Sirius, XM reps chat up FCC, post-merger pricing detailed

With that little Department of Justice business out of their way, Sirius and XM have unsurprisingly been quick to start chatting up the all-important FCC, and a recent filing from the agency has now revealed that lawyers from the two companies have met with none other than FCC Chairman Kevin Martin himself, along with other higher-ups. Even more interesting, however, is that the same filing also includes a full rundown of the companies' proposed post-merger pricing plans, which don't appear to have changed much from those detailed way back in the early days of the merger. Starting with the basics, the Sirius and XM "Everything" plans will hang on to the same $12.95 per month price tag, and include approximately 130 and 170 channels, respectively. From there, each service has A La Carte options starting at $6.99 a month (with additional channels costing 25 cents apiece), along with the usual package options ranging in price from $9.99 for the Mostly Music and News, Sports and Talk bundles to $16.99 for the "Sirius Everything & Select XM" or "XM Everytyhing & Select Sirius" packages. Be sure to hit up the PDF available at the link below for the complete rundown.

[Jason @ Mar 28th 2008 12:24PM]

Paying for radio?

That's as crazy as paying someone to fill plastic bottles with tap water.

[Spiffmo @ Mar 28th 2008 12:29PM]

Yeah! All these lunatics that pay for cable TV when they can get TV from an antenna on the roof! It's totally wack.

[Sora267 @ Mar 28th 2008 12:31PM]

I assume you meant an antenna on the TV, as "antenna on the roof" would be a satellite dish, which you also have to pay for...Unless you steal satellite TV from your neighbor!

[Maurice Troute @ Mar 28th 2008 12:37PM]

no he means an antenna on the roof. Clearly you are under 40 and don't remember when VHF antennas littered the roof tops of most homes because rabbit ear antennas weren't adequate to get some channels.

By the way, as much as y9ou younger kids think you know everything, you don't so listen to you elders..

[aaron @ Mar 28th 2008 12:36PM]

@ Frank Furter



"Bone Me" ???

[josereyes0 @ Mar 28th 2008 12:40PM]

@ Spiffmo: As of spring next year everyone will have to pay for TV so....

[the dude @ Mar 28th 2008 12:41PM]

Have you ever really listened to "free" radio? It's not free because you have to listen to 5 minutes of awful commercials after every 2 songs. Finding stations that don't play awful music is also a challenge. So instead of paying for radio with my sanity, I pay for it with money.

AM and NPR still have sports/news to listen to, but that's pretty much it. Unless you like the same 15 oldies tracks, top 40, country, or crotch rock from the 80's.

[j.shifton @ Mar 28th 2008 1:08PM]

Radio, who needs a radio?

Mock (Yeah)
Ing (Yeah)
Bird (Yeah)

[rob @ Mar 28th 2008 1:30PM]

where to begin? BBC? NFL? There's lots of radio out there that's not on available on regular AM or FM.

[WhoIsThis @ Mar 28th 2008 2:24PM]

What? Why will people have to pay for TV next year? I get full HD over the air with an Antenna on the roof. I have a HD antenna on a old antenna mast. Last time I checked over the air HD wasnt going to go away. Neither are antennas on the roof or in the living room.

[Frank Furter @ Mar 28th 2008 12:30PM]

Please, PLEASE - whatever happens in this merger, PLEASE don't get rid of the Ad Council commercials that run between every talk radio station, every break, every day. I'm having difficulty convincing my teenage son, who recently got involved in a drug crime, not to drink. He knows everything, you know.

BONE ME!

[aaron @ Mar 28th 2008 12:37PM]

Ugg...my comment should have been down here...ah forget it.

[Frank Furter @ Mar 28th 2008 12:40PM]

Something they say on channel 41 (The Boneyard) on XM Radio. Playing all your favorite hits from the head banging days of the 80's.

[Andir3.0 @ Mar 28th 2008 1:00PM]

So, instead of teaching your kids... let someone else do it.

