# Raising Rates / Charging for online



## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

I just got an email stating that they will be raising my additional radios from $6.99 to $8.99 per month... unless I act fast by purchasing another long-term plan. 

Also looks like you won't be able to listen online for free any longer...



> We are offering select subscribers like you, who have multiple subscriptions, a special opportunity to lock in the current low rate on their additional radio subscriptions.
> 
> On March 11, 2009, the monthly rate for your discounted subscriptions will increase from $6.99 per month to $8.99 per month upon renewal.* You can lock in the current discounted monthly rate of $6.99 by choosing longer-term plans - but only if you act quickly.
> 
> ...


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## Undertaker (Jan 1, 2005)

I'll be listening for free online, I have a lifetime sub.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

Better lock in and save, AirRocker! :lol:

They're in deep excrement, that's all I know...


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## cb7214 (Jan 25, 2007)

tcusta00 said:


> Better lock in and save, AirRocker! :lol:
> 
> They're in deep excrement, that's all I know...


all the more reason not to get into a long term, if they tank, all the people with lifetime and long term contracts might be left holding the bag.

I think its a last ditch effort to get cash to pay the debt they weren't able to make a payment on i believe. They Raise the rates, but then say if you front us a bunch of cash now for the long term we won't raise yours right away


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## dnuijten (Jan 20, 2009)

looks like I will be cancling my 2nd reciever.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

I'm looking at cancelling #4 and perhaps #3.


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## murry27409 (Oct 16, 2007)

So b/c they state that the online feed will be "higher quality digital audio ", they can get away with charging 4 the online streams. Seems transparent, no?


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## tbpb3 (Dec 10, 2006)

Canceled today after 5 years.I knew that it would get bad after after the merger,and it did.Next all music channels will have commercials. To bad, it was a great idea at the start. And wait untill you have the cancellation experience, they hung up on me four times before someone would finally do it


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## Motley (Sep 23, 2004)

My Sub runs out in June. I don't think I will be renewing. The merger really screwed XM and now that the rates are going up and I cannot listen online it will not be worth it for me. Too bad because I really enjoyed XM for the last 4 years.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

tbpb3 said:


> Canceled today after 5 years.I knew that it would get bad after after the merger,and it did.Next all music channels will have commercials. To bad, it was a great idea at the start. And wait untill you have the cancellation experience, they hung up on me four times before someone would finally do it


I hope that's the end of it for you... certainly wasn't for me though. Don't hold your breath. They keep sending me bills even though they have multiple notes in their systems that I canceled last summer and I was actually issued a refund for unused service. Go figure.


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## Steady Teddy (Jan 23, 2007)

I also cancelled. I only listen to Sirius online when I'm at home. I've been contemplating cancelling for months now and told myself if they raised their rates so much as one dime it would be reason enough to drop them. They just gave me that reason.

As tbpb3 mentioned, the cancellation process was a pain in the a**.


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## pigskins (Sep 8, 2007)

Bad news, it's their lifetime not yours.


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## valestij (Jun 5, 2008)

I don't understand the "And if you renew now, you can continue to listen online, FREE for the length of term you choose. "

I thought the XM radio online was only linked up to the main account, not the sub-accounts. It's not like I received a seperate username and password for each additional radio I owned. That would have been nice though so my Dad wouldn't have to use my username/password to login.


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## airedale (Aug 8, 2007)

With Sirius, every radio gets its own account to login to listen online with.


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## dpd146 (Oct 1, 2005)

I wasn't thrilled about the e-mail but $2 a month is not enough reason for me to cancel. Small price to pay if it can help keep the company solvent. I would hate to go back to regular radio.

Good Luck Sirius/XM


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## Dolly (Jan 30, 2007)

dpd146 said:


> I wasn't thrilled about the e-mail but $2 a month is not enough reason for me to cancel. Small price to pay if it can help keep the company solvent. I would hate to go back to regular radio.
> 
> Good Luck Sirius/XM


Now that is what I like to hear :sunsmile: As I said I don't understand why Sirius XM would want to make people mad for the second time (the first time was the merged channels) because instead of getting more money they are giving yet even more people a reason to cancel  But I want the company to stay solvent also to the point of becoming a Lifetime Sub. Too bad there just doesn't seem to be enough people that think like we do


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## ddrumman2004 (Mar 28, 2007)

I received two emails asking me to make changes to lock in my current price.

So I called Sirius and asked a few question. I will continue to receive online listening because I have a lifetime sub on my primary radio. I can make up to 3 radio changes before the sub is no good anymore. The way I figure it, I will come out ahead on this.

