ATTENTION SIRIUS SUBSCRIBERS!!! LET'S TRY THIS...(AAR)

[ztn]

I've been trying to get some answers and explanations about this whole Sirius/XM mess on Air America.

I called sirius at this number: 212-584-5100. I spoke to a young woman and then a voicemail for a lady named Serena. They claim that this termination of Air America is Air America's doing. I nonetheless left a message and voiced my displeasure at Sirius for not doing more to stop this.

I then called Air America at 646 274 4900 and asked what was going on. They claim that this Sirius's doing and that "the ball is their court now". I complained vehementally that XM will do AAR no justice because they cram all progrerssive talk onto one channel and much of the programming will not even be available andf that this is very unfair to us who do not get AAR on AM radio (usually "red" areas!)

I'm not sure who's telling the truth and who's doing this is. I know it's all about money but who cares! CALL BOTH! Take five minutes and harrass both parties! This is wrong. Sirius's service will end in May or June.

[ztn]

1. again. Call both numbers and give them hell.

646 274 4900 AAR
212 584 5100 Sirius

[Rosco T.]

2. Here's the deal....

Cut and paste from HOFFMANIA:

The Lowdown on Air America and Satellite Radio

I should have posted this sooner, but with the fog of this crappy cold, I flaked.

Earlier this week, I had a nice chat with one of the honchos from Sirius Radio who filled me in on the Air America situation.

Now that our wish has come true - Air America emerging as a viable force in talk radio - they've decided to stop supplying XM and Sirius their service for free.

Sirius did in fact make a bid. XM not only outbid Sirius, but as we mentioned before, they offered Air America studio space in their Washington, DC homebase as well as changing the name of the channel from America Left to Air America. Furthermore, XM demanded the deal to be exclusive, meaning they can't offer their programming to other satellite radio services. Air America accepted and Sirius is left with an empty channel effective in July.

As sad as I am that I switched to Sirius so I could hear Air America live fulltime, they can't pass up any chances for money infusion...especially after what they've been through. I'm mourning the fact that in Los Angeles, the local Air America station runs only six hours of live talk - Al Franken and Ed Schultz (not an Air America show) from 9am to 3pm. Morning Sedition, Rhodes, Garofalo, etc. are all delayed by three hours.

When the move is made to XM, Big Ed will still pre-empt Rhodes for the first two hours and (ARGH) Alan Colmes still clogs up the evenings - just as it is now with America Left.

It's a mess, and hopefully in the near future, XM will do what Sirius did for free - give Air America its own channel and throw Big Ed (who still sounds like he doesn't pay attention to his callers) and all the other lib talkers on their own channel. Better yet, cut their losses and put 'em on the Opie and Anthony channel.

-----------------

My thoughts..

This sounds pretty close (not totally, but it will do for now) to what I've heard.. so ok, let's take this apart one bit at a time with some analysis/commentary. (I'm going to re-arrange things just a bit also)

Now that our wish has come true - Air America emerging as a viable force in talk radio - they've decided to stop supplying XM and Sirius their service for free.

...they can't pass up any chances for money infusion...especially after what they've been through.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that. It costs money for the studios, costs money for the streaming, costs money for the talent. If you don't move forward, then you die. Nothing wrong with being paid for your work. And like he says, it's been a hard, tough year for AAR and they are at a tipping point of major success. You don't turn down money.

Sirius did in fact make a bid. XM not only outbid Sirius, but as we mentioned before, they offered Air America studio space in their Washington, DC homebase as well as changing the name of the channel from America Left to Air America.

XM does have clout. Free studio space in Washington, right in the THICK of the battlegound for the next 3 years (and beyond). And I've see the XM DC Studios.. they make the Studios at WLIB look like... we'll.. it's like going from a '50s low-power station to the Jetsons. That was a major PERK that Sirius could not even begin to compete against.

