|
FTC?I thought the FTC was going to say no? | |
|
| P NessYou'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already Premium Member join:2001-08-29 way way out |
P Ness
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 4:02 pm
Re: FTC?they said the current rules say "NO" but the FCCHitler then said that "the rules of course can be modified very easly to allow", after some phone calls were made i am sure by XM Sirius. | |
|
| | en102Canadian, eh? join:2001-01-26 Valencia, CA |
en102
Member
2007-Feb-19 4:36 pm
Re: FTC?I wonder if I'll get Howard Stern on my DirecTv XM now ? | |
|
| | | |
Re: FTC?good for the XM customers....XM DONT FUCK THIS UP | |
|
| | | | netdogg3 join:2003-02-27 Staten Island, NY |
Re: FTC?said by JamesPC:good for the XM customers....XM DONT FUCK THIS UP I am an XM subscriber.I wan NOTHING to do with Sirius' shallow playlists.This is why I canceled my Sirius service after 2 months of listening to the same old Top 40 music.I hope this merger DOES NOT HAPPEN. | |
|
| | | RideRedVista needs a popup blocker for Vista Premium Member join:2005-06-18 USA |
to en102
Probably not. Most talk show programming isn't available on DTV. | |
|
| | | | 1 edit |
Re: FTC?Not Gonna Merge "Questioned last month about a possible Sirius-XM merger, the F.C.C. chairman, Kevin J. Martin, initially appeared to be skeptical, but later said that if such a deal were proposed, the agency would consider it. In a statement yesterday, Mr. Martin acknowledged that the F.C.C. rule could complicate a merger but said the commission would evaluate the proposal. The hurdle here, however, would be high, he said." But critics are lining up. The National Association of Broadcasters, a trade group that represents broadcast radio and television stations, issued a statement within hours of the XM-Sirius announcement. In coming weeks, policy makers will have to weigh whether an industry that makes Howard Stern its poster child should be rewarded with a monopoly, it said. » www.nytimes.com/2007/02/ ··· f=slogin | |
|
| BabyBearKeep wise ...with Nite-Owl join:2007-01-11 |
to skiguy219
Dont see how this merger can go thru, if the DirecTV/Dish merger didn't.
If it does, wonder which name they'll keep? XM cause they have more subs?
And who would come along and buy up the combined company next? AT&T? Comcast? Maybe Dish or DirecTV? | |
|
| | CableToolPoorly Representing MYSELF. Premium Member join:2004-11-12 |
Re: FTC?said by BabyBear:Dont see how this merger can go thru, if the DirecTV/Dish merger didn't. If it does, wonder which name they'll keep? XM cause they have more subs? Im not sure if they have more anymore.. if they do its a small margin Id assume. quote: The company reports it has ended 2006 with more than 6 million subscribers. That's an 82% increase over its subscriber base at the end of 2005.
The STERN EFFECT. Once Stern came on board XM started to slowly stagnate. | |
|
| | | bear73Metnav... Fly The Unfriendly Skies Premium Member join:2001-06-09 Derry, NH |
bear73
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 6:09 pm
Re: FTC?the question is, was the market near to saturation when he came on-board? | |
|
| | | mikabl Premium Member join:2002-09-29 Rockford, IL |
to CableTool
The Stern effect? Hardly, his show doesn't have the draw it did on the public airwaves. | |
|
| | | Tomek Premium Member join:2002-01-30 Valley Stream, NY |
to CableTool
I would say car effect. Now most of the cars have an option to have some sort of satellite radio preinstalled. Also, if I'm not mistaken, hi-end stereos have XM or sirrus available. I would consider getting the service if my car had satellite radio. | |
|
| | | | kruser Premium Member join:2002-06-01 Eastern MO |
kruser
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 11:48 pm
Re: FTC?said by Tomek:I would say car effect. Now most of the cars have an option to have some sort of satellite radio preinstalled. Also, if I'm not mistaken, hi-end stereos have XM or sirrus available. I would consider getting the service if my car had satellite radio. I bought a Kenwood system with Sirius connections. I did buy the Sirius receiver and activated it for a month but turned it off when I found it did not have NASCAR race broadcasts. I emailed Sirius about the lack of NASCAR and they said they would get back to me. They did keep the promise and the CEO of Sirius emailed me and told me that he'd like to keep me as a customer and then informed me that they struck a deal with NASCAR and would go live in 2007! This was in 2005 but they kept their word and do now have NASCAR! I'm not sure if my lone email had anything to do with that but they made me feels as though it did! Of course I have since switched vehicles and have a factory stereo without a Sirius input so I'm SOL. I did look and they have tons of in dash replacements at Crutchfield so I may go back to them soon! I can even get an in dash lcd video screen! Not that I'd want one as I'm generally against driver distractions plus it cost was $1,400 to $2,500! I did like my Sirius service while I had it however. No contracts. | |
|
| | |
to BabyBear
The proposal is for each XM share to be converted to 4.6 shares of Sirius stock, and since Mel is keeping control the smart money is on XM yielding to the Sirius trade name.