Now as for 2 bucks more a month for my second radio? Doesn't bother me in the least.


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## dhhaines (Nov 18, 2005)

I just canceled my second radio.... didn't listen to it much anyway and the one in my car can be used inside. It's getting very close to time to pull the plug on XM since Sirius screwed it up.


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## Wisegoat (Aug 17, 2006)

djlong said:


> I'm looking at cancelling #4 and perhaps #3.


I am canceling my 3rd and 4th ones as well. They were there for convienience, but this has convinced me I don't need the convienience that bad.

I would have been OK with the $2 increase to the primary account, as long as they didn't cut our online access.

For all of these increases, they could at least throw in the "Best of" packages. Seems counter to the merger proposal that I have to pay extra for Howard Stern and the NFL when Sirius subs get it as part of their sub. And Sirius subs have to pay extra to get MLB and NHL. Doesn't make sense to me.

The merger is not making me a happy camper. This was a service with so much potential, even with the merger. We could have had lots of channels and depth of programming with all of the personalities out there. Now we get microscopic playlists, pay extra for programming we should be getting as a part of our subs and horrendous customer service.

Now, it seems that the monopoly bird has come home to roost and is looking to fatten up. Thought Mel was looking a little skinny.


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## flexoffset (Jul 16, 2007)

My drive to work is made much more pleasant because of Sirius. During my morning drive there is nothing else worth listening to on terrestrial radio. Of course if they get too greedy I'm out simply on the principle of it.


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## dpd146 (Oct 1, 2005)

Wisegoat said:


> I am canceling my 3rd and 4th ones as well. They were there for convienience, but this has convinced me I don't need the convienience that bad.


I'm sure you won't be alone in cutting back on subscriptions. It will be interesting to see if this move by Sir/XM will significantly increase revenues. I'm sure they're banking on people being upset but not enough to drop subs.


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## makaiguy (Sep 24, 2007)

The Honda I have XM on also has the capability of playing music from a memory card. Now that I've finally populated a card with my music, for short trips around town, that's what I listen to. About the only time I listen to XM at all is when on a trip of several hours duration where I want a break from 'my' music -- usually for old time radio or other talk. 

I don't think XMs will be of sufficient value for me to renew when my current sub runs out. Losing the online won't be that big a deal as I have plenty of other online sources (last.fm, imeem.com, pandora.com, etc.) plus my own collection of mp3s.


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

I'll probably drop one of my spare radios just because I never use it (an old "Sirius One" SV1R). I had kept it subscribed for using in rental cars and such, but it just doesn't get much use. I will probably extend the subs on my other three non-lifetime radios to lock-in the rate. I never listen online - that's why I have a Sportster 4 and several SUBX1 boomboxes.


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## DCSholtis (Aug 7, 2002)

dpd146 said:


> I wasn't thrilled about the e-mail but $2 a month is not enough reason for me to cancel. Small price to pay if it can help keep the company solvent. I would hate to go back to regular radio.
> 
> Good Luck Sirius/XM


Yeah I won't be canceling either. Even though I just re upped with them in October to add the Sirius package to my XM account. This means I'll get tagged again.


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## Hardin Thicke (Jun 18, 2008)

pigskins said:


> Bad news, it's their lifetime not yours.


Indeed. I keep getting the beg screen every time I log on telling me to renew before March to get the savings. Considering the financial state of Sirius, I think that would be a risky expenditure. For me, paying 3 bucks more a month versus the entire subscription amount up front is a risk worth taking.


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## ehilbert1 (Jan 23, 2007)

pigskins said:


> Bad news, it's their lifetime not yours.


I agree. It's bad news now. I don't know why anyone would pay for a lifetime subscription now. They may not make it 6 more monthes. I got my lifetime sub back in 95. I've been listening free for a while now. There is no way in hell I would do it now. I hope they do make it though. Regular radio is crap.


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

ehilbert1 said:


> I agree. It's bad news now. I don't know why anyone would pay for a lifetime subscription now. They may not make it 6 more monthes. I got my lifetime sub back in 95. I've been listening free for a while now. There is no way in hell I would do it now. I hope they do make it though. Regular radio is crap.


I doubt that Sirius/XM would go off the air. If they do not "maket it", then thye will end up being purchased and operated by another entity. While the new owner may not be legally obligated to honor the existing lifetime subscriptions, it would be a public relations nightmare not to do so.


