The Death of FM radio

Back in July, I bought a new minivan for our family. It’s the first car I ever owned that had satellite radio (SiriusXM) capability. A nice feature so I thought, but not free like FM radio. Quite the contrary it carries a $13 (or higher) monthly subscription fee to keep it active.

But since every new car comes with a 3-month trial to SiriusXM, I thought I’d give it a try.

Want to know something interesting? I’m just finishing month two of my free trial and I have never once listened to FM radio since purchasing the new car. Not once.

Satellite radio is just too darn convenient. Yes, I can get the local FM edition of Radio Disney (my kids’ favorite) here in Indianapolis. But I eventually lose the station on long car trips and have to scan the stations to find the next closest city’s Radio Disney frequency.

But with SiriusXM, I just tune to channel 79 and enjoy uninterrupted Radio Disney for the entire trip.

And when the kids aren’t in the car I can enjoy pop hits on The Blend (channel 16), new country on The Highway (channel 59) and non-stop sports coverage on ESPN Radio (channel 84). And don’t even get me started on how awesome it is to have 24-hour uninterrupted fantasy football coverage on Fantasy Sports Radio (channel 87). Of course, there are about 100 other channels to choose from but these are my early favorites.

If you’re wondering if I put my wallet where my mouth is, the answer is a resounding yes. In fact, a few weeks ago I already paid to extend my programming an additional 12 months.

So if paying to listen to the radio doesn’t make you lose sleep at night, I highly recommend SiriusXM.