for other uses see xm disambiguation . it has been suggested that this article be merged with sirius satellite radio to sirius xm holdings . discuss proposed since march 2015 . this article has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs to be updated . please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . november 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message xm satellite radio former type division of sirius xm radio industry radio broadcasting fate dissolved founded 1988 defunct january 13 2011 headquarters washington d.c. u.s. products satellite radio parent sirius xm holdings website web.archive.org web 20000301024042 http www.xmradio.com have.asp xm satellite radio xm was one of the three satellite radio sdars and online radio services in the united states and canada operated by sirius xm holdings . it provided pay for service radio analogous to cable television . its service included 73 different music channels 39 news sports talk and entertainment channels 21 regional traffic and weather channels and 23 play by play sports channels . xm channels were identified by arbitron with the label xm e.g. xm32 for the bridge . the company had its origins in the 1988 formation of the american mobile satellite corporation amsc a consortium of several organizations originally dedicated to satellite broadcasting of telephone fax and data signals . in 1992 amsc established a unit called the american mobile radio corporation dedicated to developing a satellite based digital radio service ; this was spun off as xm satellite radio holdings inc. in 1999 . the satellite service was officially launched on september 25 2001 . on july 29 2008 xm and former competitor sirius satellite radio formally completed their merger following u.s. federal communications commission fcc approval forming sirius xm radio inc. with xm satellite radio inc. as its subsidiary . 1 on november 12 2008 sirius and xm began broadcasting with their new combined channel lineups . 2 on january 13 2011 xm satellite radio inc. was dissolved as a separate entity and merged into sirius xm radio inc. 3 prior to its merger with sirius xm was the largest satellite radio company in the united states . contents 1 services 1.1 satellite radio 1.2 xm radio online 1.3 weather and traffic 1.4 commercial adoption and partnerships 1.5 customer service 1.6 exclusive channels 2 company 2.1 company timeline 2.2 technology 3 clear channel programming agreement 4 xm vs riaa 5 pcr and directpcr 6 merger with sirius satellite radio 7 iphone ipod touch blackberry and android applications 8 canada 9 see also 10 notes 11 external links services edit while the satellite receiver radio service was its primary product xm operated several audio and data services and advertising . satellite radio edit xm s primary business was satellite radio entertainment . xm carried music news both simulcast and syndicated programming sports talk radio comedy both stand up and radio shows and even radio drama . in addition xm used to broadcast local weather and traffic conditions in its larger markets . the channel lineup was available on line . 4 to receive satellite radio programming a customer was required to purchase a receiver . prices ranged from less than 50 to over 200 . with a service commitment it was possible to get a simple receiver for free . monthly packages started at us 14.49 month 5 changed since 2011 from us 12.95 month with add on family radios at us 8.99 month . best of sirius was available on us accounts for an additional monthly fee . lifetime packages were also available usa only . channel quality was in one of two flavors stereo music channels at 39 kbit s and mono talk channels at 16 kbit s using proprietary compression . many subscribers have complained about the low quality of satellite radio sound . but providers have stuck with the plan for more channels instead of better quality . hd terrestrial digital radio a competitor has always used this difference as a selling point . xm satellite radio logo from 2001 2006 xm radio online edit xm radio s online player prior to their merge with sirius xm radio online xmro xm s internet radio product offered many of xm s music stations and could be accessed from any internet connected windows or macintosh computer or via the iphone ipod touch sirius xm app . prior to march 11 2009 xmro was included with xm radio subscriptions or was available separately for 7.99 month to internet only subscribers . weather and traffic edit xm also provided data services such as weather information for pilots and weather spotters through its xm wx satellite weather datacasting service . this up to the minute weather information could be displayed in the cockpit of an aircraft equipped with a satellite weather receiver . unlike weather radar which relies on the aircraft s own equipment the satellite service could give a pilot information about weather anywhere in usa and canada . the downside is that the various weather streams radar cloud coverage lightning forecast taf fa etc. . . took around 15 minutes to complete the data download meaning that the information can somewhat be out of date by the time it is shown . in cockpit radar and lightning receivers returned truly realtime information but they costed many thousands of dollars and did not provide forecasts and complete weather reports . faa temporary flight restrictions tfrs were also available and shown . certain aircraft had the xm radio service into the aircraft s audio system as well which allowed passengers to listen to xm radio while flying . 