Some would argue that paying for radio is absurd. Users of Sirius XM would beg to differ; they pay for the premium satellite radio service. But are Sirius XM users loyal enough to pay more? We are about to find out. After a tumultuous merger process, with many stations being rearranged or lost, the Satellite Radio Provider has announced that there is a rate increase coming.

"How can this be?" you may ask. After all, weren't rate freezes part of the merger plan? Well, yes and no. Here is what was agreed upon during the merger:

1. The combined company agreed to not raise the retail rate for its basic 12.95 per month subscription package
2. The a la carte programming: 50 channels for 6.99 and 100 channels for 14.99 per month
3. The Best of Both Programming for basic Sirius, XM, or 100 channel A la Carte subscribers for 16.99 per month
4. Mostly Music or News, Sports and Talk Programming for a cost of 9.99 per month
5. Discounted Family-Friendly Programming: basic Sirius or XM programming for 11.95 per month and Best of Both for 14.99 per month

Sirius XM is, in fact, not raising any of those fees. They are adding $2.00 to the additional radio fee (currently $6.99) and they will be charging $2.99 if you want to stream your satellite radio to your PC (currently free). The additional fee was not mentioned in the merger, and it technically isn't a subscription fee. It is more like a discount for a second radio, and they are lessening the discount.

So, if you are an Sirius XM listener with 2 radios and a PC, you are looking at paying at least $455 a year for something that Pandora or Slacker Radio both offer for free on PC's and many portable phones. Is it worth it? Not for me. I like my Slacker iPhone just the way it is.

source SiriusBuzz