XM Satellite Radio inks agreement w/ Air America Radio

[UpInArms]

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38453.6078095486-834053187&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- XM Satellite Radio (XMSR) said Monday that it has signed a long-term agreement with Air America Radio. As part of the deal, XM will be the official satellite radio network for Air America Radio. Beginning in May, XM's liberal talk channel, America Left, will be renamed Air America Radio. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

...very short newsblurb...

[demnan]

1. WHOOO - HOOO!

More Randi and more Mike!

[proud2BlibKansan]

98. Not woo hoo

fewer listeners, especially me. I have Sirius. This really sucks.

When the deal begins in May, Air America Radio will no longer air on Sirius Satellite Radio, which has 1.2 million subscribers to XM's nearly 3.8 million.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000875402

[siliconefreak]

102. bad for Sirius

I think Sirius is going "down the tubes". They just can't seem to keep up. I also read today that XM is inking a deal with AOL to be AOL's internet radio station.

[JohnnyBoots]

117. Don't forget about Howard, he will be a big plus for Sirius

[cascadiance]

120. Thanks, but no thanks...

I respect Howard for standing up to the new and "deformed" FCC, but I've never really been a fan of his show. The only meaningful talk show hosts left on Sirius now are Thom Hartmann, Stephanie Miller, and the Young Turks and maybe Alex Bennett. The rest of them are "Eh??"...

I wonder if Alex Bennett will relive his old battles of fighting station management at Live-105 in the bay area over Howard Stern being moved in to take over the morning drivetime show there. Perhaps he can complain again about this if he's moved out of his morning slot and Howard is offered there instead!

[confludemocrat]

136. MORE ON WHY THIS IS BAD

Look at who owns the most XM stock, from the Sirius forum Sirius Backstage (http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21857&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=90&sid=6697148e826da8c737150ea12957c704):

"For those that think Clear Channel has pull on what goes on at XM, you'll love seeing who was more pull:

XM shareholders- shares held 12APR05

GENERAL ELEC CO - 20,367,734
WAL MART STORES INC- 9,724,235
HALLIBURTON CO- 6,655,852
CITIGROUP INC- 5,467,223
JPMORGAN & CHASE & CO- 7,116,845
BOEING CO- 2,309,011
TIME WARNER INC- 5,761,357
DISNEY WALT CO- 2,631,367
CLEAR CHANNEL COMM- 410,043"

[rinsd]

126. Sirius is going to poop on XM once Howard joins them (nt)

[Born Free]

105. Screw Air America

Randi Rhoades, Mike Malloy, they all know Sirius was the only satelite that carried all of Air America, they would constantly recommend getting Sirius and now the people running the shows abandon Sirius for XM. Well, after switching from XM to Sirius to get all of Air America I am not switching back, screw Air America, I'll listen to the Young Turks and the others on Sirius Left, I just can't stand Al Colmes. Maybe I will become a Howard Stern fan as he will be on Sirius exclusivly.

[still_one]

133. I agree, if sirius does NOT carry air america

not only will air america lose me, but so will sirius

this is all a bunch of crap

[Dr Fate]

2. Sweet- no more Colmes!!!! Hello Malloy!!! N/T

N/T

[Flammable Materials]

111. Nope, you're still stuck with Colmes and no Malloy.

God bless XMerica.

:mad:

[Dr Fate]

130. Colmes is not part of AAR- his show is a FOX show.

When XM switches over to AAR proper, he should be gone.

[Garbo 2004]

131. The press release said Colmes would still be on their "AAR channel" nt

[Dr Fate]

132. Crap. I misunderstood then. n/t

n/t

[kliljedahl]

3. I guess I have a reason to get XM now

http://www.kliljedahl.net

[Zan_of_Texas]

11. Wait before you decide.

Sirius has something it's working on.

It's not a done deal, but hopefully an announcement is not too far off.

[Garbo 2004]

50. Can you elaborate? It appears XM has exclusive sat broadcasting rights.

What can Sirius be working on that would render XM's exclusive contract with AAR non-exclusive in regards to satellite broadcasting? Please clarify.

[Zan_of_Texas]

59. No. I didn't say Sirius is working on something re AAR.

All I said was, hold off before you make your decision.

Give it at least a few weeks.

[Garbo 2004]

90. If the decision is based on which sat svs will carry AAR, which is the

topic of discussion here, there appears no reason to hold off making a decision since AAR programming will be exclusive to XM.

[hlthe2b]

61. If you know, how about giving a hint....

or at least speculate. I was two weeks away from buying Sirius. I'm glad I waited now.

[Maat]

73. Thank you for the good news, Zan.

This announcement had me worried. I'm a dedicated Sirius fan, and I want to stick with Sirius.

This whole Air-America-being-on-Clear-Channel thing has me creeped out. Add that to Clear Channel having a minority interest in XM, and probably some people on XM's board (still researching that). How long is it going to be before they start telling hosts to back off on criticizing Booosh? Randi stated that Clear Channel had bugged her about talking about election fraud.

I am encouraged by Howard Stern's person, Mr. K, being named CEO of Sirius, although the Board Chairman is a Rethug, Mr. K is not - he's a Dem.

And Sirius is on my DISH satellite TV network too (only the music stations).

[tsuki]

103. Hold off for a while. "Progressive" will not survive in a Republican

Corporate medium.

[tridim]

4. That's odd, since Sirius already carries the full AAR programming

How can XM all of the sudden become the official AAR network? Not that I'm complaining, exposure is exposure.

[ZR2]

17. All it takes to become the "official" anything

is a large enough check.

