Radio host Howard Stern appears on David Letterman's show this month, but he won't be heard on Sirius XM's iPhone app.
(John Paul Filo/CBS/AP)Photos (1 of 1)
A Sirius app without Howard Stern? Srsly?
By Andrew Heining | 06.18.09
The league leader in satellite radio has arrived on the iPhone, but it looks like its MVP missed the bus.
For $12.99 a month (after a free 7-day trial) you can listen to pretty much the same stuff available on home and in-car satellite radio receivers on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Celebrity shock jock Howard Stern’s two channels are among the “select programming” that are not available to users of the app, as are NFL, MLB, and NASCAR live feeds. From Sirius’s iPhone FAQ:
SIRIUS & XM offer all of the channels for which we have mobile performance rights. For that reason, certain channels which may be available on your satellite radio or online radio service may not be available on a mobile device like the iPhone.
That still leaves 120 channels of commercial-free radio – nothing to shake a stick at. But what are the alternatives to paying three lattes a month (or $2.99 if you’re already a subscriber) for Sirius/XM’s iPhone service?
Cars.com’s Kicking Tires blog took a look at the others in the radio-replacement app field, and there are some formidable contenders, including Pandora, Last FM, Slacker, and iMeem [links open iTunes] – all free to download and with no monthly fees. Of those, the site gives Slacker and iMeem props for usability and versatility.
Stern reaction
Response to the omission of Stern’s channels hasn’t been pretty. Sirius Buzz blogger Tyler Savery calls it a bum move for the company. “Sirius XM Radio has squandered a wonderful opportunity by excluding the very content that people are clamoring for,” he writes. “There are already over 200 people who have rated the app with only one star. Overall the app is rated as a two star app. By contrast, Slacker, and Pandora enjoy near perfect consumer ratings on iTunes.”
And, returning to sports, Rick Aristotle Munarriz of The Motley Fool puts it in perspective: “Sirius without Stern is like the Los Angeles Lakers without Kobe Bryant. It’s still entertaining and somewhat competitive, but not something that millions of fans will pay a premium to experience.”
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2. Dallas | 06.18.09
I never renewed my Sirius subscription when it ran out before. I was excited however by the prospect of using the iphone app to stream it to my car without additional hardware and hooking up between my 2 cars and listen to it wherever I wanted….however without Stern whats the point?! I have Pandora and AOL radio, what I want and what I would pay for is Stern. Apparently 1300+ people agree so far in the app store reviews
3. d0N | 06.19.09
Sirius app without Stern??? What exactly is so special about Mel??? I am done! Cancelling my sub when year is up! Probably all just greedy Howard wanting an extra 10 bucks to hear his channels!!! Bottom line = really really dumb move by Sirius and Howard! Devasting!!!!!!
4. Sternfan | 06.19.09
Whoever made the decision not to include Howard Stern on the Sirius iPhone must’ve had a really BIG bowl of Stupid for breakfast! As much as I enjoy the music and comedy channels, I subscribe to Sirius primarily to listen to the Stern show and to its sister-channel Sirius 101. Why would anyone want to pay for an appliance that isn’t programmed to let them listen to what they’re paying for?
5. Hey now | 06.19.09
Ok they did not put Howard 100 and 101 on but there is no explanation as to why. Does not make sense.
7. Pete | 06.19.09
“Who wants to listen to an irrelevant, out of date,unfunny,overpaid bully anyways.”
I do. And so do millions of other, paying subscribers. That’s the point. Sirius is pissing off, and I would argue showing total contempt for a HUGE portion of it’s revenue stream.
Dumb move
8. chrisrocks | 06.19.09
I noticed that in the yahoo advertisement for the app it said a free 7 day trial- I already subscribe to Sirius, so what Im hoping for is that after the 7 day trial they include howard. Maybe theyre just keeping him off during the free 7 days?
9. Dave | 06.19.09
If I owned a sneaker store, I would offer both sneakers to the customer whether they purchased at my storefront location or on my online store. Giving you only one shoe if you purchase online doesn’t make any sense and neither does this dumb move by Sirius. For a company that has the potential to make a fortune, they make some pretty stupid decisions. Has anyone heard about the new Commodore 64 being released next month to compete with the Macbook Air?!?!?! Me either. My guess is that Sirius will take a look at their stock price drop today and second guess their brilliant decision. I paid $10 dollars for Pocket Tunes a month ago… and would have been willing to pay double for a “real” Sirius app today. Now I’m not even sure that I want their free one. It’s quite sad really….
10. melkarmazan | 06.21.09
I don’t own a portable Sirius/XM device, but have always wanted one… just never could bring myself to buy one due to the cost. Same goes for the iphone.
Once I heard about this new app I actually perked up and actually decided I’d now buy an iPhone. After doing some research, and seeing that there will be now Howard Stern show, I decided against it.
I really don’t understand this move at all. I love the Howard Stern show and being able to listen to him on an iPhone would probably be the greatest thing on the planet.
12. David S. | 06.22.09
Unbelievable…how can you make an app and not have Howard Stern on it. Who are the business people making these decisions. No wonder there company is in trouble. I was excited to learn I could hear sirius on my iPod Touch, but why would I pay extra for something I only get half of. i won’t even bother to buy the app!
What a STUPID MOVE!!!
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3. Sirius XM iPhone app exceeds a million downloads even without Howard Stern | csmonitor.com | 07.06.09
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1. sf | 06.18.09
terrible move. terrible, foolish move by sirius.