XM-Sirius merger approved by DOJ

Look at all the fake people who are claiming to be against this merger, when they are actually just lobbyists, that will stop at nothing to try and have their pitiful old fashioined terristrial radio live another day. Old fashioned radio gives me a headache. It is just commercials all day long.

I need gas to get to work, but I don’t have to listen to my Sirius radio. I chose to turn it on, and I can chose to turn it off if the price gets too high. My choice, therefore, not a monopoly. Give me a break. My car has AM/FM/ and 6 CD changer, and Sirius. Hmmmmm. Sirius was an option I chose to pay for.

Oh, and all the terrestrial radio stations here, are owned and run out of the same company, doing nothing but pumping commercials into your car, and occasionally playing the same overused 2 or 3 songs from each artist, that you have heard thousands of time.

On Sirius, I hear the other 90% of each album, that old fashioned terrestiral radio will never play.

Been on a road trip lately? You go for hours and never hear anything worth a damn on terrestrial radio, until you get near a city. Then you can’t figure out what stations are good, because by the time a song comes on, you are out of range and listening to a static commercial.

Sometimes on old fashioned terrestrial radio, you can go between two different stations and here the same song playing. How many times has that happened? Plenty. That is because terrestrial radio only plays 2 or 3 songs from a small number of artists.

Do you really want the government controlling the air waves? Sirius represents a threat to their power. Perfect. Exactly what the founding fathers would have intended.

The sad part is every one that is trying to get their hands into the merger. The FCC wants to control what we listen to at our homes. Last I checked this was a pay service that is no needed. Mobil-Exxon merged in record time and no one complained about the company making a record profit while gas prices when up $2 per gallon since the merger.

Two turkeys do not a peacock make. Since both of these companies have unsustainable business models, ie, millions of subcribers and annual losses in the millions, the combined company will soon be bankrupt. They’ll have to raise prices and customers will disappear. Game, set and match.

It’s amusing to hear the rhetoric from so many about how two companies merging to one is so obviously anticompetitive. If they had bothered to read the DOJ opinion, their analysis indicated that the barriers to switch between services were too high and that subscribers (like myself) couldn’t justify it. The competition isn’t between the companies, but between the technologies and finally satellite radio will have a fighting chance (and improving th customer experience to boot).

I think the fact that it took a year for a decision shows how devisive this issue is. I am a Sirius subscriber and love the service. I believe the merger will create a better product initially. I do have concerns about the future though. I despise what the cable companies have become and fear that we will also one day be nickled and dimed by the satellite company. What I still don’t understand is why we can’t have more satellite licenses to allow other competitors.

Oh C’mon people, it’s not like we’re talking about two companies offering utilities, like electricity, which are necessary for us to sustain life.

We’re talking about entertainment. If they raise prices, they will lose customers. People will stop paying for it and go to HD radio.

In a few years, cars will be able to stream media over the cellular networks…that will be huge competition to terrestrial radio, satelite radio, and others. They are going to need to remain competitive.

An XM / Sirius merger is NOT a monopoly becuase people don’t NEED to subscribe to it’s service. If they raise prices, people will cancel and use substitute technologies.

No, this isn’t a monopoly… Not at all!

Hmm, let’s see…

We have two satellite radio providers competing with each other for subscribers. Now satellite radio provider ‘A’ merges with satellite radio provider ‘B’. All subscribers are now customers of this one and only one satellite radio provider. No, that’s not a monopoly.

Anyone can spin this anyway he or she wants no matter how ridiculous he or she sounds. The bottom line is that now, we have one provider and no longer two. 1+1 = 0 choice for the consumer.

to look at this Merger as a monoply is absurd. world wide there are competing forms of moble entertainment. som are mor profitable than others. everything form MP3’s, I-pod’s, to even PSP’s. there are many options for people to have. as well as local raido. all are esay to assess.

to have companys try to wesel there way into the the satlight market is crazy. Clear Channel purposing to have a percent of control would hold more of a monoply than anything. Clear channel holds mutipal stations in ALL the major markets and now thay want a FREE percent of satlight???

this is going to bring a better and more compleet product to the consumer. now with new packages with diffrent price points… it’s just like cable.

this merger not only should have gon through. but it should have gon through faster. this was no EXXON MOBLE.