[wtbymark]

5. bummer, why not Sirius so i can listen

To my Stern in the mornin' and my AAR at night? I still cant get the AM broadcasts where i live.

[wtbymark]

9. ok Tridim, now i'm confused

which one, which is it, who now? Which service am i gonna sign with (well thats already decided, i'm goin with Stern) just hope AAR is there too.

[Blue Belle]

18. Listen to it on your computer.

That's the only way I can get it... otherwise I have to drive 57 miles.

[LynneSin]

21. Sirrus already covers all of Air America

:D

[Cooley Hurd]

23. Listening via Sirius right now...

:thumbsup:

[Nite Owl]

6. This is great news.

Now I can get Malloy in the car.

[tallydem]

7. Yea!

Does this mean we will finally get the full Randi show and not just the last 2 hours

[AntiCoup2K4]

8. I guess this is good for existing XM radio subscribers, but....

...is it good for Air America? I was under the impression that XM was the more corporate oriented of the 2 satellite networks, being in bed (so to speak) with both GM and Clear Channel. The less dependent AAR is on mega-corporations, the better. Especially those who are serious Puke funders.

[Caution]

10. not sure about GM but CC liquidated their XM holding a long time ago

And face it there is no way that AAR can actually succeed in getting a message across without getting in bed with mega-corps to a degree.

[onehandle]

29. Did they? Are you sure? nt

[Rosco T.]

31. GM has in-dash XM available on many models and..

.. from what I hear, will be standard across the line in '07. That's how many million potential AAR listeners?? (IIRC the 1st 6 months of XM service is free in GM cars.. it may be a 1st year free (like OnStar))

[obxhead]

83. GM is in on XM too,

It's now part of the "start up" package on higher end models.

[Chomskyite]

93. Remember Basic Instinct

Get them in bed, and bring your icepick.

[Dimsdale]

13. Good point.

It pisses me off that AAR squeezes in The Wall Street Journal Money Report five or six times an hour during the day. Big sponsor bucks must be involved, but it's a bit strange to have The WSJ taking up segment time when their editorial policies go against everything AAR stands for.

[Rosco T.]

34. Actually AAR isn't running those WSJ reports..

thanks to FCC and RIAA hassles, generally 'local' ads can't be broadcast outside the local markets.. (there are exceptions of course) so XM inserts their own ad time and PSA's in place of them.

[rocktivity]

15. Does this mean Sirus is out?

While I'm happy about the possibility of more weekend programming, I was going to subscribe to Sirius for the reasons you give.

FYI, "Sirius ended 2004 with 1.14 million subscribers, and XM Satellite with 3.2 million."

:shrug:
rocknation

[Rosco T.]

30. Yet again, XM and Clear Channel - read and be informed

(glad I kept this in a text file..)

1 - CCU dumped ALL their holdings in XM in June 2003. This may be verified by examining the 8K reports and 10K reports with the SEC... easy to do online.

2 - When CCU sold its stock, XM removed both Mays brothers from the board of directors. Once again, read the SEC filings from 2003.

3 - Clear Channel has never had any influence on XM's in-house programming. When the T1 was unpluged from the channels they used to provide, that ended their involvement with the channel. The channels belong to XM - they call the shots. As the brochures say, it's 100% original XM Music Programming.

4 - XM ran terrestrial feeds from CCU stations for less than a year (Lite-FM New York, Mix 96.5 Houston, WSIX Nashville, and KIIS Los Angeles) to give them time to get their own programming together. They replaced the feeds when they were ready, plain and simple. (Okay, from what I understand, they dumped KIIS because they screwed Rick Dees, and gave Seacrest a chance until they realized that the show was a giant turd. Prediction: KIIS will soon be erecting billboards all over LA saying "Rick Dees, we're sorry. Come home. Please forgive us." Or they should.)

So you can put all the Clear Channel conspiracy theories to rest. If Clear Channel is screwing up local radio, it's because they're screwing it up, and not because they have a dastardly plan to drive listeners to satellite.

And if you've made the conscious decision to not patronize Clear Channel businesses, you can safely keep your XM subscription because they don't own any part of XM. It's all a matter of public record.


Page 44 of the 10Q states:

Holdings and we are a party to a long-term distribution agreement with OnStar Corporation, a subsidiary of General Motors that provides for the installation of XM radios in General Motors vehicles, as further described in Note 6 to the condensed consolidated financial statements. In connection with the development of our terrestrial repeater network, we were a party to a contract with Hughes Electronics Corporation. DIRECTV has provided consulting services in connection with the development of our customer care center and billing operations. DIRECTV ceased to be a related party during the three-month period ended March 31, 2004. Holdings and we have arrangements with American Honda relating to the promotion of the XM Service to new car buyers, the use of bandwidth on the XM System and the development of telematics services and technologies. We have an agreement with OnStar to make available use of our bandwidth. Clear Channel Communications provides certain programming services to us. Holdings and we have a sponsorship agreement with Clear Channel Entertainment to advertise our service at Clear Channel Entertainment concerts and venues. Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, has in the past served as one of our advertising sales representatives. Holdings and we also run advertisements on a spot and network basis on radio stations owned by Clear Channel. In addition, we lease 4 sites for our terrestrial repeaters from Clear Channel Communications. Clear Channel Communications ceased to be a related party during the second quarter of 2004.


http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1116317/000119312504195532/d10q.htm

[Pithlet]

32. It is the misconception at DU. That. will. not. die.

I think it is a great thing that XM is doing this. I think XM could endorse every single Democratic candidate and donate all profits to Second Harvest, and people would still diss them. :crazy: I have both XM and Sirius, so I don't really support one over the other. I just find it amusing.