This still has some regulatory hoops to jump through, and the FCC is not going to just rubber stamp it. Both players have outstanding enforcement actions on rule violations, particularly on terrestrial repeaters and locally-inserted content. | |
|
| | |
to BabyBear
DirecTV and Dish are content delivery providers, not content providers. The difference is that Directv and Dish are re-broadcasting content already made by someone else.
Radio, Sirius and XM, actually provide there own content. So a merger does not mean a monopoly on Radio, it means more content. | |
|
| | 88615298 (banned) join:2004-07-28 West Tenness |
to BabyBear
said by BabyBear:Dont see how this merger can go thru, if the DirecTV/Dish merger didn't. Well I don't think that either compnay was burning through cash like Sirus/XM. What if denying merger mmeans one goes out of business in the next couple of years. How does that help? Then you are still left with one satelite radio company with no competition in the horizon and they would be able to raises rates by however much they felt. At least with a merger the FCC could impose price caps as a condition. | |
|
| FFH5 Premium Member join:2002-03-03 Tavistock NJ |
to skiguy219
said by skiguy219:I thought the FCC was going to say no? That is still the current thinking. Wall St still is betting this merger will die at the FCC. Moffett said the deal could have a particularly tough time getting through the FCC, and is likely to opposed by the National Association of Broadcasters, a lobbying group that includes radio broadcasters. Moffett said it was "anyone's guess" as to whether the FCC would change its rule barring a consolidation of the two satellite radio companies. | |
|
| |
| KearnstdSpace Elf Premium Member join:2002-01-22 Mullica Hill, NJ |
to skiguy219
the FCC already lets clearchannel exist why is this any different. | |
|
| |
to skiguy219
Hey, now both can pay Howard Stern $250 million a year!
Ummm, doesn't this merger have anti-trust written all over it? | |
|
| | RideRedVista needs a popup blocker for Vista Premium Member join:2005-06-18 USA |
RideRed
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 8:35 pm
Re: FTC?Satellite radio has TONS of competition with regular over the air radio. | |
|
| | | |
stufried
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 10:56 pm
Re: FTC?You could argue traditional broadcasters and cable broadcasters were competition for XM/Sirius. If you are looking for competition you could always find it. The question is whether the competition is real and serious (no pun intended). | |
|
| | | | RideRedVista needs a popup blocker for Vista Premium Member join:2005-06-18 USA |
RideRed
Premium Member
2007-Feb-20 7:51 am
Re: FTC?Sirius and XM combined have fewer than 15 million listeners. A single top radio host like Limbaugh, Stern (when he was on the air) or Dr. Laura do better than that.
