Thinking aloud: I'm considering ditching cable TV for satellite radio.

[Montauk6]

The amount of TV we watch does not, in any way, justify the cost. Currently, we have barebones cable, but with the box, and all we watch regularly is 60 Minutes and the occasional Law & Order. The rest of the time is videos. Granted, I just found out that the Sopranos are returning on Mar 12 but still...

Now, I'm leaning towards Sirius. Here are my reasons, and please, I welcome any good counterarguments on behalf of XM.

1) I know, or am more familiar with, Sirius; I experienced it a couple of years ago, when we rented a car and drove from NY to Detroit. It was a lifesaver; normally, I'm tearing my hair out trying to decide which CDs to bring along.

2) I enjoy Lynn Samuels and the Young Turks. And I'll admit a guilty pleasure in the Wiseguy Show and Howard Stern.

3) I can already listen to Air America on the 'Net or on land radio (the flagship station here in NYC).

4) I like Sirius's Old Time Radio channel.


OK, I'd love to hear reasons for picking XM. The only one I can come up with would be the Joe Madison Show. Other than that, I'm even a bit skeeved at the fact that Murdoch's Fox News just inked a partnership deal with them (which might explain the NY Post and Fox News ran questionable stories on Sirius censoring Stern last week). And, I'm still iffy about that whole Clear Channel connection (I'm just sayin'...).

But, that aside, I'd love to hear your thoughts on either XM or Sirius. Fire away.

(and thanks for participating)

[Initech]

1. Here's why I went with XM:

1. Better equipment - the Pioneer Airware or the Delphi XM MyFi radios are awesome, as opposed to the Sirius S50, which really isnt anything more than a glorified MP3 player.

2. MLB - 'nuff said!

3. Better traffic reports - I like listening to the XM traffic. The local station only reports every 10 minutes, the XM traffic stations report every 30 seconds! And when I'm driving between cities (like between LA and San Diego, or Riverside and Las Vegas), I can switch between the traffic stations.

4. I really like a lot of the channels on XM - like The Joint (101), Bluesville (74), XM Music Lab (51), The Boneyard (41), and Deep Tracks (40).

[Montauk6]

3. Noble effort, EOO

1. I'm actually hoping to find a unit that is portable; one that I can easily hook to the stereo, and then, at night, put in my daughter's bedroom and play some nice soothing music (without all that loud, jarring static).

2. Not a baseball or real sports fan, so this doesn't move me. I am a Pistons basketball fan but I'd prefer watching than listening (or I'd listen if it were George Blaha calling it).

3. OK, I DID notice that the traffic/weather channels weren't too helpful on Sirius (they were regional, so it's not like I could hone in on the area I was in). But, as I only would find this useful were I a day-to-day commuter by car; this, too, is not a swaying feature.

4. How would you compare these to their Sirius counterparts?

Thanks again for your input!

[Reverend_Smitty]

2. if you have a cable modem...

getting the Sopranos really wouldn't be much of a problem...not that I condone any illegal activities or anything like that

[Montauk6]

4. I hear ya, Rev.

I could wait for the eventual DVD release but I have coworkers who are fans of the show, and I'd have to hold my fingers in my ears every Monday!