[Montauk6]

62. Then Bloomberg is out to lunch?...

Source: http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=nifea&&sid=aROY9gOh42KM (dated 3/30/05)

Protests aside, Clear Channel is hedging its bets. The company was among XM Satellite's first stakeholders, investing $75 million for an 8 percent share in October 1999. It remains XM Satellite's sixth-largest shareholder, with 8.33 million shares as of Nov. 30.

``If Clear Channel is not preparing for us, they will be soon,'' says Sirius Chief Financial Officer David Frear, 48, whose company began broadcasting in July 2002. Sirius has an automaker investor: DaimlerChrysler AG took a $100 million stake in 2000, says Dieter Zetsche, a member of the Stuttgart, Germany-based company's management board and CEO of DaimlerChrysler AG'S U.S. unit, DaimlerChrysler Corp.

(emphasis added)

[Rosco T.]

71. Owning some stock does not mean controlling interest.. read the 10Q ...

linked earlier. CC used to program some channels and provide content.. they have no control/influence now.

[Toots]

67. Just the audience most in need of AAR

Right now AAR is pretty much preaching to the choir. Maybe this will put them more mainstream..

[tives12]

12. which one

sirius with stern or xm with aar. i will probably end up goin with aar. i hate capitalism.

[Maat]

74. But I already have Air America 24/7 on Sirius ...

have had for some months now. They have to continue allowing Sirius to broadcast Air America - they have a big contract with them; breaching it would cost millions.

[dArKeR]

14. Help me choose which unit to buy!

It's really confusing and the Sirus help line wasn't much help. I would like a unit which can be played mostly at home or in my yard. (yard doesn't mean has to be boom box, I can hook up outdoor speakers as long as I can run it from the unit I buy. I would like to line-out to computer jack speakers or the other type, RCA? I don't have a stereo system. The Altec Lansing computer speakers I got at Costco are KickAss. But outdoors I saw Costco has outdoor wired speakers, no jacks. I have a metal roof but lots of space for a dish.

infrequently used in the car.

Thanks.

[Rosco T.]

33. My XM Receiver recommendations...

For the absolute BEST of all you mention above, consifer the XM MyFi. Here http://www.xmradio.com/myfi/index.jsp

It is the most expensive ($299) but does EVERYTHING you want and more.

- it's PORTABLE. Comes with a clipon antenna for your jacket or whatever and you can walk and listen.

- comes with a CAR KIT for use in the auto

- comes with a HOME KIT so you can plug it into your stereo or just a set of speakers.

- it RECORDS you can set it to record a certain station at a certain time (must be in the home cradle to do this) for up to 5 hours of recording (great to record Rachel's new show)

The next option would be the SkyFi2 here http://www.xmradio.com/skyfi2/

then get a home kit, car kit and/or boombox as needed...

[dArKeR]

36. Hey, thanks a bunch. I'm going to look at these links now.

I really love internet radio but no fast service is offered in my area so I can't listen, surf, download at the same time. To rual to pik up any radio except Druggie Limbutt and another one. (missed his name but all he talked about was Scalia is God on Earth and all other judges are evil/satan.) No wonder rual people are NaziRepukes. It's almost not their fault. There's nothing else to listen too.

[Rosco T.]

40. No problem... btw.. they sell XM SkyFi2's at COSTCO (and maybe the MyFi's)

[dArKeR]

96. I only saw a boom box at Costco

[dArKeR]

100. MYFI only has an audio out 3.5 mm diameter mini-stereo jack

http://shopdelphi.com/products/consumers/myfi/specs/

I was hoping for all types of audio out ports.

[Rosco T.]

104. It comes packed with an adapter for normal RCA-Type Left/Right jacks..n/m

[dArKeR]

116. Okay, I'll check but it doesn't say that on their specs. And I don't

know enough about this stuff. Does the unit have the out power to drive any type of speakers? I'm going to call them now.

[Rosco T.]

127. It can power some small speakers...

but you can get a decent set of powered speakers for about $30. I know mine was packed with the mini-stereo to RCA jacks adapter, it they've quit you can get it at Radio Shack for about $5

[hlthe2b]

45. Roscoe T, how's the reception on the "walkman" unit walking around...

Is it like GPS in the city (i.e., tends to keep losing signal around tall buildings, heavy cloud cover, heavy trees)?

[Rosco T.]

51. MyFi Reception...

totally depends on how many 'ground repeaters' XM has in your area.. I know one fellow that has no problems in the middle of a building in downtown NY and walking around.. I know another that has some problems in Austin... so it's hard to be definative..

the clipon antenna can go on your collar, another option is on top of your headphones on top of your head (!). You just need to have a southern view toward the two birds ('Rock' on the east coast and 'Roll' on the west)...

[Born Free]

108. We use Sirius

We have three differnet tuners, a Clarion that is in the wifes car, an Audiovox which we use around the house and an Xact portable I switch between my Harley and car. I am not familiar with the new Sportsters but they look a lot like the Audiovox. The Audiovox uses a straight 12 VDC and the powerpack that feeds the home docking station also will feed tha mobile docking station - what does this mean? It means you can use the car docking station at home and set up the fm transmitter (frequency modulator) and use any fm radio around the house.
They also sell fm transmitters at Radioo Shack and better ones on the net. If you set up any kind of fm transmitter (some refer to it as fm modulator) you can use any radio around the house. The Audiovox has more power than the Xact, you can get the signal further away. The antennnas are pretty small and not to hard to point to a satelite of terrestial transmitter.

