XM/Sirius merger starts Nov. 12

[jwight]

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080324/xm_sirius_antitrust.html

So now what; do we all buy new receivers or do they start broadcasting on dual channels?

[limey]

So far only the Justice Department has ruled.

The FCC ruling is not out yet, although I would be surprised if they denied the request

[jwight]

Me too; this looks like a done deal, anti-trust laws or not. I'm just wondering how they'll handle the technical issues.

[Orphan-Beggar]

XM recently did not offer lifetime-
Call sirius for this info-$399 maybe-

Great news for consumers-autos with installed receivers and steering wheel controls (volume, channel up/down)

[jwight]

Still waiting for the answer on how they'll make this happen; once they get the final approval, can they remotely change the satellites to broadcast on dual (XM & Sirius) channels? Do we have to buy a new dual band receiver?

[smartcenterSeattle]

Originally Posted by jwight

Me too; this looks like a done deal, anti-trust laws or not. I'm just wondering how they'll handle the technical issues.

One of the Sirious reps told me the merger is financial only and that the companies will continue to operate with separate formats and receivers. Don’t know if it is reliable but makes sense if they want to get the deal approved.

[jwight]

Well, I guess so but I'm not sure what the point is then, other than to keep one set of shareholders happy.

[smartcenterSeattle]

Originally Posted by jwight

Well, I guess so but I'm not sure what the point is then, other than to keep one set of shareholders happy.

Nextel (sorry jwight) and Sprint had a similar relationship early on and to this day still have some different phones and services. Distribution, management, and total retail points were the significant changes with that merger.

[jwight]

I think it was Sprint and Nextel; Cingular went to AT&T. Anyway, I'm sure if they consolidate their overhead operations it will result in a huge price drop for subscribers.

[spdickey]

My guess is since there are tens of thousands of receivers of both kinds out there, that use two different sets of frequencies and decoders, both systems will continue to operate for a long time. Programming and advertising sales may start to merge (Howard Stern may start to appear on both systems for example), and when the satellites near their the end of their life expectancy that one (or the other) receivers will be retired. We'll figure out which one will win out (XM's or Sirius') when they stop selling the other one sometime in the near future.