a) the merger goes through.
b) the merger goes through.
Caveat (all good deals have them) - this will only include a combo of 50 of their channels and a quarter to add another one.
According to various sources (I’ll quote the giz here because I’m using their nifty PS image.)
This should allow users to not have to pick and choose between NHL, Nascar and MLB or as I should restate - Howard vs. all.
Image credit goes to Gizmodo.
July 23rd, 2007 at 5:38 pm - Edit
Funny, I’ve seen a similar equation before, XM Sirius = Monopoly. I work with the NAB on this issue and based on the history of antitrust law and of this debate, am highly skeptical of promises like this. What is stopping either company from offering more affordable packages for limited programming today?
Also, in case you missed this gem in the fine print, customers have to buy a new radio for an undisclosed fee to reap the alleged rewards from this announcement. Bottom line, this merger would not benefit consumers, only create a monopoly.
July 23rd, 2007 at 9:20 pm - Edit
Good point Nolan. Having worked for one of these companies, I’ll tell you the sheer volume of dollars put behind initiatives (exclusive channels, marketing, network deals, paid hosts, etc.) to differentiate doesn’t permit these companies to push a low price high volume scheme.
You have to understand, even today the value of satellite radio in this day and age is still struggling to gain that lifestyle commodity status. While it’s much better vs. where it was say four years ago, the street, market conditions and slow growth have made it very challenging.
As for the new hardware piece…figured there was something there.
Cheers and thanks for the post!
December 3rd, 2007 at 11:48 am - Edit
[...] keep tabs on the companies I’ve worked for in the past - for all reasons really. As discussed here it looks like the Sirius XM merger may be annouced as early as today. The folks over at [...]