Furthermore, XM demanded the deal to be exclusive, meaning they can't offer their programming to other satellite radio services. Air America accepted and Sirius is left with an empty channel effective in July.

OK, so let's see...

Sirius bid "A"
XM bid "A+B" and Studio Space, but wants an exclusive.

So AAR could take less money, and LOSE almost 4 million (POTENTIAL listeners)

or

They could get needed financial backing, gain REGIONAL POSITION (studio space in DC), gain facilities they could not begin to affford (studio space in DC) and lose 1.5 million POTENTIAL listeners

Geeze Louise, I don't need an MBA to figure that one out.

If Air America is to survive, they must be a PROFITABLE BUSINESS. If it had gone the other way, then XM people would be screaming, so don't think you're special Sirius folks.

they can't pass up any chances for money infusion...especially after what they've been through.

that bears repeating...

When the move is made to XM, Big Ed will still pre-empt Rhodes for the first two hours and (ARGH) Alan Colmes still clogs up the evenings - just as it is now with America Left.

Well, other information has since come out that we still have Ed, sill lose two hours of Randi and still have Colmes.. but DO get MIKE MALLOY (abiet tape delayed for now).

It's a mess, and hopefully in the near future, XM will do what Sirius did for free - give Air America its own channel and throw Big Ed (who still sounds like he doesn't pay attention to his callers) and all the other lib talkers on their own channel. Better yet, cut their losses and put 'em on the Opie and Anthony channel.

Now, here's were people need to pay attention.... (I'm going into 'informed speculation' mode here)

The 'rebranding' on XM takes place on MAY 1
The 'exclusivity' on XM takes place on JULY 16

AAR is giving people 10 WEEKS WARNING. Me'thinks that is part of the 'give back' AAR got XM to acquiesce to.

Also gives 10 weeks for XM to DO SOME MORE CHANNEL SHUFFLING / CHANNEL ADDITIONS. Channel 168 is open right next to 167 (American Left/AAR).

10 WEEKS to get Scultz and Colmes stuck somewhere...

10 WEEKS for a 'special deal' for people to get XM at a big discount (again I ask, if you could get either a HOME SETUP (like a SkyFi2 + Boombox) or a CAR SETUP (like a SkyFi2 + Car Dock) for the cost of a 1-year prepaid sub ($140) would you? Free equipment for a sub? maybe 1/2 price (or more) discount on equipment? Still leaving you free to recoup some of the cost of your Sirius equipment?

10 WEEKS is an eternity in the radio business.

So HARRASSING people will accomplish nothing... be patient, things WILL change even more between now and July 16th.

------------

BTW.. the first person that starts spouting the "it's a Clear Channel/Murdoch plot!!!!" please go soak your head moran.. it's been posted time and time and time again that XM/Murdoch HAVE NO CONTROL OF XM. Go search for it, I've posted the documentation and links about 5 times....;

[ztn]

7. thanks for the detailed account of what's up.

I've called everyone and santa claus to sort this out. I even just called XM to see if they would in fact "reshuffle" their channels to give AAR it's own channel like Sirius does (soon DID). But all I got was voicemail. I will gladly switch to XM if they duplicate the Sirius model.

I must add though that AAR should have used their clout a little better. I don't see why they couldn't negotiate and the goodies from XM without needing to drop sirius.

Right now, the listener is losing. I hope all ends well.

[Jeebo]

3. I usually listen over the Internet anyway...

I have Sirius, for several months I had Sirius and XM both. But Sirius carries only the first hour of Thom Hartmann, and while I had XM they carried only the last hour of Randi Rhodes and they didn't carry Mike Malloy at all. (That's why I dropped them and stayed with Sirius.) So when I'm at home I get Hartmann streaming over the Internet so I can listen to all three hours, and then it's just as easy to leave the computer on and listen to everything else that way, too. I only use Sirius any more when I'm in the car. Will XM carry all four hours of Randi Rhodes? Will they carry Mike Malloy (instead of that pathetic faux-liberal Alan Colmes)? Shucks, I might cancel Sirius too and not have satellite radio at all any more. When I'm in the car I can listen to downloaded MP3s of old Malloy and Hartmann and Rhodes and Guy James shows that I missed.