[zoeb]

16. I love my XM

I'm on the road 5-6 hours a day and its been a godsend.:bounce:

[shoelace414]

19. Unless there's more to it

Sirius is still better.. it already has the FULL Air America schedule, and also has America Left.. for times you want to hear another viewpoint other than the one on AAR.

[LynneSin]

20. Guess what, I'm still getting Sirrus: Air America AND Horward Stern

:bounce:

[rawtribe]

22. Is official

the same as exclusive? I just sent an email to Sirius and asked.

[email protected]

[demnan]

24. I had already signed on to XM years ago

so I'm glad they are going with the full program. Once you invest in the hardware it's kind of a rip not to get everything (just like you would with satellite tv). Gee maybe they can get Stern too (why not?)

[RethugAssKicker]

25. Whats XM

Hate to be ignorant but what is XM.... Do you have to purchase it?
Currently I can't get AAR, because its on an AM station, that at night has no reception at all

[rawtribe]

26. Satellite Radio

It's a subscription radio service. Cost about $13 a month.

www.xmradio.com

www.sirius.com

[eriffle]

27. doesn't look like more randi or malloy

It just looks like its a publicity stunt for AAR and a ploy by XM to get some of the AAR audience that Sirius is getting. I am an original subscriber to XM and I love it, but I do hate that we don't get all of Randi and that I have to put up with Colmes at night. The press release says that The Ed Schultz Show and The Alan Colmes Show will be carried on XM's Air America Radio Channel. Here's the press release from XM.
http://www.xmradio.com/newsroom/screen/pr_2005_04_11_a.html">http://www.xmradio.com/newsroom/screen/pr_2005_04_11_a.html

[onehandle]

28. They need to clarify this.

No fucking Alan Colmes or I'm going with Sirius/AAR/Stern.

Assuming AAR stays on Sirius.

Either way, I'm glad I hadn't bought yet. Phew!

On edit: It could be that "The Ed Shultz Show" and "The Alan Colmes Show" may be on after Malloy goes off the air. AAR just does repeats in the middle of the night. They need to clarify this if they want more buyers from our ranks.

[cascadiance]

47. Black is white, Up is Down, etc....

That is what I think XM is trying to sell us. The problem is that it might work for the wingnuts out there, but most progressives who research this will smell this all being marketing spin that it is.

Sounds like they're just trying to market the hell out of just replacing their "repeat segment" sections with their existing non-AAR content and making it sound bigger than it is. Perhaps with XM SkiFi and time shifting that Sirius doesn't have yet, there might be a little value added there of getting more bang for your buck with one channel, but the bottom line is that even after this transition:

1) Sirius will have to progressive talk channels (Sirius Left and AAR) whereas XM will have only one (as it has now).
2) If you want to get non-AAR alternative talk channels during "sane" hours without SkiFi then Sirius is the answer. You can also get Alan Colmes (if you want him) when he talks opposite Malloy, or if you don't want to hear a repeat of Janeane Garafolo/Sam Cedar at 10:00 PM PST, you can tune into Thom Hartmann on Sirius Left instead (whom you can't get at all on XM).

There are also still more NPR channels on Sirius than XM.

There is also Howard Stern on which XM doesn't have.

At one time XM was cheaper and had ads on it, whereas Sirius charged a bit more without running with ads. Now XM has moved to Sirius's pricing and taken off the ads. Sirius has had what the customer wanted there.

XM started out with a lot of Clear Channel financing. Sirius did not. Don't know what the current ownership stake is and whether someone from Clear Channel is still on XM's board or not, but once again Sirius started with what the customer truely wanted in a radio alternative without a Clear Channel presence.

XM floated out the trial balloon rumor about a merger in the works with Sirius and Sirius denied it happened. Of course Clear Channel would love it if they did merge as they could then buy the merged entity out and the customer base couldn't do anything about it. With separate companies now, the customers would have a choice to Sirius if Clear Channel moved to take over XM.

XM appears to be trying to spin a lot their direction. Not sure why AAR is letting XM define itself as "the official satellite radio" network for AAR, or what that "reallY" means. About the only thing I see AAR getting out of it is increased presence of more AAR talk show hosts on this one "shared" channel. Sirius still appears to be far more "official" with its channel and not hijacking any of its minutes for its own talk show hosts.

Progressives that look at things more closely will still see that Sirius is more the "official" progressive satellite radio option. I recall a right wing equivalent to buyblue.org site out there basically saying that too and recommending that "red state" folks buy XM instead of Sirius. I recall buyblue.org at one point mentioning this site, but now I don't see any references there or anything coming up on search engines. Anyone recall the site?

[Maat]

75. Actually, since I know you love Alan so much ..

(just kidding) .... Alan is on Sirius Left (#143).

I love my Sirius!

[madfloridian]

44. Schultz is not part of AAR, he is with Democracy Radio.

.

[Maat]

76. Schultz is broadcast on Sirius Left (#143) ...

but your point is acknowledged that he is part of the Jones Network.

[Rosco T.]

35. this is the director of Talk Programming at XM

[email protected]

be nice to her, she's sweet and cares.. if you want to make your opinion know drop her a line, if you include a phone number she'll CALL YOU. I've spoken to her a coupla of times and she does CARE and DOES LISTEN.

[hector459]

37. Boo. XM=Murdoch. He's going to own us all. I had hoped Sirius would

do this with AA.

[Rosco T.]

38. Where do you get this BULLS*IT about Murdoch???

he has ZERO interst in XM. Zip. Zilch. None. DirecTV had an interest but sold it off long time ago.

