| njjoe |
Satellite Radio's XM, Sirius to Merge
From Associated Press
February 19, 2007 3:05 PM EST
NEW YORK - XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. have agreed to merge, the two companies said Monday.
The deal would consolidate the only two companies in the emerging business of subscription-only satellite radio, and is sure to face tough scrutiny from federal regulators. Investors and analysts have been speculating about a deal for months.
The two companies said in a statement that Mel Karmazin, the CEO of Sirius, would become chief executive of the new company while Gary Parsons, the chairman of XM, would remain in that role. |
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| GripperDon |
| The Feds should not allow this. IMO |
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| dalascby |
quote:
Originally posted by GripperDon
The Feds should not allow this. IMO
Wall Street has been demanding this for quite some time. It will get pushed through somehow. They will eventually combine programming and offer new radios that will pick up signals from both companies' satellites. Question is, will they offer some sort of free upgrade to existing customers?? (Or at least a substantial credit toward acquiring the new technology.) |
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| Gonzo |
Someone correct me if I wrong here but I don't think SAT radio is regulated by the Feds, (Hence Howard Stern). So I can't see how they can prevent it.
At least there is some sort of pressure from Hi-Def FM radio... OK well maybe not. |
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| njjoe |
quote:
Originally posted by Gonzo
Someone correct me if I wrong here...
O,K,. I will. :D
Although the FCC does not monitor the content of satellite radio, it does govern how it operates.
The FCC has a provision in the operating rules that specifically forbids the two companies (Sirius and XM) to combine. In order for them to merge they will have to prove to the FCC that the merger is in the public's best interest. Then they have to convince the Justice Dept. they are not violating anti-trust rules. Those are no small tasks.
My guess is that the merger will go through after a bit of squabbling between the corporate lawyers and the government lawyers. After a few thousand billable hours the deal will be approved.
-njjoe |
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| Gonzo |
| Thanks for the information. |
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| NELSON |
I'm surprised there have been only two companies since it's inception.
Hmm maybe it's not too profitable for one of these large media conglomerates to enter this market.
I cancelled my service since I live in the NYC area where I get good programming on FM and AM... good talk radio and all the sports teams pretty much have their own AM station.
The thing that got me was that I thought it was supposed to be commercial-free, but there were commercials. Oh well, I found myself switching channels way too much with all those options. |
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| Gonzo |
| Yea music free comercials.... or at least that is how they advertise it. I'm still loving it, never listen to AM/FM anymore. Great when traveling. |
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| TheGymKid |
quote:
Originally posted by NELSON
The thing that got me was that I thought it was supposed to be commercial-free, but there were commercials. Oh well, I found myself switching channels way too much with all those options.
Do they stop to talk... or do they have advertisements between the songs? Talking between songs is okay if it's good information such as Britney shaved her head. (j/k). But commerical free to me is just no advertisements. |
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| tmnjmurano |
Just read where Honda and GM will have members on the merged companies board of directors- interesting -I wonder how deep that relationship goes.
The whole pay for radio idea just proves american consumers pockets have no bottom. Fill the free airwaves with pain in the ass commercials and then promise them "commercial-free" radio for a fee. Then slowly and insidiously fill that space with commercials. And nobodys gonna cancel - cause now its another thing they just can't live without. |
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| njjoe |
quote:
Originally posted by NELSON
I'm surprised there have been only two companies since it's inception.
Nelson-
The start-up costs are enormous. You need to have a complex infrastructure in place even before you can bill your first customer.
Hundreds of thousands of receivers have to be built and readied for the marketplace. Satellite space needs to be purchased. Ground stations built. Celebrities hired ($100,000,000 per year for Howard Stern). Sports programs licensed ($65,000,000 per year for MLB). Huge marketing campaign. All this and you have yet to bill your first customer.
To date, neither XM nor Sirius have reported a profit.
-njjoe |
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| GripperDon |
| let them pay lower fees to Shock jocks and Hopsters and plan better and leave the prives alone, If they do this it will either screw up or them or both. IMO |
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| Corin |
quote:
Originally posted by TheGymKid
Do they stop to talk... or do they have advertisements between the songs? Talking between songs is okay if it's good information such as Britney shaved her head. (j/k). But commerical free to me is just no advertisements.
On XM they talk a bit between songs. The amount of talking depends on what station and program is currently running. Usually just short blurbs that are relevant to what is being played.
What irritates me is that they have "service related messages", meaning that they advertise other channels. When XM was adding all their baseball channels, all the music stations kept having a 10-15 second blurb about "don't forget we have Baseball on XM now!" In my opinion, it's a DEFINITE commercial. It's a recorded message played over and over trying to get you to do something that is unrelated to what is currently being played on the current station. But they call it a service message. Whatever.
XM is still thousands of times better than am/fm. But here in the Seattle area where we have buildings/mountains/tunnels/etc it does cut in and out quite a bit. Now that I have an Ipod, I like that much better.
I paid for 2-3 years (can't remember which) of XM all at once for a really cheap rate. I use it as backup for when I don't have my Ipod with me. But when it comes time to renew XM, I'll just let it cancel my subscription. am/fm is a good enough backup when I don't have my Ipod. |
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| krush40 |
Both XM and Sirius offer commercial free music. This does not apply to talk and sports because some of these shows are being re-broadcasted from other radio shows.
I have been a Sirius subscriber from almost the beginning and have definitely noticed a rise in the amount of talking between songs by dj's that I could do without but have heard that being true for XM as well.
Ill be happy if this merge goes over smoothly because I dont get baseball on Sirius as of yet. |
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| GripperDon |
| out of 170 channels that is not a good ratio, for a business that attracted folks to a great extent by no commercials. So I just canceled them for Boat and Car. Guys that can't plan a business any better than this are going to loose. Sounds like GM buying Chrysler, two little looser to 1 huge looser and Oh goody we get to fire a bunch of people cause we can't run the business and plan it right from the beginning. Boy can't you tell it's a grumpy me and it's my 43 wedding Anniversary today and I am gonna take Grippee Out and have a nice time guess i'll have to listen to the Ipod in the car, gee don't know how I will survive. |
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| NELSON |
Another couple reasons why I cancelled:
- Took too long to get to the station I wanted. Getting from channel 10 to 150 takes forever EVEN when you jump by category.
- Really annoyed me to change a station and wait about 3 seconds to get reception for that channel.
- Wish you could've just punched in the station number using the preset buttons... like your home remote control.
- Yes, that is why they have presets, Nelson!! BUT there are what? 18 presets on the MO?? |
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