When Howard Stern moved to Sirius Satellite Radio, I went with him. When my contract expired, I didn’t renew because the experience wasn’t anything I couldn’t create for free.
Howard’s show was funny but disappointing. Specifically, there were commercials. Howard bragged that they reduced the length of commercial breaks from 20 minutes to 6, but still. The $156 I paid annually should usurp all ads. Unfortunately, this practice wasn’t unique to Howard’s 2 channels. Discovery and Martha Stewart also aired commercials. Sorry, Sirius, but ad-supported talk radio is available for free.
The music stations don’t broadcast ads, but I can create an uninterrupted stream of genre-specific music on my iPod by hitting “shuffle.” Plus, my iPod only plays songs I absolutely love. But the nail in Sirius XM’s coffin is podcasting.
The number of free, high quality podcasts increases daily. Pick any topic and you’ll find a terrific show operated by passionate, knowledgeable folks that you’ll love. Just like the music, they’re available on demand. Sirius’s Discovery channel had some shows I liked, but I wasn’t always near a radio when it aired. By contrast, I can listen to Stuff You Should Know or The Adam Carolla Show whenever I want.
I feel sorry for Sirius XM because I wanted it to work. Either kill the ads or make the content so compelling that I’m happy to pay for it.
Amen! And speaking of passionate podcasters, if you like carolla you should check out http://www.shoddyradio.com. We don’t put out a daily podcast but we’ve got almost 2 years of archives in the itunes store. If you get a chance to listen we’d love to hear what you think and if not good luck with your site. Thanks-Danny-shoddyradio@gmail.com