REM will be taking over Sirius' Spectrum channel, and temporarily renaming it to "Radio REM" for an entire week to celebrate the release of the band's 14th studio album Accelerate.

"Radio REM" will be hosted by band members Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills. You'll hear insight from the band on the inspiration for each song on Accelerate, as well as intimate conversations ranging from the state of the band to their personal worldviews.

Interestingly enough, while the new album will be released on April 1st, Accelerate has already debuted on the popular Facebook application iLike.

The channel debuts on Monday at 7am ET on The Spectrum (ch 18).

Counsel for both Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. met with top officials from the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday, according to a recent filing with the agency.

The meeting was with FCC Chairman Kevin Martin; Daniel Gonzalez, Chairman Martin's Chief of Staff; and Michelle Carey, Chairman Martin's Senior Legal Advisor.

According to the filing, the meeting was held with the Commission to discuss action on the merger following the decision by the Department of Justice. In addition, the filing included the programming packages and proposed pricing seen here and here.

View the FCC filing after the jump...

While the U.S. versions of Sirius and XM are happily skipping along holding hands, our neighbors up North may not be sharing the same sentiment.

Following the Justice Department's greenlight of the Sirius-XM merger, XM Canada announced that they'll have no part of such shenanigans - at this time.

"We have a strong business model in Canada and are committed to an aggressive growth strategy aimed at increasing our subscriber base and delivering outstanding programming right across the country," said Michael Moskowitz, the newly minted President and CEO of XM Canada.

"We are excited about XM Canada's prospects as 60 per cent of all new vehicles made by Canada's automotive manufacturers are equipped with XM satellite radios, we now have exclusive NHL satellite radio broadcast rights and we now have 400,000 subscribers," added Moskowitz. "We will diligently review any opportunity that arises from this decision and evaluate the impact on our economic positioning and the benefit derived for our customers and shareholders."

So while some analysts opine on the prospects of a reverse takeover - where XM Canada would issue shares to buy Sirius Canada - this statement by Moskowitz clearly indicates that's not in the cards. Yet.

[Broadcaster Magazine]

UPDATE: I just want to point out that the AP story has been updated to be somewhat less misleading. Previously it read "More Choice in Satellite Radio Years Off" but now the article, written by Christopher S. Rugaber, reads: "'A La Carte' Satellite Radio a Year Away."

Also, there's a bit of confusion surrounding the timing. Understand that the "3 years" cited here is based off of Barrington Research's estimates for OEM radios (due to the lag time that automakers tend to require) that does not mean Retail radios will suffer the same slowness in getting to market. Sirius and XM have said, from the beginning, that the A La Carte receivers will be available to customers within one-year after the merger is complete. I just wanted to make sure this was clear.

Following the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., it could take up to three years before new cars would feature both services in "a la carte" packages.

That's the prediction of media analyst Jim Goss at Barrington Research, who told the Associated Press that automakers require lead times of several years to update dashboards with new products. As a result, cars with interoperable radios likely wouldn't be on dealer lots for up to three years.

That's not to say that both Sirius and XM won't be providing "best of" programming (see: will my radio still work?), which essentially is simulcasting of certain content from one service to another. We don't know exactly what big-name programming will be available yet - those content agreements all need to be worked out once the deal is finalized.

Still, analysts seem to think that few current subscribers will pony up for the new receivers.

Perhaps 5% to 10% of current subscribers "might go through the trouble" of buying new radios for the "a la carte" option, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Kit Spring wrote in a recent note to clients.

So here's a question:
Since most of you are current Sirius or XM subscribers - would you buy a new receiver when the "a la carte" enable radios come out?

Sirius today has kicked off some incredible coverage from the 2008 Winter Music Conference - pumping out five days of heart thumping live broadcasts from Miami starting today.

The Winter Music Conference, which now in its 23rd year, is considered the premier international event for dance music.

Sirius is also hosting (and broadcasting) an exclusive party from famed Club Nikki at Nikki Beach hosted by the renowned Paul van Dyk and Paul Oakenfold. The exclusive event, which is airing on Sirius' Area 33 (ch 33), will feature special DJ sets from George Acosta, Murk, Scumfrog, Utah Saints of Ministry of Sound, Ivano Bellini and Liquid Todd.

(If this all sounds too familiar, that's because XM will begin broadcasting from the WMC tomorrow and Sirius/TSS Radio held a contest for the party at Club Nikki not too long ago.)

Area 33 will also broadcast from Sirius Music Lounge at the historic Raleigh Hotel each day  from 12pm to 4pm ET through March 28th. The live broadcast will include interviews with a who's who in the dance music world including Danny Tenaglia, Todd Terry, Junkie XL, Oscar G., Sasha & John Digweed, BT, Tommy Lee & DJ Aero, and others. In addition the Sirius Music Lounge will feature guest DJ sets from Junior Sanchez, Marco Bailey, Cedric Gervais, among many others.

Other Sirius broadcasts from various locations at the 2008 Winter Music Conference will include DJ sets from Paul van Dyk, Victor Calderone, the King Street Sounds Party featuring Legendary House Music DJ Frankie Knuckles, Porterhouse with Steve Porter, and Pure Behrouz with Global DJ Behrouz.