Its about time.

Contrary to some of the things posted here, this merger WILL actually help consumers with a lower price point and greater flexibility with options. Both of these companies have been losing money, and the ability to consolidate efforts will reduce their expenses and subsequently reduce the price point to the consumer. I’m all for it! Cant wait to hear MLB now, and love live Howard Stern and commercial-free music radio!

I think there are also a lot of brain-washed people that are a little too short sighted thinking about this…

No competition = higher prices. Why on earth would they offer you twice as much service for half the money?? If they merge, prices WILL go up. Don’t buy that BS that they have to compete with IPods, etc. I have an IPod, I don’t use it in the car. All I can listen to is MY LIBRARY, not a variety of other music that I don’t have. Sorry, completely different things and I don’t think they are in direct competition.

More choices? How? Sirius Hits 1 and XM 20 on 20 are the same thing basically. Which one will win out? Siris? XM? Both (yeah right)? I’ll tell you which one will get the nod – XM 20 on 20 because it has commercials! This is starting to look like cable. Pay for TV initially so you don’t have to watch commercials. Then after a while they start adding some in here and there. Now cable has just as many commercials as free broadcast TV. How long until that happens with satellite radio if these 2 merge? C’mon people! Just because you can’t listen to MLB and NFL on the same radio doesn’t mean these 2 companies should merge! It just means they should allow radio manufacturers to make a radio that is compatible with BOTH services like FM/AM. Then if you REALLY want to listen to MLB and NFL you can just pay for both Sirius and XM. You’ll be doing that in the end anyaway if they are allowed to merge…

FINALLY!! While this merger highlighted how our congress could be bought by big business, finally someone felt the heat from MAD MONEY. Can’t wait to hear baseball & football on the same system – FOR LESS MONEY!!

I just hope they keep most of the Sirius lineup. After subscribing to XM and listening to Sirius, I switched over. Sirius has a much better line-up, especially with sports, no commercials, and station names you can understand. Having Howard Stern along with MLB and NHL will be a great move. Howard is the most listened to channel on satellite radio and it put Sirius on the map. Without Howard, Sirius wouldn’t have been in the position to initiate this merger. There’s no channel on XM that is listened to as much as his.

All I know is if Opie, Anthony, Ron and Fez (and Jim Norton of course) are gone, SO is my subscription to the new radio!

Think about it for a second, one radio for everything !! No more cables, running of antenna’s all that crap. Just turn it on and listen to whatever you want. Local radio stations suck !!! LONG LIVE RAW DOG COMEDY ON SIRIUS 104

Finally! For the discussion to have gone on for over a year is a sham, and so indicative of the way the “system” works. I don’t think any oil company merger took this long, or phone company merger. I’ve had Sirius for years, and can no longer tolerate the babble on regular AM/FM radio.

The people that are against this merger must work for the companies that killed radio in the first place. As an XM subscriber this is an added bonus, more “stations” more points of view more sports. Unfortunately the FCC isn’t what it is supposed to be, they are political hacks. Not people that are “protecting the airwaves” they are clueless about broadcasting and only pander to the highest bidder. As a consumer I feel lucky that the DOJ isn’t filled with the same appointees as the FCC that only tries to what is best for their pockets. It is about time the people were thought of.

I am happy with the merger, now I can get the NFL and PGA in one place.

If this hadn’t been approved, one of these companies, probably XM, would have gone out of business which would have left us with one company anyway. It also would have left half of the users of satellite radio with useless equipment and out the money they pre-paid for their subscriptions. It’s about time the government did the right thing for a change

To paraphrase an earlier comment, “This concept that FEWER companies and LESS competition are going to offer the consumer with MORE choices quite frankly eludes me.”