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## ehilbert1 (Jan 23, 2007)

rudeney said:


> I doubt that Sirius/XM would go off the air. If they do not "maket it", then thye will end up being purchased and operated by another entity. While the new owner may not be legally obligated to honor the existing lifetime subscriptions, it would be a public relations nightmare not to do so.


I hope and prey they don't go off the air. I guess the big rumor is Charlie from Echostar wanting to take them over for their satellites and repeaters. He's bought a lot of their debt. I have no idea what he would do with the company. They were talking about it on Stern this morning. Stern wants to get a hold of him and ask him some questions. I was just making the point that paying $400 right now may not be a great idea thats all. I'm a huge SiriusXM supporter. You can go to digitalradiocentral.com and read the boards there. Alot of people are speculating things.


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## david_jr (Dec 10, 2006)

I was going to add a second subscription, but I am holding off for now. XM subscriber with 2.5 years left on subscription.


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## dhhaines (Nov 18, 2005)

I saw a scroll on ABC news this morning that Sirius/XM may be declaring bankruptcy. So I'm going to hold off on any renewal until this is cleared up. I'm thinking that they're not going to last through the financial crisis.


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## hjsiemer (Sep 28, 2006)

My quarterly subscription expires on February 28 so I called this morning and told Sirius that I am cancelling my subscription as of Feb 28. The rep asked why and I told him that I did not want to pay for the online listening. The rep asked me to hold on while he spoke with his supervisor. 

When he came back about 2 minutes later he told me that if I continued my subscription at the current rate ($12.95 per month for Sirius Everything) for another quarter I could continue listening online at no additional cost. 

If on March 1 I cannot listen to online anymore, I will cancel immediately.

It may be that the SHORTER your subscription period the MORE negotiating power you have...this seems just the opposite of the way things are in the REAL world...no wonder this company is going bankrupt...


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

My understanding is that if you renew or extend your subscription prior to March 11th, you get the current lower rates and under the current terms which include online listening for no extra charge. You can renew/extend for a quarter, year or multiple years and lock-in the current rates as long as you do it "now". You can even extend a subscription that won't be expiring for many months from now and still get the current rates.

If you wait until *after* March 11th to renew, you will pay the new higher rates and will have to pay extra for online listening. In effect, they are rewarded longer-term subscriptions by extending the current rates through that period. In your case, you only renew for a quarter, so when June 1 rolls around, you'll have to pay the higher rates and pay extra for online listening. Had you chose to renew for a year, then you;d have the lower rates through February 2010.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

We really just want to wait until after the 17th to see what's going to happen.


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## Dolly (Jan 30, 2007)

rudeney said:


> My understanding is that if you renew or extend your subscription prior to March 11th, you get the current lower rates and under the current terms which include online listening for no extra charge. You can renew/extend for a quarter, year or multiple years and lock-in the current rates as long as you do it "now". You can even extend a subscription that won't be expiring for many months from now and still get the current rates.
> 
> If you wait until *after* March 11th to renew, you will pay the new higher rates and will have to pay extra for online listening. In effect, they are rewarded longer-term subscriptions by extending the current rates through that period. In your case, you only renew for a quarter, so when June 1 rolls around, you'll have to pay the higher rates and pay extra for online listening. Had you chose to renew for a year, then you;d have the lower rates through February 2010.


I had thought the timing of a rate hike was bad because everyone was already mad about the merged channels. And, of course, people got mad again about the rate hike. However, with the information we have now may be Mel was just trying to get people to "lock in" so they would continue to be getting money. Oh and about Charlie buying it basically for "parts" there are people in the Directv Forum that know a whole lot more about Sats. than I will ever know have said that Sats. for radio won't work for Sat. TV


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## olguy (Jan 9, 2006)

Just went ahead and locked in a lifetime. I know it may not last as long as me and I'm 71 but what the heck. And I can transfer the sub to a radio for my room when my kids toss my ass in an old folks home :lol: When I subbed to XM last summer lifetimes weren't available. I checked the lock-in page and the 3 year was $350. I called and talked to a rep and found out the lifetime is $400 so I figured why not. And since they pro-rate and my sub was good until July, 2011 I only paid $90. Maybe that will help ol' Mel make that 15% payment :lol:


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## Dolly (Jan 30, 2007)

olguy said:


> Just went ahead and locked in a lifetime. I know it may not last as long as me and I'm 71 but what the heck. And I can transfer the sub to a radio for my room when my kids toss my ass in an old folks home :lol: When I subbed to XM last summer lifetimes weren't available. I checked the lock-in page and the 3 year was $350. I called and talked to a rep and found out the lifetime is $400 so I figured why not. And since they pro-rate and my sub was good until July, 2011 I only paid $90. Maybe that will help ol' Mel make that 15% payment :lol:


Wow what a deal you got :eek2: When I got my XM Lifetime this past Nov. it was over $400 dollars. And believe me I thought that was one Lifetime sub that was on life support :lol: I just hope one of the things that Sirius XM can do is at least somehow get their account departments joined. So that way people that are split in their radios between Sirius and XM can get the accounts joined together so they can get the discount rate.


