Satellite Radio- Sirius XM merger

Today in class, October 20, I will be discussing the law and policy issues related to the Sirius and XM satellite radio merger of 2008. The question of the week is about older media serving as a template for a wireless culture. Satellite radio does this because it brings the older form of media, radio, into the wireless/digital culture by providing a way for listener’s to pick the stations of music they most enjoy. Radio has transformed greatly since its first existence in 1896 with Marconi’s wireless telegraph and Morse code. It then became popular as a form of entertainment and extended further into the creation of AM and FM stations. Like we discussed in class, radio turned into a money- making industry where competition is fierce. Then in the early 2000’s, satellite radio made its introduction into the radio industry. Sirius and XM were two satellite radio providers, but neither was doing particularly well. In 2007, they decided to begin the process to merge into one hopefully successful company. The merger brought issues of monopolies and lack of competition to the satellite radio industry. There were people on both sides, for and against the merger. Ultimately the merger was approved by the Department of Justice and later the FCC. It was proven that the merger would not result in a monopoly, because of the popularity of iTunes and Internet radio, there would still be competition in the market. The merger brought about profits for the now named Sirius XM Radio. The company did have to pay fees on violations and the merger had stipulations. Since the merger, the company has proved successful, much to the fact that they made headway into the automotive industry by having their service already installed in most vehicles.