Please explain how the merging of two competitors into one, solo, unchallenged company isn’t a monopoly.

When corporate greed kicks into high gear and the prices start their inevitable climb and discounts designed to woo subscribers to each service rather than the other vanish will all those above clamoring “about time” suddenly see why this is the most unbelievably stupid thing the DOJ could’ve done?

I do agree, however, that a year to make what is an absolutely “no-brainer” of a decision is beyond incredible. “Do we let the ONLY two players in the field combine into one? Hmmm. No competition, freedom to raise prices to whatever they’d like because the consumer has no other choice but to pay it or go without… gee, no way. Motion denied.”

Duh, DOJ, duh.

And our Government allows another monopoly, no competition and you get what they want to give you, look at cable TV.

Simply-NO-
They agreed at the beginning that this wouldn’t happen, and now it is.

They are both liars and thieves.

Yes, As both a XM and Sirius Sub I am very excited about this merger. I hope the FCC approves it soon.

This is great news for both subscribers honestly. Also, XM is the dominate company, they have over a million more subscribers and more technology wrapped into it. The only thing they don’t have are the NFL and NBA.

It still amazes me that the FCC creates 2 satellite licenses stating they may NEVER merge. Why are we even discussing this? What does NEVER mean to you?

Reading all these arguments about whether the merger is good or bad for consumers, sounds like many people with a dissenting opinion are probably not satellite even radio listeners.

With the garbage that is over-played on standard radio, satellite is worth every penny that I pay. And while I choose my satellite equipment based on features and NOT who provides the signal, I do subscribe to both services for slightly different channels.

These services do NOT compete (in my opinion) and I actually believe that anyone that thinks they should remain separate should perhaps consider footing the bill to maintain both companies for what is a tiny percentage of the population listening to music compared to the masses who listen to other music sources.

JUST my opinion.

Finally there’s an end to the question of whether this would go through. I am a longtime SIRIUS subscriber who is very interested in this merger as there is programming on the XM side that I want to be able to access. I would have *NEVER* switched over. The merger resolves my compatibility problems. The people who don’t realize this is good for business are obviously mentally challenged. Terrestrial radio and all the other forms of entertainment available to a consumer are all competitors of XM and Sirius. Allowing the two satellite companies to merge is like allowing my FM1 and FM2 frequencies to merge. Bravo. The consumer will win in this situation. Finally.

Thank goodness. It’s about time. Now I hope the FCC doesn’t screw it up. Since my car has XM built-in it forced me to buy a portable Sirius radio in order to listen to NFL games — very annoying. I hope this happens soon.

What makes subscribers think that you are going to get so many more services for less money. These companies are not merging for your benifit. XM outsourced their call centers to India to help you how?

Yay! Unchecked capitalism – until someone needs a bailout. Can anyone else just taste the irony in Conservative financial theory?

Yes….Please let them merge already !!!!! Its about time !!!The only people that don’t want this to happen are the idiots running all the terrestrial radio stations.

Finally! Congratulations Sirius and XM!

What will happen to the Sirius subscribers that have lifetime service on a device? Will XM take it away if the merger is approved?

To everyone posting long messages AGAINST the merger:

As a current satellite radio subscriber, if the merger causes prices to rise, I can cancel whenever I deem necessary. I am currently WILLINGLY paying for the service. The minute I deem the price is too high for the content I’m receiving, I will cancel. Unlike cell phone companies that lock you in for years at a time, I can and will cancel as soon as I no longer feel the service is worth it.

Nobody is forcing me to pay the price I currently pay. I wish I could say the same about oil/gas prices. One can only wonder what prices would look like if the govt gave the same scrutiny to the ExxonMobil merger????

The biggest resistance came from Clear Channel and other terrestrial radio interests. That alone contradicts their own argument that the merger would create a monopoly. If terrestrial radio didn’t regard satellite radio as direct competition, they’d have little interest in such a merger. It’s a good day for satellite radio fans.

