bill Cosby and Jerry Seinfeld.
* XM Comedy – this station offers a variety of comedians and types of humor.
If children’s programming is of interest to you, XM Radio is the proud recipient of the Parents’ Choice Recommendation Awards with its XM Kids radio show. XM Radio has partnered with Sesame Street and also offers Radio Disney.
And, now for the XM Radio entertainment channels available. As usual, they are vast and varied. Amongst the programming available to entertain listeners include:
* Talk Five – top celebrities interview others (such as Ellen DeGeneres)
* E! Entertainment Radio – listeners get the scoop on celebrity beauty and fashion, etc.
* XM Live – listeners can enjoy live concerts and festivals
* Radio Classics – this is the XM Radio station for the ‘Golden Age of Radio’ fans
listeners can enjoy the likes of Jack Benny, Burns and Allen – amongst others
* Sonic Theater – this fun XM Radio station gives listeners a chance to feel the drama and
excitement. It is reminescent of the classic days of radio. Current bestsellers to
classic delights are read by various storytellers and actors. Here one can
hear ‘Twilight Zone’ and ‘Sherlock Holmes’ – to name but a couple offerings.
XM Radio offers an exclusive music series sponsored by Intel. Here, listeners can enjoy entertainers in a variety of programming. However, there is no 24 hour coverage per artist. Programs range from one to 4 hours, on average.
For instance, in a recent segment of Artist Confidential, Paul McCartney was the featured artist. He involved the audience in making a song, revealed insider music secrets, and showed fans why he is such a perennial favorite. Artists involved in each episode have their music and personality displayed. It is noted for being up close and personal.
* ‘Deep Tracks’ with Tom Petty as a disc jockey for one hour.
* Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan. Dylan plays his favorite tracks and explains them for everyone to understand.
*Artist to Artist – newcomers interview ‘music heros’. It is unrehearsed and uncensored.
* Then AgainâÂ?¦Live – this is great! This channel involves live remakes of popular albums. Jethro
Tull recently did Aqualung. Alice Cooper did his ‘Greatest Hits’. All performances
are done in the XM Performance Theater.
* Of course�much more.
XM is noted for being the first satellite radio provider. With that being said, it has a larger subscriber base than Sirius.
Now let us explore SiRIUS:
The first public offering of Sirius stock occurred on September 13, 1994. Sirius is headquartered at New York City’s Rockefeller Center, this satellite radio company has no offices outside of the United States. Signals can be reached as far away as 200 miles offshore. Sirius radio can be enjoyed on boats, in offices, at home, or carried on person – as examples.
Financially speaking, Sirius stock is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange as SIRI. As of July 16, 2006, the stock was selling for $4.03 per share. Sirius records show that the second quarter of 2006 brought in 600,000 new subscribers.
Sirius Radio is factory-installed in Audi, BMW, Ford, Chrysler, Volkwagen, and Kia through exclusive automotive partnerships. Sirius Radio can also be installed in Dodge, Jaguar, Jeep, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, LandRover, and Porsche. For pre-owned cars, it is advised to check with your local installation representative for compatability.
Sirius Radio offers over 125 digital channels. 67 channels are stated to be 100% commercial free music. Approximately 60 channels consist of sports, news, talk, family and children’s, entertainment, traffic and weather, and data.
SPORTS:
For the sports enthusiast, Sirius Radio offers many choices. Here are some of them:
* Sirius Speedway – in conjunction with Motor Racing Network. Highlights, news, updates from
Daytona Speedway. Covers Nascar, IRL, CART, NHRA, more.
* Sirius Sports Action News Desk
* AFL – Arena Football League
* Golf Chix radio – women
* Horseracing – Sirius is exclusive provider of play-by-play action
* NHL – up to 40 regular season games per week. Continuous Stanley Cup coverage.
* NHL Live – one hour program
* NBA – over 1,000 live games
Full Court Press, Phil Jackson show both on hiatus
* College sports – Approximately 150 teams. Official satellite partner of Alabama, Army,
Auburn, Michigan, Notre Date, many other colleges.
* NFL – Exclusive 24/7 news, opinions, updates. Sundays: every game, every team, every week.
Play by play coverage.
* World soccer –
* Other sports such as poker
For the news enthusiast, Sirius Radio offers financial, world, international, and traffic channels.
* Financial – Bloomberg News
CNBC
* World – CNN Headlines and CNN
ABC News & Talk
NPR
Fox News
C-Span Radio
* International – BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)
Radio Korea
Sirius also offers a religion channel. Here one can listen to Christian Talk, EWTN Global Catholic
Network.
For talk radio fans, Sirius Radio offers choices ranging from controversial to conservative.
* Howard Stern – 25 hours a day
* OUTQ – especially for the gay and lesbian communities
* E! Entertainment – all the latest facts, trends, etc.
* Maxim – especially for men
* Court TV
* WSM Entertainment – home of the Grand Ole Opry
* ABC News & Talk
* Sirius Patriot – conservative talk radio program
* FOX News
* Sirius Left – liberate talk radio program
* Road Dog Trucking – for the professional driver. Charlie Daniels is the official voice of this
channel
* Playboy – live broadcasts from the Playboy mansion, amongst other activities/talks
* Martha Stewart – 24/7
* much, much more�.
For the entertainment seekers, Sirius Radio offers an exclusive Artists’ Channel. Here one can listen to their favorite entertainer 24/7. Amongst the celebrities are: Rolling Stones, Jimmy Buffet, Deepak Chopra, Elvis and many more. This is an area that Sirius Radio stands out in. No one else offers a selected celebrity an exclusive 24/7 channel. For any diehard fan, this is nirvana.
In the category of Lifestyles, listeners can enjoy Martha Stewart 24/7.
Sirius also offers a comedy channel where one can listen to Blue Collar, Raw Dog, or Laugh
Break.
For children’s and family programming, Radio Disney is offered. Sirius offers a Radio Classics program which draws upon the Golden Age of Radio. There also is Kids Stuff to enjoy.
Differences:
1) XM Radio charges $2 for a printed invoice, Sirius does not.
2) XM Radio offers a discount for online activation, Sirius does not.
3) Sirius offers exclusive 24/7 channels in entertainment programming, XM Radio does not.
4) Sirius offers 24/7 programming channels for exclusive talk radio (such as Howard Stern), XM Radio does not.
5) Sirius offers the Playboy Channel, XM Radio does not.
6) Sirius offers religious programming channels, XM Radio does not.
7) Sirius offers a ‘Go On & On & On’ service plan, XM Radio does not.
8) Sirius offers 125 digital programming channels, XM Radio offers 170.
The world of satellite radio is a growing one. With that growth comes change. Sirius and XM Radio are continually changing and providing subscribers with needed services. This article is an attempt to help potential subscribers make an informed decision.