So I would say yeah, over the air in terms of numbers is kicking the crap out of satellite radio. Of course that didn't stop me from buying 2 Sirius radios (after cancelling XM). | |
|
| | P NessYou'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already Premium Member join:2001-08-29 way way out |
to kyramilan
said by kyramilan:Hey, now both can pay Howard Stern $250 million a year! Ummm, doesn't this merger have anti-trust written all over it? why would it be anti-trust when you HAVE THE ABILITY to get 95% of the content for FREE...well filled with commercials. YOU can also get the content from, ITunes, Yahoo, Napster for 99 cents a song.... silly that people think so one way instead of thinking about all the possible ways to get the content. | |
|
| | | roamer1sticking it out at you join:2001-03-24 Atlanta, GA |
Re: FTC?said by P Ness:why would it be anti-trust when you HAVE THE ABILITY to get 95% of the content for FREE...well filled with commercials. 95%? 50% is more like it, and even then only in large radio markets -- there are some genres (electronica, for instance) that are under-represented or not represented at all on terrestrial radio, and a lot of the talk content isn't anywhere to be found either. -SC | |
|
| | | | P NessYou'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already Premium Member join:2001-08-29 way way out |
P Ness
Premium Member
2007-Feb-20 12:00 pm
Re: FTC?said by roamer1:said by P Ness:why would it be anti-trust when you HAVE THE ABILITY to get 95% of the content for FREE...well filled with commercials. 95%? 50% is more like it, and even then only in large radio markets -- there are some genres (electronica, for instance) that are under-represented or not represented at all on terrestrial radio, and a lot of the talk content isn't anywhere to be found either. -SC you can find 98% of the songs on Itunes right? Guess what Rush, Hannity, Dr Laura are not avalible on sat, and RUSH has a bigger audience then all of sat radio has subs....so are they a monopoly that needs to be split up? maybe not for the user since its FREE but for the advertising industry that has to do business with these Monopolies? | |
|
| | | | | 60632649 (banned) join:2003-09-29 New York, NY |
60632649 (banned)
Member
2007-Feb-21 8:26 am
Re: FTC?Hannity and laura are parrots. That's why they're on after Rush. If they were on before, they'd have nothing to say. | |
|
| 60632649 |
to skiguy219
Wow, big dudes in corporations, who have to keep things secret, instead of saying no comment, make up some lie...
Where's the news?
The news should be... Are the borders of the USA going to be properly protected, and when? Congress has had plenty of time to deal with this but they continually fail to do so.
Maybe there's some scary chicken flu at your door?
hahaha! | |
|
P NessYou'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already Premium Member join:2001-08-29 way way out |
P Ness
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 4:01 pm
BaBABooieStern FTW
i hope the FCC does not give some lame excuse to not let this happen, while they let ATT own everything again.
i would love 50 more channels | |
|
| rideboarderwelcome to the social Premium Member join:2003-07-28 Snohomish, WA |
Re: BaBABooiesaid by P Ness:i would love 50 more channels while you'll end up paying twice as much. | |
|
| | |
Re: BaBABooieI think its due to direct tv launching there own music channels. | |
|
| | | |
mikedz4
Member
2007-Feb-20 12:47 pm
Re: BaBABooiesaid by brooklynman4:I think its due to direct tv launching there own music channels. When did directv launch their own music channels? I have directv and they have XM as their music channels unless it changed overnight. You can reply via pm or email since this thread is getting over 200 posts already and I'll lose my place. | |
|
| | |
to rideboarder
Probably even more than double. You will probably get a basic package for 20 bucks and it will cost 5-10 a month extra for each sport you want. Then another 5-10 for whatever stations they label premium. Then another 5-10 to get commercial free versions. XM-Sirius is going to have a field day. | |
|
| | | ••••• |
| | bpx join:2003-01-25 Saint Augustine, FL |
to rideboarder
I will dump it if that is the case. I already own 3 xm radios and only listen to maybe 6 or 7 channels on a regular basis. It is a great concept, but only at the rate that they charge right now, IMO. | |
|
| e_dubfranknbeans Premium Member join:2001-08-12 kickin ass |
to P Ness
said by P Ness:i would love 50 more channels I like the announcement, but I think there will be major opposition from everywhere. Mainly from the major radio station owners. Also, i don't see 50 more channels, I see a lot of similar channels competing to stay alive. | |
|
| |
to P Ness
you won't get 50 more channels. neither xm or sirius has any more bandwidth to work with. they already have 842589237059 channels crammed into such a small bandwidth, they all sound like garbage because they're compressed like a cellphone ringtone, however, I still subscribe to sirius because I like some of the music they play, and it comes in handy sometimes. | |
