artbell Art Bell, the radio icon that joined the SiriusXM line-upwards on September 16th is leaving the air after just a month and a half.  While passionate satellite radio fans may not desire to hear it, his reasons for leaving boiled downward to 3 primary things:

  • SiriusXM's spider web player is notoriously unreliable, causing a loss of subscribers and a degraded listening experience for those who remain listening online.
  • For a "caller driven" show, the caller pool for art's evidence is but too minor.
  • International listeners have no legitimate way to hear the show.

This is not the start time that we have heard issues relating to the Net platform offered upward by SiriusXM.  In that location take been a host of issues from the functionality to being booted off, to having longer shows reset from the beginning afterward an hour and a one-half, making it almost impossible to listen to a 2 60 minutes show on demand.

When signed past SiriusXM, Bell had simply glowing things to say:

"SiriusXM is the perfect fit for me and my new showArt Bong'due south Dark Matter," said Art Bong. "Though invisible, dark matter accounts for gravitational forces observed in the universe—expect these forces to be at work in the uncensored, unrestricted creative loonshit of satellite radio, a medium with truly extraterrestrial accomplish."

It would announced that later just a curt period of fourth dimension, second thoughts emerged.

The departure of Bell, equally unfortunate as it is, should be a signal to SiriusXM.  The company has a compelling production, swell content, and great potential, just in some ways has lost the edge that it one time had.  The frustrations of Bell tin be heard on other channels as well.  Opie & Anthony, Howard Stern, Jay Thomas, and others have all at times expressed a great deal of frustration.  In some ways, the complaints of on air personalities ring back to the old FM days of terrestrial radio, a path that many consumers and on air personalities could not wait to get abroad from.

Bell is a radio icon, and will go on his evidence on the web.  It is unfortunate that SiriusXM could non match up to his needs.  Consumers can just hope that SiriusXM takes this issue seriously.  There are indeed issues with the Net platform too equally sound quality.  Yeah, Bell was probably expecting too many callers too quickly and did not give his prove fourth dimension to develop an audience from the pool of those willing to pay for radio, but Bell's issues should not and can not be ignored.

From an investors perspective, in that location are not really whatsoever silver linings here.  No, the departure of bell will not send the disinterestedness crashing, but the implications are not expert either.  If a personality such every bit Bong tin can non draw an audition with him, what does it say nigh other content?  If a personality like Bell has a solution on the web that meets his needs meliorate, what does that say about getting more talent to come to satellite and stay?

Whether we as investors like it or not, the sexual practice appeal of satellite radio is not what it used to be.  Satellite radio seems to have lost the leading edge.  No, SiriusXM is non going to fail, simply the cache is not what it in one case was.  The satellite empire is not aging, simply it is at a point where it may need to "re-invent" itself.

There will be a twenty-four hours when Stern retires.  There may be a solar day when Opie & Anthony have had enough.  Equally each twelvemonth passes it seems that SiriusXM is becoming more like the FM radio we all wanted to tear apart.  Yep, SiriusXM is better, but the options for listeners are increasing and SiriusXM needs to pay attending sooner rather than later.  The company has washed then many wonderful things in getting to where it is.  Information technology may be time to up the ante over again.

Best of Luck to Fine art Bell in his ventures.