And on and on and on... etc... etc... etc....

Yeah... Can we also level the playing field on paying out royalties and getting the kickbacks for promotion.. That would be nice too.

This has gone from ridiculous to the absurd.
It seems to me that the FCC are not living in the real world.

Approve this merger without conditions immediately.

C3SR????

Why the hell is the FCC wasting time listening to THOSE BOZOS???

Jesus H Christ! Lol.

Why don't they meet with ANYONE who wants to talk to them? Like the MILLIONS of customers who actually WANT this merger done already!

I want to talk with them about why Earl Douglas can't book Ron Wood on RFNoonTo3

Level playing field??? - Fine - Satellite Radio can also then include local programming and satellite coverage market by market geo-targeting... as long as they want a level playing field - lets make this fair - and then terrestial radio can freak out more.

MEL WILL WALK AWAY IF ALL THESE CLOWNS GET WHAT THEY ARE ASKING.

XM WILL SLOWLY DIE AND THEN THE FCC WILL HAVE TO FIND OUT WHAT TO DO WITH THE MILLIONS OF XM SUBSCRIBERS.

MR. KARMAZIN PLEASE PUT AN END TO THIS MADNESS.

WE ALL KNOW THAT SIRIUS DOES NOT NEED THIS. IT IS THE FCC THAT NEED A LA CARTE AND XM THAT NEEDS SIRIUS CONTENT.

LET THEM SEE THE FUTURE THEY ARE EXPLORING FROM A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW.

Good Point Ryan! Lets really level the playing field and put sat. radio in all AM/FM radios!

This has gone from ridiculous to the absurd.

Whats next? a meeting with the Pope.

Approve this merger without conditions immediately.

If this merger does not go through without conditions, Mel most likely should walk away. Satellite radio listeners would never go back to terrestrial radio. Xm would most likely go under, and their subs would migrate to Sirius over time. I am sure Mel has a solid backup plan in place for this scenerio.

The FCC should represent the consumer, not special interest! This is really getting to the point of being stupid!

Mel will not walk away. He'll sue. The court has already decided in his favor. That's why it's taking so long. The FCC has to approve something and they are all fighting over what.

*** If you want to know what a perfect monopoly looks like, check out the FCC. ***

They have no competitors
They can charge whatever they like for their product (spectrum).
They can cause other business to succeed or fail at their whim.
They get billions for a product they don’t own and cost them nothing.

The new FCC motto:
EITHER YOU PAY AND PLAY THE FCC WAY OR WE MAKE YOU GO AWAY.

I will laugh my ass off if this merger gets quashed now--a nice slap in the face to the FM hacks at XM.

F#$* Steve Kingston and Jon Zellner.

I love how people THINK that XM is the one that will go under. Why is that? They are BOTH bleeding cash, but XM has been SLIGHTLY more responsible with signing content deals. Howard didn't come cheap, and sure, it looks like he got Sirius to be the dominant Market share holder, but at what cost?

Then you add to that deals with Martha, NFL, NBA, Nascar, etc and it all starts to add up. If the merger falls through, how do you expect Sirius to keep those content deals alive? You think Howard is just going to take a pay cut voluntarily? OF COURSE NOT! And as we have clearly seen with data research the loss of Howard would likely mean the loss of at least 2 million subscribers. But keeping him at 100 million a year also doesn't make sense when they are losing money.

XM, on the other hand, has diversified programming, such that the loss of a big channel doesn't mean a mass exodus to that degree. WHY DO YOU THINK MEL WILL SUE??? Sirius is K-Mart, XM is Sears. Neither is doing great, but put this into perspective. Sirius needed this merger much more than XM.

With that said, XM really has let the ball drop since the merger was announced, so I could see them both failing, but if XM folds, Sirius would as well.

stop it nobody is going anywhere

well to make the playing field even better HD radios outghta contain a satellite radio chip then.

Great, the future of satellite radio is in the hands of a whore who thinks a sweater jacket looks good.

