When Sirus and XM merged in 2008, they mentioned they were “interested” in raising prices.
Since then, they’ve gone through several price increases as well as the addition of surcharges called “royalty fees”. They began charging for online access to their channels, previously it was included in the standard package. As part of the merger agreement, SiriusXM has agreed to set aside a certain percentage of channels for “diversity” related programming.
As of July 1st 2011, they’ve dropped one of the two channels I enjoy and set them apart from only using my iPhone through my BlueTooth car stereo. They’ve completely dropped Cinemagic from their broadcast lineup. Cinemagic is now only available through their online add-on package. A quick search online has shown that a vocal minority are very upset by SiriusXM’s channel lineup changes.
I’m considering cancelling my service and saving over $15.00 per month on a service that no longer appeals to me. SiriusXM, please listen to your customers and bring Cinemagic back!