Siriusly XM

Even though the merger between Sirius and XM was finalized several months ago, the two have continued to operate as separate entities, with their own distinct channels. This has been more difficult than you might expect since the two companies operate off different satellites and use different radios.

Personally, I've had XM continuously since 2005. I've had Sirius off and on since roughly the same time period. Though I had favorite channels on both, overall I would have given Sirius the edge in its music offerings. Technically, however, XM has a superior broadcast system. Its signals have far fewer problems with overhead obstructions like trees and overpasses than Sirius does.

The separate programming has now come to an end, as both have finally begun offering the exact same music channels. For the most part, it seems that XM lost more of its original channels, replaced by the corresponding Sirius channels. Existing Sirius and XM radios, however, will continue to operate.

For example, XM classic rock channels (Top Tracks and Big Tracks) were replaced entirely by Sirius' classic rock channels (Classic Vinyl and Classic Rewind). The channel positions on XM stayed the same, however. In other words, Classic Vinyl remains as channel 14 on Sirius but channel 46 on XM.

The same thing happened with the 80s channel. You now have the same programming on both XM's and Sirius' channel 8. This is a good thing, since I've always found the 80s channel on Sirius to be more enjoyable--they play more of the decade's hits, plus they have several of the original MTV crew (Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood, and Martha Quinn) doing the programming.

Also, my favorite Sirius channel--the Coffee House (ch. 30)--is now available on XM as ch. 51, as is the Springsteen channel (58 on XM and 10 on Sirius),

In some cases, existing channels changed position entirely. A case in point is XM's former classical channels (110, 112, & 113) are now channels 77,78, and 79. What's more, if you had any of those channels as a preset on your radio, XM automatically changed the preset for you.

I know XM thinks that was a good idea that would make things easier on their subscribers, but it's just downright creepy. I'm not sure I appreciate some XM employee picking the lock on my car in the middle of the night and resetting the buttons on my radio. That's just wrong. For all I know, he may have found the stash of dirty magazines I keep under the front seat.

I better not find any of the pages stuck together.... Well, at least not any that weren't already that way.

XM's channel changes

Sirius' channel changes