Mr Martin is the biggest jackass i have ever seen in my life he should be put in jail for life for what he has done to sirius and xm this is beyond stupidity!!! Time for a new chairman of the FCC. Coming up on 400 days and still resolution typicial of the FCC!!

I'd love to be a fly on the wall during cocktail hour at the FCC. Wait...then i couldn't have a cocktail...and would run the risk of being swatted... rephrase: I'd love to be an invited guest of someone during cocktail hour at the FCC. Wait until everyone has had a few, then start asking some questions.

Why do we even need the FCC to approve this merger ?? Has anyone challenged THAT legally ???

Aside from an interoperable receiver, which we have clearly stated is a stage 2 implementation, the interim plan was to crossover their individual channel inputs on the ground, feed the merged signals up to each other's own satellites, beam the signals down from their own satellites to their own receivers, so WHAT HAS CHANGED here from an FCC perspective ? When has the FCC been required to approve any input signals being sent up to the satellites ?? If SIRI adds channel xyz , does that require FCC approval ?

Eat it!! Eat it!!! EAT IT!!! You know you want to...

Where is The NAB Coward??? Hopefully banned?

Wow 25+ posts of nothing but upset fanboys posting complete BS showing their complete ignorance. So much so it's tough to chose which statement of ignorance to start with in the debunking process. Even without debunking any prior posted comment here you've all proven your ignorance.

Todd ignorantly thinks only terrestrial radio gets "kickbacks for promotion.".
Posted by: Todd

Tigerman ignorantly thinks "MEL WILL WALK AWAY IF ALL THESE CLOWNS GET WHAT THEY ARE ASKING." and add's that he feels it's somehow the FCC's task to bailout consumers since xm can't survive without a "merge" MONOPOLY. So now it's the FCC's job to pick up the pieces of a corporation with a POS business plan and management to match? "XM WILL SLOWLY DIE AND THEN THE FCC WILL HAVE TO FIND OUT WHAT TO DO WITH THE MILLIONS OF XM SUBSCRIBERS."
Posted by: Tigerman

Jon ignorantly thinks "Mel will not walk away. He'll sue." and he will LOSE for the first time ever.
Posted by: Jon

If you want to know what a perfect ignorant is, Dave is posting he thinks the FCC is a monopoly and that they control "their" network. Glad those with half a brain KNOW the FCC is responsible to congress and is responsible for all of the public's radio spectrum, that the FCC uses magic with "other business's" and the best is Dave thinks the FCC gets to keep the money they are paid by corporations wanting to use the public's radio spectrum as part of their business"*** If you want to know what a perfect monopoly looks like, check out the FCC. ***
They have no competitors, They can charge whatever they like for their product (spectrum), They can cause other business to succeed or fail at their whim. They get billions for a product they don’t own and cost them nothing.
The new FCC motto:
EITHER YOU PAY AND PLAY THE FCC WAY OR WE MAKE YOU GO AWAY.
Posted by: Dave
WOW that all brings a new meaning to the word ignorance, nothing like the child like temper of a not so bright satrad fanboy. Just for those comments alone the FCC should CRUSH this "merge" MONOPOLY.
MNXMFan is desperate to point out in his fantasy world xm is the market leader and is doing fine.
Fanboy davey1975 wants to name call and put Mr Martin (Head of the FCC) in jaill just because Mr Martin and his 6 other FCC leaders are doing their jobs and doing their best to protect consumers from corporations which feel they can ignore prior agreements they have made to use the public's radio spectrum, and now feel they can BS the ignorant, blind satrad fanboys into thinking a "merge" MONOPOLY is a positive for consumers.
Paul feeling left out and in a bid to beat out Dave for the crown of ignorance thinks corporations which use the public's radio spectrum don't have to follow the laws of the FCC claiming "Why do we even need the FCC to approve this merger ?? Has anyone challenged THAT legally ??? Paul also shows he's clueless thinking a "merged" MONOPOLY is going to keep all current programming and all current sat infrastructure. Also forgetting a interoperable receiver was requested years ago by the FCC yet never brought to market helping the "merge" MONOPOLY quest of BS. Last but not least sad Joe Workman who is more worried about what others post and exposing everyone who posts here at orbitcast.com so that he and his "friend" can steal IP address and "sign people up for stuff", than the topic at hand. Wanting to censor everyone who is smarter than him.

