# SiriusXM CEO Announces Sirius could be shut down by 2025 <<< FALSE REPORT



## 1948GG (Aug 4, 2007)

Just in case folks don't keep an eye on some of the more esoteric CEO get togethers, the SiriusXM ceo announced at the investors conference the other day that they have been working, since 2018, on combining (apparently) the cellular based Pandora music platform with SiriusXM satellite, while eliminating the Sirius satellite streams in favor of XM only. Doing so would, of course, junk all the current 34M+ subscribed Sirius car systems out there, from various auto manufacturers.

Apparently, they've made changes to the units beyond 2018 to a '360L' rf package that sounds like it makes such radios dual Sirius/XM, although I've been unable to find specifics on how owners can check if they have one of these units, that were never announced 'back in the day'.

For those keeping an eye on sat launches, SiriusXM launched 2 new sats this year (for both east and west coverage) and no information was released at that time as to changes in the rf or digital layout of them, or if they had the capability to switch out the Sirius streams, again, to XM only.

I can see two things happening if they go through with this plan; first, mass lawsuits from those 'stuck' with 'older' radios, and second, fcc problems relating to the original agreement allowing Sirius to buy out XM and run both services concurrently.

I would think this is yet another ceo who let their fever dreams get ahead of their companies lawyers.

Oh, in beating up mr google, it appears that they only started shipping the new radios this year, and only a few auto models have the units. So how accurate the 2025 date is, is up for debate.


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## cpalmer2k (May 24, 2010)

I may be wrong but I believe their newer satellites are able to transmit to both XM and Sirius Radios.


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## gjrhine (May 16, 2002)

What car model years are affected by "34M+ subscribed Sirius car..."?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

If I recall correctly XM was designed with stationary satellites and Sirius was designed with moving satellites. The radios are receiving a signal without tracking a satellite so It should not matter if Sirius moves to stationary satellites. SiriusXM has sold a couple of models of radio that were advertised to receive both services.

I don't see SiriusXM throwing away half of their satellite bandwidth and any Sirius only subscribers.


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## 1948GG (Aug 4, 2007)

The original Sirius 'tundra' orbit satellites were decommissioned years ago, the current Sirius+XM sats (not the newest ones, they haven't fully gotten to geo orbit) but the current operational geo sats (2ea for each service) have been supplying both services for many years. 

When the services combined, Sirius did a study on switching over from the tundra sats and come to the conclusion that if they could up the rf power they could approximate the coverage from the tundras; therefore, fm5/6 had higher power, and were geo sats. The two new sats (sxm7/8) launched this year have much higher power out, and will combine both services. 7 had some problems after launch but news has been sparce.

BMW cars were the first to get the new radios for the 2021 model year, ford has announced Sync4 will be new, exact models are up in the air. I think everything is up in the air. I have one if the original Sirius aftermarket radios in my old explorer, I upgraded that system (actually abandoned most of it while I upgraded the head unit) with a convertible radio unit so I could take the radio in and out of the car; this was long before they started streaming the channels over the internet. My newer lincoln has a sync3 system, no word on if these slightly older cars can be upgraded at any price (old pre-sync units were upgradable to sync3 for around $750, but that was a high upgrade with GPS maps, fm/digital, and such). 

Trying to glean how the new units work is major unknown, whether it requires cellular data link for the pandora operation or a huge bank of memory fed by the sat link. The whole point of sat radio is that one could be in the Rocky Mountains like on us50 in the middle of Nevada and have uninterrupted service. And zero cell service, so I'm leaning to a large memory bank for the pandora app.

With folks keeping their cars longer and longer these days, this Sirius crossover thought that the drawdown of subscribers will drive Sirius shutdown is more like 2035 if that. My 2017 lincoln is my last car, and my 1994 explorer refuses to die; I spot at least 3-4 of that year everytime I drive through my little rural town, they sure built those things to last, but I also spot several mkz lincoln at least up to 8 years old as well, so they are really holding up too. 

There are too many cars out there with these integrated 'infotainment' units to think about making such radical changes, but if ford would offer a sync4 say 5 years from now for a $750 swap out, I'd probably go for it.


