New XM Lineup

[Rufus_74]

I am really upset over the fact that they pulled the plug on both old school hip-hop stations. I may just cancel my subscription or maybe when can create a petition or something. this totally sucks!!!

 

[Rufus_74]

what happened to backspin? no more old school hip-hop? this totally sucks!!! I may just go ahead a drop satellite radio all together.

 

[jegrant]

Oh, and what's the deal with NPR "Now". I was excited because I thought it might actually have what's on NPR now. Which would be Morning Edition, with the news updates and everything. Nope...it's Artie Lange on Fresh Air. (Apparently Howie even gets a say about what's on the NPR channel.)

I got a kick out of Artie on Fresh Air myself. I don't think Terry Gross (the hostess) really knew what to do with him.

The reason that NPR Now is relatively "neutered" is that the local affiliates refuse to let a national superstation carry their "cash cow" shows Morning Edition & All Things Considered. It's the same reason that MSNBC has "Morning Joe" instead of Today; the local NBC affiliates would mutiny.

NPR Now showed brief signs of improvement when NPR added the morning show "Bryant Park Project" a while back, but it was short-lived. Now the lineup features endless repeats of Fresh Air & Radio Times.

I have wondered for a while now why NPR doesn't just play a few of its podcasts on NPR Now, at least to add variety and reduce the number of repeats. Instead of hearing Fresh Air for the 6th time each day, why not play "All Songs Considered" or "Planet Money"? I think it would even be a great idea to dedicate a weekly hour to a grab bag chosen from the "alt.NPR" line of podcasts.
For that matter, they could even pick up KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" and use that as a morning show, with NPR news updates inserted hourly. I bet it would get better ratings than the talk repeats they're using now. Also, Sirius & XM both are likely to have some extra bandwidth in the mornings, so they could boost NPR Now 134's bitrate to "music" level for that time slot.

Alternatively, to promote the local affiliates, why not set aside a daily time slot to pick up interesting local stories that were not quite "good enough" for the big league NPR programs. This would be a great way to fill the half hour after Marketplace each evening, where they now play the first 30 minutes of Day To Day. Call it "Local Showcase" or something.

 

[grydlok]

I am really upset over the fact that they pulled the plug on both old school hip-hop stations. I may just cancel my subscription or maybe when can create a petition or something. this totally sucks!!!

I am also. I already called and put my cancel service request at the end my paid subscription.
They made Hip-hop nation PG and I don't like shade 45.

 

[joedekock]

So far so good with the Classical channels this morning. Unlike what i posted earlier.

 

[AekaGSR]

I am also. I already called and put my cancel service request at the end my paid subscription.
They made Hip-hop nation PG and I don't like shade 45.

haha, they made hip-hop nation WORSE? Really, what are we paying for if they don't play the uncut stuff? Are people really that uptight about an F bomb but they are ok with the heavy sexual suggestions that hip hop has?

 

[oggusfoo]

listen to this streak:
subscribed to sirius because of live grand ole opry"WSM Entertainment (117) - Simulcast of 650 WSM in Nashville. Broadcasted the Grand Ole Opry. (dropped September 13, 2006)
started listening to older music, like "
075 Siriusly Sinatra Standards and Swing Was titled Standard Time until February 14, 2007 but was a totally different format, I started to hate the artist only channels AND THEN
Planet Jazz (70) - Modern Jazz (dropped September 7, 2007) which was replaced by Grateful dead channel as an accompaniment to a heady jamband channel not a replacement.
I really started to hate the artist only channels.
They moved my new favorite channel around a bunch and finally drop SIRIUS Disorder. I'm so depressed.

 

[snathanb]

Hate the changes. I am XM subscriber and 5 of my 10 favorite presets are now gone.

 

[DAVEGTESTR]

We knew the System was going away like a year ago. Area is good.

WE have and are still are mounting a campaign to save The System. Yeah we have Area but is playing the same stuff (some of it great) for like 3 years. I used to be be addicted to Area 33 actually. The System is still Online, a partial victory. If Sirius XM Radio gets rid of the free 'High Bandwidth' XM player I will consider buying my music through my iPhone.

You still do get a lot of music, news, talk, sports (XM, Sirius for the NFL) from satellite.

I am also mourning the loss of Fred, though 1st Wave is a substitute, it is a more 'Sirius' "less deep of a playlist" version of it.

DUAL XM-Sirius subscriber, but Sirius device is going away due to
!!! no MLB !!! and the lack of Sirius repeaters/reception on my Stiletto. I am a Sirius subscriber that used the Sportster I for maybe 5-6 years. I have currently have extended my Sirius for free for 3 months after trying to drop it.

Enough of my ranting, but a lot of XM people are not very happy. I understand it all, there are people that listen to primarily one station.

 

[grydlok]

haha, they made hip-hop nation WORSE? Really, what are we paying for if they don't play the uncut stuff? Are people really that uptight about an F bomb but they are ok with the heavy sexual suggestions that hip hop has?

It not even hip-hop nation anymore, it's more like mix between Hip-hop nation, and the heat. It plays R&B and hip-hop now. It's repeating the same songs now it isn't funny. I got called back by Sirius today regarding my cancel request. They offered me 3 free months with no commitment, plus some addition credits for me not to cancel immediately. They explained that more changes are coming based on the feedback they are getting. I told them I will give them to Feb 17, 09. If it's still stupid by then I will cancel, and toss my unit in the river.

