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FCC Approves Sirius and XM Satellite Radio Merger

by Joshua Topolsky on July 28, 2008 at 10:31 AM

In a somewhat unsurprising move, the FCC has approved the merger of Sirius and XM after protracted -- and incredibly boring -- multi-year negotiations. The Federal Communication Commission decided tonight to allow a deal that will bring the two satellite radio providers together, creating a combined subscriber base of roughly 18 million users.

The deal isn't without catches, however, with the Commission stating that the companies must cap prices for three years following the merger, allow subscriber choice on content, and lower fees for channel packages. FCC head Kevin Martin seemed pleased with the final outcome, stating, "Consumers will get to enjoy the best of the programming on both services." You know who wasn't so stoked? Clear Channel. [Source: Washington Post]

Tags: approval, breaking news, BreakingNews, fcc, federal communications commission, FederalCommunicationsCommission, kevin martin, KevinMartin, merger, satellite, satellite radio, SatelliteRadio, sirius, xm

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