Slashdot Mirror
XM and Sirius Merger?
chipset writes "Well, it seems Sirius and XM are in talks again. This story from FoxNews indicates they are in merger discussions and want to expand their reach into all communications from space. This includes Cell, Music, and TV. I would love to see something like this take place. Give DirecTV and DishNetwork a little competition."
By reducing competition in satellite radio? No thanks.
sulli
RTFJ.
Sirius CEO says no merger.
I hope they don't get rid of any of the superior Sirius programming. We don't need another merger like G4/TechTV (though I know, its not to that extreme).
"It is not how things are in the world that is mystical, but that it exists." -Ludwig Wittgenstein
I think the Sirius CEO denied the marger.
0 4.html/
http://www.forbes.com/2005/01/26/0126autofacescan
Free XBox, PS2
Nope. Sorry.s /business/digital/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_ id=1000777229
http://billboardradiomonitor.com/radiomonitor/new
The thing I find funny is that the exact same story was submitted yesterday.l ?sid=05/01/2 6/2319240&tid=91&tid=14
http://science.slashdot.org/article.p
I mean it's the exact same story.
The link in the blurb is the same.
The blurb itself is the same.
The submitter is the same.
EVEN THE POSTER IS THE SAME.
Last time it was in "digital" and "science" and this time it's in the same sections (which are, relatedly, a totally wrong categorization, for which samzenpus should be flogged with a bundle of cat5 ethernet cables)
I emailed daddypants@slashdot.org about this, to no avail; the dupe got posted anyhow.
Reinvent the wheel only at either a lower cost, greater effectiveness, or your own personal enrichment and satisfaction.
I just hope they take over XM's price.
Don't worry.
It's a hoax.
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living."
- Seneca
XM and their lone competitor merging? You can't be Sirius!
The Uncoveror: It's the real news.
Because everybody's VAX needs satellite radio for that high-quality audio sound! :)
joshua
http://billboardradiomonitor.com/radiomonitor/prin table_version.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000777229
http://www.forbes.com/2005/01/26/0126autofacescan0 4.html
all the lovely details on the official response to this merger. The story broke this morning and not an hour later Mel Karmazin (Sirius CEO) had a response out. Its up to you to decide if that's spin control or the truth.
"I would love to see something like this take place"
You've got to be kidding me. We need competition in this market, to drive down prices and increase the quality of service. Plus, with Sirius you get a no-ClearChannel service. Can't say the same about XM.
I flipped past Fox News just a few minutes ago and they reported that the president of XM had no idea where this story came from.
Technoli
Yep - the denial was reported earlier today on several sources:s /business/digital/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_ id=1000777229
br / http://billboardradiomonitor.com/radiomonitor/new
No word yet on the Homer-er from the XM CEO.
It would be cool if it didn't suck.
OK?
It would be worse than say, oh HP and Compaq merging. Less competition is a very bad thing
The one thing that I think would be really cool, but I'm not sure of the feasability of, would be to eliminate the need for a perfectly aimed dish for sattelite TV. I live in an area where it's impossible to get good line of sight for DirecTV. Does anyone know whether Sirius / XM could alleviate this problem, since apparently the radios can be used indoors? I know radio is a lot less bandwith, but I'm not sure whether that is the issue, or perhaps they use different frequencies, or possibly just have stronger signal strength.
Mel Karmazin characterized a New York Post report of a potential XM-Sirius merger as the "third rumor" he has had to deal with in his first eight weeks as Sirius CEO. "I have not met with the [XM] chair or the CEO, so I have no idea where this has come from," he said during his firm's Wednesday morning (1/26) earnings conference call. Commenting later in the call on a question about potential antitrust restrictions for such a merger, Karmazin said he would never try to predict what the government would or wouldn't approve, adding that he thought such a merger would be a "difficult deal to get through." According to Post writer Tim Arango, the two satellite competitors have been meeting lately to talk about the possibility of a merger but the discussions have not advanced. Among the topics reportedly discussed is how to maneuver antitrust concerns that would arise from what would amount to a monopoly in the fledgling satellite radio business. To alleviate those concerns, the Post suggests the two rivals' strategy would be to convince regulators that satellite radio is part of the exploding mobil music market. Combining XM and Sirius would ease a price war for content, reduce marketing costs and provide other cost efficiencies.
WTF?
Me lost me cookie at the disco.
The summary indicates they would expand their products into TV and other markets in addition to radio.
I forgive you for stopping midway through the summary to post a question which is answered in it...
