A Monopoly -- Not

A MONOPOLY -- NOT
[SOURCE: San Francisco Chronicle, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] Ten years ago, the FCC sold a pair of satellite radio licenses -- and sternly warned that a competition-chilling merger wouldn't be tolerated. How quaint that worry seems now. The two operators -- XM and Sirius -- are losing billions of dollars and want to huddle together to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, HD radio, iPods, Internet broadcasts and other trends have rushed past regulators and redrawn the landscape. There are 90 million people wearing dangling iPod ear-buds, 65 million who listen to free Internet radio and about 14 million satellite-radio subscribers. It's hard to see a stifling monopoly in the making when the two satellite networks are gasping for air. Consumers, who need defending when choices narrow dramatically, don't need any help on this shift.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/0...

See also --

* Sirius CEO discusses post-XM merger service plans
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR:]
How can shrinking two voices to one mean more diversity? When Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin speaks from both sides of his mouth anything is possible. Here's a Q&A will the ultimate salesman in which he discusses the XM Sirius merger and its impact on monthly fees, new dual-service radios, content, and even video service.
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20070227/sirius27.art.htm