FCC discloses logic behind its approval of XM-Sirius merger

The recently-released Federal Communications Commission order which allowed Sirius and XM satellite radio to merge reveals the Commission's reasoning. Essentially, the Commission defends the union on the grounds that voluntary commitments promised by the combined company override any potential anticompetitive harm. The FCC does not agree that the merger will harm to terrestrial radio: 1) it doubts studies which argued that satellite and free radio compete with each other, 2) it couldn't divine from the data the extent to which free radio listeners won't listen to AM and FM because of a merged Sirius/XM, 3) it rejected warnings that a united Sirius/XM will be better able to "steal" talent away from terrestrial radio. Many parties will probably be disappointed that the FCC has added no specific enforcement mechanism to this Order. Instead, there is this promise: "We will rigorously monitor Applicants' compliance with the conditions of the Consent Decrees and the conditions specified herein and believe that the mechanisms put in place in those Decrees will fully serve to ensure compliance on an ongoing basis. Moreover, we will not hesitate to take prompt and effective enforcement action if these conditions are not satisfied."