The Best Radio on Radio (TM)

We've been SIRIUS satellite radio listeners/fans since we subscribed in December 2003 (the MINI - we added Steve's car and the house a year later). I hadn't listened to commercial radio in 3 years until I was stuck in a rental car this last December when my car got swamped in the flash flood and was at the shop waiting for its new engine. I moaned almost every night about missing my SIRIUS!!

We chose SIRIUS over XM because we heard XM still had some advertising. I've always been happy with Sirius, and admittedly, even with over 100 channels to choose from, I have my Top 5 that I stick with (altho as I type this I am trying out the new "Seriously Sinatra" channel 75)

I saw on the news last week that Sirius and XM have filed with the SEC to merge their two companies. Whenever these kinds of things happen, as a customer I get nervous and wonder if they're going to screw up a good thing I love (sort of how we were worried the Seattle's Best Coffee would get ruined after Starbucks bought it). On the Sirius web site, tho, is a great (and humorous) FAQ that I thought I would share.

SIRIUS and XM Announce Merger: Customer FAQs

On February 19th , 2007, SIRIUS and XM announced a merger. (Read the press release.) So, we thought we'd take this opportunity to answer your questions.

What if SIRIUS and XM merge and my satellite radio gets even better than it already is?
This is what we like to call a win-win. If you sign up for SIRIUS now, you're getting The Best Radio on Radio™ - see the trademark there, it's official. Now if we merge, well my goodness, you'll have yourself something with even more great stuff. It's hard to imagine having so much to listen to, but that's the goal here – your happiness.

Okay, so I sign up, you merge, and then you cancel all my favorite shows, right?
No. We'll change some things that overlap when we combine, surely, but the truly unique programming you love – that stays. We'll also continue to bring in new celebs and shows and music and more.

Will my current SIRIUS radio continue to work after the merger, or are you guys going to make me mad?
We would NEVER upset our 12 million listeners like that. We GUARANTEE that NO SIRIUS radio will become obsolete after a merger with XM. Sure, we'll always come out with new radios, but we also won't leave our listeners out in the cold.

Should I wait until after the merger to get SIRIUS? Just tell me.
Are you kidding? Well, if you like commercials, and you like listening to the same CDs for a week, and you like fiddling with your mp3 player while driving…..yeah. NO! You'd be crazy to wait. It will only get better on SIRIUS, every single day. We guarantee that existing radios will not become obsolete in a post-merger world, and you'll be able to pick up a mix of programming from both services.

Oh I get it, so you're going to merge and then jack up the price, right? Sneaky.
There are plenty of sources of entertainment that compete for your attention out there, so our price has to continue to attract and keep listeners. Any plan you sign up for now will be honored by the merged company.

So which service should I go with now, pre-merger? And don't just say SIRIUS because you're SIRIUS.
Well, we certainly have an opinion, but we'll let consumers speak for us: SIRIUS programming has made us the first choice in satellite radio. There's a reason we are the best radio on radio. We create the best programming and new programming all the time.

Wendy's Final Thought
If you ever get tired of all the damn talk on radio -
and believe you should get actual MUSIC on your radio - sign up for satellite
radio. It's relatively cheap, you will positively LOVE it, and YOU WILL
NEVER GO BACK.

You can even try it for free. Go to www.sirius.com