Comments on: Sirius unveils iPhone App: reviews not so good (updated)

By: MudDude

MudDude — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:51:43 +0000

Stern is not required for me to live. The only show that I miss by not having the Stern channels is Ferrall. Overall this is a great application and love it. There is more to Sirius XM than Stern, a lot more exclusive content than anywhere else.

By: Just Because It Exists Doesn't Mean It's LEGAL

Just Because It Exists Doesn't Mean It's LEGAL — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:39:20 +0000

From a lawyer who actually knows about rights negotiations:

The other apps (when they work on cellular networks) are ILLEGAL if they play Howard. \”Mobile Rights\” refer specifically to streaming on cellular networks. Trust me, I know about rights negotiations, and there are essentially three types for SIRIUS XM: Satellite, Online, & Mobile. Back when Howard signed on (if I remember correctly) there were no Cell Phone products for SXM so apparently they didn\’t include those rights.

Actually, along those lines: I\’m surprised that SXM hasn\’t sued those other apps yet for what is called \”UNJUST ENRICHMENT\”. That is when another company makes money off of another\’s protected brand/content/product. But that is a completely separate issue.

Looks like Howard wanted more $$$ for mobile rights than would be reasonable for SXM so they didn\’t include him. And judging from the investor screenshot released earlier, it looked like they fully intended on having him in the app. After all, his channel was in the screenshot. Think about it, his two channels are the only online channels that are missing from the application! I highly doubt that this was an arbitrary corporate choice. It just wouldn\’t make sense to intentionally leave him out if they had the rights.

By: Kade

Kade — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:19:36 +0000

Dear Sirius,

It is no wonder your stock price is in the gutter…

You finally give iPhone users a SiriusXM App and don’t include all of your content? How do you not include either companies biggest star Howard Stern?

What Sirius has failed to realized is that Stern is that thing that makes them special. There are a ton of already free music apps out there like Pandora, which is unreal.

Why would anyone pay a monthly charge for something they can already get free?

This app will crash and burn without Stern and other content they left out.

PS. To get Sirius internet radio WITH Stern, just get the pocket tunes App. It’s 10 bucks to download, but there is no monthly fee and there are limitless possibilities!

By: Disappointed

Disappointed — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:20:09 +0000

One thing the articles aren’t mentioning…the audio quality on this app is not that good either. They are definitely downsampling compared to their regular premium streaming service. The sound is NOT CD quality. The PocketTune app sounds much better and the other free music apps all have better sound quality. Combined with lack of premium CONTENT. This will not be a game changer for Sirius…far from it.

By: P

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:34:20 +0000

An equation:

Sirius app – (No Howard+Sports) + $3.00 Extra a month = I am going to cancel my subscription.

By: dave

dave — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:43:49 +0000

“mobile rights”…. every day I listen to Stern in my “car”, then I can log in on my “laptop”. A friend of mine even listens to Stern on his “portable receiver”.

It seems like this is the FIRST situation where this content is being restricted since this early days of internet streaming. Are we to supposed to think that the iPhone was what they were thinking of when they drew up the contracts. I’ve even heard Howard express hope on air that an iPhone app would be made.

I think I’m missing something.

By: Franklin Paul

Franklin Paul — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:15:27 +0000

Good call First Gen Works. I tried again an the download worked.

By: FIRST GEN WORKS

FIRST GEN WORKS — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:12:52 +0000

Not sure why you can’t get it on your 1st gen ipod touch – I have it on mine right now: sounds great!

By: FACTS in the FAQs

FACTS in the FAQs — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:10:29 +0000

From the FAQs on the website: SIRIUS XM streams all channels for which it has “mobile rights” So it looks like the guy making $100M/year wants more $$$ to go to mobile: Dumb move Howard – iPhone could be a big audience for you…

By: thebasa

thebasa — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:22:59 +0000

Don’t buy it. It’s lame and restricted. Buy Pocket Tunes Radio from the App Store and stream ALL of Sirius XM’s channels!