Sirius and XM to merge? Please, no...

[ColonelPanic]

The New York Times had something to say today:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01...loginBlah! I don't see it happening... I don't know what the XM folks think about this, but on the front page of Sirius Backstage, they came up with some pretty good reasons why it wouldn't be an easy merger.I don't particularly care for XM, but I'm glad it is there so people can have a choice. If they merge, we'll be forced to deal with yet another monopoly. And we'd be pretty much guaranteed that any sort of innovations in the field of satellite radio would be few and far between, if they ever happened at all. I'd likely cancel my subscription if such a thing happened... Especially if they try to screw around with my PureJazz, man!

[CAN-AWD-VIBE]

i hope they doone controller for both one cost for bothjust like AM/FMthat would make my "sirius or XM" decision easy.

[ColonelPanic]

The bad part about having one radio woud be that there's a LOT of radios out there currently for the two services... Many will have to take even more money out of their own pockets to buy new equipment... It's hard enough for me to come up with the cash to replace a $150 or less plug and play tuner. So, I see it being particularly painful for cars that currently have some sort of satellite radio installed from the factory. That'll cost big bucks to upgrade the equipment, if the manufacturer would even provide an upgrade.

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »The bad part about having one radio woud be that there's a LOT of radios out there currently for the two services... Many will have to take even more money out of their own pockets to buy new equipment... It's hard enough for me to come up with the cash to replace a $150 or less plug and play tuner. So, I see it being particularly painful for cars that currently have some sort of satellite radio installed from the factory. That'll cost big bucks to upgrade the equipment, if the manufacturer would even provide an upgrade.Unless they somehow manage to make both flavors of receivers work with the new service...maybe just broadcast the same service over both satellites, and do a long-term phaseout of the current equipment.

[Jahntassa]

I don't know how they'd do it. I was pretty sure when the FCC granted the licenses it was made clear that the two services could NOT merge due to monopoly rules.Of course I thought the same of DBS services (Echostar and Direct) but I guess I was wrong, as now i've seen there are talks of mergers there, too.I have no idea where this one will end up, to be honest. There's too much money in the air (in satellites) to give up one type of technology for the other, and no point to have dual format receivers if they did merge. Though, if someone could get a license to receive both, i'm sure that would be a pretty nice deal..

[kostby]

Apparently there will be NO merger.Quote »XM and Sirius: FCC Breaks Satellite HeartsJack Kapica writes on The Globe and Mail: The rumoured radio romance involving a merger of Sirius and XM appears to be over. The competing satellite radio companies saw their shares plunge after Kevin Martin, chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, cut the flirtation short by announcing Wednesday Afternoon that "There is a prohibition on one entity owning both of these businesses. The ban was written in 1997 when the companies were licensed." Links --> http://www.topix.net/r/0FnQo4C...3D=3D---> http://www.theglobeandmail.com...ology/

[kcorona]

Quote, originally posted by CAN-AWD-VIBE »i hope they doone controller for both one cost for bothjust like AM/FMthat would make my "sirius or XM" decision easy.yeah and your monthly subscription fee rise.

[Jahntassa]

That's what I thought: "There is a prohibition on one entity owning both of these businesses. The ban was written in 1997 when the companies were licensed."