Wow...

I can understand the frustration of these folks, and can certainly appriciate the cancelling one's subscription...

But destroying the hardware?... Some fanboys have way too much time on their hands, and too much drama in their hearts.

I'm pretty sure that Don and Mike out of DC (wjfk, I think) have been suspended before but then returned to their gig. And Stern was suspended for one day towards the end of his tenure on terrestrial radio, but he was, obviously, on the way out the door anyway.

Those are the only two examples I can think of off the top of my head. There may be more...

@BeastMasterJ: You can get XM radios for free if you subscribe now. This isn't much of a financial loss for the radio destroyers.

Read this summary from yesterday's thread.

these people need to GROW UP.

A private company can handle their programming any way they want.

If these yuppie idiots can't handle going without listening to a couple of degenerates for 30 days....they've got bigger problems than XM radio.

@Jason: "You can get XM radios for free if you subscribe now. This isn't much of a financial loss for the radio destroyers."

I guess it may work out for them when they re-enroll after XM caves and lifts the suspension.

But like chimmike said, they need to grow up.

The guy who used the saw to destroy his radio: a VERY bad idea. The battery was still inside the radio, and if the saw made the battery hot enough, it would explode.

So, um, to protest XM they're destroying their systems that they'll have to buy again in 30 days to listen to Opie & Anthony again? Awesome protest, guys. Way to hurt the company by beefing up their bottom line. This will be a "It seemed like a good idea at the time" thing in a month.

@BeastMasterJ: Exactly, they destroyed a free radio and/or they'll get a free replacement, so I don't see what the big deal is.

@bokononist: Now THAT would have been a shame.

@chimmike: Actually thats the nice thing about private companies like this, they pretty much have to listen to their subscribers, otherwise they are going to die.

Likewise it goes much further than that, how do you advertise absolutely no censorship, have stations with warning labels on them, then censor two guys because they bitched about the fact you made them apologize about something that they would never have other than the fact XM is looking to merge (which everyone pretty much said is NEVER going to happen no matter how much they clean up their acts)

@Jason: Why would they get a free replacement for something they willfully destroyed?

@Jason: I bought an XM for my dad last year for father's day. I most definitely did not get a free receiver. Is this a new policy of a free receiver w/ a signup?

Who knew you could build such a loyal following by stealing jokes from Fark.com? I'm in the wrong line of work.

I think I'll protest the high price of gas by blowing up my car. Or maybe complain about property taxes by burning my house down.

If they don't cancel their subscription, they are doing that for no reason...granted those receivers are for XM but they are made by COMPANIES, NOT XM.

Every moron needs their 5 seconds of fame.

@endersshadow:
http://www.gadgetreview.com/2005/10/free-xm-radio-at-world...

Some world series deal...I never heard of it.

@chimmike...grow up? Sure it's their company and they can handle their programming how they want. And I can cancel my service and they can lose my business if *I* want. If they don't want the latter to happen, they create content I want to hear, and pay for. When they remove said content, they can lose my business. Pretty simple.

I applaud these guys cancelling and destroying the equipment. The whole premise of Sat. radio is no government interference...you can play what you want without restriction. Lose that, and you don't have a business.

This doesn't look enviromentally friendly.

@endersshadow: It's a new promo. Basically there's a rebate for activating an XM subscription, and there are plenty of radios that cost the same as the rebate.

@BlindsidesDork: That's old, there have been a bunch of free XM Sportscaster and XM Roady deals at Walmart and similar stores lately. It's basically a free radio after you prepay for three months of service.

@Jason: Oh I don't know...I just did a quick google search. I got an Inno, I am fine.

@saboth: but as far as i understand it there was no *government* interference... and it's not an issue of "free speech" either. xm can air whatever they want to air and censor whatever they want to censor. if they go out of business because of it, so be it.

like the others have said, cancelling service is the way to go - destroying hardware (even free hardware) is juvenile and stupid.

by blowtorch was def. the best - althought that guy killed a roady - i think they pay you to put one of those in your car these days.

seriously though - the looks on the face of the guy destroying it by hand - LMAO!

It has nothing to do with the government. They claim they were promised one thing by the company which was uncensored talk radio. As customers, they feel they have been mislead and now they are angry.

