The Bottom Line’s take on….
February 21st, 2007, 9:17 pm · Post a Comment · posted by jotto001
The XM Sirius Merger 
Having had Sirius for two years and now a recent XM subscriber (it came installed in my car), I think the benefits of satellite radio from the perspective of a sports fan is unquestionable but each service certainly has its respective benefits.
XM has tons of college basketball and football, namely the Big Ten, NHL and Major League Baseball. XM also has Fox Sports Radio, which I enjoy when ESPN Radio goes to commercial break and will soon have the return of Tony Kornheiser.
Sirius’ upsides? The NFL, ’nuff said. NFL Radio is great for those diehard fans who want to talk about “next year” for their team, the minute the season ends. And of course, they have play-by-play of every game with every set of broadcasters. Sirius also has a deal with the NCAA to broadcast the NCAA Tournament.
One or both of these services has a deal with NASCAR but who cares?
The ideal situation for consumers would be for the two services to combine into one and offer us all the sports radio we could ever possibly ask for.
But since news of this deal broke, I’ve been asking myself one question: Is this a good thing for consumers? And I don’t think it is. A combined XM/Sirius would definitely look an awful lot like a monopoly and such a merger would certainly result in higher prices, even if the two services remain separate. Ultimately, I think in the best interest of the consumer, the FCC will have no choice but to reject this deal.
Sometimes if it seems too good to be true.. it probably is..
For more information on the merger, here’s a basic AP story on the deal.
