Satellite radio firms Sirius, XM to merge

February 20, 2007 | Matt Marshall | Comments | |

The nation’s two satellite radio services, Sirius and XM, said they plan to emerge — probably the only avenue for these companies to survive, after having accumulated $6 billion in losses.

The big question is whether this will raise antitrust issues. The NYT has a story here.

Listen to the company’s announcement this morning by clicking on the video play button below. They’ve had very impressive subscriber growth rates.

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Matt Marshall is editor and CEO of VentureBeat. Follow him on Twitter at @mmarshall, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • Matt, you hit the nail on the head, their subscriber numbers are very impressive. Since this is essentially a fixed cost play, the scale generated by the merger should go a long way toward spreading costs out and achieving profitability. I don't think antitrust will be a huge concern as they're not really in the satellite radio industry, they're in the radio industry (or, more generally, the entertainment industry). I think this might actually generate more competition by creating an entity to more effectively compete with Clear Channel.
  • Look at the subscriber acquisition rates - they are still ridiculous. And the satellite spectrum should be treated like a national resource - that will be a big issue at the FCC. See more of my take at lmradiorefugeelblogspot.com.