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## GekkoDBS (Dec 5, 2015)

1948GG said:


> Just in case folks don't keep an eye on some of the more esoteric CEO get togethers, the SiriusXM ceo announced at the investors conference the other day that they have been working, since 2018, on combining (apparently) the cellular based Pandora music platform with SiriusXM satellite, while eliminating the Sirius satellite streams in favor of XM only. Doing so would, of course, junk all the current 34M+ subscribed Sirius car systems out there, from various auto manufacturers.
> 
> Apparently, they've made changes to the units beyond 2018 to a '360L' rf package that sounds like it makes such radios dual Sirius/XM, although I've been unable to find specifics on how owners can check if they have one of these units, that were never announced 'back in the day'.
> 
> ...


Your headline should be changed, many people just call it Sirius, not SiriusXM, your headline makes it appear that the entire platform will be shut down in 2025.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

The challenge with the initial report is how far back SiriusXM has secretly been including XM capable radios in their Sirius radios and how much money SiriusXM makes off of Sirius only radios. I am having a hard time believing that the XM capable tuner would have been hidden. They sell "both system" subscriptions, why limit their sales by not including all compatible radios?

And then after disenfranchising millions of Sirius only customers by disabling the Sirius feeds what do they use that licensed space and newly launched satellites for? Bulk downloads to the specialized Pandora radios? I am not seeing a huge value in shutting down the Sirius side of the business unless they can make more money doing something else with those licenses than they would make continuing to serve the existing customers.

As for the new radios with Pandora ... I can see them using cell service and/or skimming the satellite feeds for songs to add to the "offline library" built in to the radio. When one is away from the Internet they would only have the "offline library" of songs (and any new ones that come across satellite). Or it could be a feature that is not available in areas without cellular service. Still serving most of their subscribers in the most populated areas of the country just not all areas.


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## 1948GG (Aug 4, 2007)

GordonGekko said:


> Your headline should be changed, many people just call it Sirius, not SiriusXM, your headline makes it appear that the entire platform will be shut down in 2025.


Read the report. It's right there, google it. There are two seperate services, xm and sirius, period, always have been. If people don't understand that, why is it my problem? The ceo specifically said shutdown Sirius and refarm the bandwidth to XM and pandora. 'Mid decade', 2025. The ceo said 25% of all new cars with radio sets are currently 360L and they expect by the 2025 shutoff date that 80% will be the new type.

Having spent over $4k on the ford sync3 in my last car, if they actually went forward with this plan I'd come a bit unglued. I think this is just ceo bs right up there with some of the Bezos and Musk wackiness of past years before the lawyers told them to shut up before the feds gave them a visit.

Fyi, the last few days I've seen the first SiriusXM/pandora streaming commercials in years. So it appears they are starting to ramp up the push towards a new system.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Instead of saying "Google it" please provide a link to valid results.
Apparently Mr Google likes your search terms and by not providing a link you are just wasting everyone else's time.

Possibly https://seekingalpha.com/article/44...resents-bank-of-america-securities-2021-media ?

The ONLY mention of 2025 in that transcript is: "And then you are targeting 80% of new cars by 2025 to have 360L and 25% of the installs, I think this year will be 360L. How far along are you in your agreements with OEMs to ensure that you do get to that 80%?" A question referring to installing 360L receivers in vehicles.

No mention of a "shutoff" for Sirius. So you either misunderstood what was said or you're reading something else.


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## gjrhine (May 16, 2002)

And now he throws out 2035. Someone sounds confused.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

The entire discussion (actual discussion) seems to be about getting radios pre-installed in cars (currently running around 80% of new cars have SiriusXM radios) and converting free trial customers to paying customers (currently running around 30% of free with a new car customers becoming paying customers). Not bad for a service based on satellite delivery although it is noted (in the actual discussion) that one of the major selling points is the ability to ALSO listen online via streaming. The secondary discussion is the changeover to 360L radios ... with 25% of new cars having 360L radios this year and 80% of new cars having 360L radios by 2025.

