Finally Some Word on the Sirius/XM Deal - July 24th, 2008
Finally! Some word on the merger of Sirius and XM. Federal regulators have reached conditional approval of Sirius’ purchase of XM, mainly since both companies are ready to shell out millions to make charges of past rule breaking go bye-bye. (Read “voluntary contributions” to the U.S. Treasury totaling about $19 million combined.)
The five-member Federal Communications Commission, with three Republicans on board have, according to Automotive News, “agreed in principle to vote in favor letting the deal proceed as long as the companies agree to conditions to protect consumers and settle the FCC enforcement matters, a source familiar with the agency review said on Thursday.”
So, assuming it all goes forward, that’s the last hurdle in the regulatory circus. Remember, this all started in February 2007. Never let it be said the federal government acts in haste. Even though the traditional radio industry is up in arms that the deal is anti-competitive, the resulting programming ought to be darned interesting. I mean really, Oprah and Howard Stern on the same network? How’s that for something to take your attention off the road?
Posted on July 24th, 2008 by Shorty
Filed under: news |
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