“Satellite radio companies XM and Sirius were given approval from the U.S. Justice Department to continue with their planned merger. The companies, who have waited more than a year to receive this approval, still have to wait for an approval from the Federal Communications Commission.”
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Satellite radio companies XM and Sirius were given approval from the U.S. Justice Department to continue with their planned merger.

The companies, who have waited more than a year to receive this approval, still have to wait for an approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC fears that an XM-Sirius merger would make the market anti-competitive and, though the DOJ to clear the move, the FCC can’t seem to make up it’s mind.

The 14 million subscribers between XM and Sirius are the ones losing out because the FCC is stalling.

The FCC is considering whether or not Clear Channel, CBS, Apple and other media companies will serve as alternatives, but the answer is clear. The companies are offering different products that give music customers a variety of choice.

There is no real decision for the FCC to make. It needs to let the merger go through so that customers interested in satellite radio don’t have to decide between one or the other anymore.

Since XM and Sirius entered the music market, potential subscribers have had to choose between Howard Stern and the National Football League (Sirius), or Major League Baseball and Oprah (XM), the companies most notable programs.

If you happen to like football and baseball, you’re out of luck until the FCC stops dragging its feet.

Clearly owning an iPod and using iTunes is much different than scanning through satellite radio stations on XM and Sirius, so what has taken the DOJ over a year and the FCC longer to make a decision?

You can put music files on the Sirius Stiletto 100, a new feature that gives Sirius a portable player with mp3 and satellite radio capabilities, but you have to wear clunky head phones and be outside in order to get satellite reception.

The similarities between the iPod and the Stiletto don’t warrant an extended holdout by the FCC to determine whether or not Apple will be able to compete with XM-Sirius.

Apple can also compete because it offers podcasts, videos and other multimedia features that generate revenue. Not to mention, you don’t have to pay a monthly fee to buy from the Apple Store, unlike XM-Sirius.

The FCC needs to present a more legitimate case as to why it hasn’t approved the merger by now. Anyone that has used products by XM, Sirius, Apple and other media companies knows that the products range from very similar to completely different, and that serves as the alternate option for music and media customers for which the FCC has been waiting.

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