XM Satellite Radio

XM satellite radio and Sirius radio merged in July 2008 giving America the most comprehensive radio system able to cover news, traffic and weather, sports, music, politics, entertainment and lots of talk shows and other programs, in unique packages of around two hundred channels. The merger was meant to reduce competition and to avoid the increase of the subscription fee that would have caused the popularity of the broadcasters and the number of listeners. The transaction as such came next to completion when the Federal Communications Commission gave the green light for the procedure. Nevertheless, users were wondering about the possible changes in the channels features and the play list options that would appear after the merger.

Given the short time since the completion of the merger, the public is not yet fully aware of the modifications operated and reactions keep coming every day. Whichever be the case, the firmness of the broadcasting sector remains solid in the conditions of a public that needs good communication media. The quality of the services stays highly important, but sometimes diversity compensates for its absence. This means that from a package that includes 73 music channels it is nearly impossible not to find one to match your personal taste; therefore, the audience gets what's expected.

XM satellite radio is broadcast to Canada too since 2005 as the company made the launch in November that year. The transformations in the broadcasting sector brought about by the necessity to pay a fee for performance according to the Copyright Royalty Board did not pass unnoticed even if XM satellite radio offers a fee-based kind of service. Therefore the online reception of the channel required fee payment either included in the overall package or purchased independently.

Most Americans turn to XM satellite radio on their way to work or when they have to travel larger distances. The shows help one stay connected, and the traffic and weather info is absolutely priceless. Yet, competition for XM satellite radio does exist from the many ground radio stations that broadcast free of charge. Their only inconvenience is the fact that they depend on advertising to cover their expenses and a listener is more likely to change to an XM satellite radio channel than get bugged by commercials every few minutes.