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The Score is Tied in the XM / Sirius Merger
July 23, 2008
Well it has all come down to this, the game is tied 2 to 2, with only one more vote to go. Except this is not a game this is the decision on the merger of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio.
The ball is now entirely in the court of Deborah Taylor Tate who with one decision will make or break these two companies.
Earlier today FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein pulled his support for the merger voting no. He was quoted that he did not want to support “a monopoly with window dressing.”
When this merger was first announced 491 days ago I personally thought that this merger would cause a monopoly, but time have changed since the deal was announced, satellite radio is now fighting for it’s life. With the advent of using your cell phone to listen to basically any radio station anywhere and in some cases even watch any television station on your cell phone the satellite radio technology might soon go the way of the 8 track tape.
Satellite Radio needs this merger to survive. Both companies are operating at a huge loss and have never earned a profit. They need to be combined as one to continue to operate, and with their combined resources can offer their customers the best content anywhere.
What I have found the funniest about this entire merger was the NAB going around opposing the merger, yet they kept on saying that satellite radio was not competition to broadcasters. If this was the case the NAB wouldn’t have been lobbying so hard to get the FCC to deny the merger.
If commissioner Tate were to give the merger a thumbs down it would not surprise me to see one if not both of the satellite radio companies fold within the next 2 year.
I personally hope the merger is approved, but if it is I am not looking forward to seeing what kind of changes will need to be made as other companies and associations have asked the FCC to take 25% of the spectrum back from XM/SIRIUS if the merger was approved. While I can see the need to give up some spectrum, 25% of the spectrum would make the merger not worth it.
So now we sit and wait. The tension in the air is so great that you can almost cut it with a knife. One thing is for sure, when all is said and done this entire ordeal would make an excellent made for television movie.
Now as I wait for the decision to come down, I will sit and listen to some music from AOL Radio on my iPhone. Yes Virginia there is competition to Satellite Radio.
Posted by Scott Greczkowski on July 23, 2008 | Comments (11)