[cascadiance]

77. THAT will change!

if either XM buys out Sirius or Sirius goes out of business.

What's to stop Clear Channel and/or Rupert Murdoch buying out XM if and when that happens! Before it would have been users flocking to Sirius to "escape" them. The ultimate end game in my mind is that NewsCorp and Murdoch want to control the whole f'ing game! And if that happens nothing you or I can do about it, especially with this FCC and SEC in charge!

I hope Air America realizes the devil's deal they did here and how they are not only screwing many of us Sirius subscribers, but potentially themselves then if Clear Channel gets monpoly control and wants to put the kibosh on the likes of Randi Rhodes (again!) and the rest of their content! What will be stopping them then? I wonder if Howard Stern might see this coming and if he has an escape clause in his contract to threaten to pull out of Sirius deal unless they keep Air America on. Not sure how he feels about Air America (as competition), but I also wonder if he will wonder about the future of that service without Air America on it too (which I think he should be more concerned about, and we should all let him know that too).

I am seriously PO'd today! The Sirius sticker is definitely coming off of my rear car window if I find they've had any control over letting this go down.

[DemNoir]

39. Wow how stupid

The idiocy about XM radio never stops here. Do you people ever have any idea what your talking about?

[Randi_Listener]

41. This is an EXCLUSIVE XM deal.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000875402

Air America will be cut off from Sirius in a month.

[tx_dem41]

42. Yep...its exclusive...dangit!!!!!

I just read it on a Sirius fansite.

http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21857&sid=8c5251371860b08ef38616bf722c00ba

[Born Free]

107. bet the right wingers are gloating over there...

I stopped using those forums, the right wingers were to annoying. They were sure Air America was a failure, and I am sure they played the best part they could by contacting Sirius trying to prove to them Air America was not worth having.

[tx_dem41]

109. Actually, that forum is pretty amazing at being very low key about...

politics. There is one guy that grouses a bit about AAR, but its more friendly teasing between him and us liberals. From being vocal about politics, the liberals far outweigh the conservatives on that forum.

[flyarm]

79. not one mention of mike malloy..get to work people..tell xm no

no colmes and yes malloy please please write and beg for malloy!!!!

[email protected]

email them nowwwwwwwwww!!!!!!

fly

[Rosco T.]

85. XM press release DOES mention Malloy...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3464683&mesg_id=3464998

[flyarm]

87. must be a new one earlier one did not mention malloy!! but thrilled he is

on the list now..we still should email and say nice things about mike!!

thanks for the good news rosco!

fly

[Rosco T.]

91. Oh Hell yes, keep the emails and phone calls going !!!! n/m

[flyarm]

92. i have a large internet group nation wide and sent them the email info

this afternoon , everyone immediately started the email chains!!i also have people in fla here who have email lists, got those going too!!
we need everyone to call upon people to make sure mike is on xm!!

fly

[Born Free]

106. I left XM because of their lack of response concerning Alan Colmes

I orginally signed up for XM, hated listening to Fox news and Alan Colmes on the Air America channel in the early am. I sent them several emails begging them to change, they didn't even acknoledge my concerns. We took our XM back and got Sirius and got all of Air America. Sirius is much better at customer response and has much better over all programmming, especially with music. Sirius left does have some really good shows as well but they still have Alan Colmes. I remember in the beginning Randi Rhoades saying that Sirus had said she would remain even if Air America dissolved - it's really odd that powers that run Air America would abandon Sirius now - I think it is amistake for Air America to screw the people that supported them in the beginning. I am not going back to XM, the only way I will go back is if Sirius goes out of business.

[madfloridian]

43. We bought a Sirius system just to listen to AAR. outdoor antenna and all.

Now we won't get to hear them. Sirius Left is practically useless.

This was at a cost of almost 300 dollars total.

[rawtribe]

48. Many of us

bought Sirius for the full AAR line up. This is a bad move on AAR's part as I believe many of their most loyal listener are on Sirius. Please contact them.

Call corporate offices at 1-646-274-4900

Send regular piece of mail here:

Air America Radio
3 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10016     

[BlueEyedSon]

46. OH DAMN I AM SO PISSED!!!

:(

[Cooley Hurd]

49. Just bought and activated my Sirius this morning - 1 year plan...

This fucking sucks HUGE donkeys...:mad::grr::mad:

[BlueEyedSon]

52. I just reupped for my 2nd year

:cry:

[Rosco T.]

53. and Sirius has a cancellation fee.. whereas XM..

will refund your unused pre-paid subscriptions...

[BlueEyedSon]

54. Here is the contact info for AAR and Sirius:

http://www.airamericaradio.com/contact.asp

[email protected]
[email protected]

[Rosco T.]

55. Here's the person at XM to talk to ....

[email protected]

be nice to her, she's sweet and cares.. if you want to make your opinion know drop her a line, if you include a phone number she'll CALL YOU. I've spoken to her a coupla of times and she does CARE and DOES LISTEN.

[BlueEyedSon]

66. I don't need to talk to XM. Thx though. nt

[Reverend_Smitty]

56. Here's another article

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000875402
As part of the agreement, XM's America Left channel will be renamed Air America Radio and include the expanded lineup of AAR programming -including Jerry Springer, Al Franken, Randi Rhodes, Rachel Maddow and Janeane Garofalo. The channel will also include other programming not associated with AAR that currently airs on America Left, such as The Ed Schultz Show, syndicated by Democracy Radio and Jones Radio Networks, and The Alan Colmes Show, syndicated by Fox News Radio.

