Why So Sirius, XM?

Last week, I had an unusual email.  Well, not really that unusual, but definitely not that expected.  Okay, I knew there could be chance, but still.  Anyway.  Because of a great review of my car's last oil change at the car dealership, and not the one I got it from, I was eligible for a three-month free trial of SiriusXM.  This was on top of the seasonal two-week free trial centered around Memorial Day that just ended.  Now, I admit, I wasn't too thrilled about satellite radio when I first saw the ads.  Some of the pretentiousness of the curated stations based upon random names just seemed odd.  Then, I got a new car.  Part of the package was a free trial of XM radio.  Things had changed somewhat since those first ads.  I was amazed by the clarity and the selection of stations.  Then, the trial ended.  At the time, I couldn't afford to continue the service.  Technically, I still can't, especially since I don't really have the credit card needed to pay for it.  All I had was the free program guide.  I would sometimes listen to the station just to get the new listings.  Sirius and XM were merging at the time, so many changes were occurring.  I would make up new lists of where the stations were being moved, and which were changed, either added or deleted.  This would be a help during one of the quarterly seasonal free trials.  To garner new subscriptions, SiriusXM reactivates some radios for two weeks a few times a year, with a limited range of stations.  The majority of the music ones that don't have excessive language and a smattering of the others.  Plus, a few Canadian stations, for some reason, at least on my cars.  These trials are usually based around holidays--Memorial Day for spring, Labor Day for summer, Thanksgiving for autumn.  The winter trial never had a fixed holiday; that may be why it was discontinued.  There have been others, most notably a sports-based trial around the first week of the NCAA's men's basketball tournament, but there isn't any clear schedule about when this type of trial will start.  Getting back on topic, I reactivated my radio last week and now have all 250 or so channels open, as well as the online streaming ones.  A few of these used to be part of the regular package, but have since been relegated to online only.  I had just printed off a recent guide earlier that day too.  No reason.  I kept some of my old program guides over the years, and they do tell a story.  Some channels have been renamed, such as the Boneyard into Ozzy's Boneyard.   Some have fallen by the wayside, such as most of the ad-friendly music stations.  Only the LA based KISS is left. Others that have departed include both Oprah Winfrey's and Martha Stewart's channels, a yoga chant channel, and even a Bollywood channel dedicated to the music stylings of India and its movies.  There was even a Playboy radio channel.  It was probably just articles, as I'm guessing most of the magazine's visual appeal couldn't translate to radio.  At least that's what I'm guessing.  Never listened to the station.  Or the magazine.  Honest.  Many categories have been renumbered and internally rearranged.  For instance, the love song base Love channel used to be in the "pop" category.  Then it was moved to the eclectic catch-all of the "jazz/standards/classical" group.  However, Love has been at least temporarily replaced by Yacht Rock Radio, a blend of soft rock from the 70s and early 80s, while Love is currently online only.  At least I can appreciate Steely Dan on a fairly regular basis.