SIRIUS merging with XM Radio!

The deal faces substantial obstacles in Washington, including a Federal Communications Commission provision that specifically forbids the two companies to combine.

Analysts have noted that the FCC could change the rule, but in a statement late Monday FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said that the "hurdle" would be "high" to prove that the deal would be in the public interest.

"The companies would need to demonstrate that consumers would clearly be better off with both more choice and affordable prices," Martin said.

A combination would also have to meet antitrust approval from the Department of Justice. The companies are expected to argue that they compete not only with each other but also with traditional radio and a growing base of digital audio sources such as iPods, mobile phones and non-satellite digital radio.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070220/ap_on_bi_ge/xm_radio_sirius

 

Having had XM for more than 5 years and having just read more than 30 pages of the main merger thread at xmfan.com (people there are going nuts), my hunch is it's going to pass.
The content will be merged, you'll be able to hear either on XM or Sirius. Then all new radios will feature 1 standard and in a few years, it's all 1 sat radio universe.
Feel bad for the ton of folks who are going to lose jobs because of duplication, from the djs, the techs and the biz side.
What HQ gets picked, Sirius in NYC or XM in DC?
What channels stay, which ones go?
It looks, from the press release, they're going to an ala carte model, like cable TV, pick a package.
From a sports perspective, it's great, from music, nah.

 

In other words...it was good while it lasted.

 

Put it this way: if you're a major sports fan, this announcement is like heaven. Chances are the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and college packages will all be in one place now. You might have to pay, oh say $19.95 a month or something (it's $12.95 for both services), but it'd be worth having sports under one umbrella.

One recommendation: If the merger goes through, bring along the Sirius 80s DJs. (For the record and the Sirius-free on here, their names happen to be Nina Blackwood, Martha Quinn, Alan Hunter and Mark Goodman.)

 

So in other words, radio saved the video stars.

 

Well played.

 

If you fly AirTran, they have XM radio at each seat. Best to bring your own headphones, however. The flight attendant will give you ear buds but they suck.

 

The connection's fine. But no one on here can tell me that satellite radio sounds the same as over-the-air radio. There's a world of difference in the quality and depth of the sound. Satellite radio has a very tinny quality ...

 

I have found the exact opposite to be honest.

 

Nothing really new here, but I asked my brother, who's a major antitrust lawyer and even written a couple of textbooks on it, about the merger and he said this:

"It will be an uphill battle but they might be able to pull it off. They face an awful lot of competition. It all depends on whether the feds define the market as satellite radio -- which will make the deal unlikely since the only two competitors in that market would
be merging to monopoly -- or something broader, like radio."

 

Well I must be making it all up then.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7150262/

Maybe there's a difference in the receivers, but I'm not gonna pay $400 for the right to have satellite radio.

 

Sure, anyone could hire those guys. They'll impress me more if they get J.J. Jackson to do morning drive.