FCC Approves Sirius/XM Merger

[moose135]

Finally Howard Stern for all as FCC approve satellite merger

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
8:42 PM EDT, July 25, 2008

WASHINGTON - Federal regulators have formally approved the merger of the nation's only two satellite radio operators, ending a 16-month-long drama closely watched by Washington and Wall Street. Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s $3.6 billion buyout of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. will mean 18 million-plus subscribers will be able to receive programming from both services. Executives say it will mean huge cost savings that will lead to a first-ever profit for the relatively nascent industry. The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to approve the buyout with the tie-breaking vote coming when the companies agreed to pay $19.7 million to the U.S. Treasury to settle FCC rule violations.

As a Sirius subscriber, I've been following this ongoing saga. Someone put it well - this merger received greater government scrutiny than the Exxon/Mobil merger! I'm hoping this means I can get MLB on my radio before long. :)

[cancidas]

i hope this doens't have any negative effects on XM WX!

[emshighway]

O&A for everyone, screw HoHo.

[Matt Molnar]

O&A for everyone, screw HoHo.

There'd be no O&A without Howard.

It's really ridiculous how much attention they gave to this. The FCC is a joke.

[Lezam]

Well its sort of a monopoly, is the fed going to set a price ceiling?

[Matt Molnar]

Well its sort of a monopoly, is the fed going to set a price ceiling?

It is a monopoly, but chances are one of the companies would have folded had they not merged, and there is a slim chance of anyone else investing the billions required to build and launch the satellites for a competing service. I believe the feds required certain price limits for the next several years as part of the approval.

[lijk604]

I've got XM in my car, so it will be very interesting to see how this all plays out. You take away the differences in the two (O&A v. Howard) (MLB/NFL v. NHL/NBA) and you have a LOT of overlap. Both have channels dedicated to the 50's / 60's/ 70's/ 80's/ 90's/ today. Both have breakdowns in country, rock, r&b, etc. So, I doubt we will have 300 channels (Sirius 130 / XM 170) it will probably pare down to around 175-200. As long as they dont raise my prices I'm okay...for now.

[emshighway]

O&A for everyone, screw HoHo.

There'd be no O&A without Howard.

It's really ridiculous how much attention they gave to this. The FCC is a joke.

Maybe but Howey should have cut his losses 10 years ago when he got stale. It amazes me the Dog company paid so much for for a has-been.

[Matt Molnar]

O&A for everyone, screw HoHo.

There'd be no O&A without Howard.

Maybe but Howey should have cut his losses 10 years ago when he got stale. It amazes me the Dog company paid so much for for a has-been.

I agree he's not as funny as he used to be, but when he moved to Sirius he was making more money for his stations than ever, in a business where there just aren't many big stars. Sirius paid a lot, but they got that back in all the media attention it got and new subscribers...even if those people weren't Stern fans they now knew more about the service and were more likely to sign up. And there just aren't many people on radio who can do that...just look at the most washed up unfunny old fart in the business: Don Imus, who still gets paid a mint despite his best efforts to offend everyone.

[T-Bird76]

Well instead of having 2 company's losing millions we'll now only have one company losing millions. I do love XM though, I don't have and won't pay for radio but when I rent from Avis for biz they give it to you and its really a good product. However I'm still not paying for something I can get for free. Plus with iPod connections to car radios I can have all the music I want for free.

[moose135]

However I'm still not paying for something I can get for free.

You know, Tommy, I used to feel the same way. Then I received a 1-year Sirius subscription for Christmas after getting my new car 3 1/2 years ago. I'll never go back to terrestrial radio. The biggest draw for me is COMMERCIAL FREE MUSIC. I cannot deal with radio commercials any more. Add to that an almost limitless choice of music genres to choose from - among other things, it's the only place you can get country music in the NYC area.

If you are a football fan, Sirius carries every NFL game, and you can get your local team broadcast - I was in Indiana last fall, listening to the Giants team broadcasters. They broadcast NASCAR, as well as NBA, NHL and a number of college sports. They also have news, sports talk, comedy, political talk of any variety you like. The only time I listen to terrestrial radio these days are for Met games.

Based on an annual subscription, Sirius costs me about $11 per month (about two of those Starbucks things you drink :) ). You can hook your Ipod to your radio (if it's so equipped, my car radio isn't) but you still need to load it up with music, and unless you are stealing music someplace, you typically have to pay for it one way or another.

[T-Bird76]

Based on an annual subscription, Sirius costs me about $11 per month (about two of those Starbucks things you drink ). You can hook your Ipod to your radio (if it's so equipped, my car radio isn't) but you still need to load it up with music, and unless you are stealing music someplace, you typically have to pay for it one way or another.

Are you suggesting I give up my Starbucks? How dare thee offer such a notion! Starbucks provides more then just a drink, it a nice social interaction with the friendly Starbucks workers who I enjoy talking to...it also gets me out of the office for 30 mins in the afternoon ;)