Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone, App Store
Computerworld: Will Apple kill satellite radio?
ComputerWorld has an interesting item this morning by Mike Elgan. It speculates about new features in the anticipated iPhone coming this summer, including an FM transmitter to send iPhone audio to a car radio. It's also thought that the new 3.0 software will enable stereo bluetooth streaming to a car suitably equipped.There's no doubt that these features might convince many to either skip satellite radio, or to not renew current contracts.
All that is bad news for Sirius/XM, but the newly merged companies have done plenty to shoot themselves. Many subscribers think the merger was badly done, and many favorite channels were killed with no notice. As an XM subscriber I experienced that first hand when no heads up was given to customers about massive channel changes until the day of the switch last fall. For a communications company, that's pretty poor communications.
With an iPhone that can stream stereo Bluetooth, services like Pandora, LastFM, AOL Radio, and Simplify Media become more mobile in the car. I'd have to think twice about renewing XM or Sirius. Although new car sales are in the dumper, a great many new vehicles are delivered with iPod adapters, giving even more impetus for users to take their own music with them rather than to be stuck with a costly, and seemingly diminishing satellite radio service.
The whole theory behind Sirius/XM was to get radio worth paying for. To a degree, the iPhone and iPod have changed that equation, because you can take your favorite music with you, either your own or music from the new streaming music services. But getting the music into your car audio system was a chore if you weren't pre-wired for it. If indeed Apple makes the integration of the iPhone into the car easier, I think satellite radio will have to re-think its business plan, a plan that is already in tatters.
How about you? Do you subscribe to Sirius/XM now? Has the economy changed your plans? Would new options to get iPhone audio on your car make you think again about that costly subscription plan?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Damien K. said 2:38PM on 4-07-2009
Sirius XM has way more to offer than my ipod, however I still occasionaly plug my iPod in. I believe xm is going to stay
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Victor said 5:24PM on 4-07-2009
I hate my ipod function on my iphone. I've been using a slacker radio, and listening to slacker/pandora/last.fm/flycast on the iphone instead.
BUT...the big thing about satellite radio is its ability to play music even when you're in the middle of nowhere. I find myself quite often in areas without cellular signal (national parks, mountains, on the way to ski resorts, cross country trips, etc etc.). For international trips, airplane trips, etc; I've mostly switched to a slacker radio.
To me, the ipod is so 5 years ago.
William said 6:55PM on 4-08-2009
I agree; having the iPod is nice, but it's also nice having the huge variety of music/talk/news/sports/etc... that SiriusXM has to offer. Sometimes it's nice not being able to choose. Plus, when you're driving out in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception, services like Pandora wouldn't work while satellite radio does. I like having both.
greggsymington said 2:42PM on 4-07-2009
Still can't get Stern on any of those services. I love the music channels on Sirius as well
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MJZimmer88 said 10:37PM on 4-07-2009
yup yup yup...
and with the addition of the satellite radio app IDEALLY coming out at some point in the near enough future, i can get rid of the multi-car system ive got going now, and just use my iPhone in each one
Although to be fair, sirius/xm DID mention that the iPods/mp3 players were one of their biggest forms of competition, so it would really be in Apple's favor to be like "haha, yer screw'd now"
EBone said 2:43PM on 4-07-2009
Have been an XM subscriber since '04. Have it in two of three family cars plus a portable unit. Some content like Opie & Anthony can't be replicated elsewhere.
I downloaded the Pocket Tunes iPhone app last nite. Now I have XM on my iPhone.
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Frank Owen said 4:54PM on 4-07-2009
Has anyone actually tried the various streaming apps (Pandora, Last.fm, etc..) while driving in their cars? I have, and it's incredibly poor. Skipping, dropping out etc. It is unusable. I don't see any of these as a threat to satellite radio for these reasons.
Rob said 2:44PM on 4-07-2009
I ditched XM due to increasing costs and the removal of all of my favorite stations. I had been a Sirius customer but changed to XM because I preferred Fred, Lucy and Ethel to the Sirius counterparts.