So it looks like satellite people won't get all of Randi, or any of Malloy. Hopefully the name change will spur XM not to renew Colmes' contract

[Randi_Listener]

58. This was already posted.

[LizW]

57. Well. All of us who bought Sirius for AAR just got screwed.

:grr:

[Cooley Hurd]

60. I've emailed Sirius:

To: [email protected]

Re: Cancelling my account. Acct # XXXXXXXXX

Hello. How can I cancel my account? It's only 6 hours old (activated at noon today).

I purchased Sirius to hear AirAmerica Radio, only to hear that you've lost it to XM. There's really no other reason for me to use your service anymore. Can I get any sort of refund (I've signed for the 1 year plan)?

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Sincerely,
--

A friend of mine said something about XM and Sirius merging - anyone hear about it?:shrug:

[LizW]

63. I did the same, Cooley Hurd

I told them there was no reason for me to keep the account if they're not going to carry AAR and only one hour of Thom Hartmann.

Crap, this pisses me off.

I also e-mailed Air America and told them that this was screwing over lots of Sirius subscribers who chose Sirius over XM just because of AAR.

[Cooley Hurd]

64. This MIGHT NOT be an exclusive deal for XM:

http://billboardradiomonitor.com/radiomonitor/news/business/net_syn/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000875375

XM, Air America Strengthen Ties
April 11, 2005
By Ken Tucker

Beginning in May, XM Satellite Radio's liberal talk stream, America Left, will be renamed Air America Radio as part of a new agreement with the left-leaning network. Air America programming has been part of XM's lineup almost from the start of Air America's life, just over a year ago. The agreement also names XM as “the official satellite radio network” for Air America Radio. What that means for Sirius Satellite Radio, which also carries Air America programming, is unclear at this time.

Interestingly, in addition to the Air America programming lineup, the channel will also feature Democracy Radio’s "The Ed Schultz Show" and Fox News Radio’s "The Alan Colmes Show."

"XM was a natural fit to be the official satellite radio network of Air America Radio, given its large subscriber base, numerous distribution channels and demonstrated growth," Air America CEO Danny Goldberg said in a statement. "The quality of XM's other partnerships, their Washington, D.C. location and proximity to the center of our nation's political workings, along with millions of subscribers, made our decision easy."
</snip>

I guess it might be wise to unbunch my panties and wait for official word from AAR...
:blush:

[rocktivity]

68. What's "clear" is that there can't be "official" and "unofficial" stations

which means that if Colmes and Schultz are in, Malloy, and possibly Morning Sedition, are out.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Cooley Hurd]

69. I can see Sirius keeping AAR in their lineup even if the call XM...

...the "offical" sat radio net of AAR. The "official" label might just be marketing language.

[LizW]

70. There's a thread in GD linking to an article

that quotes the CEO of AAR as saying XM is in, Sirius is out.

I'm concerned that I have seen no mention of Randi Rhodes or Mike Malloy on the XM deal.

Not that I can afford to get XM after buying Sirius, anyway. :(

[DemNoir]

65. Oh you poor Sirius users!

I feel your pain I really do! How will your smug self righteousness ever allow you to sully your pure hands on an XM radio?

Forced to XM the ultimate evil! Clear Channel! Murdoch! OMG!!

The fact that none of that is true will be of no consolation to you.

[Fluffdaddy]

72. Guess I'll be moving on

Guess I'll be moving on in 3 months when my 15 month deal is over.

Then again I may just add XM and keep both.

AAR was the ONLY reason I pick Siruis over XM.

Oh well the world will not end Worried

[6000eliot]

101. I just sent them an email

saying I would not switch services according to their caprices. If they leave Sirius, I'll just start listening to Sirius Left.

[ralps]

78. I just called the Majority Report and the call screener said it was his

understanding that AAR would be on Sirius for another 90 days. :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :hi:

[drduffy]

80. just called Sirius

Sorry, I had not refreshed this topic and did not know about the previous posting.

What I wrote was: am a little late to this topic but I just called Sirius and spoke a very nice rep who did not know of this. She knew that Sirius currently listed AAR but had not heard of XM's deal. Since the press release regarding XM and AAR was dated today, it may be she had not yet heard of it. But I will wait to see what this means before I buy a system. Luckily, my tendency to procrastinate paid off this time.

[Andromeda]

81. This is BIG!

Very, very good news! AAR will reach more people and that is positive in every sense of the word.

Go, Air America Radio. :bounce:

[BlueEyedSon]

86. Umm, no.... 1.2 million LESS people.

AAR is already on both, adn will be dropping the Sirius listeners.

[FighttheFuture]

82. Stupid Move by AAR... they just lost many listeners...

I know XM is larger, but Sirius will grow much with Stern coming onboard.

In the quest for greed, AAR lost all Sirius listeners after April, and pissed me off as I bought Sirius specially for AAR. Now what?!!!

Unbelievable!!

[Nickster]

88. Yup, I bought Sirius specifically for AAR.

I paid money to have my factory installed XM radio removed when I got my new car, just so I could pay to have a new Sirius system put in. That was three months ago. Before that I bought a portable unit so I could listen in the house and car. I feel so cheated by AAR. I'm in Chicago and I was forced to buy Sirius just to hear the full AAR lineup because the AM station went away almost right after it went on. I sent an email to AAR saying how disappointed I was by their decision and I won't be making the jump to XM with them. Guess I still can download archives of Mike Malloy, heavy sigh....

[Imalittleteapot]

84. Anybody want to buy 4 month old Sportser with 2

Boomboxes - one for the house, one for the office and the auto package?