Ron

[TreasonousBastard]

4. It sucks, but...

not a whole lot we can do about it.

Kinda like if you like baseball and football, you only get one or the other unless you blow the money on both systems.

Everyone can pass the buck all they want, but Sirius either got blindsided by an XM offer for AAR or just didn't think it was worth a counteroffer. Maybe both.

Note that they never pushed AAR on their websites or mailings any more than they push the Reggae channel. I don't know what the original deal was to get them on Sirius, but Sirius doesn't seem to think they are as important as the Maxim channel.

Personally, I'll miss them, but I don't think I'll pck up XM. Sirius still has more of the other stuff I listen to than XM does.

[Rosco T.]

6. Exceptional Point..

Everyone can pass the buck all they want, but Sirius either got blindsided by an XM offer for AAR or just didn't think it was worth a counteroffer. Maybe both.

Bingo. With Sirius having Howard, NFL, NASCAR and now MARTHA.. maybe thy didn't think AAR was worth the money.... BUT XM DID.

Maybe people are defending the wrong people (Sirius) and trashing the wrong ones (XM) also..

[4metta]

15. same here

I wish AAR stayed on Sirius but I also love the rest of the programming on Sirius as far as the other progressive channel (Sirius Left) and OutQ. I really love Lynn Samuels and she's exclusive to Sirius. Can't hear her anywhere else. XM doesn't even have a gay/les/bi channel. OutQ's entertainment is fun for all sexual orientations too. Check out Derek & Romaine. Hit show on OutQ that you can't hear anywhere else. Also, Sirius reps are telling people that have been complaining that they will be expanding liberal programming on AAR's old channel so that would be cool to see what they add. Hopefully Thom Hartmann's full show live. Currently I catch the show more on the White Rose Society's archives more than on Sirius.

So even with the loss of AAR, I don't see myself subscribing to XM UNLESS they start to offer just as much as Sirius does as far as programming. I can listen to AAR online or with archives. Both have similar music channels so that's a non issue to me.

I just hope AAR does well with this deal in the long run cause A LOT of people are very upset. I'm an AAR listener from day one and bought my Sirius like 3 days later to make sure I can hear AAR every where. I'm not the only one either. So a lot of very loyal AAR listeners are being shafted in this deal. I hope AAR doesn't lose listeners that may take this personally.

[minerva50]

5. I wouldn't recommend calling and harrassing their operators

The women they have answering their phones have little information and no power over what is going on. I doubt especially that the AAR story you got was correct. AAR signed the deal with XM. I wrote and emailed both AAR and Sirius. Have gotten no response from AAR, but Sirius answered my emails saying that they would keep AAR on the air as long as they could, but that XM had an exclusive deal with AAR.

In any case I think letters carry a lot more impact than phone calls.

[ztn]

8. I'm just frustrated. that's all.

I drive a lot. and it's more pleasurable listening to my talk channels on sirius. Besides the puny one hour of Hartmann and an occasional switch over to the Young Turks when Randi and the majority report are not interesting, I don't really listen to SiriusLeft.

First we lose unfiltered and now some of us are losing the whole shibang. If XM gives AAR it's own channel and beefs up AmericaLeft with full live programming from Stephanie Miller and Thom Hartmann, that'll be the bomb and I'll switch.

[minerva50]

9. I hear you

I'm in a similar case. I was really steamed for a few days. I had gotten very tired of the local stations in DC, so I looked into satellite and chose Sirius because it had better coverage of AAR. I prefer talk and information type radio to music when I'm driving.

