RSSXM, Sirius Address Customer Concerns
By Ed Oswald | Published March 5, 2007, 1:54 PM
Hoping to quell customer unease over its planned merger, both Sirius and XM issued open letters to their customers, assuring them that all radios will continue to work well after the merger, and that current customers will not see their monthly fee raised.
In the weeks following the proposed merger announcement, both analysts and customers of either company began to speculate that rates would increase and that newer radio models compatible with the merged company's programming will replace current ones.
While the statements seem to leave the door open for rate increases on new customers, as well as newer radios that may offer enhanced functionality, it appears, at least for the time being, that the two companies do not have any plans to make major changes.
"Sirius has millions of radios in the market, including many that are built into the vehicles manufactured by its automakers," that company said in a statement. "Following the merger, XM expects that the existing radios will be able to receive a mix of programming from both services," XM added in its own letter.
XM published its open letter to customers in the Monday edition of USA Today, while Sirius is beginning a new national print and retail initiative called the "Sirius Guarantee" to drive home the two companies' positions.
Following the merger, Sirius said it expected that the traditional $12.95 USD monthly fee would likely be replaced by a more flexible structure allowing customers to select which programming they would like to receive.
Both sides hope to close the merger by the end of this year, pending regulatory approvals.
"Sirius has millions of radios in the market, including many that are built into the vehicles manufactured by its automakers," that company said in a statement. "Following the merger, XM expects that the existing radios will be able to receive a mix of programming from both services," XM added in its own letter.
Anyone else notice this? Again the biggest news is always in what is not said, and if this is indeed a direct quote, this means that XM radio's can use Sirrius but Sirrius radios can't use XM!
Well, I have neither, but my parents have XM so they'll be happy to know that it can also use Sirius if they want to switch.
Score: 0
|Nicely found Bourg... It'll be interesting to hear the results. I am ready to buy once they figure this all out.
Score: 0
|I rented a Sirius loaded car the other day, and damned if I could get the thing to work. Some instructions would have been nice. I think I'm reasonably tech-savvy, but after spending 20 minutes trying to figure out how this thing actually makes any sound, (I could see that it was switched on)I gave up and listened to the usual FM pap.
Score: 0
|Furby, user error isn't always the company's fault. If it's Hertz, you probably had to zero in on 88.5FM, and then you'd have found the controller works. Or something close to that.
Score: 0
|Thank you. I guessed it was something like that, but God help me, it's hard to do while you're doing 65 on the freeway.
Score: 0
|Rented a car the other day, found the subscription was never activated...could be the same thing.
Score: 0
|Give me a radio that picks up both, and costs $15/mo or less, and you'll have a customer for a LONG time.
Score: 0
|After the merger(assuming it gets approved) I don't think Sirius and XM will be separate for long. The programming will likely get consolidated. While most of it will still be available a few of less popular channel will likely get axed to improve profitability. With less competition I would expect regular rate increases to improve their dismal bottom line. Those that want to listen to the 'premium' content might see their monthly fees exceed $20 maybe even $30.
My final prediction is that they won't continue support all of the existing equipment for more than a few years. The interest to reduce expenditure will quickly force customers to replace their equipment.
Score: 0
|Mel Karmazin has said repeatedly that the $12.95/month subscription currently paid by Sirius subscribers is a ceiling, meaning it won't get more expensive than that. Personally I would pay $15/month but $20 would be stretching it.
They're also talking about having a la carte packages, which personally I would LOVE. Out of the 100+ channels, I listen to maybe 20-25 of them (mostly during NFL season when the games are broadcast on various talk channels). I would love to pick and choose what I want to hear.
Score: 0
|