pwhite8314

Just an explanation would be nice. Aled (b/fast show producer) tweeted about contacting Sirius, implying, but not confirming, that the BBC had nothing to do with it.

I really hope Sirius reverses their decision, but, I would imagine we're fairly small fry, in terms of listener (then again, some of the other channels are complete $hite, so R1 must do better than those!)

dbd33

Surely you don't mean the all Grateful Dead, all Elvis or all Bruce Springsteen channels? Without them I'd never have heard take 67(a) of Blue Suede Shoes nor the super extended jam version of whatever the one Grateful Dead song was called. Perhaps you mean the dog road trucker channel, the place to learn which speed will keep you awake for days at the wheel without making you tolerant of Yankees, foreigners or faggots. No! On second thought, the worst radio yet invented is the all Alan Jackson channel, y'all sing along now..

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell
you the difference in Eyeraq and Eyeran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young...

pwhite8314

Don't forget Spyder (that's Spyder with a Y, cuz he's hip and stuff) Harrison, and his perpetual countdown that seems to run all weekend long on Hits 1.

I need Radio 1 back, if only to hear actual world news (albeit dumbed-down) as opposed to whatever is happening in Dallas, and it's very immediate vacinity. You'd have no clue of the London riots if you just watched Fox 4, but I hear it's really hot, just in case you didn't notice.

vistaway

There's a rapidly (a dozen new "likes" every few minutes) growing protest group on Facebook that appears to be well-organized. If you're not already a member, I suggest adding your voice:

http://www.facebook.com/SaveRadio1inNorthAmerica

Andy

jonthelad

You nailed it, pal...

jonthelad

yes, me too....

PrairieBrit

My email to Sirius Canada... Lets see what (if) the reply is.

I am contacting you to voice my extreme disappointment at Sirius / XM's decision to drop BBC Radio 1.

As a person from England still with close ties back to my "Home Land" this channel provided me a welcome connection to my English heritage. Having spent the first twenty three years of my live in England I grew up with Radio 1, imagine my extreme excitement three years ago when my new Ford Focus with Sirius enabled radio was able to help me stay in touch with "home" as I drove around. When my trial subscription expired I did not hesitate to renew my subscription. Each morning Chris Moyles and crew made my morning drive to work tolerable! Since I live in Saskatchewan there was a one or two hour difference in the times but at least it was close enough. The same was true for my afternoon drive home with Scott Mills. Thanks Sirius for taking that enjoyment away from this "Prairie / Brit Boy"!

The channels suggested as an alternative to loyal BBC Radio 1 listeners are an insult! May be SOME of the music available could be heard by hopping from channel to channel but it is not just the music that has drawn it's loyal listeners it is the entire "Radio 1 Package". Radio 1 D.J.'s are just that true, live D.J.'s, many of them have "graced the Airways" for many years. In England many of them are British icons in some cases considered to be celebrities. From what I have heard of the announcers (note I intentionally do not refer to them as D.J.'s) are nowhere close to the standards set by D.J.'s such as Annie Mac and Chris Moyals.

As for the music it's self I can hear an almost identical line up on Regina's Z99 or other similar FM channels for free. True they have commercials and are only available in and around Regina. But on the plus side most of the news is of interest to me. On longer trips where my FM stations of choice are not available I have my iPad and CD player (the music I enjoy with no subscription).

Another thing I would like to mention is the removal of the channel today was also very bad timing. If you watched the news over the last few days with all the troubles going on in London I am sure that many listeners with connections back to England, especially the areas of London affected by the riots, were relying on the news casts on BBC Radio 1 to get a true British slant on what was happening. Even if the news bulletins were delayed by five hours the news was presented by news readers who were closer to the action than an American reporter with CNN who had little idea about what was happening. I am sorry to say that watching such events as the present London riots and their coverage of this year's Royal Wedding only goes to prove how these type of news presenters often dramatize what little British news is available in both Canada and the U.S.A. They have little or no grasp of what it is really all about.

Although BBC Radio 1 was not the only channel I listen to on Sirius, it was the channel that was on probably 90% of my driving time. To put it another way that means BBC Radio 1 was worth 90% of the annual cost of my subscription. Your subscription rates are not cheap but it was worth the cost to me to listen to an "Old Friend" when and where ever I was. With that in mind I am not sure I can justify the cost of renewing my subscription in February 2012.

Some people on various forums I read today have suggested that maybe it was the BBC who "pulled the plug" on this feed as it provided competition to the soon to released " BBC iPlayer" in North America. I do not believe this to be true since in order to listen live the device used would need a continuous connection to the internet, hardly practical in a vehicle. Also from what I understand the iPlayer feed would probably be a live feed with no time delay this would remove the advantage of the feed offered by Sirius, who wants listen to late night shows during their evening drive around town!

I would strongly suggest you do a Google search on "Sirius / XM drops BBC Radio 1" to see for yourself just how many people are upset at this decision and also the number of people who either have, intend to, or are considering not renewing their subscription. Seems to me that a bit of damage control may be order and I do not think "offering people a carrot" of a few free months will work to fix this one, you took away the main reason why this group maintained their subscription. As far as I can see there is only one way to win these loyal listeners back and that is to give them back the very reason they have been loyal listeners. If for some reason this is not possible at least have the guts to make a proper announcement by replying to as many of the forums as possible and may be even an explanation on your web site.

