I have listened to SiriusXM or just plain old Sirius before then for about three years now. In fact here in Canada it is the 40% CBC owned subsidiary Sirius Canada that I subscribe to - though I get all the same channels as far as I can tell.
I blogged about it before, but I don't drive anywhere without it and listen to the streaming feed on my computer at home now and then. Nothing like driving from the top end of Newfoundland to the middle of the Rockies and all through the California desert and never losing a signal. Not to mention being in a motel in dot-on-the-map Saskatchewan and playing what you want on the laptop and not having to waste time searching for crappy local AM or FM signals.
Even before the current economic challenges, it seems it is a business model that just doesn't work. First Sirius and XM merged and now SiriusXM is in bailout talks with Direct TV (via Engadget , CBC, and the NYT ).
Local radio and their constant 'Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man!' like commercials and other drivel suck by comparison. I drive to work in the mornings and listen to traffic updates and weather reports on AM980 and it just loops with endless banter, teases for upcoming stories at the top of the hour and so on. It really isnt news. Just headlines. And listening to BobFM all day at work with their canned programming, stupid contests, and CanCon reminds me of the Dickensian scene in WKRP where Mr. Carlson (after eating one of Johnny's brownies) visits Herb in the future where he is the only one running an automated radio station...
I hope something happens to save SiriusXM, but I am not optimistic.
Mike
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