Mike Terry wrote in message
...
By SARAH MCBRIDE, The Wall Street Journal

(snip)

Both companies are aggressively pursuing niche broadcast markets: Sirius,
for example, recently signed skateboarding champion Tony Hawk to do a
show.
To the companies, it doesn't matter how many people listen to each
individual channel -- what matters is how many people subscribe to their
overall service.

Well, actually, it does matter how many people listen, at least to XM. XM
surveys its listeners periodically and drops channels to free up bandwidth
based, in large part, on the results of those popularity polls. When Special
X (a channel devoted to musical weirdness) was dropped, its failure to
register as more than a blip on the customer surveys was cited in Lee
Abrams' standard response to listener e-mails. What replaced Special X? The
Blend, a "greatest hits of the 80s, 90s and today"-type station.

Howard