http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070219/...radio_sirius_4

 

If they do merge , we will see a price increase

 

that is exactly why i hope they don't merge.

 

I guess the which is better debate can finally be put to rest. I hope we don't end up needing new equipment. I don't think we'll see a price increase necassarily, XM didn't have much left for exclusive content, and that is where all the money is tied up.

 

Remember to the Feds said no to a potential merger between Direct TV and Dish Network a few years ago.

If Sirius and XM were to merge they would likely have to abandon one technology for the other. The equipment is incompatable. And the Sirius and XM satellites are in incompatable orbits. XM is geostationary and Sirius uses an elliptical orbit. I believe the XM signal is more reliable because it is in geostationary orbit, so If they settle on one technology then I hope they stick with XM. Will they offer free replacement for those people with the obsoleted receiver?

 

more likely that they continue to offer both services with the same channels/content.

 

The FCC has already kinda said no. Something must have changed for them to think it would be approved. Todays announcement is an indication both sides have put decent resources together for this merger, something that would be wasted if the FCC still says no.

As far as the satellite orbits, XM could switch to an orbit like Sirius has or vice versa without impacting service. As long as there is a bird in the air pointed at the US, the service works. XM has already moved their satellites around to deal with a shorter then expected lifespan on their first two, and Sirius has added a 4th satellite since their initial launch.

Equipment differences will be the main problem. Both use the same frequency, but different digital encoding standards. Odds are they will choose one for newer devices, but keep the old signals in use for several years.

 

bout Time

 

If the FCC does approve this, I think its pretty likely that we're gonna see two flavors of satellite radio for a long time to come. The satellites both companies have put in orbit are worth a small fortune... and unless the imbedded technology is smart enough to allow them to re-program the birds to be generic communications satellites I don't see them throwing away that capital investment.

What I think will be interesting to see is if XM plays musical chairs with the content provided on each system.

 

Probably about the same time you could sell fur coats in hell.

 

I contacted Sirius yesterday about the Ford Promo going on. While on the phone with them I asked about the merger.

The lady transfered me to her supervisor, he knew nothing? about it.

The Ford promo is a pretty good savings.
Was ad in My Ford Magazine.
If you call during your first free 6 month time frame. You can add addition months at a savings.

TDS

 

Odds are the staff can't talk about the merger right now because it still has to clear a lot of things. For now, the two companies have to remain competitors and continue on as normal. I worked at Compaq during the HP merger, and beyond an internal e-mail from the CEO announcing it, not much was said about it until it cleared all the regulatory approvals. Once that happened, we started hearing more details about dates and high end assignments. It took months after the merger for the effects to roll down into every department and to have new teams and job titles established.