Sirius and XM Merge

[Bench Warmer]

Didn't see this anywhere but possible fata here.

The merger that was never going to happen as some put it, is going to apparently.

http://xmradio.mediaroom.com/index.p...ases&item=1423

[fanforever1986]

Really interesting...If they can throw all their stations onto one device, I just might go buy one.

They better be careful raising monthly rates, a lot of people think its too high already.
Another news link:
http://news.com.com/2061-10802_3-616...-0-5&subj=news

[Mccree]

I can now see montly rates going up with no more competition. Is this just for the American side or also for the Canadian side? I would imagine both.

[jam26]

Interesting. Not sure how I feel about this right now. I'm an XM subscriber and Sirius has nothing that appeals to me that XM doesn't have. Hopefully the rates will remain reasonable. But I imagine I'll be paying more for my hockey and baseball and Ron and Fez.

[Bobblehead]

I thought the FCC had nixed this idea last month. I wonder what caused the FCC to change their minds?

From a Bloomberg article:

``Does something like the iPod really compete with satellite radio?'' said analyst Levin. If federal regulators decide it doesn't, the deal is likely to be rejected, Levin said.

[SpitFire40]

Next up Blu-Ray and HD DVD!

Please?

[calgARI]

I wonder if this will have an affect on the XM Hockey stuff - 204 Home Ice, etc. Hopefully not because it is really great.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

I thought the FCC had nixed this idea last month. I wonder what caused the FCC to change their minds?

From a Bloomberg article:

i think in a case like this having XM and Sirius competing hurt the consumer. if you look at sports, you have some leagues signing an exclusive broadcast agreement with one company and other leagues with the other, car manufacturers installing one brand over the other, it's just a pain with them trying to out compete each other. i'd be in favor of the FCC simply regulating how much they can charge per month for the service so it doesn't get out of hand

[fanforever1986]

Originally Posted by SpitFire40

Next up Blu-Ray and HD DVD!

Please?

No kidding. Can't we all just get along?

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by fanforever1986

Really interesting...If they can throw all their stations onto one device, I just might go buy one.

This has been a deciding factor for me as well. I don't really know which provider to pick. I was really hoping there would be just one provider. So this could be good news.

[Boreal]

The biggest expense both operations have is advertising, so when they merge they cut costs in half and double subscriptions, thus making it a no brainer. Since they are losing money as it is, I can't see them raising rates, as that would not make them more attractive to new subscribers, to say nothing of their competitions with the Ipod.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by nobles_point

The biggest expense both operations have is advertising, so when they merge they cut costs in half and double subscriptions, thus making it a no brainer.

I'd think their biggest expense would be the big things they've got flying in the sky. If they merge, they'd probably sell off XM's birds which would also cut costs in half.

Since they are losing money as it is, I can't see them raising rates, as that would not make them more attractive to new subscribers, to say nothing of their competitions with the Ipod.

They probably wouldn't raise rates but they'd drive a harder bargain with their various properties. There won't be any bidding wars for the NHL or NASCAR.

[BlackArcher101]

Are they actually going to merge operations, or just merging the financial side of things? I don't see how they will convert all the units out there to either sirius or xm side of things.

[Jayems]

So does this mean an additional 150 chans on my XM Reciever, or are they going to make me buy a new one?

i really hate my delphi, so big, and the windshield mount from best-buy sucks.

[underGRADFlame]

Whats going to be interesting is going tp see what happens to the Stern/O&A fued. They hate each other, can't see them getting along to well in the same company. And both are the top draws on theyre respective services.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Jayems

So does this mean an additional 150 chans on my XM Reciever, or are they going to make me buy a new one?

It's hard to say, simply because of the CRTC and the regulations that XM/Sirius has to have a certain ratio of Canadian stations to American stations. I'm sure some redundant stations will be axed as well.

Plus, questions about bandwidth and that sort of thing. Who knows what the landscape will look like in Canada.

[Mightyfire89]

Wow. To me, this was inevitable, but I thought it would take well into the next decade to happen.

Could be good, could be bad.

Personally, I chose Sirius, simply because of Stern and Breuer, but I welcome what I may have been missing on XM.

Now, as some others have mentioned, how is this going to affect cost, and how are they going to integrate the two (if at all)?

Interesting.

AND, as Jordon said, next they gotta sort out this Blu-ray vs HD-DVD thing...I think Blu-ray will win...just a hunch.

[Azure]

It will be bad.

With no competition, nobody will be able to keep tabs on the prices, service, and customer support.

[FireFly]

I wonder what this means for people like me who have the option of mobile radio on my cell phone... it's provided by XM, so I wonder if they'll give us more stations... I'd LOVE to have NHL radio.

[guzzy]

I have XM in my new work truck and I have Sirius in my personal truck. I can't stand XM. The sports are better but I think the music stations are terrible. I like the personalities on the rock stations on Sirius and the programming is much better. Plus Sirius has Howard Stern and Maxim radio. The comedy stations on Sirius are actually recognizable big name comics. I find you get amateurs 80% of the time on XM.

I hope the merger improves the programming because if they go with XM format I will not renew my subscription.