Yes. I prefer competition through exclusive contracts, like EA and Take Two do things.
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
Why the DEC logo?
Competition? You mean after I rip out my factory radio and replace it with another radio, just to try out the other service, and then if I liked the first one....
If there was a broadcast standard there would be competition. Right now it's two proprietary semi-monopolies for most consumers.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
While this is pretty unfounded, it does open the door to further speculation. My personal choice (if I were CEO of XM or Sirius) would be to acquire Real and merge my subscriber base with the Rhapsody subscribers. One account and you can stream Rhapsody to your computer or sat radio to your reciever. Personally, I'd subscribe to such a service.
ClearChannel used to own part of XM, but they don't anymore.
It's a good thing the merger rumour was just that because if it were true the new company would probably be named Sirius-XM. Serious sex, mmm... Now imagine a merger of the new company with SK-Earthlink... Ask a earthling: serious sex, mmm? I suspect alien involvement...
I seriously doubt their satellites are equipped to broadcast video, or anything other than satellite radio for that matter.
No, xeriously!
Generally, bash is superior to python in those environments where python is not installed.
I know most people don't RTFA, but you can at least RTFS.
BTW, clearchannel only owns about a 2% stake in XM, I dont' even think they have representative on the board now. Considering clearchannel has been trying to get XM to drop their localized weather and traffic channels, they have very little control over XM.
Clear water complains to FCC about XM and Sirius
Have you ever been to a turkish prison?
Are you a moron? XM? Clear Channel? WTF are you smoking!?!? Whatever it is, keep away from me!
"Try creating a monopoly on satellite radio before the industry even gets off its feet"
I'm not sure the industry is going to get any more off its feet as far as additional competition.
This isn't exactly like a Windows -vs- Linux battle because these are both pieces of software that more often than not will run on the same hardware.
In the case of satellite radio you have to buy hardware specific to that company. I'd equate this more to Betamax -vs- VHS. Betamax may have been a superior format but for those who already had VHS, what incentive was there to buy another piece of proprietary hardware?
Of course there are kits that allow you to use satellite radio with a head unit that doesn't come satellite-ready that would allow switching, but even then you're still having to buy more proprietary hardware.
For there to be any new competition in the market, there is going to have to be innovation that takes satellite radio beyond its current form because nobody is going to care if yet another company pops up with commercial-free satellite radio that is identical to the others except for 1) Company name 2) Content offered.
I really hope something like this doesn't happen.
I have Sirius, and I'm pleased as punch with it. I can't see how merging with XM (if the story is, in fact, true) would make things any better.
Sirius has some great stations with good DJs. The bigger you make the company, the more whitewashed it becomes. I don't know what XM is all about, but people who have it tell me they like it. That's fine. But a little compitition never hurt anyone. Monopolies, on the other hand, usually don't work, espically with something as subjective as music.
The Internet is generally stupid
I think most current XM and Serius customers who already think they're paying enough money would disagree.
I think Microsoft and God should merge - that way, you wouldn't have to worry about where you go when you die.
It's a hoax
A false news report from Fox?! Say it isn't so!
I think this needs to happen if satellite radio will be viable in 5+ years. There's too much overhead cost involved to split what some would call a niche market. Will the FCC allow it? I'm 50/50 on it. However, I think there could be an argument that satellite radio is a "natural monopoly" similiar to cable or local telephone. Since the costs of entering the market are so high (launching satellites, content costs, programming managers, DJs, etc) I think there could be an argument for this. It's different from broadcast radio because broadcast radio serves a local market and if you only own one station, you only need to worry about content for one channel, where in satellite you have to manage 100+ channels. Just my $.02.
What would be even funnier is if the comments were the same too.
There is usually a hush-hush phase during the initial barter for mergers of this kind.
"I invented the satellite radio merger Robin." - Howard Stern
Don't worry.
If you look at the slash logos on top, you'll see the logo of Digital Electronics Corporation, and Albert Einstein's head. Now, what do DEC and Einstein have in common, besides being dead? That's right, absolutely nothing. This proves that neither the submitter, nor the slashdot editor, actually has any idea what they're doing. Therefore, this story is probably bullshit.
QED.
It is most certainly NOT a hoax. My brother's neighbor's cousin's roommate works for Sirius and he's positive he overheard something in the lunchroom about this.
IIRC, Clear Channel has so little stake left in XM, they are no longer on the Board of Directors and no longer have any influence in the direction XM takes. To me, that sounds like a very small part. Insignificant really.
