The Justice Department has approved the $5 billion merger between Sirius and XM. No news on when the merger will officially happen, but you might want to start your petitions to keep your favorite channels intact right about now. CG’s XM/Sirius coverage → Read More
[photopress:arlenxm.jpg,full,center] A decision, one way or the other, on the proposed XM-Sirus merger should be reached by the end of the month. So says Sen. Arlen Spector, the ranking [Republican] member on the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Pat Leahy is the chairman of the committee, it should be noted.) He made an appearance on the Howard Stern Show earlier today and tried to explain why no decision has been made just yet, well over a year since the merger was first announced. → Read More
[photopress:melk.jpg,full,center] It’s been more than a year since the proposed XM-Sirius merger was announced and we’re no closer now to a combined company than we were then. But there’s hope… maybe! Actually, XM and Sirius just extended the deadline by two months for the deal to go through (or not). Now the satellite radio companies have given the Feds till May 1 for the thumbs up or thumbs down. So only two more months of teasing to go. Unless they extend the deadline again. All this futzing around must please the shareholders. XM and Sirius extend merger deadline by 2 months [Reuters via Drudge Report] → Read More
[photopress:wowcc.jpg,full,center] Wow ClearChannel has been working behind the scenes in a rather unsavory way to prevent the XM-Sirius merger from happening. I know ClearChannel is “evil” because it killed local radio years ago (I ask, who still listens to local radio, and why?), but its reliance on the government to protect its business is silly. Since when was it the government’s job to ensure your business is successful? The national radio corp says XM-Sirius would have/already has too much spectrum. It says this threatens commercial, over-the-air radio, its bread and butter. It says you can’t go around saying XM-Sirius competes with every audio device (Note: Yes you can. I say it all the time.) because then that’d put regular radio under “intense competitive pressure” because things like iPods are unregulated. The fact is, I don’t listen to FM radio because I listen to an iPod. I’m pretty sure that’s called substitution, aka competition. ClearChannel also wants the XM-Sirius spectrum to tack on a HD Radio signal. Again, bail us and our friends out, government. If you’ve read between the lines, you’ll notice that ClearChannel has a basic problem with the XM-Sirius spectrum. It shouldn’t surprise you, then, to learn that the whole point of its complaining to the FCC is to wrest some of that spectrum away. Classy. Clear Channel continues anti-merger blitz [Orbitcast] Source: Surrendering spectrum is the “end game” [Orbitcast] → Read More
[photopress:xmsiren.gif,full,right] Something’s afoot regarding the XM-Sirius merger tonight. Drudge has a sly little note on the left-hand column that reads: “Approved or Denied? Drama Builds Around Sirius-XM Merger… Developing…” The proposed merger was announced nearly one year ago on February 17, 2007 and has developed into one of the most annoying stories I’ve ever followed. One week approval is imminent the next the Feds are still undecided. For the record, as long as the merger doesn’t adversely affect “Opie and Anthony” I say let it happen. I don’t listen to radio anyway. It’s not like everyone doesn’t already have an iPod or other player. It’s a good thing I refresh Drudge every 35 seconds otherwise I never would have spotted that gem. UPDATE It’s 7am on Monday and the story is still “developing” on Drudge. Wasn’t there a children’s story based on this? Drudge Report → Read More
What happened to the XM-Sirius merger? Announced last February, the merger appears to have hit a snag. We sat through all of December with little hints here and there—sources say an announcement will be made later today, sources say the FCC is just crossing T’s and dotting I’s—but now we’re left wondering what’s going on. Some attribute the delay to the merger’s complexity. Others contend that the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission, both of whose approval is required for the merger to go through, are facing resistance from some of its staffers who oppose the merger. There’s also the continued lobbying by terrestrial radio, primarily in the form of the NAB and its silly ads, that may influencing the regulatory bodies. For the record, so long as Opie and Anthony aren’t kicked off the air, I say merge ‘em. As a person living in he year 2008, I that whole “it’ll be a satellite radio monopoly” doesn’t really fly. You have an iPod. Use it. Suspense grows over XM-Sirius antitrust review [Reuters] → Read More
