Sirius and XM Finally Moving Forward with Merger
It seems like a lifetime ago that Sirius and XM first announced the intentions to merge and form a single satellite radio powerhouse. Subscribers were generally overjoyed by the possibilities; twice the content, a la carte options, the promise that current subscription rates would not increase, etc. It sounded like everyone would be a winner. There was just one problem though… Terrestrial radio and its “relationship” with the FCC. We won’t go into this mockery of government yet again, but suffice it to say that there were some pretty big hurdles that had to be ovecome. Here we are almost 18 months later however, and the merger has finally been approved! Of course there are some conditions to the $3.3 billion deal, first and foremost is the fact that the companies will have to cough up $20 million in fines to the FCC right out of the gate. These fines are a result of FCC claims that several radio models and signal-boosting towers violate FCC regulations. Ok fine, moving on. The other notable stipulation is one that we can’t say we disapprove of:
The companies must cap prices for three years after joining and allow consumers to choose the channels they want and pay less for packages of channels.
Work on a la carte-friendly radios is already underway although it sounds like despite claims made by several on-air personalities, current radio models may not be capable of receiving both Sirius and XM streams. As much of a shame as that would be, we’ll have to wait for some formal announcements before it can be confirmed or denied. Whatever the case may be, last night’s announcement was a big step forward and only time will tell how it plays out.
Tags: FCC, Merger, Satellite Radio, sirius, xm
’bout damn time. It sux that you would have to buy a new radio to get both services.
Permalink | Reply
This is great and all but I dont care for any XM channels, I love my sirius content.
Permalink | Reply
love to hear this. as a sirius customer I will welcome the new content as long as they do not drop my favorite channels.
Permalink | Reply
Whatever get’s the improved devices coming out again, so be it. But… if Opie & Anthony go, so do my accounts.
Permalink | Reply
Can’t wait to see how my current receiver will work with the new content. You can check out the company page on the pricing schedule here:
http://www.siriusmerger.com/uploads/Sirius_Channel_Lineup.pdf
Permalink | Reply
@ soung sul
Without the merger we might have lost our sirius content. I’m all about the Howard Stern programming. Doubt it will continue beyond the current contract though.
Permalink | Reply
Weird, all and everything is about more competition to get better prcing to the cudtomer such as Canadian Cell Carriers etc.
Here they go, the only 2 Sat Radio Provider are allowed to merge and establish a monopoly.
Permalink | Reply
I have been looking forward to this for some time; particularly the “ala carte” possibility. I use xm marine weather, so I need that service, but I like sirius’s programming better. What puzzles me is xm and sirius’s reaction. That is; None!
Xm’s web site says nothing about the approval. You would think with as long as they’ve had to think about it, they would have a page ready to put up???
Permalink | Reply
Who cares if a monopoly is created? Satrad is not like a telephone. It is not an service required for an emergency. If you never had it you would never miss it.
I dont have satrad though I have heard it is good.
I just hope the stock price goes up to nine dollars!!!!!
Permalink | Reply
I listen to XM on Directv, but never bought a radio or service because I only listen to one channel (ethel). With the a la carte plans, I plan on picking up a radio within the first week as soon as the plans become available.
Permalink | Reply
Talking about interoperability of devices is one of the biggest confusions with this whole mess of a merger, I like the idea of the merger so I can get content from Sirius (I have XM), but sometimes it is making it sound like the companies would rather lie through their teeth saying “you don’t need to wait to buy a new device”, then in the next breath, suddenly say you may have to again. All of that so you don’t file objections, which could cause issues with the merger.
When I tried emailing XM Merger team about this, I got the following canned response:
“Following the merger, existing radios will all be able to receive a mix of programming from both services. There will be no need to buy a new radio to receive the XM programming you have today.”
To me it sounds like instead of being able to just access both channel lineups, you get “select channels” available on the other carrier. I know my XM device will continue to get XM, but what about the promised Sirius? I don’t want to have to buy a new device just to get that too.
Permalink | Reply
I have car that has XM and another that has Sirius. This is actually great they are finally merging. Less crap to deal with.
Just as long as they have SquiZZ and Area 38.
Permalink | Reply
Will the radio that comes “factory installed” in new vehilces with Sirius get the XM channels? Anyway to find out what radios are compaitible?
I have to admit, I had XM for about 1 1/2 yrs. Sirius is WAY better as far as content goes or at least what I like to listen to.
Permalink | Reply
Just to keep everyone straight - At this time, XM radios can ONLY pick up signals from XM satellites and Sirius radios can only pick up signals from Sirius satellites. BUT, there is nothing stopping XM from feeding it’s channels to broadcast thru Sirius and vice-versa. The content can be shared.
Permalink | Reply