XM and Sirius to Merge?

[Scott Greczkowski]

Hey guys,
I was coming up my elevator today and we have TV screens in our elevators giving you news headlines, one of the headlines was "XM and SIRIUS Satellite Radio are considering a possible merger"

Anyone know more about this?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I found it http://www.nypost.com/business/38810.htm

So what are your thoughts on this?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

More coming in...

http://money.cnn.com/2005/01/26/technology/satellite_radio_talks/index.htm

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuo...tfh06448_2005-01-26_13-11-25_n26442492_newsml

 

[Peter Parker]

There is already a thread in the stock forum. Perhaps the discussion belongs there. I suggest merging this thread into the earlier thread on that forum.

 

[mwgiii]

I really wish it would happen.

Both services have strong points and great shows. It would really simplify my life if I could get them all through one radio instead of two.

I don't see how it would get through the anti-trust tangle though.

 

[rad]

The big question would be would the FCC allows the two DARS licenses to be owned by one company???

 

[jlhugh]

This would be a good thing. I want programming that is on both, so I haven't bought either one yet because I am torn between NASCAR and the NFL. This way I could have both.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I believe there 4 DARS Licences out there. Who are the other two? If that is the case and there are others with valie licences then I dont see why a merger couldnt go through.

 

[BuddTX]

This might be a rumor:
Billboard Radio Monitor article

here is the 1st paragraph:

Mel Quashes Sirius-XM Merger Rumor
Jan. 26, 2005
By Tony Sanders and Paul Heine

Mel Karmazin characterized a New York Post report of a potential XM-Sirius merger as the “third rumor” he has had to deal with in his first eight weeks as Sirius CEO. “I have not met with the [XM] chair or the CEO, so I have no idea where this has come from,” he said during his firm’s Wednesday morning (1/26) earnings conference call.

 

[BFG]

What is this, Satellite consolidation month?

 

[dfergie]

What is this, Satellite consolidation month?

Yup... good thing E* did not buy... a superdish on every car Actually this is good news if it occurs, maybe the price of Sirius will even out with xm...

 

[charper1]

They do when compared apples to apples. Sirius' full service with streaming is $13/mo and XM's full service with streaming is $14/mo. Many of us get caught inside places where we have access to a PC but not our home docking cradle so having the streaming feature is perfect. So when compared exact, XM is $1 more/mo.

Having these two merge at this time would be a mistake in my opinion. It is in its infancy and having two compete keeps prices lower and spurns innovation and continued improvements in programming.

 

[littlebudda]

Yup... good thing E* did not buy... a superdish on every car Actually this is good news if it occurs, maybe the price of Sirius will even out with xm...

FCC will never allow this. Dish and DirecTv tried to merge FCC and the public said NO!!When you have a monopoly there is no need to lower prices, has Microsoft ever lowered its prices?

 

[korsjs]

this would be good news for me. tony kornheiser will be going to xm and i have sirius. i don't want to have to switch.

 

[Peter Parker]

While FCC authority is necessary the real hurdle would be DOJ approval. In most cases when the DOJ approves the FCC falls into line. Beause of the antitrust implications I don't see this going through unless one carrier was about to die. Even then they might prefer to let that carrier die and then auction off the license.

Besides in this case combining the two would be difficult. Not sure what would happen but I would not assume that all programming would be available from the new entity.

 

[JosephB]

The FCC specifically setup DARS to have atleast 2 competitors. IIRC they wouldn't issue XM's license until a second viable licensee was also available. I don't see this happening. What I find strange is that the DBS services haven't looked at picking up either Sirius or XM. I know DirecTV once had a stake in XM, but that was due to their GM ownership and they have since divested that. If you could bundle satellite radio with DBS, plus add in the telco bundles, you could save TONS. Just imagine, get Sirius with your Dish network service and it only costs $5 a month!

 

[BFG]

I get sirius on dish now and it's free

 

[charper1]

I assumed he meant getting all the channels they provide plus a car receiver.

 

[JosephB]

Yes, I meant actual Sirius service in your car or on an actual Sirius radio