What a sad group.... Bet they make the FCC want to pull the licenses of both Sirius and xm because by this thread it's obvious only the ignorant are listening to satrad.

FCC, NO! to Sirius/xm "merge" MONOPOLY

I wonder what the FCC's version of "shortly" means? As in, "the FCC is expected to make a ruling shortly after DOJ". Monday will be the start of WEEK FIVE since DOJ approved the merger. Those 4 weeks went by fast, but damn, where's the FCC? What's it going to take?

Yada yada yada ... same song.. same station.. same b.s.... no end in sight... where's my knife?? where's my gun?? where's my peanut butter??

"Where is The NAB Coward??? Hopefully banned?"

Perhaps he read this section from an article by Peter Kaplan:

"Under U.S. law, the FCC is tasked with looking beyond competition issues and determining whether a communications deal is in the overall public interest."

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003534096

Message to Wall Street warriors excited about the prospects of a merger between Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio: Stuff a sock in it. It ain’t gonna happen.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin didn’t use those exact words Wednesday morning (Jan. 17) when he chatted with reporters after the commission’s monthly open meeting, but he made it clear that FCC regulations created when the satellite radio service was conceived more than a decade ago clearly state that “two satellite radio operators [must] remain in place,” Martin said.

Dreams of a Sirius-XM merger are currently fantasy, created by the vivid and overworked imaginations of a slew of Wall Street analysts, who have been bouncing merger theory after merger theory off each other, both firm-to-firm and in weekly, sometimes daily, notes to investors, for months, without much regard for regulatory Washington. The dreams became louder recently when both services cut subscriber forecasts as sales began to level off during the holidays.

Martin said the FCC would “look at anything that comes before us.” But he noted that there is “a prohibition on one entity owning both of those licenses” and he reminded reporters of how the commission rejected the proposal merger between the two satellite television companies to merge in the summer of 2004.

Sorry blind, fanboys, the truth and words have already been said by those in charge at the FCC. "he made it clear that FCC regulations created when the satellite radio service was conceived more than a decade ago clearly state that “two satellite radio operators [must] remain in place,”

In retort to the above:

Ah, I enjoy the ignorant answering the accused ignorant. As I spent the last moments reading your unfocused diatribe, I can only assume you read a book called "Rebuttals for Dummies".

Trying to investigate your post for a specific argument, I extract 2.

1. The FCC is the gate keeper of the public interest in areas of communication and its conglomeration or lack there of, in this case the specific language of the issued license stated they could not combine the 2 licenses to form one entity.

--Ok, fair enough. We all agree this is true and your pinpoint accuracy on this matter is like, DUH. That is the central argument here, whether to amend the license, DUH. Under your thesis, no law, license or entity could change beyond the day of discovery, invention, or approval, much less implementation (wishing those pesky minorities and ladies couldn't vote or own land?). Which is why the government has had so little to do with any technological advancement outside of a subsidy driven model acting as a catalyst to the private sector. So you are either very young and naive or old watching Wings reruns. Smut that the FCC blocks has done more to evolve the Web than any government action since DARPA.

2. "What a sad group.... Bet they make the FCC want to pull the licenses of both Sirius and xm because by this thread it's obvious only the ignorant are listening to satrad."

