SiriusXM Is Shaking Things Up

Sirius XM Radio subscribers can expect some heavy duty changes when they crank up their satellite radio receivers starting today. Sirius XM is moving several channels around and adding some new options.

Some of the incoming channels include Velvet (contemporary pop), SiriusXM Fly (retro hip-hop and R&B), Limited Engagement (a new hub for the steady flow of limited-run stations), and a new channel devoted to comedy greats. Many existing stations will also relocate to new channel numbers.

But, according to The Motley Fool,  Sirius XM is also making room for some of these new offerings by eliminating some of the current channels. Escape -- the easy listening music channel -- joins C-SPAN, SiriusXM Indie, and several Latino channels on the way out of the receiver-based offering.

There will be some grumbling. According to the Motley Fool, we tend to know only what we will have to go without instead of the enjoyment we will receive from the new ear candy. But Sirius XM has survived and even thrived through similar channel shakeups in the past. It will do so again.

Sirius XM closed out its second quarter with a record 28.4 million subscribers. The appeal of satellite radio isn't waning. Sirius XM had a record 8.2 million drivers on free trials, and if we go by the platform's historical performance, more than 3.3 million of those listeners will stick around as paying subscribers. With monthly churn near its historical low and Sirius XM now targeting a whopping $1.3 billion in free cash flow, it seems like a safe time to risk near-term alienation of a few fans of fringe channels for the sake of beefing up its overall lineup of content.