FCC Nixes Satellite Radio Merger

a_nonamiss writes "Doesn't look like Sirius and XM are going to merge any time soon. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. Logically, I know that competition is a good thing for consumers, and monopolies are generally only good for companies. Still, I don't like having to choose a car based on which satellite radio service comes pre-installed, or considering whether I'd rather have Howard Stern or Oprah, because there is no practical way to get both. Frankly, it's probably all this exclusivity that has caused me not to purchase either system." From the article: "Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin told reporters after an FCC meeting that the Commission would not approve a merger between satellite radio rivals Sirius and XM Radio... When the FCC initially licensed the two satellite radio companies in 1997, there was language in the licensing barring one from acquiring control of the other... Even if the FCC were to have a change of heart..., it would still have to pass antitrust scrutiny by the Department of Justice."

Comments

For the love of god, leave Sirius alone.

[MrPerfekt]

Small testimonial:

I've been a Sirius subscriber for years. Love the service. I got an Acura TL in 2005 that had XM pre-installed with no option to Sirius. So I gave the XM a shot while it was in it's 90 day trial. Oh my crap, XM is terrible. Their "jocks" sound like they're still running a college radio station complete with "uh", "um" and plenty of dead air. Aside from the fact that their encoding sounds like they're broadcasting from a tin can.

That was back in 2005 anyway.

I had/have Sirius in my other cars and have no such objections.

A merger would certainly kill Sirius just because of subscriber counts and that would, well, be the death of satellite radio for me because I rather hear nails on a chalkboard than XM.

Re:Go with logic

[bergeron76]

The choice is easy:

If you're a liberal, pick Howard Stern.
If you're a conservative, pick Oprah.