The Satellite Radio Review |
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Is XM or Sirius The Best Choice For You?
Author: Jim Johnson
If you wish to take advantage of the satellite radio rush that is picking up momentum with nearly every passing day, you only have two principal options if you reside in the US, either XM or Sirius. Both providers make available high quality, digital programming with more than 100 channels to to so you can pretty much never run out of something good to listen to on the radio.
But what are the differences between the two services? It makes good sense to figure that out in advance and make the correct decision for you, as the electronic equipment that you buy that enables you to obtain the radio broadcast signal from one of the providers, cannot be successfully used with the other satellite radio provider's service if you determine that you wish to make a switch for any reason. So that means that fully understanding the programming choices available from both XM and Sirius is an important step in the purchasing procedure, as it could be extremely costly if you decide to make the change after the receiving equipment has been bought.
In reality though, there are far more similarities between the two providers than there are differences, specifically in the area of music channels and choices. Both has more than 60 channels of great music to tune into including all of the most popular generes like pop, hip-hop, blues, all sorts of rock n roll, country music, jazz, classical, as well as dance music and music by the decades (70s, 80s, 90s, etc.) So in this respect, either one will no doubt furnish you with all the music programming that you might ever want.
The differences in programming begin to show up in the talk radio and sports radio channels however. In the field of sports, XM broadcasts baseball games and Nascar, while Sirius has dedicated itself to more overall sports programming including all NFL footbal games, most NBA games, NHL, and Nascar. So if you are a sports fan, the differences can be significant in this respect.
In talk radio, one of the largest and most successful draws for Sirius is Howard Stern. Of course, his radio program has always been extremely popular for several years and has tons of of listeners, so if he is a favorite of yours, you can only tune into him on Sirius. But there are more talk shows on tap as well, although Sirius tends to draw more talk shows hosted by the likes of Martha Stewart, Jimmy Buffet, and others. One other advantage in the talk area, is that Sirius also carries NPR, which has a broad fan base as well. The list is continually being updated however, so always check the most recent channel schedule to see what talk channels are being made available at this point.
Both satellite service providers make available always-on, everywhere service that is accessible no matter where you live in the US, and the electronic equipment for receiving each service's radio signal is very extensive, with XM perhaps having a small edge in the portability area.
So thoroughly check over the channel lineups right away, select your satellite radio provider and relish the next evolutionary step in high quality, digital radio entertainment.
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