The merger in July, 2008, between SIRIUS and XM was predicated upon promises to the F.C.C. and subscribers that this would be a good thing for oh so many reasons. Trust them, believe them, they would never steer you wrong.
The good news is there is now al a carte programming packages to pick from which might afford a subscriber more channels to their liking for less money per month.
The bad news is the merger really gave SIRIUS XM Radio a license to lose its way. The new reconfigured channel offerings have yanked away some programming which subscribers claim either has no valid replacement or was substituted with something inferior. Hasn’t traditional radio already disappointed enough listeners with promises it couldn’t deliver? We all expected more from Satellite Radio – especially when we were footing the bill.
Your Money is Good Here - but Not Your Opinion
I know the services have some internal way of knowing who’s listening to what channels and I suspect some or many decisions on eliminating certain programming was based on listener useage. Even so, why didn’t SIRIUS or XM take the time to poll or query its subscribers about their preferences - even if just for show?
Subscribers are the customers and to neglect even asking them beforehand or warning them prior to the coming changes is about the worst example of customer service I can imagine. It smacks of the old, condescending attitude from traditional Radio which admonishes listeners to know their place because the station always knows better. In other words: shut up if you don’t like the music or personalities because we know what we’re doing. If that were the case, you’d see a lot less stations changing format each year.
Who Would Pay? Demanding Customers
When Satellite Radio first came on the scene, the same old naysayers who said people would never pay for cable TV said nobody would pay for Satellite Radio. After all, why pay when you can get it for free?
Well, plenty of people have paid – a remarkable achievement in an era of high competition from the likes of MP3 players, AM, FM, Cell Phone, Podcasts, and Internet Radio. But, SIRIUS XM Radio has made a big mistake by taking these subscribers for granted.
Worse: SIRIUS XM Radio has proven itself to be not much different in attitude than traditional Radio.
Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.
