Sirius and XM Merger FINALLY Approved by FCC

On late Friday, 7/25/2008, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) finally passed approval for the year and a half long merger between Sirius Satellite radio and XM Satellite radio. I say, it's about time!

FCC commissioner Deborah Taylor proved her worth by submitting a tie-breaking vote that favored the merger between two companies. This merger was considered the only hope to keep the satellite radio industry afloat. The situation was simple enough: two companies, both losing money, needed to merge to keep the subscribers pleased with a multitude of content and the investors smitten with profits instead of empty pockets.

The road to approval was not so simple a conclusion. For whatever reason, the FCC couldn't see the big picture. They thought an evil monopoly was being formed and led by the infamous Howard Stern (the main draw for Sirius subscribers). With a notorious name at the forefront and no other satellite companies in the market, the FCC, with nudging from a biased NAB (Network Association of Broadcasters [regular FM djs]), initially sought to keep the companies apart.

On the surface the action might seem like a noble gesture by one of our government backed organizations. But I ask, what was the the detriment by allowing the two companies to merge? Satellite radio is NOT a necessity (like food or power) or considered a staple of society (like network television). It is a source of optional entertainment (like HBO or Showtime). In fact, it attempts to make a buck in the cutthroat industry of optional media. Satellite radio is in direct competition with portable media players (iPods), cell phones, free radio (FM and AM), video games, and laptop computers on some level. It's even a hard sell: pay monthly for radio when I can listen to it for free?

Needless to say, the people involved eventually made the decision to ensure that a new and exciting technology (satellite radio) has a chance to grow and influence a generation of people. But not without a few caveats, pay fines (oh, about 20 million dollars worth), lock prices for three years, and bring non-compliant equipment (towers) up to FCC code.

A collective sigh of relief can be heard equally from both subscribers and investors. Subscribers will continue to get great content and investors might finally see a return on their investment. One other interesting little fact, Howard Stern's voice will now be heard by twice as many people (approx 17 million). Oh, and this is on a global level. He has always claimed to be the 'king of all media', let's see what the rest of the world thinks.