This from The Wall Street Journal:
“Even without a new radio, consumers will have new options. For example, a bare-bones plan of just 50 stations from one of the two services will cost $6.99 a month, compared with $12.95 for more than 100 stations currently. Consumers will also likely soon see a number of programming changes as the companies get rid of redundant programming.
For the companies, the deal will come at a steep price. They are expected to enter into a consent decree, with XM paying about $17.5 million and Sirius paying about $2 million, to settle complaints they produced satellite radio transmitters that exceeded FCC power limits and placed booster towers in unapproved locations.”
The Department of Justice was right when about 6 months ago they decide that it wouldn’t hurt the consumer. It will definitely help. As being both a subscriber to Sirius and XM, I can tell you they offer a great service and once you switch you will never go back. Of course in this deal the government had to get their cut.
My opinion is that the companies should not need the governments approval to merge, whether it be from the Department of Justice or the FCC.
In related news Business & Media Institute reports Howard Stern said this:
“I go, ‘That’s it!’” Stern said. “[I] go, ‘You know what Don, I’ve voted Republican and I’ve voted Democrat. I have vowed I will never vote for a Democrat again. I don’t give a [expletive] – no matter who they are. I don’t care if God becomes a Democrat.’ I said, ‘I backed Hillary Clinton, I backed Al Gore, I backed John Kerry. I am done with them.’”
He went on further to call the Democrats FCC Communists. We couldn’t agree more.
~Marxsevelt