For proof... I think this will suffice...
I don't know what the relationship is, exactly, but Dish Network already rebroadcasts/picks up the Sirius radio stations. Why bite the hand that feeds you?
m ming/sir ius/index.shtml
See:
http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/progra
I doubt the two will merge. They're the two biggest (not to mention only ones, that I know of) satellite radio companies, so I doubt that big review organization will allow the merge to go through.
Debugging? Klingons do not debug. Bugs are good for building character in the user.
I don't understand the use of "Digital Equipment Corporation" logo in conjunction with this story. ,dave
What does digital satellite radio have to do with "DEC"?
DEC 1976-1987
Dave Barnes 9 breweries within walking distance of my house
Traditional radio is not their competition. People get tap water for free - yet bottled water still sells. How would consolidating down to one bottled water company increase the popularity of tap water?
Mel karmazin is a deek and so is stern.
Having had XM for a few months, I can not even begin to tell how absolutely sucky broadcast radio is. I know you think you know that it sucks. I thought so to. But I just didn't realize how horrid it had become until I had a wealth of listening options in my car. Just the thought of yet another inane "radio personality" (I refuse to use the term DJ... they're not) screaching at me makes me shutter. And if I have to go somewhere in my wife's car (sans XM)... ugh.
As far as a merger... well, I must admit that I'm a bit miffed with their exclusive sports contracts right now. XM has (or will have) Major League Baseball and Sirius has (or will have) NFL. I'd love to have both, but not if I have to get two sets of equipment and pay two subscription charges.
I think most of the rest of the programming (Stern and company excluded) is mostly duplicated between the two. The music selections are very similar as is much of the other programming.
Right now, I think they need to grow the subscriber base and I don't know as if the competition between XM and Sirius helps matters. I've heard a lot of people say that they're waiting to see which one survives before jumping on board. That's not a good thing for the long term viability of either one. In the long run, I think a merger would be helpful. They're competing against the status quo and against "free" broadcast radio. That alone should keep rates down. I don't think the XM vs. Sirius competition really means as much.
-S
--- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
but what does this have to do with DEC?
/* oops I accidentally made a comment, sorry */
Are you insane? Big corporate behemoths merging together never results in competition. The elephants are mating, and customers are the grass.
Range Voting: preference intensity matters
Cripes. I read about it this morning and could see it wasn't even remotely likely as it would have to cut the mustard with the feds, i.e.:
It's Ok for there to be a monopoly if one goes out of business, but not Ok if the only two merge.
That aside... that's the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) logo up there in the corner. WTF does the defunct maker of Vaxen and PDP's have to do with satellite radio????
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I actually don't see this as a troll... Personally, I think linking to foxnews for nearly any reason other than to point out how poor of journalists they are is pretty silly.
"Question with boldness even the existence of a god." - Thomas Jefferson
You mean they have nothing to do with each other, apart from XM being part-owned by Clear Channel, right?
Stupid astroturfer.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
In addition to running a series of about 60 music channels of their own, Dish Network carries about 68 from Sirius Satellite Network as well. So even if XM and Sirius do merge, Dish Network would still probably carry their channels as well. As long as they don't provide a video service, neither XM nor Sirius is truly any kind of competitor to Dish Network or DirectTV. As Dish Network has realized, an audio service can be a compliment to their offerings, not a competitor. An audio-only service is not a competitor to a video service. Dish Network, DirectTV and your local cable TV franchise are competitors, but XM and Sirius are not.
The lessons of history teach us - if they teach us anything - that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us.
What's really weird is that this ended up in the Digital topic. Not the mistake -- the fact that Slashdot still has a topic for a company that disappeared 7 years ago!
So what does DEC have to do with it? Who was the idiot that chose the "digital" logo as the icon for this story??
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
.. they put up dupe stories, but rejected one that was submitted about the US Copyright Office actually requesting comments from the public about what to do with stuff like abandonware. With all of the copyright talk that goes on around here, one would think that an article about possible HUGE copyright change would get posted. But no, the article about the history of the space suit and then this dupe beat it out.
Article was mirrored in its entirety here
What on earth does a potential commercial transaction between two companies specializing in transmission of audio entertainment through satellites have to do with science ????
This has nothing to do with science; the collection of empirical data and experimental analysis to derive a physical truth. Its not a merger between two science research centers or science periodicals. It doesn't affect transmission of data between science research centers. It doesn't even affect scientific research funding. This story should have been stuck into Politics or YRO.
