Sirius vs XM -- Differences Table

JJS

Member
Oct 13, 2008
90
7
8
Sirius vs XM -- Channel Differences Table

This table displays only the differences between Sirius's and XM's channel choices. For new customers choosing between the services, or for dual-subs deciding whether their second service is still worth it, these channels are the ones you'll be trading off.

Your insights can improve the accuracy of this report; please reply in this thread if you see something I've missed.
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PHP:
=========================================================
Sirius-XM Channel Differences                                '
Revised: 12/15/09                     Effective: 12/07/09    '
=========================================================
SATELLITE RADIO `EVERYTHING` PLAN:    Sirius       XM
=========================================================
Best of Sirius on XM                
Howard Stern 100-101                    Y          $ 
Martha Stewart                          Y          $
Playboy                                 Y          $
Nascar                                  Y          $
NFL PBP                                 Y          $
European Soccer PBP                     Y          $
Additional College PBP                  Y          $
=========================================================
Best of XM on Sirius  
Oprah Radio                             $          Y
The Virus                               $          Y
XMPR                                    $          Y
College Sports Confs PBP                $          Y
Indycar Series                          $          Y
MLB Home Plate                          $          -
NBA PBP                                 $          Y
NHL Home Ice                            $          Y
NHL PBP                                 $          Y
PGA Tour Network                        $          Y
=========================================================
Commercial-Free Music Channels US                           
Shared+Unshared                       63+1       63+5        
20 on 20                                |          Y
Cinemagic                               |          Y
The Groove                              |          Y           
Pop2K                                   |          Y           
The Village                             |          Y
Sirius Hits 1                           Y          |
=========================================================    '
Commercial Music Channels US            0          6 
Bollywood and Beyond                    -          Y         '
KISS                                    -          Y
MIX                                     -          Y
Nashville                               -          Y
PINK                                    -          Y
Rock@Random                             -          Y
=========================================================
Sports Play-by-Play US (excluding Best-of)
MLB                                     -          Y
College Football/Basketball games by: School      Conf 
=========================================================
Sports News US (excluding Best-of)      4          3
ESPN Xtra                               -          Y
Fox Sports                              -          Y
XM Deportivo                       sp   -          Y
ESPN All Access                         Y          -
Sirius Sports Central                   Y          -
Sporting News Radio                     Y          -
ESPN Deportes                      sp   Y          -
=========================================================
Talk/Entertainment US (excluding Best-of)                   
Shared+Unshared                       25+7       25+12         
America Left                            |          Y
America Right                           |          Y
CSPAN                                   |          Y
The Power                               |          Y          `
PRX Public Radio Exchange               |          Y          ` 
Family Talk                             |          Y
America`s Talk                          -          Y          ` 
Extreme Talk                            -          Y
Reach MD                                -          Y
TALK Radio                              -          Y
ATN                                mu   -          Y
BBC World Service                       -          Y 
EWTN                                    Y          |
Sirius Left                             Y          |
Sirius Patriot                          Y          |
BBC World Service News                  Y          -  
Family Net                              Y          -
NPR Talk                                Y          -
JBC                                ko   Y          -
=========================================================
Canadian Channels                      12          8
Canada 360                              -          Y
Laugh Attack                            -          Y
The Verge                               -          Y
Air Musique                        fr   -          Y
Calendrier Sportif                 fr   -          Y
Qui de Neuf                        fr   -          Y
Radio Parallele                    fr   -          Y
Sur La Route                       fr   -          Y
Canada Weather                          Y          -
CBC 1                                   Y          -
CBC 3                                   Y          -
Hardcore Sports                         Y          -
Iceberg                                 Y          -
Sports Express 97                       Y          -
Bande à part                       fr   Y          -
Energie 2                          fr   Y          -
Premiere Plus                      fr   Y          -
Rock Velours                       fr   Y          -
Sports Extra                       fr   Y          -
RCI                                mu   Y          -
=========================================================       
Traffic Channels/Metro Areas          11/20      12/22         
Minneapolis-St. Paul                    -          Y
Pittsburgh                              -          Y
=========================================================
Channel Hours/Days
Bloomberg Radio                       24/7-p     13/5
=========================================================   
PREMIUM INTERNET RADIO SERVICE:        SIR        XMRO
=========================================================    
   Online Best-of Channels
Included+Available                     5+6        5+5        
The Virus                               $          Y
NHL Home Ice                            $          Y
PGA Tour Network                        $          Y
Oprah Radio                             $          Y         '
XMPR                                    $          Y         ' 
MLB Home Plate                          $          Y
Howard 100                              Y          $
Howard 101                              Y          $
Martha Stewart                          Y          $
NFL Radio                               Y          $
Playboy Radio                           Y          $
=========================================================       
   Online Basic Channels               110+       110+       '   
The Verge                               -          C
Air Musique                        fr   -          C
Sur La Route                       fr   -          C         '
BBC World Service                       -          Y
BBC World Service News                  Y          -
=========================================================   
Notes   
 fr:French ko:Korean  sp:Spanish  mu:Multilingual   
 -p:Less Preemptions   $:Requires Best-of Package
  |:Only via this provider`s Internet Radio Service
  C:Canadian subscriptions only
=========================================================
=========================================================


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h/t ClubSteeler DAB MM IdRatherBeSkiing Rreini goreds2 syphix Allanon hexagram kryptonite
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Last edited:

petteri

New Member
Oct 12, 2008
21
0
1
Nice chart. Funny that there is so little difference at all. Strange that they just couldn't wrap it all up and merge everything.
 