They finally got it right! Baseball + Football + Howard….I may never listen to terrestrial radio again.

I fully support this merger. Having one company with some programs and another with others is ridiculous. It’s like if Comcast had HBO only while DISH had Cinemax only and DirecTV had Showtime. How stupid would that be? VERY! The competition is with commercial radio and with pre-recorded music in a wide variety of devices. And if neither company is doing well financially when apart, how can one argue that they should not be merged?

It is extremely amusing to watch the posts on this thread. A lot of propaganda and wording that obviously is meant to promote the services. The public does not say things like “finally…Opie and Anthony and the NFL too!” These are what are called “street teams” (for lack of a better term) for XM, Sirius, and some of the bigger shows like Stern. Get that positive spin out there people. That’s why these on-line polls are so useless. How eliminating the only existing competition can be good for the consumer is beyond rational thought. I doubt the FCC will ever allow this to move forward.

Yes!! Finally NPR on satellite radio!!

Very refreshing and a relief to see so many of both XM and Sirius subscribers rejoice. Sure, there are the naysayers who probably don’t subscribe but 90% of us know better. This is the best!

Can’t wait to get them both on 1 radio and lose about 2-3 of my 5 sat radio subs!

I’m an XM subscriber now, but love Howard. Maybe now I can hear all the ball games and Howard too.

This is very good. I believe the FCC is against it because they dislike Howard Stern. I have a lifetime subscription with Sirius so I won’t be effected by any price change (I was already assured that by Sirius). XM was/is a dieing company so is/was Sirius but Sirius has the money to buy XM out while it should be the other way around. I love when the smaller company beats out a bigger company!

Maybe now I can keep my Honda Ridgeline! With the 2 companies battling for access to auto manufacturers it was becoming increasingly difficult to chose the car I wanted. Also, give Jason Ellis (Sirius Faction Channel 28 3-7 EST) an hour or 2 of your time, and you’ll see what the “Future” of satellite radio is all about! The Banger !!!!!!

I think that because howard is so controversial and popular, right wing politicking had everything to do with the rediculously long wait. Also, it is my opinion that Howard made Sirius. Without him, they would not have the numbers of subscribers they have. He made them stong, made them contenders!

Emerging technologies such as satellite radio need to be given a break. Both of the companies are bleeding out money and they will both go bankrupt if they are not given this opportunity to move forward with this merger. The market is so saturated with so many other music choices, it makes it difficult for any other music distributor to stay afloat. When the FCC made them promise not to merge when they started up, they didn’t realize they’d be up against iTunes and a plethora of other sources of the same exact product – MUSIC.

I can’t recall one media-merger that has ever been “good” for the consumer or indeed, competition. In the end, the end consumer will pay for something and lose something.

YES! Finally! Why did it take so long? I want to hear Howard. He’s on Sirius. I like GM cars, and they have XM. How will this affect that pain in the rear (e.g., built-in XM hardware in GM cars and switching)?

I’ve been an XM subscriber for four years and in all that time I haven’t listened to 5 minutes of FM. I no longer even know the format of the local FM stations in my area and could care less. I get my local news via TV at the end of each day and I get my morning traffic reports from XM. Most mornings I eat breakfast while watching CNBC and continue to listen on my way to work. On Saturdays, if the weather is fine, I listen to Fox’s The Cost of Freedom (2-hour block of invetment shows) on my way to the beach of mountains.

In my previous car I installed an aftermarket XM Receiver and fell in love with the service. When shopping for a new car last year I literally crossed off my list any make and model that didn’t come with XM built in. I ended up with a new Acura TSX. I wonder whether others have gone to such extremes. With the merged company, folks like me won’t have to limit their choice of automobile based upon available SATRAD service. Now that’s good for consumers.