 

[darrencp22]

I'll go on record as saying I like the changes. Not happy about Boneyard on hiatus, but it's suppose to be comin back in jan.

 

[skottey]

They took the station i spent most of my time on, The System. ........... this really sucks!!!!!!!

I emailed my opinion and got the typical response from such an organization. I specifically said "Area" isn't as good, yet they recommend it. I listened to "Area" (I guess they dropped the 38 since it isn't on 38 on XM) today and it isn't as bad as I remembered it with Dish Network, but it is nowheres near as good as The System. PLEASE! Everybody who enjoyed The System, please speak up. It is STILL available on DirecTV and XM Online, which means they COULD put it back on the satellite if they wanted to. It is not really "retired" like the below form letter states. It is obviousl there are a lot of fans of the station. Speak up!


The message submitted by the user is
======================
I am really saddened by your removing The System from the regular XM lineup. I am glad you kept it online, but that doesn't help me in the car.. So, please put it back on the regular satellite radio when you have space. I listen to that 80% of the time in the car and Area 38 is not as good.




--------------------------




Dear Mr. S!,

Thank you for contacting XM.

We appreciate your feedback with regards to XM-82 (The System). We understand your concern in this matter. 'The System' has been retired, however, you can continue to hear Electronica and Trance music from artists previously heard on 'The System' such as Paul Oakenfold and The Chemical Brothers on 'Area' (XM-80).

We have forwarded your suggestion to our Programming Department. However, you may contact XM's Programming Department directly at programming@xmradio.com regarding this and any other programming concern.

We do use subscriber feedback and e-mail as a part of our decision making process when making these programming changes, so your e-mail is much appreciated. We hope that you will continue to find great value across our 170 channels. Please do not hesitate to contact us directly in the future if you have questions or need additional information on XM's programming. Thank you for being a loyal listener and we look forward to many more years of providing you with our service.

If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to send an additional email or you may contact a Listener Care Representative directly at 1-800-XM RADIO (800-967-2346). Our Listener Care Centers hours of operation are as follows:

Monday-Saturday 8 AM - 11 AM ET(do they really mean 11PM?)

Sunday 8AM - 8 PM ET

Thank you,
Claudia

 

[qsoundrich]

I would love to have the System in the car (or at least on Dish), but this is probably what they think of as "waste/redundancy." Area has a ton of mixshows now, so I think most people will be at least somewhat happy with it.

 

[skottey]

I would love to have the System in the car (or at least on Dish), but this is probably what they think of as "waste/redundancy." Area has a ton of mixshows now, so I think most people will be at least somewhat happy with it.

Actually, most aren't happy about it. The only silver lining is that Area is slightly better than it used to be. But it isn't The System.

 

[M Sparks]

It seems to me that XM got the better end of the deal espically the BOS add on package.

See this is the point. XM and Sirius were very different services. As an XM subscriber, your statement seems insane to me. I don't see how ruining almost everything I liked about XM and offering me channels I have no interest in at additional cost is "the better end of the deal." And yet, when I look at the Sirius changes, it seems like they got minor improvements at worst.

Obviously, people looking from the Sirius side see the opposite.

I think we can all agree that the worst part of all this is we both have fewer formats to choose from.

 

[M Sparks]

I am also mourning the loss of Fred, though 1st Wave is a substitute, it is a more 'Sirius' "less deep of a playlist" version of it.

"less deep"...I bet 1st Wave's playlist isn't even 5% the size of Fred's.

They were NOT redundant channels. I think they would have complimented each other. As much as I loved Fred, every once in a while, they would go off on a tear of 7 or 8 completely obscure songs. (I had never even HEARD of the Toy Dolls a few years ago, now I know their whole catalog.) It would have been perfect to flip over to 1st Wave when Fred got too weird.

1st Wave is a fun channel to flip on while you're doing chores. Fred was a great channel for a 2 week road trip.

 

[M Sparks]

I told them I will give them to Feb 17, 09. If it's still stupid by then I will cancel

I hope you phrased it that way. We should all just call up and say "your channels are stupid now."

 

[M Sparks]

The reason that NPR Now is relatively "neutered" is that the local affiliates refuse to let a national superstation carry their "cash cow" shows Morning Edition & All Things Considered. It's the same reason that MSNBC has "Morning Joe" instead of Today

Huh? MSNBC doesn't have Today because Today is on NBC and MSNBC is a totally separate channel. It actually wouldn't make ANY sense to have Today on MSNBC, because 99% of people who get MSNBC also get an NBC station, so you'd be using two channels to reach the same audience you can reach with one. MSNBC also doesn't carry Brian Williams, or 30 Rock, or NFL games, or...

But I get what you're saying otherwise. I just don't get the name. It's the least "Now" of all of them. And why did XM get the lamer of the two channels. I looked at the schedule for the other Sirius NPR channel and their weekend schedule is exactly the same as my local NPR station, with the exception of a PRI show. NPR Now has the same shows, but delayed. THAT'S NOT WHAT 'NOW' MEANS!

 

[M Sparks]

We knew the System was going away like a year ago. Area is good.

Do they have a goth/industrial show on Area? I know I'm not going to get a whole channel, but it was nice having a few shows. Unfortunately, they were on The System and Fungus.

 

[bidger`]

I don't do satellite radio from either provider, my only exposure is XM through DIRECTV and the station I listen to, ch. 836 The Loft, remains intact. Condolences to those who lost their faves, especially if you have a satellite radio subscription.