After viewing the post-merger subscription options which the merged XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio plan to offer, I have a suggestion. Believe me, if this can be done, it will offer a better value for current subscribers and will likely help the newly merged company to convince newcomers that satellite radio really is a viable alternative to traditional AM/FM radio.
First, the companies need to work on development of a receiver capable of receiving both XM and Sirius channels. I’m not talking about a radio which will let you add a few channels from XM if you’re a Sirius subscriber. No; I’m thinking of a radio which will let you receive all of the channels the new company has to offer.
In the beginning, I imagine both services will retain all of their present channels. If this is the case, perhaps a dual-band radio with one band for XM and one for Sirius will be necessary. However, allow for enough channels on each band so that once channel line-ups become more or less combined, you can eliminate the need for one band, yet allow subscribers to keep their new radios for many years to come.
If a current subscriber to one of the services buys this radio, allow him to add the other service for a small fee. I’m thinking $6 would be reasonable. Then, for $18.95, a subscriber could have all of XM’s programming and all of Sirius’s programming available at the touch of a button.
Once channels begin to be eliminated, which is inevitable, allow this same subscriber to keep the new “Everything From XM And Sirius” plan for the $16.99 the new company is wanting to charge for everything from one company plus the best of the other. I see this being a good incentive for people who are on the $16.99 plan at the time to upgrade their radios and go for the new receivers capable of receiving everything. Set the price point for these receivers at a cost reasonable enough for the average consumer to buy it, yet reasonable enough to insure the merged XM/Sirius makes a profit off of them. Of course, it also needs to be equipped for use as a portable receiver, in a home kit, and in a car docking station.
Most of us chose one satellite company over the other for a reason. Many people chose Sirius because of Howard Stern or the NFL. Many chose XM because of Opie and Anthony, Oprah, or major league baseball. However, most of us would like specific content from the other satellite company, and would likely be happy to pay a bit more than we currently pay now if we were guaranteed to have every channel from both companies.
Hopefully, someone from either XM or Sirius will stumble upon this article and take the thoughts of this 3-year-and-counting XM subscriber into consideration. If a plan similar to what I’ve outlined above could be put into place, I think Mel Karmazin and Gary Parsons would find more of us who are against the merger or on the fence about it coming over to their side and supporting the merger. Give it some thought.