I specifically asked for and received Sirius for Christmas so I could listen to AAR whenever I wanted. I can't be and don't want to be at the computer all of the time to stream. We just got AAR on AM in DFW, but the signal to Fort Worth is full of static.

This XM thing adds misery to my already hard day!!!!!!!!! :mad:

[dad]

95. I DO!

Seriously, shoot me an e-mail and I'm in. I've been on Sirius practically since the beginning, before AAR even existed. They still have football, and Howard Stern next year. Their Sirius Left channel is as good as AAR anyway. Young Turks, Lynn Samuels, Mike Malloy, I love those shows.

[cascadiance]

99. How long has it been since you listened to Sirius Left?

"Seriously, shoot me an e-mail and I'm in. I've been on Sirius practically since the beginning, before AAR even existed. They still have football, and Howard Stern next year. Their Sirius Left channel is as good as AAR anyway. Young Turks, Lynn Samuels, Mike Malloy, I love those shows."

Umm... Mike Malloy *used* to be on Sirius Left. He's now on AAR and will be dropping by the wayside for us Sirius listeners for the second time!

If I find out that Sirius had any choice in this and backed away, I'm out of there like a bad habit. They've already f'd with Thom Hartmann's show. I wonder if he might jump ship and move over to XM too if XM will offer him a time slot there.

XM could make it easy for us if they were to add another progressive talk channel to be more like Sirius has been. That would give them room to put on Thom Hartmann, Randi Rhodes, Mike Malloy, Ed Schultz, and Alan Colmes and likely in their time slots.

Maybe we could even add Ray Taliafierro and/or Bernie Ward from KGO. I miss them having left the bay area a while back!

Much as I still mistrust XM with their ownership stake by Clear Channel, which I think still might rear its ugly head later, they then would at least have the product lineup I could buy. Otherwise, I'm thinking of just listening to the local new AM station for AAR instead.

And XM has the football and basketball I want anyway. They have Iowa playing on XM, not Sirius. I hate these exclusives we have.

Remember the Comedy Central snafu with Dish Network? That was bad enough. Imagine if ESPN went exclusive on one of the the satellite TV services... That would suck!

[Flammable Materials]

110. XM = CC = $$ = No Second Liberal Channel

XM could make it easy for us if they were to add another progressive talk channel to be more like Sirius has been. That would give them room to put on Thom Hartmann, Randi Rhodes, Mike Malloy, Ed Schultz, and Alan Colmes and likely in their time slots.

They're in it for the profit, and nothing else. I will eat my words if they do create a second liberal channel.

As far as I'm concerned, AAR cut the throats of some of the most loyal and sacrificial listeners by going "exclusive" on XM. In the process, poor Mike Malloy has been sacrificed yet again.

I will listen to AAR shows archived on the Internet (and perhaps if they ever get a Nashville affiliate, which I doubt despite the fact that Nashville/Davidson County was one of the few blue counties in Tennessee that voted overwhelmingly for Kerry). But there's no way in hell I'm buying an XM receiver. I'm sticking with Sirius for my other entertainment. I'm not giving a goddamned cent of my money to ClearChannel.

If AAR is willing to choose a restricted program schedule over a satellite service that gave them THEIR OWN 24/7 CHANNEL, then I hope it was worth it for them.

[Cooley Hurd]

113. Sirius is saying no changes planned for channel 144:

I received this email from them this morning:

Dear XXXX,

Thank you for contacting SIRIUS regarding Air America // 144. At this
time, we have not been informed of any pending cancelation of Air
America // 144. Any changes to our channel lineup will be made available
on our website. You can find out more about Air America // 144,
including the programs and hosts that you will hear by checking us out
online at:

www.sirius.com/whatsonsirius
</snip>

I have a feeling the AAR/XM agreement is a joint marketing exercise, NOT an exclusivity deal. The only source that says Sirius will no longer carry AAR is the mediaweek article, which is becoming more and more suspect...

[cascadiance]

119. I got the exact same response that you did...

They better be being honest with me about this. Someone is lying. Either XM in their press announcement (and perhaps AAR being complicit in that) about service ending on Sirius, or Sirius now not owning up to "letting Air America go".

We as consumers of Sirius should get together petitions to demand the truth from Sirius and from Air America on how this contract got broken. I for one want to know who dismissed us as valuable customers of theirs (for both Air America and Sirius). Because one of them is in effect dismissing us as customers for the dollar. And one of them is going to lose me as a customer of theirs. I just want to know who filed for divorce!

What's rather ironic is that when I got home I searched through mail I'd sent to Sirius about a year ago when there was debate on whether they'd answer to XM getting Air America first. Ironically at the time that Air America came on, Sirius had just moved the Young Turks and Ed Schultz from the night time driving slots here on the West Coast to pick up Alan Colmes. I told them then that was a bad move and if they didn't pick up Air America I was leaving. Now it's all about Alan Colmes getting a monopoly on that time slot again. Who will compete with him on that time slot with noone giving Mike Malloy a shot at competing with him.

Perhaps we should all pressure the various talent on Air America to walk over to Sirius themselves with petitions on their various blogs if this "exclusive deal" isn't reversed. Perhaps we could also sue those responsible for this for anti-trust, if it is found that they were casually dismissing our concerns about programming and the costs of our investment in Sirius to do anti-competitive business practices. I'm sure that Air America wouldn't want to have that sort of publicity.

Some folks need to remind Danny Goldberg that his audience are not fans of Rush Limbaugh that he seems to be:

From:
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/21649/

"Maybe it’s just bad static or poor reception, but isn’t the new CEO of liberal radio network Air America soundbiting like a Republican?