I, for one, oppose the deal. While a customer of one and not the other, I can see another example of the governmental entity that was put in place to ensure that monoploies don’t develop has just enabled one more in the satellite radio industry. Yes, their findings are partially true that other mediums provide competition, but that’s like saying firewood is a suitable competitor to natural gas. This is merely one more example of the government (DOJ, FTC) not doing its job. I can think of many other such deals from the past ten years – US West to Qwest, TCI cable to AT&T cable then to Comcast, AT&T mobile and SouthBell to Cingular – but pricing hasn’t declined and service… Ha! it definitely hasn’t improved!

This was a no-brainer from the start. More choices for the consumer!!!

Excellent! I just hope the new company retains the Sirius name since it is the dominant company. Also, the proposed price of $6.95 will make it cheaper for me: 2 cars and home unit!

HEY NOW!!! FINALLY!!!

Now I can get Howard & Mets Baseball at the same time, even after leaving NY!!

I subscribe to both serves so A SIRIUS AND XMSR MERGER WOULD SAVE ME MONEY.

Just more BS government waste. A year, they should be ashamed it took them so long. Let’s hope the FCC will approve the merger and get on with it so this new company can start investing in next gen hardware and features.

IT’S ABOUT TIME! DOJ finally got it right. Hopefully the FCC GET’S OFF IT’S BACKSIDE AND APPROVES AS WELL, although I’m worried that politicans on the payroll (i.e. on the “take”) of terrestrial companies (like Clear Channel) and their lobbyists could still derail this thing.

YES! It’s about time! What a great deal and hopefully it continues forward quickly. Howard Stern plus the NHL and baseball is great!

Look at the Stern morons thinking it is all sbout him, LOL. Please, someone deflate that guys ego. It is about regular radio about to die a greedy corporate commercial saturated medium. As an XM subscriber, I will be buying everything Sirius has to offer except Howard Stern. LOL, the guy works 4 days a week, with 10 weeks of vacation. Please, he will be gone in 2 years, 8 months, then Eric the Midget will take over the channel.

If the FCC shoots this down, there should be an investigation.

FINALLY!!! It was suspiciously long process. I wonder why…

Absolutely! I welcome the opportunity to have Opie and Anthony, Ron and Fez and the NFL! As long as the the companies remember not to price themselves out of a good thing.

IF THE COST IS OVER THE MONTHLY COST OF $13 IT WOULD MAINTAIN AN INCREASE IT’S MEMBERSHIP, IF THE COST GOES HOG WILD IT WILL LOSE !

yeah they should have approved it months and months ago…just not enough money in it from the lobbyists. Exxon-Mobil had the deep pockets and it got them done real quick. Stern forever!

It’s about time! A year wasted on an easy answer. The NAB is a bunch of retards.

The amount of time this administration took dragging it’s feet on this deal is absolutely embarassing. This was held up for political purposes only, and in the end too many resources were wasted examining this deal as opposed to other “deals” that were less rigorously reviewed….anyone remember how much press Exxon/Mobil received? Shame on the DOJ and shame on the FCC…

YES–IT IS A PAY SERVICE. If you don’t want to pay for it you still have free radio!

Is the DOJ on drugs? There are only two sattlite based radio subscription services. If the price goes up then I’ll have to reconsider if I want my money to go to them or to other things that are slightly more important.

Not a chance. Let ‘em compete, toe to toe. Shareholders will benefit, consumers lose.

All I can say is it’s about time, and why in the world did it take soooooooooooooooo long? C’mon FCC do your part and allow it and get this ball rolling PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!.

i can’t wait till it happens. hurry up with it.

One word: Yes.

Solution to potential problems: Chances are it will end up becoming something like Direct TV with different packages and channels. Kind of how you have HBO and Starz as a basic package, then you can upgrade for more. I, of course only speculating, think that is what it will come down too. But it is about time these two companies got clearance.

This should have happened sooner. The reason it took so long is that the national broadcasters association and idiots like herb kohl d-Wis, who are on their payroll, tried in vain to block this deal so that they can rip off the general public with their repetitive play and 50 minutes per hour of commercials. WAY TO GO DOJ!! Lets hope the FCC does the same!