--Obviously you have an interest, stake, or opportunity involving this merger, otherwise you wouldn't be here anonymously posting 10 year old legalese. I do too, not a lot, not enough to really matter in the long run either way. But, I think the anger is well deserved here, obviously the business or equity side SHOULD be of interest and concern to the government, things are not done in a vacuum, and the government should be efficient and responsive. If they say "No", so be it. But dragging this through this long of a debate when the decision is neither life threatening or saving is poor government, will embolden special interests even further and does effect people. The government is not a backstop to gambling losses, but it should not represent the opposite. I am not calling this either way, but an answer either way is a fair request, don't you think?

Nicely put.

So, Anonymous, do you are to share your personal stake in the merger or blockage of the merger? You certainly follow this story very closely: "..FCC Chairman Kevin Martin didn’t use those exact words Wednesday morning (Jan. 17)..."

"but an answer either way is a fair request, don't you think?"
NO,
and
NO the anger is not deserved here or anywhere, Sirius/xm want the FCC to let them ignore a regulation which they Sirius and xm agreed to in order to get licensed to use the public spectrum for their own corporate use. Sirius and xm have littered the press with half baked BS hoping to land the ignorant satrad fanboys (clearly something easy to do) hook line and sinker into thinking a "merge" MONOPOLY is the only way forward and is in the consumers best interest. Yet no clear answers when it comes to anything else, but then again what else would you expect from xm's management team of hacks and Mel looking the best way for him to cashout on a industry which will never make money. Corporate economics 101 step one is to "merge" MONOPOLY, step two is to slash expenses leaving little to no talent on satrad, and step three is to raise the price while providing the consumer less. It's sad to see the ignorance above who claim to be fans of satrad, who claim to enjoy what we currently have in satrad yet be so naive when it comes to corporate games, which are desperate to take away the choice, content, direct competition, and halfway decent pricing we currently have when it comes to satrad.

OH JOY! ANOTHER ROUND OF ABSOLUTE IGNORANCE FROM THE KING OF ALL STUPIDITY "ANONYMOUS COWARD"

A FEW QUESTIONS FOR THE IGNORAMUS ONE

1.WHAT RECYCLED INFORMATION FROM NAB HEADQUARTERS WILL YOU USE THIS TIME?
2. YOU SEEM TO LOVE POSTING ON HERE!...I QUESTION IF YOU EVEN HAVE A JOB
3. DONALD FEUR IS YOUR LEADER RIGHT? CAN YOU SEND HIM A MESSAGE!
TELL HIM TO "SUCK BALLS"
4. WHEN THE MERGER HAPPENS! WILL YOU FINALLY GET LOST!

No ignorant Lou, will still be here to continue the quest to give you some education.

NO! to "merge" MONOPOLY
NO! to ignorant Lou's ignorant dreams of the NAB boogiemen.

These are the words that drive NAB coward and his good ole boys CRAZY after they pay millions to campaigns year after year. They then pay lobbyist's MILLIONS of dollars to do their DIRTY work. But the ONE and only thing you CAN count on the Bush administration for is NOT passing up a good merger.

Sorry NAB Coward, Hear the words:

"Antitrust authorities at the Justice Department approved the combination after concluding it would not harm consumers. The department said satellite radio companies face stiff competition from traditional AM/FM radio, high-definition radio, MP3 players and audio delivered by mobile phones."

Now that is truly music to my ears...........!

Sorry ignorant Joe Workman, Hear the words:

A senior Democratic senator urged U.S. communications regulators on Friday to block Sirius Satellite Radio's purchase of rival XM Satellite Radio saying the deal would lead to higher prices to customers.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, a high-ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, wrote to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission saying the agency should not follow the "illogical" decision of the Justice Department, which last month granted the deal antitrust approval.

"This merger is contrary to the public interest. I hope that the FCC will stand up for competition in the public interest and deny this merger," Dorgan, of North Dakota, said in the letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

It has been criticized as anti-competitive by the traditional radio industry, and by some U.S. lawmakers including Dorgan.

Under U.S. law, the FCC is tasked with looking beyond competition issues and determining whether a communications deal is in the overall public interest.

Yes, the ultimate "coup de gras" for the radio industry.