Edwin Meese, the seventy-fifth U.S. Attorney General under Ronald Reagan, and Senior Research Fellow in Regulatory Policy James Gattuso, weighed in on the DOJ's Sirius-XM decision in a joint statement:

"Yesterday's decision by the Department of Justice not to oppose the merger of Sirius and XM was a victory for consumers. Kudos to the DOJ for recognizing that antitrust laws should not look only at narrow, formalistic, definitions the market, but instead at the realities of the marketplace. As our research has shown, the radio market is highly competitive - with satellite radio only one among many competing options for listeners. And by allowing satellite radio to become more efficient, this merger promises to increase that competition. Now it's up to the FCC to complete this year-long process by granting its own approval. It should do so expeditiously, without conditions."

[Heritage.org]

As part of their coverage of the Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the U.S. (from April 15-20), Sirius is launching the Papal Archives Channel, featuring seldom heard Papal recordings from the past, including the earliest known audio of a Pope.

The Papal Archives Channel (ch 119) will air on Monday, April 14th through Sunday, April 20th, showcasing rare archival recordings of Masses and speeches from historic Papal Visits - which will include Pope John Paul II's visits to the U.S. in 1979, 1987 and 1995 and Pope Paul VI's visit to the U.S. in 1965.

Sirius listeners will also hear the earliest known audio of a Pope's voice, an extremely rare recording of Pope Leo XIII, the Holy Father from 1878-1903, singing Ave Maria at the Vatican circa 1902.

The Papal Archives Channel will be one of three Sirius channels dedicated to Pope Benedict XVI's historic visit to the U.S., which includes the Catholic Channel (ch 159), and Papal Playback (ch 143) which will offer re-broadcasts of key moments from Pope Benedict's current trip.

I am questioned constantly (nearly everyday even) from satellite radio subscribers concerned about their existing radios. Since the DOJ approved the merger, these questions have bombarded my inbox even more: Will my Inno work after the merger? Do I need to buy a new Stiletto after Sirius and XM merge? I just bought a new car, will my new satellite radio still work? You get the idea.

Here's the facts:
From day one Sirius and XM have promised that no existing radio will be made obsolete by the merger. (Afterall, that would be silly from a business sense wouldn't it?) The reality is that you will be able to get the "best of both" Sirius and XM on any of today's satellite radio devices with one monthly subscription.

• If you're an XM subscriber:
  You'll continue to receive your existing XM service, and gain the ability to receive certain Sirius programming.
  
  
• If you're a Sirius subscriber:
  Sirius customers would continue to receive their existing Sirius service, and be able to obtain certain XM programming.

There are eight different packages that the companies have announced they will offer following the merger. Prices for each will range from $6.99/month to $16.99/month. If you don't want anything to change, it won't - the "Everything" packages will cost the same as what you currently pay.

• View the XM channel lineup after the merger
• View the Sirius channel lineup after the merger
  

Can I get MLB on my Sirius after the merger? Will I can get NFL on my XM?
The real answer? We don't know for sure. If you read through those post-merger channel lineups, you'll notice that there are "top selections" made available for both sides. Obviously, like anything else in this world, contracts will need to be negotiated to iron out all the details. We will find all that out after the merger is finalized.

First-ever A La Carte packages
Of those eight packages, two will be "a la carte" packages. These will be the first ever a la carte options in subscription media. Ever. You will have the choice of either a 50 channel package (starting at $6.99) or a 100 channel package ($14.99), and then choose from a selection of channels to your liking. "Premium" content will cost more, but this will be the first time that you can pick and choose what channels you want on your radio. (Hint: if you mostly want the commercial-free music, with a smattering of news/talk, then the a la carte packages will be perfect for you.)

There's one caveat: A la carte programming will only be available for subscribers using new radios.

These new a la carte capable radios are currently in development and will be brought to market following final approval of the merger. Sirius and XM originally estimated it would take one-year to bring them to market, but since the merger process has dragged on much longer than anyone expected, it's hard to know the exact timeline now.

If you have any questions, as always, feel free to email me at ryans@orbitcast.com and I'll help out as best as I can.

There's no doubt that there has been a roller-coaster of emotions the past 400 days, but no one could be happier waking up this morning than the future CEO of a soon merged Sirius-XM: Mel Karmazin.

"He's going to feel better about this than anything he's done in his career," said Tom Freston, former CEO of Viacom Inc. "It's a big triumph for Mr. Karmazin."

Freston and others credit Karmazin's relentless efforts with regulators, politicians and investors in pushing through approval of the deal.

"I think he is the most diplomatic, skilled negotiators that I know," said Joel Hollander, former CEO of CBS Radio. "Everyone knows he's a great salesman, but he knows how to leave a little bit on the table."

"He just grabbed onto this and ran through an endless amount of hurdles and made it seem more and more possible," Freston said. "This is probably the most difficult deal of his life."

But it's not over yet. Even after FCC approval, there's still realities that the merged company will need to face. Like turning a profit in a slowing economy.

"The bottom line is they'll be able to cut costs. but they'll have to figure out a way to increase the subscriber base," said Hollander. "It's not so easy today."

"If there's anyone that can do it, it's certainly Mel," Hollander added.

[Reuters via Orbitcast Forums]

Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) called the Justice Department's decision to approve the merger of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. "another disappointing example of this administration's blatant disregard for the public interest with regard to media ownership."

Dorgan, who seems to think that terrestrial radio "sprouted up" in 1997, cited the decade-old SDARS license as the main reason for being upset.

"There seems to be no limit to the mergers this administration will approve," said Dorgan. "These two companies were issued licenses a decade ago to provide competing national satellite radio service. Their license approval included a clause that prohibits them from merging into one company. Now the Justice Department has decided the contract they signed can't stand in the way of consolidation. That doesn't make any sense to me."

Dorgan said "the American consumer will pay the price."