A Satellite Wedding

Filed in archive Companies on February 20, 2007

XM and Sirius, the two large satellite radio broadcasters, are merging.. The deal is a $4.5 billion stock buyout by Sirius, though it's being promoted as a "merger of equals." The merger will get serious scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

A merger has been rumored for years. It was inevitable, given the financial difficulties of the two companies, exacerbated by high startup costs, long lead time for receiver adoption, and expensive original programming. Ultimately it's a triumph by Sirius and its content focus, anchored by its deal with Howard Stern, which catapulted both subscribers and stock value. XM has superior technology and receiver reception, but was late to see the value in blockbuster programming.