English - Coup de grace
1 : a deathblow or death shot administered to end the suffering of one mortally wounded
2 : a decisive finishing blow, act, or event

Now go flush your radio NAB boogieman.

Sorry ignorant Joe Workman, Hear the words:

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) has written to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin urging Martin to correct "the Justice Department's mistake of approving the merger of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio" by rejecting the proposed alliance.

"The FCC should be mindful that the Justice Department's conclusion lays a dangerous trap for the FCC," Brownback continues, saying that Justice ignored FCC rules blocking XM and Sirius from merging and requiring them to build interoperable receivers. Instead, he says, the department "rewarded XM and Sirius for their audacious refual to comply with an FCC requirement to manufacture consumer-friendly interoperable radios."

The FCC must reject the merger, Brownback writes, or "risk allowing the violation of one pro-competitive rule to form the basis for eliminating another pro-competitive rule."

Brownback concludes, "I challenge the FCC to stand up where the Justice Department has laid down, and demonstrate the backbone to enforce your rules where the Justice Department has shown none."

In other news, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has asked Martin in a letter to "take action to block the proposed license transfer of XM and and Sirius satellite radio companies, which would be bad for consumers and bad for competition."

The merger, Van Hollen writes, would eliminate competition in satellite radio and allow the combined company to raise prices and reduce program diversity. He continues, "Indeed, the proposed merger has already caused the parties to issue a post-merger subscription plan that will vary the price of subscription by type of service, and may result in consumers paying more for what they could purchase now as a package of services for less."

He continues, "Here, there is not an unregulated free market such that another firm could easily enter and compete against XM-Sirius." The "high barriers to entry," Van Hollen writes, include the need for FCC approval, large investments of capital, and technical needs including satellite launches.

Van Hollen contends that broadcast radio is not an effective substitute for national satellite service and points out, "About 1.2 million Wisconsinites live in areas that receive fewer than 15 broadcast radio channels. Rural areas in Wisconsin are the most severely affected, some receiving less than five radio stations. For people living in and driving through these areas, this license transfer would represent a significant reduction in the number of channels available to meet their needs and will adversely impact the public interest."

Sorry ignorant Joe Workman, Hear the words:

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin told reporters after an FCC meeting that the Commission would not approve a merger between satellite radio rivals Sirius and XM Radio. According to Bloomberg, Martin said that "there is a prohibition on one entity owning both of these business."

When the FCC initially licensed the two satellite radio companies in 1997, there was language in the licensing barring one from acquiring control of the other.

Martin compared the satellite radio market to the satellite TV market. He suggested that the same barriers that thwarted an attempted 2002 merger between DIRECTV and DISH Network would come into play with Sirius and XM Radio.When the FCC initially licensed the two satellite radio companies in 1997, there was language in the licensing barring one from acquiring control of the other.

LOL...Sam Brownback also wants to force schools to stop teaching evolution theory and instead teach "Intelligent Design". Great guy to have on the anti-merger side. I guess that means that Jesus doesn't want "merger" monopoly, lol.

"NAB's sole interest is in trying to hamper competing services that offer consumers compelling choices that terrestrial radio can't provide," according to a statement from XM!
So if the merger goes through...im sure the greedy bastards will shit their pants and try to
regulate programming for some of the explicit stuff and sue
sat-radio for owning the most "irresistable line up of content combined"
i have sirius and all i want is xm the rhyme and call it a day!
LET THE MERGER HAPPEN!!!!!!

"competing serviceS that offer consumers compelling choiceS"

We have that now a "merge" MONOPOLY only takes those ChoiceS away.

NO! "merge" MONOPOLY

anonymous coward= I guess that means that Jesus doesn't want "merger" monopoly, lol

please dont tell jokes! you should get thrown out on that principle!