There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, General Electric, and Exxon
Rest in peace DEC.
I don't want to alarm you but there are some people who believe he is Jesus, second coming. They haven't come out and said it, but they hint it.
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
I miss the blue DEC logo! DEC @ CFO2 Concord, Mass., 1987-1990
Life is such a sweet insanity. The more you learn, the less you know.
Well, isn't a digital satellite a type of digital equipment? And before anyone mods me down, think about it. Samzenpus and chipset really might be that stupid.
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
t's a hoax.
Much like your sig.
I am Sartre of the Borg. Existence is futile.
My question is, is this someone who is just really bad as his job, or a password that got out?
My Photography - http://ian-x.com
The Deathlings (comic) - http://thedeathlings.com
Less choice and more FOX News??? Pack up the kiddies and head for the shelter; it's the end of the world!
But Officer, I DID read the f**king article!
Because one would assume the price of bottled water would go up. At some point, it no longer becomes worth it to some to have bottled water. They then drink tap water. So the price is not determined by competitors but by what one is willing to pay before they decide that the quality difference is not that great.
If they merge, I hope they can bring back some of the old XM stations that are currently online only like On the Rocks, Special X etc.
--Joey
That's not true at all! DEC and Alpha live on as part of Compa... oh wait, never mind.
If they manage to convince the FTC, FCC, DOJ and the rest of the feds that they can proceed with such a merger and if they can manage to convince the same folks years later that it was not anticompetitive and if they can protect themselves from the trial lawyers who will inevitably sue claiming a la Microsoft that anticompetitive behavior harmed their customers, then it might proceed successfully. What will kill them is if satellite radio follows the mistakes of the original HBO. HBO first advertised as commercial free and later added commercials to enhance their revenue stream. It became the same as regular TV programming but had more adult content. That is, largely worthless.
Thank you Simone.
Frye?
Frye?
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
If DEC and Einstein live on Endor, you must buy SiXMius radio-cell-TV-Internet!
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
DTD is where it's at, man. We have the president of Chile's and Will Ferrell.
i use linux and windows oh god how can i have an opinion
See my journal, I write things there
Bless you for using the Digital logo once again. I still have my blue hat.
I started working for DEC in 1979, you remember, the time when you could change a transistor in a computer?
Its corporate meaning is fading quickly, and for the younger, XBox generation, it is reduced to a generic, like Kleenex.
My opinion? Use the logo all you want in the generic way and thanks for the memories!
/. is a bunch of nerds at a million typewriters. It's not a political conspiracy determined to undermine your beliefs.
Voodoo economics
It wasn't even written by a Fox staffer -- it was written by a staffer from the NY Post.
Then again, that alone should be reason to avoid it. I don't even believe the Post's sports pages.
You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
It won't happen for the same reasons the DirecTV/Dish Network merger didn't. The FTC just won't allow it.
You have a good point there of course, but as it stands right now, if I want the broadest choice from satellite radio, I have to have two subscriptions, and two lots of equipment.
Onwards & Upwards!
Just the thought of yet another inane "radio personality" (I refuse to use the term DJ... they're not) screaching at me makes me shutter.
Wait... you think "disc jockey" is more of a honor to them than saying that they are/have "personalities?"
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
Maybe Clear Channel has no major stake in XM, but Clear Channel's owners might have. All these media, communication, transportation, companies have their fingers in the others' pies. Plus they own all sorts of other companies that make other consumer products, produce and distribute porn(I have nothing against that), etc., etc. These is no competition anywhere. You can't boycott one company and expect to have any effect on them. I just hope we'll still get Howard next year.
What?
So if somebody disagrees with you, they're a fraud? Then I'm a fraud, and you're wasting your valuable time arguing with me.
And you believe him? Read his quote carefully...
"I have not met with the [XM] chair or the CEO, so I have no idea where this has come from," he said during his firm's Wednesday morning (1/26) earnings conference call.
What he actually said was that he has not met with the XM CEO, which says absolutely nothing about any merger or merger talks since their lawyers may be meeting. It also simply says he doesn't know what the source of the leak was. Again, this does NOT say anything about a merger, pro or con, just that he doesn't know who let the information out.
I'm not saying there is or isn't a merger negtiation in the works, just that this so-called denial is really no denial at all. Given that it would have been very easy to simply say "There is no merger planned", but instead we got this convoluted non-denial, I tend to think they ARE talking merger.