[Frank Furter @ Mar 28th 2008 1:07PM]

Uh yeah, that's called 'sarcasm'.

Did you really picture me, tossing and turning, struggling with my teeanage son who has a drug problem, clinging to my radio, hanging on every word of a FREAKING COMMERCIAL?

Crap, man, I need to work on my delivery.

[Thermos14 @ Mar 28th 2008 12:35PM]

I like paying money for stuff that shouldn't have to.

[Killer @ Mar 28th 2008 1:10PM]

WTF?! Satellite radio should be a free right? Yes, that makes complete sense. Companies love shooting multi-million dollar satellites into space and employm roughly 1,000 employees so you can have free music. I mean come on!

[Dave @ Mar 28th 2008 1:47PM]

All I know is that until the sound quality on satellite radio sounds better than 96kbps I'm not biting

[Ghen @ Mar 28th 2008 4:42PM]

Well damnit dave, I wanted to be all scientific and shit saying satellite couldn't possibly be worse quality than FM radio (96kbps)... But you're right!

Oh well, back to my CDs anyway

[Paul @ Mar 28th 2008 12:37PM]

I'm VERY excited for the A La Carte pricing. My radio right now has a 30 channel memory, and those are pretty much the only channels I listen to. So now I'll be able to save 6 bucks a month to listen to the same things I do now.

[Andir3.0 @ Mar 28th 2008 1:01PM]

My question is... what are these "next generation" radios they are talking about that you need for Ala carte? I'm guessing they are not included in Sirius packages in 2008 vehicles like I just ordered. :(

[Brad @ Mar 28th 2008 12:42PM]

Keep in mind that it will be mandatory to buy a new radio to use the a la carte options, and if you want any of the "premium" channels like live sports, Stern/O&A that you'll still have to pay the full $12.95 per month.

[Kyle @ Mar 28th 2008 1:01PM]

Thats not how I read the pdfs, it looked more like you would be able to pick the 6.95 package price but its an extra $3.00 for Stern or O and A, meaning it would be like 9.95 for 1. If you want both Stern and O and A (Which I doubt many people will want it tend to lean one way or the other, I tend to prefer O and A and never really got into Stern) than you get the 12.95 price.

But for people like me who have Sirius for music and XM for Opie and Anthony than I still come out of this a winner.

[FrankTheCrank @ Mar 28th 2008 12:42PM]

Wow...get ready to get fucked!

Their doing a cable TV one, two on you! Ala carte service is another way to really screw you. Before merger, you got everything, now after merger, you pay $12.95 and then $6.99 for more stuff?

This is FUCKED. XMirius...you're dead to me. Hope your big fat satellite burns drops to the earth.

[Kyle @ Mar 28th 2008 1:02PM]

I think you have this wrong.

From what I understand it isn't 12.99 plus 6.99 its only 6.99

The maximum they will be charging for absolutely everything is 16.99 which is a good deal still in my eyes as FM radio is just complete shite

[FrankTheCrank @ Mar 28th 2008 4:03PM]

kYLE..

cause compressed audio and commercials are so worth $16.95

[chris fredette @ Mar 28th 2008 12:45PM]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
They need a free package of, say, 10 stations. Like the national news so this can be used in case of emergencies. It would also mean one device would be put in every car and they would be in direct competition with the terrestrial stations.

[Libb @ Mar 28th 2008 1:19PM]

Actually, inactive XM units already get about 4 or 5 channels without a subscription, including the POTUS 08 election news channel, as well XM247, which is the national emergency channel. Anyone with an XM unit, whether a plug and play or built-in to their vehicle can access these channels, even if they never subscribed to XM at any time.

I'm not as sure about Sirius units, but I believe their emergency channel works the same way.

[chris fredette @ Mar 28th 2008 2:38PM]

Interisting. I would think they would want to do this anyway. If everyone knows there are say 10+ stations(5 is way too low) everyone would want them. Then those stations could be ad supported. I would suspect they would huge numbers compared to marketing to local stations. More people would have access to the system so it would be easier to up sell more people.