Does suspended = fired forever?
or
Does suspended = gone for a little while?

Ah, so they'll be back.

Way to stick it to the man. I wonder what XM gets out of each licensed XM receiver.

@manyou07

Did you think burning bra's for womens rights was dumb also? This is a way of protesting whats being done. You look at it as stupid while I see it as kind of refreshing and might very well do the same.

I do agree with you that this isn't a free speech issue, and that the company can do what they want, but XM has said from the begining that they were uncensored. To start censoring them = loss of subscription from me, and many of my friends who have also cancelled.

These people are drawing attention to whats happening and trying to hurt XM as a company. Just standing outside there houses and yelling at the top of there lungs isn't going to get them heard by many. This will. I hope XM looses more and more subscribers and eventually goes out of business. O&A is there most listned to station. They admitted that many times recently. For them to get rid of them for any reason is ridiculous.

@chimmike: I never listened to this show, and I don't have XM radio, but I do know that XM radio has long been presented as a place for over-the-edge radio hosts to find a home (along with SIRIUS). Many people buy these systems with this belief in mind, and it is a key point brought up frequently in sales.

The people choosing to destroy their hardware are surely doing it to present a visual point to other users and damage XM in the only way a consumer can -- through negative PR. Sure, XM has a right to cancel this show -- it is their outfit -- but people have a right to protest in any way they wish. I am amazed someone would be so quick to attack consumers for standing up for what they believe in and making sure an event they see as negative is well known to the public. This embodies the very heart and soul of this very site.

Oh, and another thing, even if they wind up not being fired which is highly unlikely, are you ever going to trust XM again and listen to them there? You now know its no longer going to be uncensored. As much as I like O&A I can't stand by the company and pay them money so I have no reason to keep the unit.

welcome to sirius boys, the water is just fine over here.

:)

~been with sirius for 4 years

"It makes for compelling footage, but if these guys really want to make a dent, they should be canceling their service."

I couldn't agree more, Ben. The only way a corporation will take notice of Joe Consumer is when he stops giving the corporation money. Most of these people are destroying their radios because of the attention it will garner them by "sticking it to the man" but they're gonna be SOL when the show returns & then they'll need to buy new units to hear it. Assuming the show doesn't come back, they still could have ebay'ed the units and recouped their losses.

At least they're canceling their subs which is what's doing more damage to XM than beating on the radio units.

Thanks for visiting the site & for the mention here!

Goatweed

By the gods.

Bush freaken lies, out of his ass, to get us involved in an optional war, killing over 3,000 soldiers and permanently maiming more than 300,000 of them. While cutting veteran benefits, widow benefits, VA budgets, and telling post tramatic stress sufferers their illnesses are imaginary. For bonus points, we also kill millions of Iraqis whom, while probably weren't having the greatest of times in Saddam|Iraq, were, well, alive.

Bush commits numerous felonies to spy on freaken average American citizens in secret, with no safeguards, and in the face of 200 years of US history.

Bush, with a wink and a nudge, approves torture as first line of interrogation defense, staining our reputation permanently.

bin Laden allowed to escape in Afganistan because Bush pulls military into Iraq.

Katrina. Billions wasted. GlobalWaronTerror. Trillions wasted.

FCC

Haliburton. Blackwater.

Justice Department is turned into a partisan attack organization.

-> No response from the right wing.

...Opie and Tony aren't allowed to say, "poo-poo".

-> The wingnuts go insane.

Guys, if you call yourself proud Americans, then you REALLY need to read a couple books, gain some perspective and fight fights that matter. It's awesome that you're pissed and doing something to Fight The Power, but you think - perhaps - that you're being distracted by... Trivia?!

Imagine all the heroes you aspire to, and what they'd do. Are you following the example they give, or are your heroics on more of a Paris Hilton scale?

Though, just realized: does this mean that the O&A protesters are... hawt?!

@trai_dep: wow I almost thought there was NO relation in your big rant to this article, haha!

@trai_dep

While I kind of agree with you, the war on Iraq and other things in all honesty don't effect my day as much as what XM did. I know thats kind of weird, but its true.

What Bush has done has made me angry but it has no direct relation to anything that happens in my day. It has many indirect effects. I like many other XM subscribers listened to O&A between 3-5 hours a day while I'm doing things. Thats a large direct effect on my life and how I live it.