From last year: Sirius XM Holdings Inc. - SiriusXM with 360L Makes Its Debut in BMW Vehicles this Summer
SiriusXM with 360L combines satellite and streaming content delivery into a single, cohesive in-vehicle entertainment experience, upgrading the way the subscriber interacts with the service by providing more choice in entertainment than ever before. SiriusXM with 360L gives drivers and their passengers access to more than 10,000 hours of SiriusXM's recorded On Demand content whenever they want - including exclusive interviews, unique shows and live performances. It also delivers more live channels than ever from SiriusXM's acclaimed satellite and streaming lineup, which features an extensive selection of ad-free music, plus sports, entertainment, news and much more. SiriusXM with 360L's personalized "For You" recommendations and ability to search for related content also make it easier than ever for listeners to discover more of the programming they love.

BMW vehicles that feature SiriusXM with 360L will also be equipped to receive software updates that will allow BMW owners and lessees to receive the latest features from SiriusXM. One expected future software update will enable 360L's newest feature, Personalized Stations Powered by Pandora. With Personalized Stations Powered by Pandora, drivers can create their own ad-free music stations based on the artist they are listening to, then give songs a thumbs up or thumbs down within the SiriusXM service, or even skip songs, to create their own personal channel that plays more of what they want.

Shop SiriusXM - Save more with exclusive offers on radios for your home and car.
360L streaming features such as Voice Tuning, Search & Discovery, Create Pandora stations, Xtra channels, and On Demand content require Internet connectivity via a Wi-Fi connection. If your vehicle already has Wi-Fi, you can connect Tour to the vehicle's Wi-Fi. If you have a mobile Wi-Fi device such as a MiFi or Jetpack mobile hotspot, you can connect Tour to the mobile Wi-Fi hotspot device. You can also use an iOS device such as an iPhone, or an Android device such as a phone, establish a Wi-Fi hotspot on the phone, and connect Tour to the phone Wi-Fi hotspot. You are responsible for any carrier data and other related fees you may incur from your carrier or service provider.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

There should also be a big distinction made between an "announcement" and a "mention in passing".


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Im still using an XMP3i plugged into my AUX port. The "Sirius" radio in the dash would constantly report "Acquiring signal" about once every 10 minutes. The XM radio is rock solid, even under bridges at speed. I just assumed the Sirius was cutting out because the satellites were moving around, but if they are both in GeoSync orbit, the Sirius radio must just be crappy.
Ill say one thing, I sure got my use out of my lifetime subscription 10 years ago. 
Still working, and streaming included in case the radios ever quit, I can just use my unlimited cell service.


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## 1948GG (Aug 4, 2007)

James Long said:


> Instead of saying "Google it" please provide a link to valid results.
> Apparently Mr Google likes your search terms and by not providing a link you are just wasting everyone else's time.
> 
> Possibly https://seekingalpha.com/article/44...resents-bank-of-america-securities-2021-media ?
> ...


Once again, I'm not responsible for folks lack of inability to run a simple search. This is not the first time that a so-called 'super administrator' as well as others fail to do some dirt simple research that I'm able to recreate at will on google.

SiriusXM Pandora Archives - The Desk

Now, what is your problem with coming up with that link?

"SiriusXM Pandora could shut down one of its two satellite radio platform by the middle of the decade, the company's chief executive remarked this week."

That is the first sentence of the article, followed by a longer quote of exactly what the ceo said, which amplified what their direction over the coming years is, exactly quoting that shutoff of the Sirius stream is targeted for "mid decade" (this decade).

Now go back and everybody do some simple tune up of your search techniques. I tripped over this article simply doing some basic research on a product that I've spent several thousands on since I originally installed Sirius in 2002 about 2 months after they went live, and I was wondering after seeing the first video advert for additional internet streams on YouTube TV, and wondered what the concurrent cost was to add to a subscription, and this came out of the woodwork. I also was beginning to wonder what was going on with SXM7 (east) after they had reported some problems after launch by SpaceX a few months back, and no reported problems after the SXM8 (west) just a couple weeks ago.

Really. Everyone has some of the greatest tools invented by man but fails search 101.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

1948GG said:


> Really. Everyone has some of the greatest tools invented by man but fails search 101.


Posting 101: Provide a link. You failed.
Blaming the rest of the world for your problems does not resolve your error.

Thanks for the link ... at least now we know you were repeating someone else's speculation and not creating your own.

The source material provided above shows that the actual statement (not announcement) from SiriusXM related to the goal of installing 360L radios in 80% of new vehicles by 2025. The source material does not back up the reporter's claim that Sirius transmissions will be shutting down in 2025.


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