Comments on: XM, Sirius announce a merger

By: Peter

Peter — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 08:36:01 +0000

tramadol

By: David Martin

David Martin — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 16:07:36 +0000

The odds are 6 to 5 against. Chip’s remarks are spot-on. This will be a purely political transaction wherein regulatory, not the street, has all the juice. While certainly a skilled operator, “government affairs” is not Mel’s strong suit. His last appearance on the hill was the nipplegate mess in which his act failed to play well.

By: John

John — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 01:28:28 +0000

Yeah, Jeremy, the language is splendid. Brings to mind Orwell’s great quote about poli-speak.

I love how the regulating bully thinks all it takes is a lot of syllables.

By: Barry S.

Barry S. — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 23:55:08 +0000

I highly doubt it will pass regulatory scrutiny. XM may disappear in the merger, but they won’t get the full XM/Sirius spectrum as part of the deal..

I see a mess..

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 23:01:38 +0000

Oh, and one other thing: I love the language “More Competitive Audio Entertainment Provider” - in other words, this wouldn’t cause a monopoly, nope, not a chance, don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 23:00:19 +0000

Content from both companies? One would think that any channels that overlap that one of them will get the axe.

By: 5w50

5w50 — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 22:18:01 +0000

But what does Howard (middle initial NOT “K”) say?
Who’s the boss in this merger?
XM’s and Sirius’ receivers are not compatible.
This one’s going to be fun.

By: Chip Mahaney

Chip Mahaney — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 20:18:09 +0000

I realize anything can happen in the world of big business and government regulation, but I think this will be a hard sell in Washington DC.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but back when the government opened up this spectrum, only two companies could win licenses to use it, and those two companies were XM and Sirius. If the two companies merge, that creates a monopoly in this space. Also, will the new company continue to use all the spectrum, or will the government get to auction some of it off to another player, to restore competition?

I’m speaking way out of my league here, so feel free to correct my facts or conclusions, if they’re wrong. It will be interesting to see what happens with this deal. Already one analyst is being quoted as saying the FCC will approve the deal, though Commissioner Martin said back in January that such a merger would not be approved.