6 7 commercial adoption and partnerships edit in 2005 airtran airways began putting xm satellite radio on their aircraft while in january 2006 jetblue airways added xm radio to their aircraft . united airlines started carrying prerecorded xm content in march 2006 . zipcar an urban car sharing service in the united states initially installed xm receivers in all of their vehicles available for daily or hourly rental . however citing uncertainty in the satellite radio market zipcar announced on may 1 2007 that all xm radios would be removed from its fleet in the following months . customer service edit in contrast to its high quality broadcasts sirius xm s customer service has drawn fire from some state governments . in october 2010 richard cordray ohio s attorney general began investigating complaints regarding sirius xm s policies on billing customer solicitation as well as subscription renewals and cancellations . the company informed shareholders of the probe shortly thereafter . according to news reports arizona connecticut tennessee vermont and the district of columbia have expressed interest in participating in the inquiry . according to reuters the investigations come as sirius xm home to programs by howard stern and oprah winfrey has found its footing and distanced itself from years of huge losses and questions about its business model . 8 in a report obtained in march 2011 the better business bureau reported receiving over 4500 complaints against sirius xm in the preceding 36 months around half of which regarded the company s billing and collection practices . 9 in missouri some people registered on the state s do not call list have complained about receiving repeated calls from sirius xm workers or agents after cancelling their subscriptions . some florida customers have reported being billed for automatic renewals of accounts they had canceled . further sirius xm was sued in federal court by a customer accusing it of deceptively raising prices . 8 the report also stated that sirius in a statement said it was cooperating with the investigations and that it believed its consumer related practices comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations . 8 exclusive channels edit opie radio formally the opie & anthony channel kiss 104.1 mix nashville the pink channel rock random bollywood & beyond fox sports radio mlb play by play extreme talk america s talk talk radio atn asian radio reachmd xm scoreboard espn xtra calendrier sportif xm deportivo laugh attack canada 360 quoi de neuf company edit company timeline edit year event s 1988 american mobile satellite corp. is founded . 1991 american mobile radio xm founder lon levin joins american mobile satellite corp. martine rothblatt founder and chairman of cd radio amends her 1990 filing with the fcc to create a single satellite radio service frequency band to enable two satellite radio systems to operate within that frequency band . 1992 december 15 after cd radio later becoming sirius satellite radio successfully petitioned the federal communications commission and congress to look into creating digital audio radio service dars in the united states american mobile satellite corp. spins off a new division known as american mobile radio corp. who would go on and join three other applicants as potential licensees . later that year american mobile brings in worldspace as a 20 % investor into the new venture with the intention of using their technology . 1996 gary parsons leaves mci communications to join american mobile as its ceo and president . 1997 may 16 american mobile satellite and worldspace officially change the name of american mobile radio to xm satellite radio . later that month lon levin who was politically instrumental in the early years of establishing american mobile radio becomes its president until 1998 ; he would remain on until 2005 in an influential vp role in charge of government regulatory . october xm satellite radio obtains one of only two satellite digital audio radio service licenses offered by the federal communications commission . together with cd radio sirius the two beat out primosphere limited partnership and digital satellite broadcasting corporation as licensees . 1998 hugh panero leaves request tv as its president and ceo to join xm satellite radio in the same role . 1999 june clear channel communications directv general motors and a private investment group invest us 250 million in xm satellite radio convertible debt . both clear channel and directv agree to develop services for xm . june 7 with gm s investment in xm they enter into a 12 year distribution agreement between xm and gm subsidiary onstar corporation . the agreement calls for exclusive installation of xm satellite radio into gm vehicles from november 12 2001 until november 2013 . onstar must meet specific escalating installation rates each year while xm must make extensive payments to onstar for the installation and sale of xm in their vehicles while sharing revenue earned from these radios with onstar as well as payments on the exclusivity agreement . july 7 american mobile satellite still xm s parent company uses approximately us 75 million of the proceeds from the private investment to reacquire the 20 % interest worldspace holds . in october xm satellite radio issues 10 241 000 shares of class a common stock at an ipo price of us 12.00 per share . american mobile satellite remains the majority holder of the public company . 2000 april american mobile satellite corp. changes its name to motient . in july american honda join several private investors in a us 235 million preferred stock investment in the company . 2001 september 25 originally set for september 12 and delayed because of 9 11 xm satellite radio service launches first in san diego and dallas fort worth and spreads across the united states . the initial lineup includes 71 music channels and 29 other channels consisting of sports talk children s programming entertainment and news . the original launch date of september 12 is pushed