If XM does expand to full coverage of AAR, I may switch also. After thinking about it, I decided I could give my Sirius radio to my mom. She moved to the Coast of North Carolina last year. She really misses her favorite NPR programs because the only NPR station she can pull in doesn't carry them; can't afford them, I guess. Sirius does have really excellent coverage of NPR, APR and PRI. I've gotten tired of them, though.

[Elle Woods]

10. It sounds like XM made them a better offer

It's called business. I'm glad now that I went with XM instead of Sirius.

[newyawker99]

11. Hi Elle Woods!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Elle Woods]

12. Thank you, newyawker99

:)

[phylny]

13. It is business, but it's a shame that people who bought into

Sirius are left without perhaps the reason they bought/subscribed in the first place.

I've held off on getting any satellite for this very reason - too risky at this point for my budget. I get WLIB here, but the signal is spotty (due to the mountains nearby) in my car. I bought an AM antenna booster that my husband has to install at some point (oh, HONEY???) At home, I either listen by streaming on my PC (my radio doesn't get WLIB inside my house) or I move my laptop to where I am.

[4metta]

17. just make an educated purchase

Satellite radio is truly a blast. I would highly recommend Sirius to all liberals for the simple reason that they offer more in terms of programming that most lefties find enjoyable. If you like music both Sirius and XM are just as cool. But I wouldn't buy satellite radio for just one channel (AAR) after what just happened now!!!:P Especially when you can listen for free online. Get satelite radio for eveything else it offers you. Look at both websites and compare programming before you decide. But definitely do NOT sign any long term deals that you can't get a refund to. I bought Sirius for one year and it's almost up so I'll just go monthly for now until I see how they set up the second lefty stream. Truth be told, I enjoy everything else Sirius has to offer so much, I don't see myself ever giving it up.

[Born Free]

14. I believe it's Air America's fault

The only way Sirius and XM know how many listeners they have for a particular channel is by personal contacts. The more people write or call the more they believe is listening to a particular channel. I personally sent several individuals on Air America notes telling them the rumors were that after the election Sirius would be dropping Air America, perhaps this was more of wish of the right wingers that subscribe to Sirius than reality - it doesn't matter. What does matter is these right wingers were contacting Sirius to express their wishes, whereas Air America fans did not discuss it at all. Please note that Sirius added a right wing channel called Patriot after AAR - this was because the right wingers were crying that it is unfair to have to left channels an only one right channel. I suggested to Air America to put out the word so it's fans could call/email in to let Sirius know there are many AAR listeners on Sirius. I never heard anything from anyone at Air America, apparently all of my emails went into the bit bucket. If Air America fans had worked the Sirius contacts in the same way the right wingers do to let Sirius know the channel was important to them, Sirius would have been willing to pay more for it. It's about like trying to sell a dirty car, it only takes a minute or two and the car looks much better and sells better. Air America sat back and did nothing, and that isn't how it works these days. Even now on the occasions I listen to Randi Rhoades ( no longer has Mike Malloy on in the early am) I hear nothing about this, and I remember in the beginning when there was rumor AAR might not make it Randi talked of staying on Sirius.

I have contacted Sirius several times on this issue and have made arrangements to leave Sirius after July. However, I don't know if we will go back to XM.


on edit: I think if DU's did a poll we could come up with a "killer" schedule of really good talk show hosts to submit to Sirius. It's possible we could in fact make our own channel on Sirius, but it would take many Sirius customers to request it. Personally I would Another idea would be "Move-On" activism channel, it could be an activism channel allowing all of us to get the latest news on what is going on and do somthing about it. Move-on , ACT they, could all do ther own shows with call ins from people that have something to offer.
Special guests the whole 9 yards - I think it would be exciting and would attract even more people to Sirius. However, unfortunately we are talking about democrats that usually just it back and complain rather than come up with new ideas or work with them.

[NYCGirl]

16. There's no fault. XM made a better offer, and AAR took it. Simple. NT