Justice Dept. Approves XM-Sirius Merger

Sort of local in that most local restauarnts use one of these services. I think this is great since most commercial radio in Chicago is unlistenable.

EXCELLENT!

It will be interesting to see how they integrate their respective channels. I have XM in my car and an XM receiver in the house. I also get Sirius as part of my Dish network package, it's been nice to have choices, but I've laways preferred XM. Now if they can just get away from the highly compressed signals...

This should be interesting... MRS. Perplexed gets XM in her Truck and I get Sirius in my car. I wonder if we will save money??

I thought monopolies were illegal in these parts. Isn't that exactly what we are getting?

Man, it is about time. I can finally use the XM receiver in my car for Sirius service soon.

quote:

Originally posted by Yossarian:
I think this is great since most commercial radio in Chicago is unlistenable.

quote:

Originally posted by BlueEchoes:
EXCELLENT!

quote:

Originally posted by perplexed:
This should be interesting...
I wonder if we will save money??

quote:

Originally posted by IMJ:
Man, it is about time. I can finally use the XM receiver in my car for Sirius service soon.

OH MY GOSH ...

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Originally posted by jombl:
OH MY GOSH ...

Exclaimed a dancing milk carton.......

There are channels on both services that I will end up ordering for my vehicle to receive. That is the beauty of the service when they merge, that you will be able to order a la carte services for your subscription dollar.

quote:

Originally posted by IMJ:

There are channels on both services that I will end up ordering for my vehicle to receive. That is the beauty of the service when they merge, that you will be able to order a la carte services for your subscription dollar.

You think that last word might need to be plural in the near future?

quote:

Originally posted by Floyd:
I thought monopolies were illegal in these parts. Isn't that exactly what we are getting?

If XM failed (which it was going to) Then there would only be Serius. This merger at least helps out both teams. Also, the sports programming will be unreal!

quote:

Originally posted by Rob Herbold:


If XM failed (which it was going to) Then there would only be Serius. This merger at least helps out both teams.

XM failing would have been healthy - the spectrum and the corporations assets would have transfered to the bond holders and subsequently been sold to new owners with fresh capital and new ideas. Reducing competition is never a positive, investment in content will decrease as rates increase.

Don't you think new investors would have come in by now to make them and their shareholders an offer? I think they fell behind in acquiring the necessary talent and product lineup to compete with Sirius.

They were resting on their past success to carry them forward, and then Sirius hired Mel Karmazin to run their company, and that was the end of XM. I enjoy some of XM's music programming better than Sirius, but I have Sirius for the their sports lineup and some of their personalities.

I just cannot ever see a reason to allow this.


If XM failed - and no investor stepped forward for the corporations assets (something unimaginable), Sirius would simply have picked up the disgarded but popular content. There was no need to control the entire spectrum.

As an FYI, there is a device out there that I got for Christmas that blows XM, Sirius, chicago radio, and all others away. It is so cool, 5 other people I know have purchased one over the last 2 months:



This little baby gets about 6000 internet radio stations and over 21 THOUSAND on demand radio streams from around the world. You want to listen to KPOA in Maui, RootsRockReggae from Kingston, BBC1, or thousands of other stations, this is the tool to purchase. It is absolutely BRILLIANT. I have one at work and will have one for home soon. I would listen 24-7 if I could. The variety of music makes XM, Sirius and all other radio stations in this country obsolete. It sounds great, you can connect to a shared music folder on your computer, and you can run through any kickin speaker system.

Torian is making a mobile device the size of an iPod that will automatically pick up a WIFI connection and stream as well.

I basically listen to Steve Dahl in the morning (in a building that cannot get radio) and then turn over to about 60 other radio stations from around the world the rest of the day.

I would still get Sirius/XM though for the sports, the music stations (other than Radio Margaritaville on Sirius) is basically just 200 more songs than what you would hear on regular radio.

And the price?

Under $250 on Amazon - and the buyer reviews are mixed, but mostly positive.

Could an older person - someone who has just recently agreed to using a cell phone, even though they've had one for two years - handle hook up, etc? My dad would love it if it were simple to get up and running.

I've had both, and XM only lasted for about three months. Everything I want to listen to is on Sirius, although as mentioned the sports coverage could be great. Being able to listen to the Cubs or the Sox games regardless of where I am would be a huge plus.

I can't imagine life without satellite radio at this point. They could double the price and I would still consider it a great value for what you get.

quote:

Originally posted by jombl:
I just cannot ever see a reason to allow this.


If XM failed - and no investor stepped forward for the corporations assets (something unimaginable), Sirius would simply have picked up the disgarded but popular content. There was no need to control the entire spectrum.

Serius and/or XM still need to compete against the beliefs of terrestrial radio (Read free). Those same investors that did not step in to control XM can start their own competitive lineup. There is no monopoly here, just people unwilling to take this large of a gamble on an untested market. The market is and will continue to grow. When the demand becomes greater, there will be more people investing in start-up/competition.

There are about 10 other WiFi radios out there at Amazon.com, all in a wide range of styles and price ranges. I believe Sangean and another company were the first to produce these back in November last year. It is WELL worth the money. I rarely listen to my iPod/Zunes at work or at home anymore, I just listen to internet radio.

The only problem I have found is not with the hardware, but with some radio stations. Some repeat the same thing over and over again during commercial breaks. I guess radio stations cannot play ads on their steaming, or at least some cannot. So they play a 2 minute clip or something every time they go to break. Sometimes this gets repetitive but it still is nothing that would stop you from listening.

About hooking it up, I got the one above because it can be wireless and wired. It is plug and play, extremely easy to hook up. So easy, if I bring it home or to a friend to show, I just plug it in and it finds the network or wireless without even going into the config. VERY easy.

XM was not going to fail. It only began nationwide service in Nov of 2001, by the first quarter of 2007 it reported over $300M in positive cashflow and over 8M subscribers - this deal was not for the benefit of subscribers.

The company is also reported to be in exceptionally strong hands, "Unless they unanimously agree otherwise, control of the company remains with the preferred shareholder and noteholders of the company, including Hughes Electronics, GM, Honda, and several private investment groups." Clear Channel Communications is also an early investor and retains control over several channels.

This company was not failing. It will now, after the merger completes, decrease its costs (content, support and infrastructure) and increase its revenues (what you pay) - this will be done for the benefit of the owners without any competitors to keep them in check.