If you’ve been thinking about making the satellite radio plunge (and have your heart set on Sirius), today’s the day to whip out your credit card. Today (and today only, according to an e-mail I received a little while ago) you can grab a Stiletto 10 for $50, a full $100 off the regular price, with the purchase of a subscription. The portable Stiletto 10 doesn’t have some of the whiz-bang features as the Stiletto 2, most notably MP3 storage and radio-over-Wi-Fi streaming, but it’ll make a fine Baby’s First Satellite Radio. As for the merger, it’s now expected that the Department of Justice will make a decision by the end of the year, followed by the FCC’s decision in February. Excited yet? Stilleto 10 [Sirius] Report: DOJ decision by year end, FCC in February [Orbitcast] → Read More
I wish. Actually, these two big boys merged to create the decidedly more predictable and tame-sounding “Activision Blizzard,” which sounds a lot like a spell you might cast in D&D. The deal, worth a reported $18.9 billion dollars, with Vivendi ending up with a 52 percent stake. This seems strange considering its franchise contributions were the colossally unhip Crash Bandicoot and the enjoyable, but far from world changing Spyro the Dragon. I’m surprised Blizzard hasn’t bought everyone else out, considering it has a monthly allowance of about $100 million due to having almost 10 million WoW subscribers. I wonder if EA, the Unicron of the gaming world, is scared? Vivendi and Activision to Create Activision Blizzard – World’s Largest, Most Profitable Pure-Play Video Game Publisher → Read More
The XM-Sirius merger, yet another story that refuses to go away. Whoops—it might go away today, actually. A recent Bear Sterns report suggests that the Department of Justice may give the merger its blessing as early as today. Once the DoJ gives the go-ahead, it’s largely expected that the FCC will do the same. So break out the popcorn and keep your eyes and ears open for any merger news that might break today. Now that there’s really no opposition to the merger (the National Association of Broadcasters, aka “regular radio,” was recently exposed as a bunch of tricksters), it’s completely up to the feds as to whether or not it will happen. So long as the merger doesn’t mean the end of Opie & Anthony I’m fine with it. Is today the day? [Orbitcast] → Read More
Yes, the painfully original XM-Sirius “logo” strikes again Judging by a number posts from earlier in the year, I can tell that a few of you are fans of, or at least followers of, of satellite radio. It may interest you to know that today is the day when shareholders of both XM and Sirius vote the proposed merger up or down. It’s expected that both groups will give the merger the thumbs-up, which is nice and all, but for the merger to actually happen, it needs to be approved by the FCC and the Department of Justice. Not too long ago, I defended the merger mainly because listeners have many other options to get their audio fix, be it their iPod/Zune/whatever, regular radio, music-playing cellphones, etc. Truthfully it won’t bother me one way or the other, but I am quite interested to see how the various regulators decide on this one. Ahead of the Bell: XM and Sirius Vote [AP/CNN Money] → Read More
Well this is a fine kettle of fish. Gateway, one of last independent PC brands standing, is merging with Asia’s darling, Acer, to form a Voltron-esque conglomeration, albeit without the red, yellow, and blue lions. Acer would be the black lion, in this metaphor, and Gateway would be the green one. Anyway, they’ll definitely have a sword. → Read More
PC manufacturer/IBM buyer Lenovo today declared its intent to purchase Packard Bell. So far, not many details are available about the acquisition. Seems both companies would rather not comment on the deal right now. I wonder why… Oh wait. That’s right. No one gives a shit about Packard Bell anymore and hasn’t since 1993. My mistake! Does Packard Bell make anything still? Don’t they design crappy headsets for Counter-Strike or something? First one to answer wins a prize. That prize is my smile. Lenovo declares intent to buy Packard Bell [Electronista] → Read More
Not a ton of info here, but apparently if this XM-Sirius merger actually goes through, you’ll be able to get your satellite radio on for cheap. Both companies plan to offer a low-cost $6.99 package that nets you 50 channels, as well as a $16.99 deal that would offer the best from both worlds. You’ll also be able to add and remove channels as you see fit. Sounds like a win for consumers! Approve the merger already, FCC! XM, Sirius to offer low cost, a-la-carte options [Reuters] → Read More
