Last year, XM and Sirius satellite radio companies announced their intentions to merge to create one, humungous satellite radio company. When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) heard about this, there were rumors of the merger violating anti-trust laws. In reaction to these rumors, XM and Sirius brought their plea to the United States Justice Department. As of this afternoon, their merger was approved by the DOJ, although the FCC has yet to voice its decision.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) ruled that the merger would not create a monopoly due to the ever evolving entertainment market. Some of the competition listed by the DOJ were iPods, Clear Channel, and cell phones. When one thinks about how much the entertainment business has changed in the past two years, this decision isn’t much of a surprise. If this same proposal had been considered in 1999, I believe the merger would have been disallowed. Now a days, there are too many different things to entertain you in the car: iPods, CDs, MP3 CDs, Satellite radio, and HD radio being some of many. I believe the merger will be great, allowing subscribers to pick and chose from their favorite artists on both networks. Many complained that the merger would lead to a price increase, but my response is if the price is too much, find an alternative. We are so lucky to have so many vehicles of entertainment that we really can’t complain.

 

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