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XM And SIRIUS Radio Merging
lenny6998 writes to tell us Yahoo! News is reporting that XM and Sirius Radio, the only two major players in the relatively new market of subscription satellite radio have announced a merger. "The two companies said in a statement that Mel Karmazin, the CEO of Sirius, would become chief executive of the new company while Gary Parsons, the chairman of XM, would remain in that role."
Wonder when they will announce price increases?
I'm not a Troll, it's reverse psychology.
A more interesting merger than XM and SIRIUS, is really now Howard Stern and Opie & Anthony being on the same network.
Can one satellite network handle two (well three) giant egos.
Let's find out.
-Teiresias
Exactly. Monopolies in and of themselves are not illegal. Antitrust laws make it unlawful to maintain or attempt to create a monopoly through tactics that either unreasonably exclude firms from the market, or significantly impair their ability to compete.
I was wondering about that too. They either are so desperate for a merger that they'll take their chances with the FCC, or they've already talked with Martin and convinced him that it won't be anticompetitive.
Who knows, they may succeed in framing the competition issue as one applying to the streamed audio market, which encompasses radio, Internet radio, and sat radio. When discussing broadband, the FCC frequently defines the market rather broadly, incorporating dish access into the discussion, as if it is a serious market participant. Given their generally broad interpretation of communications markets, they (or at least Martin, Tate, and McDowell) may buy the argument.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
I guess the check finally cleared.
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
Yeah I have to agree with your other replier. Thats great that you don't find a need for satellite radio (I mean it saves you money right?) but others of us have a good need for it. First off the truckers and professional drivers who are looking for consistent radio coverage no matter where they are driving. But ontop of that those of us looking for specific niche channels. Howard Stern fans, Opie and Anthony fans... general sports fans (for instance you can probably get all of your local sports team's games on your local radio, but what if you like a out-of-state team, or you like listening to any game possible). There are comedy channels (24/7 stand-up routines), news channels (CNN, CNN Headline, FoxNews, BBC WorldNews). Satellite really does offer up a lot of options for those not only interested in music.
In terms of music-only listening I think you make a great point, but satellite offers much more than just music.
As a Sirius subscriber, I'm a bit worried what a merger, if approved, might bring. They mention a more a la carte selection of channels. I read this as "tiered" pricing. If I had to guess, it sounds like it will be more modeled after the pay-for-tv pricing...i.e. you get a basic package for x dollars, a premium packages for y dollars, oh and you want the sports package? thats an extra z dollars. If it goes that route, I'm really going to have to reconsider if it is really worth it to me. Overall I've been happy with the Sirius service and choice of programming they've had. All for one price keeps it simple and affordable. Any changes to that, which are bound to happen in a merger like this, chances are the consumer loses.