|
| | P NessYou'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already Premium Member join:2001-08-29 way way out |
P Ness
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 9:16 pm
Re: BaBABooiesaid by jjsk8r85:you won't get 50 more channels. neither xm or sirius has any more bandwidth to work with. they already have 842589237059 channels crammed into such a small bandwidth, they all sound like garbage because they're compressed like a cellphone ringtone, however, I still subscribe to sirius because I like some of the music they play, and it comes in handy sometimes. umm if they merge you can guess that you are going to get new recievers that work with both programs. the bandwith crunch is due to the spectrum that they both have acess too. one combined company will have acess to the FULL spectrum, thus you could double the output under one brand...now i dont expect you will see 250 channels but you should get 50 more for about the same price | |
|
FFH5 Premium Member join:2002-03-03 Tavistock NJ 2 edits |
FFH5
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 4:10 pm
Press Release; will merger orphan either XM or Sirius radios» investor.sirius.com/rele ··· d=230306My question would be about usage and not about the financial details. Will both sets of existing Sirius & XM radios continue to work after a merger would be completed? Or will the combined company orphan 1 whole set of client radios and settle on either XM or Sirius radios going forward? | |
|
| ••••••••• |
1 recommendation |
WOWDuring the Bush aka Republican aka conservative administration, there has beeen so many anti consumer mergers and buy outs that boggles the mind. I can't believe they are allowing a MONOPOLY to form in the sattelite Radio. This is beyond sad.. this is a DARK day for the american consumer and i'm sure it will have repercusions in Canada as well since the companies had some deals to be allowed to broadcast in Canada.
Adi | |
|
| •••••••••••••••••• |
DaveDudeNo Fear join:1999-09-01 New Jersey |
Why not just let them all mergeI am against this, so basicly one company, clear channel will have a single nationwide market. So can all the FM stations merge too with a single owner ? | |
|
| •••• |
n2jtx join:2001-01-13 Glen Head, NY |
n2jtx
Member
2007-Feb-19 4:21 pm
SiriuX?Wonder what they will call it. SiriuX, SuX, Xirius, XiriuM? The possibilities are interesting.
Also, who is the dominant player in this merger? | |
|
| ••••• |
texans20 Premium Member join:2002-09-28 Texas! |
texans20
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 4:23 pm
In other news...AT&T agrees to buy SiriXM. | |
|
| ••• |
nixenRockin' the Boxen Premium Member join:2002-10-04 Alexandria, VA |
nixen
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 4:25 pm
Oh Crap...Wonder what this means for legacy equipment? I can't see orphaning XM hardware, given that they offer more services beyond just music. Then again, maybe they'd be looking to get rid of traffic and other non "core" services? I'll be pissed if XM-Traffic goes away: it's the only damned reason I bought my Garmin GPS in the first place.
-tom | |
|
| minidu Premium Member join:2002-09-28 Cheboygan, MI |
minidu
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 10:30 pm
Re: Oh Crap...Parsons and Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin told Reuters in a joint phone interview that they hope to meet "shortly" with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to seek regulatory approval for their merger.
The executives also said they will continue to support radio devices offered by both companies while working on a new device that will work on both satellite radio services.
From an article online. Looks to me like the equipment will all stay, and they won't make a huge change for a while. Eventually letting you have both. | |
|
ke4pym Premium Member join:2004-07-24 Charlotte, NC |
ke4pym
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 4:32 pm
This isgoing to be a bigger mistake than letting AT&T have Bellsouth.
It is going to suck. | |
|
| NEP1611 join:2002-03-27 Northford, CT |
Re: This issaid by ke4pym:going to be a bigger mistake than letting AT&T have Bellsouth. It is going to suck. As Davy Jones would say, "Don't get your knickers in a twist". This merger is never gonna happen. Back in '02 DirecTV and EchoStar tried to merge using pretty much the exact same arguments, and it wound up not happening. And neither is this. As if that wasn't enough, the GOP was more prominent at the FCC that time. What is it going to be like now, when the Blue Dogs are barking a bit louder and feeling it a bit more? | |
|
intellerSociopaths always win. join:2003-12-08 Tulsa, OK |
using ATT logic...I'm sure they will say that the combined company will still leave plenty of competition with HD Radio and FM/AM.
once again, pigs will fly out of someone's ass and this "merger of evils equals" will allowed to be pushed through.