JJS

Member
Oct 13, 2008
90
7
8
Nice chart. Funny that there is so little difference at all. Strange that they just couldn't wrap it all up and merge everything.

(written when the chart was just started]
 
Last edited:

Kryptonite

Well-Known Member
Oct 21, 2008
11,670
1,837
113
Sirius has English soccer PbP and soccer talk on channel 125.
XM has baseball, and they're working on getting it on Sirius. Apparently there's language in MLB's XM contract that says "only XM satellites" which was intended to keep it off the online service. Hopefully by the spring, they'll have this fixed.

I think these are the only huge differences. I think most everything is available on "one system with best of other guy's."

What's left to merge:
1) Get the talk/news channels all on the same channel numbers.
2) Do the above to the music...We already have the same music basically.
3) Get everything on the same satellites/repeater system. I should be able to buy a portable radio which can work off either set of repeaters/satellites.

For me, number 3 is the big one. Get that accomplished and the technical side of the merger is mostly finalized.
 

ClubSteeler

Member
Oct 16, 2008
416
11
18
Sirius has English soccer PbP and soccer talk on channel 125.
XM has baseball, and they're working on getting it on Sirius. Apparently there's language in MLB's XM contract that says "only XM satellites" which was intended to keep it off the online service. Hopefully by the spring, they'll have this fixed.

I think these are the only huge differences. I think most everything is available on "one system with best of other guy's."

What's left to merge:
1) Get the talk/news channels all on the same channel numbers.
2) Do the above to the music...We already have the same music basically.
3) Get everything on the same satellites/repeater system. I should be able to buy a portable radio which can work off either set of repeaters/satellites.

For me, number 3 is the big one. Get that accomplished and the technical side of the merger is mostly finalized.

Unfortunately, this complete merger will be completely wasting 1/2 of the bandwidth.
 

escapecar

New Member
Nov 10, 2008
23
0
1
Unfortunately, this complete merger will be completely wasting 1/2 of the bandwidth.

In a few years, we'll all have radios that can pick up both sets of satellites, and SiriusXM will have bandwidth to burn! Imagine hundreds of channels of CD-quality music, in all the colors of the rainbow! It will be amazing!!

And then Mel will personally bring each of us a pony. :right:
 

IdRatherBeSkiing

Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
Oct 11, 2008
27,230
13,833
168
Toronto, ON
Nice chart. Funny that there is so little difference at all. Strange that they just couldn't wrap it all up and merge everything.

Sirius has English soccer PbP and soccer talk on channel 125.
XM has baseball, and they're working on getting it on Sirius. Apparently there's language in MLB's XM contract that says "only XM satellites" which was intended to keep it off the online service. Hopefully by the spring, they'll have this fixed.

I think these are the only huge differences. I think most everything is available on "one system with best of other guy's."

What's left to merge:
1) Get the talk/news channels all on the same channel numbers.
2) Do the above to the music...We already have the same music basically.
3) Get everything on the same satellites/repeater system. I should be able to buy a portable radio which can work off either set of repeaters/satellites.

For me, number 3 is the big one. Get that accomplished and the technical side of the merger is mostly finalized.

You will never have complete syncronization as long as Sirius Canada and XM Canada are spearate entities. Right now their are 3 Canaidan music channels on Sirius and 1 on XM which are non-mergable. Given the difference, 2 music channels (The Villiage and The Groove) are also not moved to Sirius.

The next step is to pressure the Canadian partners to at least start merger talks.
 

ClubSteeler

Member
Oct 16, 2008
416
11
18
In a few years, we'll all have radios that can pick up both sets of satellites, and SiriusXM will have bandwidth to burn! Imagine hundreds of channels of CD-quality music, in all the colors of the rainbow! It will be amazing!!

And then Mel will personally bring each of us a pony. :right:

Except that Mel promised that no current radio would lose content or become obsolete for about 10 years.

So yeah we'll have dual-mode radios, but there will be simulcasting, wasting 1/2 the bandwidth for another decade.
 

JJS

Member
Oct 13, 2008
90
7
8
A first semi-complete version is up at the top of page 1. Please post corrections here; I'm sure there are a bunch.

Thanks to ClubSteeler for his original List of Unique Channels!

:)
 

DAB

Mod Emeritus
Oct 9, 2008
9,434
149
63
Louisiana
I wish they had never started the canadian service and this would be so much eaiser. No offense to you Canadians. But right now this is a big issue for them merging the spectrum which they clearly plan to do. The time frame given was up to 10 years, but that doesn't mean they can't start moving in that direction much sooner. I think if one side or the other dominates and from where I am sitting looks like the XM side is going to dominate. I can't tell you how many folks I know who have added the best of Sirius to their XM radios and canceled Sirius in the last 2 days.

Great list that tells the whole story!
 

JJS

Member
Oct 13, 2008
90
7
8
Stuck per your request!

Thanks again for taking the time to do this and for those of you that gave feedback to help tweak it.


Thanks, DAB. And thanks to all Mods and all who keep this thread heads-up with updates, corrections and suggestions.

:)