http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,252775,00.html

With Mel K. at the helm, the content will get worse, but at least they won't go Chapter 11.

 

i just hope that the rats that are literally eating all of the fiber optic cables at xm headquarters don't affect my Howard A. Stern listening time

 

It's in the FCC's court now.

 

You can bank on this merger gaining approval but under a very skeptical and watchful regulatory eye. It has to happen because both Sirius and XM would probably go belly up if a merger is not approved.

It could mean lower costs and better service or it could be a disaster for the consumer. Supposedly a mergers would allow them to cut costs significantly which they could pass on to the consumer in order to increase subscribers.

My guess......I think this will be a good thing.

 

I'm kinda torn as to how I feel about this. I can see prices going up because now there will be only one satellite radio operator. And how will the merger of channels go? I really like some of the XM stations, and they'll eventually have to get rid of duplicates. However, the fact that Sirius carries the Big XII is one thing I will like. Now I can listen to A&M games.

What's going to happen to all the equipment out there that is incompatible with the other service, such as our headunits?

 

AMIC.....remember that the market and the consumer will drive the pricing, not the new merged company. If they raise the prices and lose tons of subscribers they will have to lower the prices to get the subscribers back. Simple supply and demand. If the final product is much better than either Sirius or XM is right now, both in choices and technology, then people might pay a little extra for that.

I doubt there will be any need to upgrade equipment as they should be able to resolve any compatibility issues at the source signal.

 

Keep in mind that satellite radio is a luxury item, so if the price goes up to $20 or higher, they will lose most of their subscribers.

 

I freakin hope the Sirius stock goes back up in the coming years. I bought 1000 shares at $6.73 per share. The stock is currently in the toilet at $3.70. I bought it as a longer term investment, so I'm not in any rush but I'd like to get my money back at home point.

 

Looks like it happed - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17228226/

XM and Sirius reach agreement on merger

 

Another article taken from a now closed thread:

 

Yeah but a lot of people will just suck up higher prices and deal with it. Yes some will leave, but if they have you hooked on a product you feel you can't live without, you're less likely to leave. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

The announcement may have been made; but this will take months before the FCC approves this. It has to go through hoops such as the shareholders, SEC, the federal courts, then the FCC; the first 4 hoops usually take a short time...but the FCC is the one that's gonna take a while. It may happen this year or even next. Don't mind to have both XM and Sirius channels though, as long as I don't have to spend anything extra on my subscription or get a new receiver on my TL or something.

 

Here's the Email I received this morning:

- - - begin paste-in - - -

February 20, 2007


Dear XM Radio Subscriber:

We want to share with you some exciting news: Yesterday, in Washington DC, we announced XM Radio will be merging with Sirius Satellite Radio to form the premier digital audio service.

The merger will create a satellite radio company that will provide consumers across the country with more and better premium radio programming. The combined company will be able to compete better in what has become a very complex and dynamic entertainment market.

Where today our exclusive contracts mean you had to choose between baseball and football or Oprah and Martha Stewart, the new company will seek to ensure that in the future, you will be able to access both companies' programming. And, once we are fully integrated, those of you who have factory-installed satellite radio will no longer be limited to the programming provided by the exclusive satellite radio service chosen by their car manufacturer.

This merger should be completed in late 2007 or early in 2008. Throughout the year, we will provide updates on how the merger is progressing and information will be available at our website, www.xmradio.com.

Between today and the merger date, as well as during the period immediately after the merger date, all of your services will remain the same. The channel lineup, the customer service number, the great music technology, and the XM Radio web site will all remain unchanged and there will be no disruption to service. But, if you have questions, information will be available and maintained on our website, and you can contact our Listener Care team at 800-XMRADIO, with questions and concerns.

XM Radio continues to be committed to providing you the highest quality audio entertainment and customer service available today. After the merger, our new company will be able to offer you the most exciting listening experience in radio.