Radio is radio – none of it is really all that great. Who needs to pay for radio when you have easy access to music online and in your home stereo.

This is typical of government that is more concerned with the welfare of businesses and corporations rather than that of the public and consumers.

Both XM and Sirius are bloated, fiscally irresponsible and poorly managed companies. Sirius gambled that by retaining Howard Stern for half a BILLION dollars and drawing him away from terrestrial radio, many of Howard’s fans would follow him and willingly pay to listen to him.

Unfortunately for Sirius at the time his fame was waning and when he left terrestrial radio no one cared, Sirius has been leeching money since then.

Interestingly while XM has a bigger subscriber base and offers better programming and equipment, it was Sirius’ CEO (Mel Karmazin) who initiated the “merger”. It seems everyone is willing to forget that both companies were allowed to be created on the prerequisite that they would not merge, but oh well once they operated for a while and saw that it was not convenient it’s acceptable that the rules be changed.

Actually I’m going to approach my wife with a similar premise; “hey honey, I know I agreed to all this nonsense when we got married, but now that I think about it maybe you can figure out how to pay for the mortgage and feed the kids because I will be throwing all my salary away on lose women, booze and gambling…”

Sure this is about money, Mel Karmazin’s money and Howard Stern’s money. This concept that FEWER companies and LESS competition are going to offer the consumer with MORE choices quite frankly eludes me.

the fact that it took this long shows just how powerful lobbying can be. Good job DOJ.

I dont think this will help anyone. All I can think is “thats terible, Im sorry” Everyone is going to ask “how did you radio die”

Yes. I have XM and that’s all I listen to. Can’t wait for Sirius. If you don’t have either service you don’t know what your missing.

Absotively posilutely!

I am so glad this went through. BABABOOEY TO Y’ALL!

This merger approval is indicative of a Justice Department that wouldn’t understand antitrust and anticompetitive behavior in the highly consolidated media market if it saw it.

With ongoing consolidation and a steadily dwindling number of players in the broadcast media marketplace, anything that further reduces the number of voices in the radio world is a tremendously bad idea.

Satellite radio was configured by the FCC to be a competitive industry. Both XM and Sirius understood that going in, and developed business plans that took into account as well as an understanding that at no time would a merger be approved by the FCC. They are now hoping that the corrupt administration now in power will once again see past what is in consumers’ best interests and support media corporate special interests instead.

The radio marketplace has been dominated by around a half dozen mega-corporations which control the majority of radio stations in the United States. The Clear Channel, Entercom, and CBS/Viacom conglomerates, to name a few, so reduced the quality of programming on those stations that it created a marketplace for satellite radio in the first place. With reduced competition comes lower quality programming and a continuation of corporate control and restricted access to the voices and viewpoints available on the radio dial.

A satellite radio merger leaves a single player in this market. Despite comments from others that this somehow increases diversity and results in lower prices, this is complete nonsense not borne out by reality.

A de facto monopoly in satellite radio guarantees higher prices and the elimination of discounts and retention plans for consumers. As with cable television, programming costs will guarantee rate increases because no competitive cost controls exist in a marketplace with no competition to keep prices in check.

Additionally, major corporate media will continue to invest and likely come to eventually dominate the remaining combined XM/Sirius entity. Clear Channel already has an ownership interest in XM. As with cable, program content owners will come to demand investment/ownership interest opportunities as part of any deal to provide program content. This further assures an uncompetitive market.

Lastly, competition from new players in the market come with hurdles that satellite radio will not face as often these days. Namely, the instant availability of receiving equipment already built-in to the important auto market. Many car manufacturers are moving to make satellite radio-capable systems standard in vehicles, making it easy to subscribe. Digital IBOC (digital FM radio signals) is already controlled by the existing corporate players and do not provide competition, and future streaming/wireless technologies simply do not exist as of yet.

