• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, July 24, 2007

After weathering months of criticism and regulator scrutiny, Sirius and XM fired back a response. The companies presented a substantive plan that would improve their subscription services for consumers--provided their proposed merger gets the OK. In the revised subscription program, new subscribers would have the option of choosing and paying for radio programming on an a la carte basis, picking only the genres they want.

For example, the hardcore hip-hop fan can nix country channels, and metal-heads could ditch classical.

The new a la carte subscription plan, to be presented to the Federal Communications Commission tomorrow, gives concrete form to vague proposals suggested by Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin over the last couple months. While a merger offers clear financial benefits for both companies, consumer advocates and members of Congress have criticized the plan, saying it failed to outline positive effects for subscribers. That's key to convincing FCC regulators concerned about the ramifications of a possible satellite radio monopoly.

Under the terms of the plan, subscribers to both services would be able to choose from two basic a la carte options. The first allows subscribers to one service to choose 50 satellite channels from that service for $6.99 a month, about half the current rate of $12.95; consumers can also add additional channels beyond the basic 50 for $.25 apiece. Under the second plan, for $14.99, subscribers can choose up to 100 channels--including premium programming from the other service.

A new option, billed as "family friendly," would also allow subscribers to block adult programming and receive a credit for the canceled channel. Finally, the companies are also offering two new "mostly music" and "mostly talk/news" subscription plans, also at discounted rates.