Sirius, XM Merger Gets FCC Approval

Multiple readers, including koavf, have written to tell us the FCC has finally approved the Sirius-XM merger that has been in the works for quite a while now. CNN has picked up AP coverage as well. We discussed approval of the merger by the Justice Department a few months ago. From CNN: "The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to approve the buyout, with the tiebreaker coming Friday night from Republican commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate. Tate had insisted that the companies settle charges that they violated FCC rules before she would approve the deal. The companies agreed this week to pay $19.7 million to the U.S. Treasury for violations related to radio receivers and ground-based signal repeaters. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin confirmed the final vote Friday night. 'I think it's going to be, in the end, a good thing for consumers and be in the public interest,' he told The Associated Press."

Comments

Re:WTF???

[giminy]

Because Satellite Radio is not a monopoly; it is competing against FREE terrestrial radio, mp3 players, ipods, FREE internet radio, etc.

That's kind of like saying that Internet access is competing against FREE bulletin board systems. We saw how well BBSes fared through the early to mid 90s...

I dunno if maybe this just means that it's terrestrial radio's time to exit stage right. Maybe it is? It brings a little bit of sadness to my eyes though...hopefully nobody can fault me for that. And jeez, I'm talking like this and I'm not even thirty years old...

My trouble is, I guess, that we (you and I) own the radio spectrum [assuming that you are a US citizen ;-)]. The FCC should only give people access to this shared resource if those people are willing to play by a few ground rules. One of those ground rules should be healthy competition, e.g. the FCC should grant at least two companies access to the medium and spectrum in question, so that customers [not 'consumers', because I hate that word] deserve a choice. I worry if only one company will now have the ability to access this nifty service on our public airwaves...because while they may be competing with other services, it doesn't have the look and feel that they are competing on a level playing field. I certainly can't listen to terrestrial radio, mp3 players, ipods, nor internet radio under the same conditions that I can listen to satellite radio.

No Comparable Competition

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem lies in the fact that now there is no comparable competition. If the customer wants unedited, uncensored satellite radio, they have only one choice. This gives the provider greater strength in the business transaction, seemingly unlimited freedom to add or change commercials, content or programing.

This is analogous to my internet provider. Although good, I have no choice except my current one if I want a speed higher than 5mbs. No one in my area offers anything comparable. I do realize that there are other providers, but they do not have the comparable speed, hence do not receive my patronage.

Re:Business as usual

[xanadu-xtroot.com]

Before Howard signed, Sirius had only about 500,000 subscribers. Only 2.5 years after Howard broadcasting, they are over 8 million.
Before Howard signed, Sirius was about to fold up shop because XM was creaming them in subscribers. Now, Sirius is spearheading the merger with XM being the "loser" of the two.

I'd say the He/She that owns Sirius (with Mel's help, of course) made a damn good business decision with signing Howard.



Yes, I am a Stern fan. I've been a listener since '90 +/-.