XM Radio satellite radio gives me such pleasure that the price adjustment from $9.95 to $12.95 per month is worthwhile; although, XM Stream should really be included in the base price.
Increasing the monthly subscription fee will result in an important boost to their revenue and has already made the stock price jump 14%. All of this will allow XM to remain competitive in content and technology.
In terms of content, it is important to realise that XM Radio and Sirius are in heated competition to win the war over Satellite TV which will of course go into SUVs, Minivans, and probably lots of cars, too many of which will have an LCD screen in the front seat. That’s a different matter.
The only thing I ask is that XM Radio include XM Stream in the price the same was Sirius does. The included Internet stream is a competitive advantage for Sirius.
I am not interested in getting Opie & Anthony for free. I joined for Bob Edwards. When he left NPR and Morning Edition, I followed him. But I don’t want to pay and extra $3.99 to be able to listen to my XM at work, which is what the Internet streaming audio product, XM Stream, currently costs in addition to the $9.95 per month.
Amongst my friends and colleagues, when talking about XM versus Sirius, the price difference has always been washed away by saying, “well, Sirius includes the Internet streaming content while XM Radio charges an extra $3.99 for it, so they essentiall cost the same.
Be careful, XM Radio, because now you cost more to my demographic. People of my savvy and who have broadband at home will want the streaming audio feed. So, after this price increase on April 2, you won’t have the same price point as Sirius, you will be four dollars more than Sirius.
So, the advice is, include the your XM Stream Internet streaming audio in the new higher price and you will keep your competitive advantage, will have effectively more revenue, will keep your shareholders happy, and will also keep your tech savvy and Internet savvy customers instead of one of two things: we will either find a way of running both Sirius and XM Radio in our expensive cars or we will dump XM and go with Sirius which has a very aggressive promotion strategy and a free Internet feed.
The first outcome really does a big job of watering down your brand as Sirius and XM will become a little like FM and AM, just a different band.
The second outcome will eventually not please your shareholders one bit.
I have XM in my truck and I love it. It gives me great pleasure. The three-dollar-a-month increase does not bother me. Simple economics. Thirteen dollars is what the market will bear. And considering the current competition for content, XM Radio needs all the revenue it can get to battle Sirius and develop its upcoming satellite video, which will also compete with not only Sirius but others as well.
