Listen to Satellite Radio

With diverse musical offerings, oodles of commercial-free channels, and superior reception it's no wonder why millions of people like you now subscribe to XM Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. But with two competitive services and hundreds of hardware options how do you pick the right service and the right gear?

Steps

  1. Decide you want satellite radio. What's so special about satellite radio? It's the way radio should be...you receive a wide music selection, national sports programming and uncensored talk radio all with crystal clear reception and no commercials. Here are some of the features:
    • Diverse Programming
    • Uncensored Airways
    • Commercial Free
    • Great Reception
    • Artist Information
  2. Decide between XM Radio and Sirius. They're both great, so which one is right for you? Well that depends on what you want to listen to. The music channels are similar. Sports and talk vary considerably so if you know you want Howard Stern and the NFL, Sirius is for you. Here's a detail comparison of the two services for the rest of you:
    • XM Radio offers 137 channels: 68 commercial-free music channels; 44 news, sports, talk, and variety channels; 22 traffic and weather channels; 3 comedy channels, 2 premium channels; and 1 special-features channel. The music channels include top 20, love songs, movie soundtracks, show tunes, world pop, a few by-the-decade channels, plus a number of country, Christian, classic rock, alternative rock, classic alternative, mellow, metal, blues rock, and reggae channels. XM also offers a range of news, talk, and sports channels: ABC News and Talk, A&E, BBC World Service, CNBC, Court TV, C-Span, CNN, CNN Headline News, Discovery Channel, E! Entertainment, 2 ESPN channels, Fox News, NASCAR Racing, and the Weather Channel. XM also broadcasts MLB games for all teams, although not every game will be covered. XM also has the premium High Voltage channel, which features Opie and Anthony and Playboy. Both High Voltage and Playboy Radio premium channels require an extra monthly charge of $1.99 and $2.99 respectively.
    • Sirius offers over 110 streams: 65 commercial free music streams; 55 news, talk, entertainment, and sports stations; x traffic and weather streams. The music channels include top 20, love songs, movie soundtracks, show tunes, world pop, a few by-the-decade channels, plus a number of country, Christian, classic rock, alternative rock, classic alternative, mellow, metal, blues rock, and reggae channels. Sirius also has an uncensored hip-hop stream, Shade 45, hosted by Eminem and an uncensored punk station with a radio show hosted by Marky Ramone. Sirius also features ABC News and Talk, A&E, BBC World Service, Bloomberg, CNBC, Court TV Plus, C-Span, CNN Headline News, Discovery Channel, E! Entertainment, ESPN, Fox News, Hispanic Talk, Radio Disney, Sirius Trucking Network, The Weather Channel, and lots more. Howard Stern has two channels. The shock jock will be available exclusively to Sirius subscribers. Sirius's sports lineup is also looking good. It has the NBA, the NHL, and live play-by-play coverage of every NFL game.
  3. Decide on what gear. So now that you know you want satellite radio and what service you want let's talk about your gear. To receive satellite radio you need three things: a receiver (tuner), a broadcast source (speakers), and an antenna. What you need specifically depends on where you plan to listen to your satellite radio. So take a second and ask yourself? "Do I want to listen to satellite radio in the car, in the home or do I want the flexibility to listen to it anywhere and everywhere?"

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