When I called XM about the channel change, I was told, "Sorry, it's permanent." I reminded them that my subscription was not.
Now I rely on my iPod and iPhone (and Pandora sometimes) instead.
Wave goodbye, SiriusXM. You killed yourself.
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Jindo Fox said 10:13PM on 4-07-2009
XM stations Fred, Ethel, and Lucy were all replaced by inferior Sirius equivalents after the merger -- that act was enough to get me off satellite radio for good.
Or so I thought.
Sirius XM's call center *hung up* on me every time I tried to call them to cancel service. I ended up filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau just to get them to cut my service.
Fortunately, there's a Slacker Radio station that does a decent job of replicating the artists and content from XM Fred. AT&T's 3G coverage is fine for me, so I won't be missing Sirius XM unless I go for a drive in the country -- and for that, CDs and iPod fill the silence nicely.
tony d said 2:52PM on 4-07-2009
Although I like the idea of a built in FM tuner to connect to a car radio that doesn't have iPod connection (like an aux jack) its pretty useless in dense urban areas. But hey, I'll take it it. I never bought into the whole satellite radio thing. I remember when they first came out I, even before the iPod, I just didn't trust it. Didn't want to buy a whole system, whether it was XM or Sirius, only to have the monthly rate keep going up. Maybe cable TV ruined it for me as far as subscription service goes.
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angrydwarf said 2:46PM on 4-07-2009
Stern Rules...Bababooey! As long as Howard is there I'll stick with Sirius all the way.
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Jon said 5:27PM on 4-07-2009
Same here!
When Howard retires, I'll retire my Sirius subscription as well. I would have paid for an MLB package, but the MLB.app takes care of that now!
It can't be a good thing when an entire industry relies on one man!!
If Sirius doesn't come up with something extremely compelling within the next two years (Sterns contract has roughly 2 years remaining), they will die.
A major shift in business strategy has to happen immediately. They need to get their FULL service on every device humanly possible.
crstfr said 5:35PM on 4-07-2009
People pay money to listen to Howard Stern?!?! That just makes me sad.
Alex said 12:19PM on 4-08-2009
ummm the bulk of the 10 million or so people that pay for Sirius do it to listen to Stern. Not all of us need to listen to Rush Limbaugh.
Joe said 2:42PM on 4-08-2009
It's not a "stern or rush" debate. I can't stand either of them. I'll also never pay for satellite radio when my ipod has genius playlists and podcast support.
Aaron said 2:50PM on 4-07-2009
Thanks for reminding me, I've been meaning to give them a call and cancel my subscription. I haven't changed my unit from Aux to the XM input in several weeks - not since reception magically improved in my neighborhood. The commute to work is 100% Pandora for me.
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mike said 2:56PM on 4-07-2009
I wonder where all these folks live. I'm in Austin, one of the more technologically advanced cities in AT&T's home state. It's geographically compact and, with some exceptions, not particularly hilly or full of tall buildings. Yet I still can't get a reliable enough 3G signal to stream Slacker in my car when I'm driving around town. What about the millions of rural satellite subscribers?
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Flaystus said 3:25PM on 4-07-2009
I do it all the time in Dallas.
Randy said 2:57PM on 4-07-2009
Me? I don't have Satellite radio and I have no plans to get it. I was a Stern fan at one point but getting satellite for him alone still wasn't worth it for me.
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bill holz said 3:07PM on 4-07-2009
I have a few thousand shares of Sirus Stock so I hate to see them go under,
but it doesn't do the job for me. I live in a wooded area where I don't get a good signal and when it does i have to move the antenna with the satellite,
not good for walking only use it for sports, Espn keeps improving with scores,
so , its just not needed, Baseball app brings radio of any game to iphone, and if football does that with college or pro or both, its not needed. When they first started they had a lot more drama programs and old time shows. But they went somewhere else, so now I listen to a book while I'm walking. I still think its an option, but they lost me.
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