Satellite Radio: Something I Never Knew I Was Missing

Who in their right mind pays for radio? That's what I was thinking... until I got Sirius as a gift. It was an odd coincidence actually. A few days before I received my Sirius unit and subscription, I had been disgruntled trying to find some music on in my morning commute. My CDs had all been played out, so I was hoping I would find something besides morning shows.

Since I have received my Sirius unit, Sirius is all I listen to: in the car, at work (via online), and at home. It is addictive and you will not know that until you try it.

Subscription Basics

The basic subscription for Sirius is $12.95 per month. You may purchase a lifetime account for $499.99. Sirius allows you to add on up to for units to your account. Each unit gets a discounted rate for the monthly service fee.

Online Listening

All Sirius accounts are able to access the Sirius online player. This allows a subscriber to listen to Sirius on their computer. All the music stations are available; however, a good number of the talk stations are not. The quality of the music on the online player seems just as good as via the Sirius unit. The player requires no additional software installation and can be played right from a modern web browser such as FireFox or Internet Explorer.

Commercial Free

All of Sirius' music stations are commercial free. That's right - no commercials at all. Talk stations do have advertisements. This may be because stations such as Fox News and E! Radio are broadcasting the current shows being aired on their respective television network.

Current Shows

When I watch the news or my wife watches E! news we are not necessarily watching as much as we are listening. Having stations such as Fox News and E! broadcast the current television feeds over the Sirius radio allows us to be able to listen to our shows while driving. Unfortunately, these two stations are not available via the online player.

Uncensored Content

Some Sirius stations are uncensored and some are. However, for the most part, you will find that the stations have more freedom to say and play what they want. This allows for a lot of independent bands to have their records played, as the disc jockeys have more freedom.

Howard Stern

Even if you are not a fan of Howard, this is still one reason to like Sirius!

Sports

Sirius has numerous sports channels. You can listen to an array of sports such as the NFL, NHL, NBA, and Nascar on your radio. Similar to the news broadcasts, these stations are not available online.

Coverage

I travel a lot. The fact that I can travel long distances and never have to touch the dial or lose my favorite station is a huge factor for me. Sirius has coverage for the whole continental USA, most of Canada (except for the upper North part), and for most of Mexico.

Conclusion

With over 120 stations and with a price tag less than a cup of coffee per day, Sirius is no doubt a great product to love! We would also recommend looking into XM, an alternative provider to Sirius.

Matthew Payne is a contributing member of http://coffee-tips.quickprovider.com/ and http://articles.quickprovider.com - both high content filed article sites.