They already engage in an oligopoly, so its not like it makes much difference. | |
|
| ••••• |
|
:(Without a competitor Mel will most certainly add advertisements and jack up the rate. I guess I can turn my new XM into an exclusively MP3 player. | |
|
MooJohn join:2005-12-18 Milledgeville, GA |
Like this is supposed to be a good thingI chose Sirius over XM for a reason. More than 6 million other people came to the same conclusion. I don't want XM rammed down my throat now.
XM still has the nerve to put commercials in something customers are already paying for. No thanks!
If the new company changes the lineup I've grown to like, I'll can my subscriptions and stick with my massive library of existing music. I hate music after around 1995 or so anyway, so I don't give a squat about new releases. | |
|
| ••••••••••••••• |
nathill join:2004-05-03 Bloomington, IN |
Competition?I guess if one accepts the premise that all radio waves are created equal, there will be competition (FM, "high def" radio). But with ONE satellite company, how can customers possibly benefit? I already subscribe to both services. Any bets on which direction my total bill will go in the future? | |
|
| •••• |
|
Sirius & XM to MergeThis will also hit the car manufacturers that offer radios with either one, or the other. For the consumer, buying anything with a satellite radio now, and pay for it, it would be a waste of money. | |
|
|
thingwillbefine
Anon
2007-Feb-19 5:07 pm
You guys worry too muchNeither companies can survive alone. Look at the financials of both, they have so much debt on their hands! So they have to merge to live.
I love my Sirius and before that I was with XM for two years. If they merge, I will be OK with that. They have too much to loose by pissing of their current customers.
I also think that they will run the systems in parallel for probably 5-10 years and just broadcast same content over two systems. This would not be the first time tech companies figure out how to make two technologies work together. | |
|
| roamer1sticking it out at you join:2001-03-24 Atlanta, GA |
Re: You guys worry too muchsaid by thingwillbefine :
This would not be the first time tech companies figure out how to make two technologies work together. *cough*Sprint Nextel*cough* Combining Sirius and XM will be nearly the same massive undertaking that combining DirecTV and Dish would have been if they had been allowed to merge, as while both are in the same general frequency bands, the similarities between the two technology-wise largely end there. -SC | |
|
|
Next merger?Who wants to bet on the next merger?
Time Warner and Comcast?
Time Warner and Charter?
Time Warner & RCN?
Comcast & RCN?
TWC & Cablevision?
Cablevision and RCN? or
Comcast and RCN? | |
|
| •••• |
Lone WolfRetired Premium Member join:2001-12-30 USA |
From two to one, Then There Are NoneI couldn't understand how 2 pay radio stations lasted as long as they did.
It's just a matter of time before there are none. | |
|
| ReVeLaTeD Premium Member join:2001-11-10 San Diego, CA |
Re: From two to one, Then There Are NoneIs that all satellite has to offer? ad-free radio? I mean, yeah that's all good and stuff, but I don't listen to radio at all because of the quality of the music played. Could care less about ads, I want them to play quality music, and they don't.
So satellite doesn't offer that? Just ad free tunes and broadcasts? If so I know what I'll be passing on next time I buy a car. | |
|
caco Premium Member join:2005-03-10 Whittier, AK 1 edit |
caco
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 5:19 pm
Don't see what the big deal is.Last time I checked you can still listen to ad based radio for free. No one is forced to get XM or Sirius.
Both these companies are losing money like crazy and an argument could be made that one of these companies would go bankrupt if things didn't improve. This merger is a plus for satellite radio. | |
|
| |
Re: Don't see what the big deal is.you sure can listen to ad based radio. and that is all you will hear , ads. Its sickening what the communications monopolies have done with radio to pinch every last sent of profit out. complete garbage. | |
|
digiblur Premium Member join:2002-06-03 Louisiana |
digiblur
Premium Member
2007-Feb-19 5:28 pm
Wonderful....I can see XM running the Sirius lineup into the ground just like theirs! Great...
Guess I better get my fill on Octane, Lithium, HairNation, and BTLS while I can. | |
|
| •••• |
|
who cares...we have siriusi dont care...i have sirius...I bet all the XM people are happy about this. | |
|
| •••••••••••
|
|
|