XM Satellite Radio is finding out first hand that Opie & Anthony have quite a few dedicated fans, fans who are now canceling the service en masse in response to the duo’s recent 30-day suspension. XM suspended the pair in response to so-called outrage stemming from a segment that aired on the program last week. (Well, really because, supposedly, there was an agreement in place that they wouldn’t discuss or even hint to the incident while on-air. XM apparently felt they did.) In fact, I was jogging around my idillic neighborhood when I heard the show and segment in question. Annnnndddd…. → Read More
According to Wayde at Gizmo Cafe it is and I’m inclined to agree at this point. Had the merger produced a more unified service, it would have been something of note, but since they’ve decided to still play it separate, the combination has no real effect at all. Anyway, you should check Gizmo Cafe for a pretty amusing video about the situation. Wayde wisecracks through his explanation and there are even tinfoil hats — and lets be honest, who doesn’t love tinfoil hats? Why an XM / Sirius Merger Doesn’t Even Matter [Gizmo Cafe Blog] → Read More
Woah. So XM and Sirius are looking to form a more perfect union. And, at long last, Howard Stern and Oprah fans will have something in common other than being married to each other. Of course, there are lots of regulatory hurdles that could keep the ink from drying on the deal (a failed merger by satellite TV providers EchoStar and DirecTV immediately comes to mind), but lets assume, for argument’s sake that, that when it’s all said and done, two become one, as the Spice Girls sang. Unlike most corporate mergers, which are typically only noticed by Wall Street Journal readers, this one will have a huge impact on millions of satellite radio subscribers–An impact in both what you listen to and what hardware you use (and whether your existing receiver becomes a brick). → Read More
While our Swedish is quite rusty, we live in the future, which means web-based translators are readily available. From what we can tell, Peter Chou, CEO of faves HTC, said in an interview that he thinks a merger between HTC and Sony-Ericsson would be a good fit. Also, he says OJ killed Anna Nicole, but that could just be a metaphor. Why? The benefits are obvious: HTC does a very good job making low-cost, feature rich smartphones, and Sony-Ericsson has a foothold in the musicphone market, as well as brand recognition HTC can’t match. And, as Mr. Chou points out, they’re growing at about the same rate. Sadly, it’s not going to happen. while a Symbian UIQ smartphone in any HTC form factor makes us drool, the Ericsson half of SE has far too much invested in Symbian to get together with a company with such a hard on for Windows Mobile. So we must say this to Mr. Chou: Instead of Sony-Ericsson, I can get you the number for a friend of mine who works for Palm. That’ll do, man. That’ll do nicely. HTC wants to merge with Sony-Ericsson and make babies [GearFuse] → Read More
I’m as much for avoiding monopolies as the next guy, but this one makes sense to a lot of people who know a lot more about the subject than I do. XM and Sirius had been exploring the possibility of merging, but according to current FCC rulebook, the plural companies can’t become a singular company. That leaves the situation at a standstill until, perhaps, the current rulebook is revised to make amends for the merger. A combination of the two providers would make much sense because it would allow each to combine efforts and resources, thus reducing the immense costs operating satellites and then, of course, pass the perks along to you, the conscientious consumer. They’d be able to shed redundant program and provide even more specialized material and also probably develop new services and technologies faster, rather than focusing tons of effort on competition. XM + Sirius = Oh Wait, It’s Not Going to Happen [Gizmodo] → Read More
Most of us are aware that Cingular has switched over to using the AT&T name instead. Not only is this another odd telecom move, it’s also confusing. Lucky for us, we have Stephen Colbert on our side to explain how it all works. His powerful graphs and gripping lingo make for an awesome clip to watch. The funny part is, it’s actually quite informative. Stephen Colbert Helps Explain the Whole AT&T Thing [Digg] → Read More
Whoa there. Out of nowhere comes an article on Ars that claims XM and Sirius are in “low-level merger talks” with each other. This would be absolutely fantastic for customers of the two services. You’d be able to get tons of music, better service, Howard Stern and Opie & Anthony, your favorite sporting events, and a ton of other features all from one provider. Not to mention improved quality in service for a lower cost. Another great reason for a merger would be to try to get both companies out of debt. Currently, neither company is making a profit due to their operational costs and other expenses. CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio Mel Karmazin also said the following: → Read More
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