Consumer protection demands that satellite radio remain a competitive marketplace, just as it was envisioned by the FCC and agreed to by both XM and Sirius. Technology solutions to make it easier for the two satellite platforms to co-exist on future receivers could increase competitive forces for the two, and the prevention of the establishment of a de facto monopoly will be the only force that assures that pricing and service remain stable for the near future.

Absolutely. Our entire family has been waiting for over a year. We are Sirius subscribers, but want HOCKEY and Oprah etc. This has been a horrible political issue which should not have happened. There are so many avenues to get media entertainment. Give people a break and speed up the FCC approval. So gald it is finally coming to fruition.

As an XM subscriber, I am in favor of the merger. Satellite radio is competing not with itself, but with IPODs, internet radio, & the near-dead medium of terrestrial radio. NFL and Opie&Anthony on one radio…who could ask for more?

yes, it is a great move to merge XM and SIRI. It gives lots of choices to customer,

Good move.

This merger was way over due. This had nothing to do with fair competition but had everything to do with pay offs to stall this for terrestrial radio’s sake. This is the death-nell for terrestrial radio and they know it.

Wow! Is not this the same government that felt it necessary to break up the phone company? How can this possibly benefit consumers? So much for the free market, eh?

yes. finally! my faith in govenment has just been restored.

Absolutely the right thing to do. The merger will actually CUT prices to consumers, while adding a wider range of content.

Good to see at least ONE dept in Washington is not bowing to the lobbyists.

It has never been fair that we should pay twice so we can listen to MLB baseball and NFL football.

Good move. What took so long?

It’s ridiculous this took so long. It was all about the radio lobby working against it.

I got XM so I wouldn’t have to support howard stern. I don’t like that idiot so that’s why I chose XM not the other. I don’t want to pay his check.

Definitly. What is really odd is that it took so long. The Iraq war approval took less time.

NO No No, This is the beginning of the end of sat radio. Siris will pull both companies down and it will be gone.

Goodbye Sat Radio! ! !

I don’t approve of this deal. The only thing these two companies should have done is spun off the equipment operations and merged them together.

I think they got this completely wrong. I had XM integrated into my car via a aftermarket head unit and ripped it out after about a year. I was paying for commercials and since Sirius doesn’t have them, I switched to Sirius. I’ve never been happier with satellite radio service. I can’t do that after the merger. All I can do is stop my service entirely…which I probably will do.

DOJ got this 100% correct. They saw through the influential fog known as lobbyists and arrived at a decision, the only decision, that made sense. A Sirius /XM merger is beneficial to both the consumers and the companies alike. All I can say to terrestrial radio is LOOKOUT.

I’m an XM subscriber who has tried Sirius. All I can say is I hope that, if the deal passes FCC review, the combined company keeps the XM music lineup. There’s more to life than Howard Stern and All Elvis.

YES. The opposition from non-satellite entertainment companies proves it isn’t a monopoly.

It is about time!!! I am not impressed with how this merger was handled. All the hurdles are ridiculous, if these were two OIL COMPANIES this merger would have been completed along time ago. VERY SAD!!!

Absolutely right. Satellite radio is one of a number of choices. I’m very glad to see that this is FINALLY getting through.

Now if we can keep Georgetown Partners off of this…

Bout time..the only ones who didn’t want this deal was the big media companies like clearchannel. Lets see if the big companies will put the squeeze on the FCC now

About time! I think that investigations should be performed to see why it took so long. There had to be ulterior motives at play here. Let’s hope the FCC doesn’t drop the ball on this like they often do.

Absolutely! It is about time that they merge these. Now you get the best of both worlds; all the talk shows form both, football, and baseball. Great move. Let’s make it happen now!

This merger is ridiculous. Crunch the numbers and you’ll easily see that the merger is in clear violation of the HH index. Now XM-Sirius will control over 40% of the SATELITTE radio market. The government must be shareholders in order to aprove such a merger.

Bad move. I have XM and now I have to wait and see how high the price will skyrocket.