[Gary @ Mar 28th 2008 12:55PM]

I have had xm for a couple yrs now but I bought a car with sirius built in which I like. I wish the merger would allow you to get channels from xm because I like O&A but not howard. So, it would be nice if you could pick/choose from one to the other.

[DT @ Mar 28th 2008 12:57PM]

Here's what I don't get...if you get a la carte, and then add ONE premium (Howard), you're paying 12.95 per month. So why wouldn't you just get the "everything" option at 12.95, and get ALL the channels and ALL the premiums?

[mrhammerstein @ Mar 28th 2008 1:18PM]

umm, because they want you to pay 12.95 and not to add just one channel for say $1 and only pay 10.95. it's two more dollars for them. They don't care if you to everything or not.

it's just like tv. is anyone really watching the Logo Channel or Oxygen? But they package it in with channels you actually want. why else can't you only get ESPN and not ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPN Classic, and ESPN Ocho? they force your cable distributer to buy all of them or not get any of them.

[Libb @ Mar 28th 2008 1:27PM]

The Howie and O&A premiums are only $3, so if you get the base package and add one shock jock, you're only paying $9.99 a month, a nice $3 off the normal rate. Now, if you want sports, you're probably better off with the Everything packages, although the a la carte-capable radios are supposed to also be dual-band, meaning you'd be able to use any combination of XM and Sirius channels. If you liked certain things from XM and certain things from Sirius, the only way to pick and choose on a channel by channel basis would be the a la carte packs.

[gregorykingston @ Mar 28th 2008 12:59PM]

These are the same plans posted on Siriusmerger.com for the last year.

[leighton @ Mar 28th 2008 1:10PM]

I am a Sirius subscriber and I think this merger sucks. The Monopoly will cause big problems when in 3 years all the contracts for premium content burn up. Then will Sirius pay for NFL, Howard Stern, or any other premium content. The thing that was great about competition is it keeps costs down and keeps programming up. Watch as the opposite happens in the next few years. I am considering cancelling the whole thing now come then end of this pre-paid cycle.

BTW, for those interested in Satelite radio, I think the whole service is overrated. Its not bad, but just OK. Unless you live where there are no radio stations. I have been on the fence for a while now and they have pushed me off. Music is OK, Talk is good, but if it weren't for Howard and NFL I would not have reason to listen at all.

[Andir3.0 @ Mar 28th 2008 1:14PM]

You could always go back to commercial radio... it's all a matter of how much you want to pay to not have commercials at this point.

[leighton @ Mar 28th 2008 1:20PM]

I will, I listen to it now sometimes. Sirius is just an option depending on what's on. The only thing I do like about Sat Radio is when I am traveling and I don't have to surf looking for something in Bum F**k Egypt.

[xkevin @ Mar 28th 2008 1:54PM]

Competition between the two has created a bubble, keeping costs high. Do you think both would have paid $1 billion over X years for the rights to broadcast MLB and Howard Stern if they weren't competing head on? Content providers were able to play one service against the other for a better price.

[leighton @ Mar 28th 2008 3:22PM]

If they did not drive the content up no one would subscribe. Their bad business decisions are their own fault. My opinion is Howard Stern and MLB/NFL would not be on Satelite had there been no competition. XM got the rights for MLB because Sirius was winning sports fans with their NFL coverage. Otherwise they would not have paid for it.

I am for options for the consumers, let the business people make decisions on profitability. The bubble will burst now making it inferior to the product in the past, it will just take a few years for the contracts to run out.

[xkevin @ Mar 28th 2008 4:47PM]

At the end of the day, satellite radio is simply a delivery service. If there is no content, it has no business. At the same time content producers need to find buyers for their product or they have no business either. The bubble created by competing with each other head-on has a negative impact to the customer because it artificially increases the cost of content. Since the majority of satellite radio revenues are generated through subscriptions, not advertisements, consumers are directly paying that cost.