Sincerely,

Hugh Panero
CEO, XM Satellite Radio


Forward Looking Statements
This letter contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the business combination transaction involving Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., including potential synergies and cost savings and the timing thereof, future financial and operating results, the combined company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to future operations, products and services; and other statements identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "will," "should," "may," or words of similar meaning. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of SIRIUS' and XM's management and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of SIRIUS and XM. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statement: general business and economic conditions; the performance of financial markets and interest rates; the ability to obtain governmental approvals of the transaction on a timely basis; the failure of SIRIUS and XM shareholders to approve the transaction; the failure to realize synergies and cost-savings from the transaction or delay in realization thereof; the businesses of SIRIUS and XM may not be combined successfully, or such combination may take longer, be more difficult, time-consuming or costly to accomplish than expected; and operating costs and business disruption following the merger, including adverse effects on employee retention and on our business relationships with third parties, including manufacturers of radios, retailers, automakers and programming providers. Additional factors that could cause SIRIUS' and XM's results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in SIRIUS' and XM's Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2006, June 30, 2006 and September 30, 2006 which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and available at the SEC's Internet site www.sec.gov The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and Sirius and XM disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.

Important Additional Information Will be Filed with the SEC This communication is being made in respect of the proposed business combination involving SIRIUS and XM. In connection with the proposed transaction, SIRIUS plans to file with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 containing a Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and each of SIRIUS and XM plan to file with the SEC other documents regarding the proposed transaction. The definitive Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus will be mailed to stockholders of SIRIUS and XM. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF SIRIUS AND XM ARE URGED TO READ THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.

Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC by SIRIUS and XM through the web site maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Free copies of the Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC can also be obtained by directing a request to Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, Attention: Investor Relations or by directing a request to XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., 1500 Eckington Place, NE Washington, DC 20002, Attention: Investor Relations.

SIRIUS, XM and their respective directors and executive officers and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transaction. Information regarding SIRIUS' directors and executive officers is available in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, which was filed with the SEC on March 13, 2006, and its proxy statement for its 2006 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 21, 2006, and information regarding XM's directors and executive officers is available in XM's Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31, 2005, which was filed with the SEC on March 3, 2006 and its proxy statement for its 2006 annual meeting of shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 25, 2006. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become available.

Please note: this is not a promotional e-mail. As an XM subscriber, you will periodically receive service notices via e-mail. These service notices are intended to provide you with helpful information that will facilitate and enhance your XM listening experience.


You are receiving this email because you previously indicated that you'd like to receive email updates from XM Satellite Radio. To unsubscribe, please visit unsubscribe.xmradio.com

- - - end paste-in - - -

 

http://www.xmradio.com/merger/index.xmc

Still don't know when we'll be able to listen to Howard though.

 

thanks for the heads up

 

Got the same email today....


February 20, 2007



Dear XM Radio Subscriber:

We want to share with you some exciting news: Yesterday, in Washington DC, we announced XM Radio will be merging with Sirius Satellite Radio to form the premier digital audio service.

The merger will create a satellite radio company that will provide consumers across the country with more and better premium radio programming. The combined company will be able to compete better in what has become a very complex and dynamic entertainment market.

Where today our exclusive contracts mean you had to choose between baseball and football or Oprah and Martha Stewart, the new company will seek to ensure that in the future, you will be able to access both companies' programming. And, once we are fully integrated, those of you who have factory-installed satellite radio will no longer be limited to the programming provided by the exclusive satellite radio service chosen by their car manufacturer.

This merger should be completed in late 2007 or early in 2008. Throughout the year, we will provide updates on how the merger is progressing and information will be available at our website, www.xmradio.com.

Between today and the merger date, as well as during the period immediately after the merger date, all of your services will remain the same. The channel lineup, the customer service number, the great music technology, and the XM Radio web site will all remain unchanged and there will be no disruption to service. But, if you have questions, information will be available and maintained on our website, and you can contact our Listener Care team at 800-XMRADIO, with questions and concerns.

XM Radio continues to be committed to providing you the highest quality audio entertainment and customer service available today. After the merger, our new company will be able to offer you the most exciting listening experience in radio.

Sincerely,

Hugh Panero

CEO, XM Satellite Radio

 

It still has to get government approval. It ain't official yet. I hear significant roadblocks could halt it.

 

The only problem is that the FCC has already said they will block this transaction in the same way they did when TV Satellite tried to merge.

The NAB is strongly against the merger as well.

It all depends on whether XM and Sirius can prove that the merger is actually in the best interest of the consumer or if the actual winner is only their corporate bottom lines.

By the way... I thought they were ALREADY offering "the most exciting listening experience in radio".

 

I just got the e-mail as well. Hopefully the merger will go through. I don't care about Howard Stern, but Sirius has much better music. The only reason that i still have XM and not Sirius is that I don't want to lose seamless integration with the TL. If I had the choice, I would have gone Sirius.

 

Here Here!

Other brands like Audi give new car buyers a choice.