Yes, jokes are bad.

anonymous coward:
-ya momma so fat she uses a kiddie pool for an ashtray
-ya momma is so fat she lost a game of hide and seek only because i spotted her behind mt. everest
-yo momma is so stupid she missed the 44 bus and caught the 22 twice
-Ya momma is so fat she sells shade in the summer
-Your momma so fat when she got out of the house in a green shirt, people in japan started screaming "GODZILLA!!!!!!!
-yo momma is so stupid i saw her yelling in an envelope i said what are you doing she said sending voice mail
-Your mom is so poor when i went in her house and stood on a burning cigarette she said who turned off the heating

Let's not mince words.

Fuck Tate, the impotent FCC, and the idiotic Anti-Christ of a Presient that installed them.
May these soon end up in the dust bin of incompetent history where they belong.

Love,

Plowboy

Ramoooooooooooooooooooone!!!!!! Get Anonymous Coward in touch with Dr. Kevorkian.

Sorry ignorant NAB boy, Hear the words:
must i expose the NAB squad of their comments and that they are of absolute ignorance!
its the blind NAB boys that know they truly have no lives as they oppose a subscription based product that competes with a FREE product like FM/AM/HD!
dont you ignorant NAB girls realize that payin artists for their song is a MUST since most the shit they play is mostly from established artists and newbies who are as pitiful as A.C. who spread NAB talk to a sat-rad community

Sorry ignorant NAB boy, Hear the words:
must i expose the NAB squad of their comments and that they are of absolute ignorance!
its the blind NAB boys that know they truly have no lives as they oppose a subscription based product that competes with a FREE product like FM/AM/HD!
and its sad that the NAB thinks they shouldnt pay for playin songs from artists!
they think they can have freebies and get away! their a bunch of babies like A.C.

"What a sad group.... Bet they make the FCC want to pull the licenses of both Sirius and xm because by this thread it's obvious only the ignorant are listening to satrad.

FCC, NO! to Sirius/xm "merge" MONOPOLY"

You know, my love for the medium of RADIO is what drove me to satradio in the first place.

This attitude from the NAB and the people who come on here to promote their agenda is sad to me and is exactly the reason why I gave up on FM/AM a long time BEFORE satrad came along.

Where was all this passion from the NAB before satrad?

I'm not here to promote an anti-NAB agenda or a pro-MERGER agenda, I'm just here because I love the medium of radio and for ME and about 15 million people, (quick number of subscribers, could be wrong) satradio delivers the type of radio I want to listen to.

Merger or no merger, I hope that after the dust has settled, some form of satrad will still be around for me to listen to because this attitude that the consumer is stupid and doesn't know anything, is exactly why I will probably never again be a fan of terrestrial radio.

"What a sad group.... Bet they make the FCC want to pull the licenses of both Sirius and xm because by this thread it's obvious only the ignorant are listening to satrad.

FCC, NO! to Sirius/xm "merge" MONOPOLY"

You know, my love for the medium of RADIO is what drove me to satradio in the first place.

This attitude from the NAB and the people who come on here to promote their agenda is sad to me and is exactly the reason why I gave up on FM/AM a long time BEFORE satrad came along.

Where was all this passion from the NAB before satrad?

I'm not here to promote an anti-NAB agenda or a pro-MERGER agenda, I'm just here because I love the medium of radio and for ME and about 15 million people, (quick number of subscribers, could be wrong) satradio delivers the type of radio I want to listen to.

Merger or no merger, I hope that after the dust has settled, some form of satrad will still be around for me to listen to because this attitude that the consumer is stupid and doesn't know anything, is exactly why I will probably never again be a fan of terrestrial radio.

"What a sad group.... Bet they make the FCC want to pull the licenses of both Sirius and xm because by this thread it's obvious only the ignorant are listening to satrad.

FCC, NO! to Sirius/xm "merge" MONOPOLY"

You know, my love for the medium of RADIO is what drove me to satradio in the first place.

This attitude from the NAB and the people who come on here to promote their agenda is sad to me and is exactly the reason why I gave up on FM/AM a long time BEFORE satrad came along.