[brian @ Mar 28th 2008 1:12PM]

So if I have a Serius lifetime plan already paid for which plan does it fall under? Somehow I see a need for vaseline coming.

[Jim. @ Mar 28th 2008 1:21PM]

So wait the EVERYTHING Sirius & XM packages don't include the premiums?? ugh...

[Kazriko @ Mar 29th 2008 1:44PM]

Given that the old plan for Sirius or XM was $12.95, and that the new Sirius Everything and XM Everything plans are $12.95, you'll probably be put on that plan. The Sirius everything + XM plans probably won't be given to you for your old lifetime subscription.

I would suspect that they'll include the premium channels for one network only on the everything package.

[yscire @ Mar 28th 2008 1:23PM]

So has the issue of what hardware we'll need to get both been solved? Should I wait to get a SiriusXM receiver or can I get an XM one now and have it work with Sirius' stations?

[pmr @ Mar 28th 2008 1:24PM]

WTF...

The best thing about this damn merger was going to be being able to listen to NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL games on one satellite radio. And, of course, they offer like 2 million ways to choose music channels, and NONE in which you get play-by-play for all the major sports leagues.

[John Z @ Mar 28th 2008 1:30PM]

I was kinda hoping that the "Everything of one, 'Select' of other" would let you, y'know, SELECT your other-service stations. The way these docs make it look, it would basically be getting the 'top 11' other-service stations that are predetermined and likely not to be at all what I want to listen to.

As an XM guy, I'm not too upset-- I was afraid of a massive drop in the number of channels as the services consolidated and eliminated redundancy (they can take The System and Lucy away when they pry them from my cold dead hands) or else a jump in service cost. Another $4 a month for channels I'd want-- including the NFL-- isn't that bad, considering how it could have turned out. Now, just what are those Sirius channels I'd be getting?

[Benjy @ Mar 28th 2008 1:35PM]

This makes no sense to me. As a Sirius sub, the most I can get for the full ride is only 11 additional channels from XM??????? And "top selections" as determined by whom? Me? XM? Sirius? And I still don't see MLB listed as an option for Sirius customers (that's one of the things that Stern has been mouthing off about for months is that now you'll have the option to get all sports with the new company -- It certainly doesn't look that way from the listed Sirius post-merger plans!) If anyone can see MLB listed as a post-merger option for Sirius in the provided documents, please tell me where.

Another question: as MLB is multi-channel, does that take up multiple channels in your XM selection (if there is any option for MLB)?

11 XM channels is hardly enough for Sirius subscribers. Let's face it, most XM people only want Sirius for Stern (and will get him with this). But for us Sirius users who want many more music options and MLB, it looks like we will lose out.

[John Z @ Mar 28th 2008 2:15PM]

I think a lot of us XM people want Sirius for the NFL and more commercial-free channels... personally, I also want NPR and more electronic channels. I could care less about Stern (but that's just me).

Why the alacarte option doesn't allow cross-service picking is beyond me.

[as6o @ Mar 28th 2008 4:03PM]

I have both services. I actually picked Sirius but our Odyssey came with XM so we signed up for that too (Sirius is in our wagon.) I, like JohnZ, would love to be able to listen to NPR and Boombox in our van. It'd be great if I could "pick" the NPR stations and the electronic stations from Sirius for our XM account.

[David @ Mar 29th 2008 10:23AM]

Let's face it: some people could could care less about Stern, or they'd already be with Sirius, I guess.

I am only interested in Sirius for its extra news channels, like CBC, BBC, and NPR.

The rest, like FirstWave are crap compared to their superior equivalent on XM (FRED).

So, for me, 11 channels, as long as I can chose which they are, is probably about all I would care to have off of Sirius' line-up.

Conversely, if I lose FRED in favor of FirstWave, due to the alluded to "overlapping of service", I'm canceling it all.