Satellite Radio Provides Wide Range of Programming

            With the new hybrid car (a Nissan Altima) I purchased recently came a three-month trial of the XM satellite radio service.  The opportunity to sample this new delivery system was intriguing, but I hardly expected to find it worth the $13 a month subscription fee after the trial period ended.

            Suffice to say, I was wrong.  Satellite radio is a terrific way to make that hellish drive during rush hour much more bearable.  Here’s what I have discovered over the last three months.

            XM (now merged with Sirius, the other satellite service) offers the best features of AM and FM radio plus a whole range of programming that neither of the free broadcasting systems provide.  And the sound quality is crystal clear, doesn’t fade as distances increase, and, on many channels, is commercial-free.

            The XM programming of approximately 170 channels includes lots of music from just about every genre.  (Okay, I haven’t found a channel exclusively devoted to ska, but I’m sure ska is played every so often on several of the more adventurous channels that are included in the XM package.)  But mainstream stuff is abundantly available, starting with separate channels that are devoted to the music of the last six decades of the last century (the ‘40’s, ‘50’s ‘60’s ‘70’s ‘80’s and ‘90’s, to be specific).  Each feature the equivalent of a full menu of hits from the decade, and all are hosted by DJs who sound very much like their counterparts might have sounded “in the day.”  (There’s even a Wolfman Jack sound-alike on the 50’s channel.)

            In addition to these “period” offerings, there are separate channels devoted entirely to Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, the Grateful Dead, and Eminem.  But the music doesn’t stop there, not hardly.  There are no fewer than six channels offering various styles of country, 20 specializing in different stages of rock, seven that deal in hip-hop and/or R&B, and several others that offer jazz, blues and classical.  Like movie themes?  There’s a separate channel for you.  Show tunes?  Another separate channel.  There’s even a separate channel for “New and Emerging Canadian Artists,” if you can believe it.  And while I haven’t found that ska channel, its cousin, reggae, is represented with a channel of its own.

            And did I mention that all of these channels, over 70 in all, are provided completely commercial-free?

            Of course, not everyone wants music, certainly not all the time.  And so, talk radio is offered in large quantities as well.  How large?  Over two-dozen channels large.  Included are channels devoted to conservatives, liberals, and just plain old political junkies.  One channel is called POTUS, which on satellite radio stands for Politics of the United States (a play on the original POTUS, for President of the United States). 

            Sports broadcasting is also available in abundance.  During the baseball season, every major league game can be heard live (from the home team’s radio broadcast) in a deal XM has with major league baseball. 

            Other sports programming includes the traditional talk radio format, with 24/7 baseball talk on one channel, PGA tour coverage on another and a series of channels devoted to the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-10, Big 12 and SEC collegiate conferences.  During their respective seasons, full coverage of the NHL, NBA and NFL is available.

            Other news-related programming is also available (all for that $13 per month fee).  Included are channels that carry CNN’s audio broadcasts, a radio version of C-SPAN, and several BBC and NPR stations. 

            For other forms of entertainment, there’s a channel that replays old-time radio hits like “Our Miss Brooks,” “Burns and Allen,” “Fibber McGee and Molly” and “The Jack Benny Program.”  There’s also a channel devoted to books that features discussions of current works and classics along with portions of audio books that are aired.  There are six comedy channels, three channels devoted to family and health, two on religion, and a dozen that offer traffic and weather from some of the country’s larger metropolitan areas (including San Francisco, but not Sacramento).

            In short, there is just about something for everybody.  It’s almost “too much good stuff,” to borrow a phrase from an AM/PM television commercial.

            If satellite radio has a down-side (other than its relatively nominal cost) I haven’t discovered it yet.  And, to prove the point, when my free trial period ends later this month, I’ll definitely be paying that $13 monthly fee to continue the service.