XM and Sirius to merge.

[bobman0330]

I don't see how the FCC could possibly approve this merger.

[lippy]

All you people saying this will raise prices; I really disagree.

There are so many substitutes to Satellite Radio that they'll be vastly more profitable by providing their service at a low price.

[ligastar]

The NYT breaks down the merger here

The other press I've read today indicate that pricing would stay the same or go down.

[TimTimSalabim]

It's not a monopoly when you have only 10 million or so subscribers between the two. It's not like they're selling oil, they've got plenty of competition from other sources.

[bobman0330]

[ QUOTE ]
It's not a monopoly when you have only 10 million or so subscribers between the two. It's not like they're selling oil, they've got plenty of competition from other sources.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's not really relevant here. Certainly regular radio, CDs, etc., are imperfect substitutes for satellite radio. But they're not the same, and the fact that they charge $150/year when radio is free is powerful evidence of the fact that satellite radio is its own market.

[Mondogarage]

[ QUOTE ]
It's not a monopoly when you have only 10 million or so subscribers between the two. It's not like they're selling oil, they've got plenty of competition from other sources.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is a monopoly when you have 100% of the market. The size of that market does not matter. The market, in this case, is satellite radio. The companies will argue that their correct market is all forms of radio, and they may be determined to be correct -- but that is far from a certainty.

[Shoe]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't have a satellite radio unit yet.

Does this mean I would probably be wise to hold off for a little bit because new units might be required to receive all the channels?

I was at Wal-Mart last week mostly buying groceries. But I walked past the little sat-radio disaply and threw one in my cart.
But the scanner thing didn't go through when I tried to check-out so I just told the cashier to 'forget it, will get it next time.'

[/ QUOTE ]

I read in one of the articles today that they are currently working on a receiver that will receive both XM and Sirius channels, as even if the merger goes through XM can't get Sirius and vice versa.

They are also working on a way that the current receivers could possibly receive some of the programming from the other service, but i'm not sure if they have figured out a good way of doing that yet.

If you really want satellite radio, I'd go ahead and buy it as it will be awhile before the merger gets approved/rejected. If it goes through, you might have to buy a new receiver to get everything you want. If you aren't in a hurry, waiting won't cost you anything.

[canis582]

This merger doesn't go far. I say just nationalize it and make it free. Tax payers footed the bill for the research that went into the technology they are using anyway.

[DesertCat]

[ QUOTE ]
This merger doesn't go far. I say just nationalize it and make it free. Tax payers footed the bill for the research that went into the technology they are using anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

That would kill it. The government isn't going to pay Howard Stern $100M a year, and they'll censor the crap out of it. It will be about as appealing as PBS.

BTW, U.S. taxpayers didn't pay for the startup research. German taxpayers footed the bill, then we bombed them into submission and took their scientists and research. So we're free-rolling here.

[kipin]

[ QUOTE ]
This merger doesn't go far. I say just nationalize it and make it free. Tax payers footed the bill for the research that went into the technology they are using anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

Um no.