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## Ozwalt (Feb 24, 2009)

I don't get why they're not making it easier for people to choose to join and current members to choose to stay. They charge big bucks for the radios, and they're not responsive to feedback from subscribers. The fear that they're going under is keeping people from investing in equipment and contracts. It sounds like they're just crossing their fingers and hoping for the best. How about a "non-profit" equipment program, or an equipment rental program? How about a better level of variety on the programs that people want? Do we really need 40 sports channels and 20 weather channels? How about more syndicated programs that most of us can't get through on-air radio? Wouldn't that be pretty much free for them?


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## Sharkie_Fan (Sep 26, 2006)

tcusta00 said:


> I hope that's the end of it for you... certainly wasn't for me though. Don't hold your breath. They keep sending me bills even though they have multiple notes in their systems that I canceled last summer and I was actually issued a refund for unused service. Go figure.


Amazingly, my billing actually got fixed AFTER the merger, something I was unable to get XM to do before the merger. Originally, I had 4 radios on my account. Got rid of some cars, etc, and so I gave 2 of the radios to my parents. They signed up their own account, activated the radios, and everything was good..... except for the part where XM kept trying to make ME pay for the radios, even though my dad had already paid for 1 year of service on HIS account. And, the two radios they wanted me to pay for didn't show up as active on my account. But somehow it had generated a bill for me, and they wanted me to pay it.

I actually just paid the $83 or whatever it is for my wife's radio for the next year, and mine comes up in another month or so, and I'll probably pay for another year on it as well..... We don't listen to anything else, and if satellite radio meets an untimely demise, we'll be on the bandwagon until the bitter end. :lol:


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## SWTESTER (Apr 7, 2004)

Undertaker said:


> I'll be listening for free online, I have a lifetime sub.


Me too. I had already consolidated my Sirius sub and have just one radio instead of both Sirius (car) and XM (Inno I refurb) I got in a sweet deal.  Plus get it on DISH. Ready for Baseball!! And Area is sounding better these days. Plain radio sucks, plain and simple. :lol:


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## Dolly (Jan 30, 2007)

I'm glad some of us are staying on the bandwagon :sunsmile: The way I look at it is the few radio stations that are in my area are very poor. May be people from larger areas can say Sirius XM isn't any better than their FM radio, but I sure can't :nono2: So I'm going to enjoy it as long as it is around :sunsmile: :sunsmile:


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

I called yesterday for the extension deal. I have lifetime plus four other units that were on various combinations of monthly and quarterly billing. I wanted to drop one of the radios, an old Sirius 1 unit that I don't use much anymore and extend the other three to yearly to lock-in my rates. The call was quick and easy. They gave me prorated credit for the remaining prepaid balances on the three when they converted to annual subscriptions, and I was very surprised when the rep gave me credit for the prorated balance on the one I disconnected, too.


I'm staying on the Sirius bandwagon. Like you, Dolly, my local OTA radio is not very good. I enjoy Sirius for the choices in commercial-free music and being able to listen when I drive out of town.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

Now that I've settled down a little, my opinion is that Sirius/XM is not as good (for my tastes) as XM was (especially when Music Lab was on the air) but it's still FAR better than terrestrial.


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## IndyMichael (Jan 25, 2003)

The day I log in to listen online and can't, I think I'll call to cancel and see what they say. I listen to xm via DirecTV or my comp about 75% of the time and the remaining 25% in the van.


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## WERA689 (Oct 15, 2006)

Well, I called in last week to cancel 4 of my 5 radios, and see what I could get to keep the the one in my car and online. I was transferred to retention, and ended up getting a deal that allowed me to cancel only one radio, and lock in the the other 4 for one year at a price that was barely above what I had been paying QUARTERLY since 2002!!!!

I agree, terrestrial radio in Atlanta is worse than pathetic, and I hope XM stays around. Meanwhile, I've been checking out Slacker, just in case....


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