If something changed that effected your life that much you might just feel kind of passionate about it.

The Nashville Coffee Company used to advertise on XM. They pulled sponsorship because of this move, and I, well, I just think that's awesome. I don't have XM and I don't like Opie & Anthony. If I did have XM, I'd never listen to O&A just the same way I never listened to them back when they were on FM. But this is just fricked up. XM is supposed to be uncensored. If you don't like it, you change the channel. Period.

So, when NCC said that XM is caving to "crybaby special interest groups", I was thrilled that someone who mattered was saying it. So thrilled, in fact, that I went to their website in search of something to buy. As it turns out, I wasn't alone. They're sold out of coffee mugs. And, when I called their phone number to ask if I could backorder one, the woman I spoke to suspected exactly why I wanted one so much. Because, yup, my reason is the same reason they're sold out right now.

Go them.

Oh, and to those people who are trying to make this be about politics, shut up. Seriously. People opposed Bush. People did try to do things. There was a MUCH higher concentrated effort to stop that man. There is WAY more anger out there about him than there is about XM. Unfortunately, those of us that tried to stop Bush from being elected in '04 were out-numbered. We failed. But that doesn't mean we didn't care or we didn't try. So, seriously, STFU.

Besides, people are allowed to be upset about more than one thing.

@chimmike:Sure they can- and their pissed off customers can respond any way they like as well. Who can blame them, considering this "priovate company" used "uncensored" as an advertising motto? I'd be pissed, too.

@trai_dep: OK, but if you don't like your government what are you supposed to smash and set on fire?

@trai_dep: i agree with you, but what can you really do about our not-exactly-for-the-people government? i know, i know, i don't need the speech about voting and protesting, yadda, yadda, yadda... it's a big waste of time, as is obvious at the current state of the union.

since the line between government and business has faded into obscurity, this is about the best and most powerful way the average person can "beat the system" or more accurately change it... consider if even 60% of americans said, "fuck you, i'm not paying taxes anymore till shit changes around here".

So basicly there are now seven losers living in their mom's basement's negative seven Xm Radios.

@Pelagius: "OK, but if you don't like your government what are you supposed to smash and set on fire?"

Speaking for myself, I'm keeping a really sharp eye out for the Bush twins.

People here nailed it. No, it isn't a logical, brilliant idea to destroy a radio.

Its a protest. It says that they are so disgusted with XM's service that they are canceling their accounts, and destroying their own property so that nobody will be able to use the hardware to subscribe again.

I bought two expensive pieces of hardware and considerable subscription fees for uncensored radio. Uncensored radio doesn't mean I get to hear the word "Fuck" coming out of my speakers from time to time. Uncensored radio means that the people I choose to listen to can say anything they want.

I canceled my accounts. I did not destroy my radios because if O&A are brought back on, I will likely resubscribe.

However, you can be damn sure that if O&A are fired, there will be two more XM radios destroyed on youtube.

Are we to assume that nobody is cancelling their service because O&A weren't fired?

Crazy hippies and their cute little protests...

@trai_dep: Speaking for myself, I'm keeping a really sharp eye out for the Bush twins.

ehh. they're probably already smashed, so that takes half the fun out of it.

XM is NOT a private company. Plug this into any stock quote engine: XMSR

I agree w/ Cousin Joe that most people subscribe to satellite to hear what they can't on terrestrial (gov't licensed) radio. It's egregiously disingenuous to sign up subs (as they've done since founding) on the notion that the shows will be edgier and less-regulated, and then fire employees for adhering to their mission statement; especially after luring them with sweeter offers.

Smash'em up boys!

Who's Opie and Anthony?

I remember the backlash caused by XM getting rid of XM42 Liquid Metal. All we did was cancel like the rest of the outraged metalheads that were willing to fork over $100+ for a receiver and $10/mo for something we could easily buy on CD. I still have my crappy XM unit and I'll never reactivate. I even deactivated my girlfriend's unit because they got rid of the only station either of us listened to. Lo and behold, it came back about 6 months later because they lost enough business.

Smashing these won't do much in the long run but I guess in the short term, XM will reinstate whoever O&A are. Who are they, anyway?