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Justice Department Approves XM / Sirius Merger

by Thomas Houston on March 24, 2008 at 04:46 PM

Following a year of review, the U.S. Department of Justice just announced that it will allow the merger of XM and Sirius, the two leading U.S. satellite radio providers. Interestingly, the Department of Justice does not see the merger as anti-competitive. Engadget explains:

The deciding factor appeared to be the proprietary hardware needed to receive both XM and Sirius; since consumers who shell out aren't likely to switch, the DOJ doesn't think the marketplace is all that competitive to begin with, which makes the impact of a merger relatively small. In fact, the DOJ says the merger could actually benefit consumers, who might see lower prices as the result of more efficient operations, broader programming options, and faster rollouts of new technology.

Although the Justice Department's decision is important, the merger won't happen without the approval of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) -- the next stage in the process.

From Engadget and CNN


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Tags: fcc, radio, satellite, sirius, xm

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