Sure, he thinks Al Franken is a “genius,” but he admits listening regularly to Rush Limbaugh “because I was fascinated by his ability to be so entertaining.” He says Air America won’t take its cues from the Democratic National Committee, “because I hate to see people just lockstep following a political party.”
<...>"

[currents]

122. SIRIUS ISN'T LOSING AAR, AND XM IS GETTING IT, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOP

SIRIUS RULES MORONS

[Garbo 2004]

129. Why don't you call AAR or email them and tell them they're morons

since AAR's saying that in 90 days AAR programming will no longer be available on Sirius.

BTW, XM already carries some AAR programming, so AAR's presence on XM is not new but it wasn't exclusive to XM and now it will be according to AAR.

[Rosco T.]

89. Kick for evening shift n/m

[WhiteTara]

94. oh Yeah!

I am off to sign up for xm radio!

[DeaconBlues]

97. This is bullshit.

One of the major reasons I got Sirius was so I could listen to liberal talk in the conservative wasteland of Nebraska.

[Claire Beth]

112. same here....

I was thinking of subscribing to the lifetime plan for $499.99 but I will reconsider that now.

[MichDem10]

114. Bump... Has AAR become...

the latest media, $$$, WHORES?!!! If this is true, I am really pissed! XM=CC=$$ this reeks!!

[confludemocrat]

115. WHAT ABOUT MIKE MALLOY!!!???

I did not gain any sense from this what would be happening with Mike in all this. Plus in the hinterlands Sirius is going to reach more people because of how the satellites are configured. At at least some part of the day the antenna can be pointing either North, East or South and get Sirius. Not so with XM, it always need a southern site line. That's for those of us--and we are many--who are trying to get satellite at work in our offices (my window faces north) or somewhere on the work site to cut the tedium of local radio or complete silence or a CD set we are tired of. Bad decision too smart for their own good, these new people managing Sirius.

[currents]

121. WHERE DOES IT SAY THAT SIRIUS WILL LOSE AAR? NOWHERE!

YOU PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS

[pstokely]

123. some places say it will, others say it won't nt

[cascadiance]

125. If there isn't a grain of truth to this...

Then Sirius should be making an announcement ASAP! There are some of us that are waiting to hear "the truth" come out before jumping ship, but I'm guessing that there are quite a few there that are already jumping ship and won't wait. If it isn't true, it is in their best interests to announce that it isn't true soon.

Perhaps they are trying to negotiate some sort of public statement that won't keep Air America and Sirius relations chilly, which I'm guessing is a mild descriptor for what they are probably saying to each other behind closed doors now, but one way or the other, Sirius has to let people know if they truely weren't a party to this "arrangement" immediately. The longer they "stay silent" on this, the more it will appear that they weren't working in AAR's best interests behind the scenes and that perhaps AAR let them know that with this action. I really don't like the thought of either party screwing us in this, but I DEMAND to know the truth of what happened.

It would be like hearing from your wife that your brother raped her, and to hear from your brother that she was lying and did something else equally as bad to him. Who do you believe? Especially if you loved them both. You'd want to find out who's being honest with you and the other would have a lot to answer for and perhaps be shut out of your life then. We're at a point that we don't know who to believe, and it's torture. Kind of like probably what Lacie Peterson's parents felt towards Scott initially. Not knowing if he was a murderer or a wrongfully accused "victim" in that mess.

[Garbo 2004]

128. Perhaps if you stopped calling people idiots and read you'd see that

AAR staff is telling people who've called that their understanding is that AAR programming will not be on Sirius when the XM deal goes into effect.

[still_one]

134. then both air america and sirus will lose my business

[DemoTex]

118. I just called AAR hdqrs to vent my spleen.

The change over to X-M will occur in 90 days. Then my Sirius equipment will be virtually useless. I am so totally pissed I could spit. Man, I am hot!

[Maat]

124. Stay cool. I am remaining with Sirius.

Give them time to react. They will evaluate the contract they have with AAR, and interestings news is no doubt in the works. Be patient.

[still_one]

135. I hope your right

because if not I will NOT go to XM, and cancel my sirius subscription

[confludemocrat]

137. Sirius e-mail on the change:

From the Sirius forum called Sirius backstage (http://www.siriusbackstage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21857&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=90&sid=6697148e826da8c737150ea12957c704) this alleged response from Sirius to an inquiry on the upcoming officialness of XM vis a vis AAR:

"Found this letter recieved from Sirius to another AAR fan posted elsewhere:

Dear *******,

Thanks, we got your email! At SIRIUS, we appreciate the time you have
taken to contact us regarding Air America. We regret to inform you
that
XM will begin broadcasting Air America in May of this year. At the
current time it is unaware if we will continue broadcasting Air America
as well or not. We can assure you that we will be doing everything in
our power to retain Air America for as long as possible. We sincerely
apologize for any inconvenience or frustration that may be caused to
you
due to this.

We hope this answers all of your questions! If you have any further
questions or concerns however, feel free to contact our customer care
center. Our customer care center is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week for your convenience at the following number:

1-888-539-SIRIUS (7474)
[email protected]

We are dedicated to providing quality service and customer
satisfaction.
We encourage comments on how we can improve our service.

Sincerely,

Jack
SIRIUS Customer Care Agent

Visit us on the web at sirius.com"

[still_one]

138. wow, time to contact air america, but I think the letter says everything

I will NOT go to XM, and the main reason I went with Sirius was because of AAR. Now it looks like they will all lose my business

Objectively, it is a very smart move for XM. Now the corporate media control the left, right, and center