Author Topic: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED  (Read 1640 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Senators2005

  • Lake Ridge, VA
  • Posts: 12264
  • Go Natsssssss!
    • http://nationalsnation.spaces.live.com/
XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Topic Start: February 19, 2007, 05:52:52 PM »
 :arrow: http://xmradio.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=press_releases&item=1423

Does somebody know what prevents this merger from being labelled a monopoly? Is there another service provided to consumers for satellite radio other than these two? If there isn't - wouldn't they be able to dictate rates with impunity?

Re: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Reply #1: February 19, 2007, 05:58:36 PM »
So wait a minute...are you now saying I can get my MLB Homeplate and my serving of Howard Stern all through XM now?

Offline Senators2005

  • Lake Ridge, VA
  • Posts: 12264
  • Go Natsssssss!
    • http://nationalsnation.spaces.live.com/
Re: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Reply #2: February 19, 2007, 06:07:42 PM »
So wait a minute...are you now saying I can get my MLB Homeplate and my serving of Howard Stern all through XM now?
Needs to run through the Congressional approval process first - the two companies have reached an agreement.   The actual merger won't be for some time if approved - probably something like a year.

Re: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Reply #3: February 19, 2007, 06:10:25 PM »
Well, something to look forward to I guess. ;)

Offline Senators2005

  • Lake Ridge, VA
  • Posts: 12264
  • Go Natsssssss!
    • http://nationalsnation.spaces.live.com/
Re: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Reply #4: February 19, 2007, 06:22:20 PM »
Well, something to look forward to I guess. ;)
Looking forward to the better selections yes...but not looking forward to higher prices.   :-[

Offline 2k6nats

  • Posts: 9421
  • Through Fick and Zim
Re: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Reply #5: February 19, 2007, 07:56:34 PM »
There's a reason more than one company is a good thing.  Now, the Sirius/XM provider won't have a whiff of competition.  Therefore, they won't have to compete, and you won't get as much for your buck.

Good deal for the two providers; not good for us.

Offline The Chief

  • Posts: 31799
    • http://www.wnff.net
Re: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Reply #6: February 19, 2007, 08:30:55 PM »
I can't see how this merger could possibly be approved.

Offline Senators2005

  • Lake Ridge, VA
  • Posts: 12264
  • Go Natsssssss!
    • http://nationalsnation.spaces.live.com/
Re: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Reply #7: February 19, 2007, 08:37:46 PM »
There's a reason more than one company is a good thing.  Now, the Sirius/XM provider won't have a whiff of competition.  Therefore, they won't have to compete, and you won't get as much for your buck.

Good deal for the two providers; not good for us.
Apparently XM & Sirius' take on that is that their competitors are regular radio stations.  But I don't buy that - to me satellite programming is a totally separate service to consumers.  Not to mention on-air radio is regulated by the federal government through the FCC.  Satellite radio is not.

Offline 2k6nats

  • Posts: 9421
  • Through Fick and Zim
Re: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Reply #8: February 19, 2007, 08:47:41 PM »
Apparently XM & Sirius' take on that is that their competitors are regular radio stations.  But I don't buy that - to me satellite programming is a totally separate service to consumers.  Not to mention on-air radio is regulated by the federal government through the FCC.  Satellite radio is not.

Agreed.  They have no competitors.

Online Ali the Baseball Cat

  • Posts: 17657
  • babble on
Re: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Reply #9: February 19, 2007, 09:52:10 PM »
bingo--who the hell has regulatory agency here?  NASA??

This will be interesting.  For the record, I have XM.

Apparently XM & Sirius' take on that is that their competitors are regular radio stations.  But I don't buy that - to me satellite programming is a totally separate service to consumers.  Not to mention on-air radio is regulated by the federal government through the FCC.  Satellite radio is not.

Offline Senators2005

  • Lake Ridge, VA
  • Posts: 12264
  • Go Natsssssss!
    • http://nationalsnation.spaces.live.com/
Re: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Reply #10: February 19, 2007, 10:12:22 PM »
bingo--who the hell has regulatory agency here?  NASA??

This will be interesting.  For the record, I have XM.

Me too and I can't survive without MLB Homeplate, especially the Show with Kevin Kennedy and Rob Dibble.  If they start saying that baseball coverage is going to be added a la carte, where you have to choose your sport and pay an extra fee then I'm going to be severely pissed.

Offline tomterp

  • Global Moderator
  • ****
  • Posts: 33783
  • Hell yes!
Re: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Reply #11: February 19, 2007, 10:16:27 PM »
The merger will have to be approved by the FTC, Federal Trade Commission, I believe.  As mentioned earlier in the thread, they will claim their competitors are terrestrial and internet radio stations, not each other.  To a certain extent they have a pretty strong argument.  Say each one has 5% of the total market, together 10%.  Are they trying to steal customers from the other guy's 5% or from the 90% of other folks out there?  

EDIT:  From hearing additional news stories about this, a key regulator is the FCC, or Federal Communications Commission, which has a rule that basically bars monopolies from satellite radio.  This is considered the top hurdle to overcome in the contemplated merger.

It is however, bad news.  I could easily see them cutting services and raising prices.  At least I just renewed for 2 years, and I think they have a long term deal with MLB, so okay for a while.  It would be okay if they consolidated similar music formats, they could have some economies there without impacting the product much.

Offline Dave B

  • Posts: 6033
Re: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Reply #12: February 20, 2007, 09:22:40 AM »
Dammit. I already have 17 presets. NO MORE STATIONS.  Even when I find a song I like, I STILL surf around because something BETTER might be on.

Offline tomterp

  • Global Moderator
  • ****
  • Posts: 33783
  • Hell yes!
Re: XM and Sirius Satelite Radio Have MERGED
« Reply #13: February 20, 2007, 09:46:12 AM »
Even when I find a song I like, I STILL surf around because something BETTER might be on.

QFT