My two sons (19 and 23) recently cancelled their subscriptions because they were not finding music that appealed to them and their friends, this indicates that you are not reaching the "young adult" population. I know of many older people with new Ford vehicle equipped with factory installed Sirius enabled radios who have not bothered to activate them because they are "scared of the technology" , all they want is simple radio to listen to the local CBC radio. This to me would suggest that the fact is the majority of your listeners are in the in late twenties to fifties age group who happen to have a suitable amount of "disposable income". From what I have been reading in various forums throughout the internet you have upset a large number of that group of listeners. If dropping Radio 1 was in a fact a marketing type decision I would suggest that whoever did the research did not do it very well, who did they ask?

IF it is true that there was need to make way for a single new channel it would appear that there are other channels which I am sure are less popular. For example is there a need for two Catholic Church channels (129 and 130). How many sports channels are required? Also where is the channel that introduces new and "unsigned" artists, many of which have gone on to become well known groups, who were first heard on BBC Radio 1's "BBC introducing"? Where is the live festival performances such as those grace the stage at festivals such as Glastonbury?

I make no apology for the length of this email but I felt I needed to voice my concerns direct to Sirius / XM rather than just being one of the many who vent their frustration (often in a very verbal and unprofessional manner) and thereby give you the opportunity to explain just why and how this decision was made. I look forward to your reply addressing as many of the above points as possible.

SarahG

Be interested to see if you get an actual reply and not just a generic reply saying listen to another channel!

quietgiroth

Eon's ago, when Sirius first started up I signed up. It was brilliant, I could listen to the footy on weekends via the radio (they even played radio 5 live). In the morning we could listen to Radio 1 (I'm sorry I know it's base, but unlike my local radio stations Chris and his crew keeps me entertained in the morning) driving to work.
Since they merged, Sirius has become more XM based. Footy coverage is reduced to Man U radio only, no radio 1, no 5 live. The music on a lot of channels changed a lot after XM got involved. It is just slowly going down hill.
I've given them my 2 cents worth of complaint, which they will ignore I'm sure.

PAScouse

This is what I got back from Sirius:-
Thank you for being a loyal SiriusXM customer and taking the time to contact Listener Care. We are glad you have taken this time to contact us for more information.
We are sorry to hear that you are disappointed in the recent changes and that you miss hearing BBC Radio 1.

We think you may come to enjoy similar music and hits previously heard on BBC Radio 1, on some of our other channels. You can hear Top 40 hit music on Hits 1 (Channel 2) or 20 On 20 (Channel 3), new alternative rock on AltNation (Channel 36), and R&B Hits can be heard on The Heat (Channel 47). For a British perspective on the news you can listen to BBC World Service (Channel 118).

We continually strive for a balance of musical styles to satisfy the diverse tastes of all of our subscribers and look forward to continuing to serve you in the future.


For additional information you may check on the link:

http://www.siriusxm.com/bbcradio1

Please visit our website regularly for any updates.

Please visit our website at http://www.siriusxm.com/channellineup for our current lineup, schedules and programming highlights.

We are committed to providing you with the best in customer care. You can always manage your account 24/7 by visiting our website at www.siriusxm.com.

If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to send an additional email or you may contact a Listener Care Representative directly at 1-800-XM RADIO (800-967-2346).


Thank you,

Roberto[/I][/I][/I][/I]

It's basically what is being broadcast on 15 right now. What a load of c##p.

If there is no chance of getting R1 back in the next week, here's yet another subscription cancellation coming up.

iaink

Everyone is pointing the finger of blame at Sirius, which may be fair, but perhaps the BBC withdrew its permission?

Could be over money issues, or could be because it wants to encourage people to use its own outlets and increase revenue from them, after all, why should Sirius make money on the back of a BBC production if there is some way for Auntie to help fund herself...

dbd33

They don't know their audience. They don't know why people, at least the people here, buy subscriptions. That's very poor in this day and age, that sort of information is readily available by tracking social media and by polling the customers, it's the sort of thing banks, insurance companies and manufacturers have a handle on.

Sirius seems to have more of the business model of a telephone or cable television provider, founded on the belief that the consumer can't go anywhere else and doesn't much matter. Ah well, that's the price of a 24 each month saved.

magnumpi

They just dont get it do they.

A glowing indication of a "we dont even know who are customer base are or what they want" industry.

lairdoglencairn

First post on this forum, only found it while searching for answers as to why BBC has been dropped from Sirius. Got a reply almost identical to pascouse's from Sirius:

We are sorry to hear that you are disappointed in the recent changes and that you miss hearing BBC Radio 1.

We think you may come to enjoy similar music and hits previously heard on BBC Radio 1, on some of our other channels. You can hear Top 40 hit music on Hits 1 (Channel 2) or 20 On 20 (Channel 3), new alternative rock on AltNation (Channel 36), and R&B Hits can be heard on The Heat (Channel 47). For a British perspective on the news you can listen to BBC World Service (Channel 118).

We continually strive for a balance of musical styles to satisfy the diverse tastes of all of our subscribers and look forward to continuing to serve you in the future.

We are committed to providing you with the best in listener care. If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this email and you can always manage your account online 24/7 by clicking
www.siriusxm.com/myaccount

I responded, pointing out that they had failed to address any of the questions in my initial message.

jonthelad

This is what I got back from Radio 1 this morning - it appears to point the finger at Sirius but does not state why the decision to renew was not made.

'We're sorry you're currently unable to enjoy Radio 1 via Sirius/XM. The deal which allowed Radio 1 to be broadcast in America recently finished and has unfortunately, at the moment, has not been renewed by Sirius/XM. We're not sure if this is a final decision, so if may be worth contacting them directly to express your view, but we would like to thank you for listening up until now.

Kind Regards,

Radio 1 '