Sirius wants more money, cuts free online listening

[ColonelPanic]

These guys just keep finding ways of making me hate them. (Granted it remains a better alternative than FM but still! )I got an e-mail from Sirius stating that if I want my $6.99 for the second receiver to not increase to $8.99 a month, I need to lock in my sub for a longer period of time by March 10. Right now I just get billed quarterly for the two different receivers (and they both come out at different times.) I don't know how long of a period it is, they aren't telling me on their site. But quite frankly, even if it may save some money in the long run, I don't have hundreds of dollars to throw at away all at once, so that's why I choose to bill quarterly.Ya'know, I'm wondering if the HUGE push they were doing over the last few months to get people to buy additional receivers has anything to do with this... hmm, what a coinkydink.And as an added bonus for us valued Sirius subscribers: The basic lower bitrate free streaming is going away. You have to pay for the higher bitrate audio if you want to listen online. Raising prices on a service that people don't really have to have to survive at a time when people are reconsidering why they pay for these things in the first place doesn't seem like a good business model. I'm sure many will be dropping things like satellite tv/radio, cable, etc. as they have to make hard choices about where their money is going.Yes, it's only $2/month (plus whatever extra to add for the streaming) but that's money you didn't really have to spend before.

[bodhi_tree777]

eh, drop it. Radio's free . Seriously, though, I like satellite radio but I've steered clear of it for reasons like this. I have enough headaches with my cell phone subscription and contract, and I don't want to get into it with another provider and get locked into something long term.You'd like companies would relax policies like this during hard times to encourage more customers, not chase them away. Verizon's heavy handed contract policies and their shoddy phones are losing me, I'm done after my contract is up next month.

[ColonelPanic]

Yes, radio is free but the local market here is downright terrible. Everything besides the 3 public radio stations here is rubbish!And I don't have any options for my beloved liberal talk radio without satellite though - there isn't a single progressive talk show aired in this town. That's why I've stuck with them for as long as I have.

[bodhi_tree777]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »Yes, radio is free but the local market here is downright terrible. Everything besides the 3 public radio stations here is rubbish!And I don't have any options for my beloved liberal talk radio without satellite though - there isn't a single progressive talk show aired in this town. That's why I've stuck with them for as long as I have. now that I can understand. I'm lucky enough to get two NPR stations (one from Ohio, one from WV) where I live, and that's where the radio stays unless I have a cd in. Suppose you could try podcasts, and listen to it through your iPod or something similar. Either way, damn the man

[Bikerscum]

I bought a lifetime sub for $500 just over 3 years ago when Howard Stern moved to Sirius. It was a BIG chunk of change, but he's there for 5 years, & the math just worked out too well to turn down. If I had paid monthly, I would have already paid more than that. Turns out I get lifetime online listening for free too... as it should be. What BURNS me is that after the Sirius/XM merger, I should be able to add the Vibe for 6.95/month as a second radio. No way.... I would have to pay the full XM price, plus $3 a month to get Howard Stern on XM. How exactly as a consumer did I benefit from that merger??Grrrr....

[Caretaker]

Yes, but as a lifetime subscriber, you will still have your on-line account for free. They aren't renegging on their contract, just charging for on-line service to those who may want it from this day forward.

[KNINE]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »Yes, radio is free but the local market here is downright terrible. Everything besides the 3 public radio stations here is rubbish!And I don't have any options for my beloved liberal talk radio without satellite though - there isn't a single progressive talk show aired in this town. That's why I've stuck with them for as long as I have. You don't need satellite to listen to Hannity and Limbaugh. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[file014]

Im still on my 3 mos free but I wont be signing up for XM/Sirius. Im still pissed about paying for cable TV. Once this DTV conversion is official I might drop that too. If this economy gets any worse, all this pay crap that used to be free will get dropped like a bad habit.