It’s about time DOJ announced publicly what is obvious to any disinterested observer. If I don’t like my satellite radio, I can listen to regular radio. Or my ipod. Or my CD. Or my audio book. Or digital radio. Or my wife, but let’s not go that far. DOJ and FCC have delayed a decision for more than a year, largely because of the intense lobbying effort of the National Association of Broadcasters, which, just by virture of the strength of their opposition to the merger, proves that they at least believe that terrestrial radio competes with satellite radio. If that’s so, then QED, a merged XM-Sirius is not a monopoly. The NAB, by the way, has no problem with a company like ClearChannel owning every radio station in a local market. That, apparently, is not anti-competitive. But two companies that together capture less than 4 percent of the market is a monopoly, according to them. It’s ridiculous to see our government wasting so much time, effort, and resources on a trivial issue like this, while at the same time rubber-stamping far more anti-competitive mergers like Exxon-Mobil. Now, can the FCC quit twiddling its thumbs and approve a company that will give me both football and baseball?

Yes, Yes, Yes. About time the market was allowed to work as it should. Both services have great content, but neither has been profitable alone. While the overall entertainment/communications market is highly competitive, satellite radio is a less competitive niche and consumers have plenty of (free) alternatives. This is a win for consumers and I will probably remain a subscriber of the combined service.

Its about time! This will be a benefit to everyone involved

As soon as this becoming “official”, I will be an X-XM subscriber. My money needs to go in my gas tank not in the bloody coffers of the overpriced windbag called howarsd stern.

yes, absolutely, its outrageous that this has taken so long to approve and we all know its because its associated with Howard Stern

I think it makes sense. Two companies cannot survive, but one can. After having satellite radio for 2 years I cannot imagine living without it. Having one service also eliminates the hassle of having the car companies only offer one built in service. Hopefully the FCC will approve the deal ASAP.

DOJ GETS IT RIGHT!
I thought that the deal should be approved. The two companies combined are less that 4% of the radio-in-car market. This deal will benefit everyone with lower prices, more selection, more diversity. Way to go DOJ. They saw the big picture about competition.

YES. When sat radio was first set up the government forced the license to have 2 players even though two companies were not interested at the beginning. Now the market is so competitive that it is only fair that they complete with EVERYTHING else that a consumer can choice from. I should choose with my dollar and not because the government lets me.

It’s about time……

Absolutely, as a subscriber to Sirius, I am very happy to see this go through. I can’t believe that it took this long. Now I can get baseball and Howard Stern & Bubba The Love Sponge.

More than a year to approve this proposed merger for two companies which are currently bleeding money. Oil companies faced less scrutiny which clearly is anticompetitive.

Yes. As a Siruis subsciber who is sick of the BS on terrestrial radio, I welcome this long awaited decision.
Now I can have my cake….and eat it too !!!

I absolutely think this merger should go through. It is ridiculous that it has taken this long. When Exxon Mobile merged, it took far less time than this, and one can argue that it had a direct effect on the masses. This is so nothing compared to that. This is all about terrestrial radio trying to keep a new media down, b/c they have no idea how to be relevent anymore. I’m elated. Now I can have both Stern and Baseball!!!

I think this merger can be a really good thing as long as “THEY” remeber that while satellite radio is a relatively good eal at $12.95, it isn’t if the price goes significantly higher.

That’s what God made CD’s for.

Of course! People have so many entertainment options now, even in their car. The bigger question is, why did this take 15 months?? Exxon Moblie, Time Warner AOL CNN HBO, etc. all happened quickly. I think with gas pushing $4/gallon that perhaps the government should have taken a closer look at Exxon Moble instead of all this XM Sirius business.

It’s about time. Two fledgling companies using a fledgling technology- and it took a year. Exxon-Mobil took a month. This is about Howard Stern- not about the public interest.

I think it is a great idea for them to merge. I have 6 XMs and welcome the possibilities of having even more choices of stations.