 

choose between baseball and football or Oprah and Martha Stewart

OR

between Opie & Anthony and H O W A R D !!

 

Man the guys who put sirius in their cars is gonna hate this

 

We are probably not going to see any of the results of this merger as an end user for at least a year since it will be locked up with the FCC for at least that much time...

 

should we try to lock in at the discounted xm price?? they should honor that once its official

 

This quote is misleading. Unless they have some technological trick up their sleeves, there is NO WAY existing factory satellite radios will ever be able to pick up the other provider's signals. FUTURE radios will, because they will redesign them with the hardware for both types of signals. But right now Sirius and XM use very different transmission protocols to send their signals. Heck, their satellites don't even orbit in the same way. So that means it's highly unlikely our current Acuras are someday going to suddenly start receiving Sirius programming.

More important to me is whether the bitrate of the stations will improve. Right now it's crap. But I don't see that happening for years either.

It's kind of like Sprint's purchase of Nextel. Two totally different technologies. Big plans and promises for integration. Yet several years later, integration is poor and service is no better than it used to be. Sprint is still struggling to work it all out, and their financials are struggling.

The suits at XM and Sirius know they will fail if they don't merge, because neither has ever made a profit, so they are doing this for survival. That doesn't mean they have all the technical details worked out. I doubt the suits even care at this point. They do this because they have to, and they will put the best spin on it they can, then hope the engineers can figure something out later.

Whatever we end up getting out of this will take longer than we think and be less than we hope.

 

All I wish is they lower the subscription rates once the merger is approved.

 

I think you are exactly right...it's all about money and basically nothing else.

 

LOL you're right, sucks for them.

 

I wonder what they're going to call the new company.

 

Siriex?
Xcema?

 

Coming from the terestrial radio industry, which I work in we have had many discussions about this. In an industry insider email we recieved last week, it stated that one possible name for the new company would be XS Radio.

The one thing we all have to do is wait on the courts to decide is if they will allow this company to be a monopoly which is an FCC violation, even with the deregulation act of 1995.

This is going to be a veeeery long court battle.

 

Why? What if they end up using the Sirius head units and not XM? Then we are fucked. It's gona be one or the other... It won't be interchangable. Plus all these car companies have signed contracts... This is a terrible situation for all of us.

 

Dropping one unit for the other unit seems illogical and a bad business practice to me.

I see them broadcasting the merged station list on both units.. at least for a good while and then maybe slowly phase out one.

 

Independent of the legal issues, the merger will create a pool of content that can be directed to either the Sirius or the XM network. The reason why they are in such precarious condition is they got into a $$ race to get content, like MLB, NFL and stern.

The content will become tired like cable tv; basic service, full service, pron.
Bills will go up for many people, especially the stern junkies.

The satellite networks of both providers are a sunk investment, and will survive for the next 3-5 years with out much additional cash flow, so most of us should be OK.

 

That would be even cheaper for them then trying to build a dual-mode unit in the future.

Do both systems allow up to about 255 channels?

 

My guess is...

In the beginning, it might be something like XM-Sirius. But eventually just XM because that's easier.

The shorter name usually wins.

(So they might come up with a really stupid 1-syllable name that's neither XM nor Sirius.)

 

We'll be lucky to hang onto the current rates.

They'll tell us that the combined programming is better, so it's worth a $5 or $10 a hike in the monthly fee. Like the folks at the movie theater who make the cup of soda larger to justify charging $3.

Just like cable TV, it's not like we can pick and choose much, but the rates keep climbing.

Now, if they let us choose a-la-carte so we could pick which sports, talk-radio-shows, music, etc we wanted we could save $$ by skipping what we don't want. But I doubt the current radios can even handle that kind of filtering. As I understand it, their only filters are (1) Active/Paid User or not AND (2) XL-Explicit-Lyrics allowed or banned.

 

This isn't all necessarily true. Who's to say they can simply transmit programming over the existing XM and Sirius signals? Leave all satellites in place simply add channels and programming to both. It's like your cable company or satellite provider getting a new channel. It's still just digital audio that is sent over the air.

 

i just heard that the merger will take place in about a year. But the really good news is that both xm and sirius costomers can still use their existing radios and won't have to go out and buy new ones after the merger..

 

I know a lot of you are up to date on this merger and what it's gona take to make it happen but if you want I can update you with radio insider news when I get it emailed to me. I work in radio and may have different sources to compare with the ones you guys use.