Where was all this passion from the NAB before satrad?

I'm not here to promote an anti-NAB agenda or a pro-MERGER agenda, I'm just here because I love the medium of radio and for ME and about 15 million people, (quick number of subscribers, could be wrong) satradio delivers the type of radio I want to listen to.

Merger or no merger, I hope that after the dust has settled, some form of satrad will still be around for me to listen to because this attitude that the consumer is stupid and doesn't know anything, is exactly why I will probably never again be a fan of terrestrial radio.

"What a sad group.... Bet they make the FCC want to pull the licenses of both Sirius and xm because by this thread it's obvious only the ignorant are listening to satrad.

FCC, NO! to Sirius/xm "merge" MONOPOLY"

You know, my love for the medium of RADIO is what drove me to satradio in the first place.

This attitude from the NAB and the people who come on here to promote their agenda is sad to me and is exactly the reason why I gave up on FM/AM a long time BEFORE satrad came along.

Where was all this passion from the NAB before satrad?

I'm not here to promote an anti-NAB agenda or a pro-MERGER agenda, I'm just here because I love the medium of radio and for ME and about 15 million people, (quick number of subscribers, could be wrong) satradio delivers the type of radio I want to listen to.

Merger or no merger, I hope that after the dust has settled, some form of satrad will still be around for me to listen to because this attitude that the consumer is stupid and doesn't know anything, is exactly why I will probably never again be a fan of terrestrial radio.

Not sure what happened. Sorry for the "Anonymous" post and subsequent triple post.

TacoKid must = Anonymous Coward

As a dual sub, I'm ready to kick them both and move on. This stalled merger is directly cutting into my bottom line, and I'm tired of waiting. Neither company will survive anyway, without the merger, so why not go ahead and cut my losses and move on.

Terrestrial is dying a slow, very painful death. I WILL NOT be back. Every satellite subscriber will know who was behind killing this merger, and I hope terrestrial feels the heat for it.

iPod and internet radio is where it's at. Terrestrial is worthless shit.

here's the problem the fcc faces...they've got so many conflicts of interests and have so many "favors" owed to those that oppose the merger while at the same time having no grounds to disapprove the merger, they're trying to figure out how to satisfy everyone. because if the behind the scenes corruption with the fcc is exposed, they're heads will be on the chopping block.

approve the deal and give me my rightful content...i'm paying for the content...and if i don't want to pay for it, i can listen to the free crap on free radio...or perhaps i can just turn off the radio all together (besides, when i'm forced to listen to free radio, turning off the radio is the superior choice)---just think what would happen to free radio if everyone turned off the radio all together. how would these particular fcc folks justify having/keeping a job then?

maybe i can get 20 meetings with the FCC and just say the same thing over and over--I think they feel the last person to talk to the FCC will have the most sway--The person who posted above pretty much got it right

msucog,

your talking ignorant IF what your posting you think is true. The FCC is responsible to the US Congress. As for "having no grounds to disapprove the merger" again what about that FCC prohibition on one entity owning both of these business? I mean both Sirius and xm agreed to these regulations when the FCC initially licensed the two satellite radio companies in 1997, there was language in the licensing barring one from acquiring control of the other. Should those rules the FCC enacted to protect consumers just be ignored? What other rules and regulations do the ignorant satrad fanboys think should be just ignored?

"approve the deal and give me my rightful content...i'm paying for the content" Just how ignorant are you? Your paying for Sirius or xm? Do you not the channels Sirius or xm promises you? Thats what you get for your dollar if you want "content" from both PAY for BOTH. Has every ignorant fanboy forgot Sirius and xm are corporations? Sirius and xm are not charities, and they DO directly compete with each other, it's that direct competition which has made Sirius and xm what they are today, and what drives the content that each have to provide.

If you were paying attention to orbitcast you would have learned satrad customers are a VERY small minority. Terrestrial, "free" radio as you call it has nothing to worry about.

If you were paying attention to orbitcast or had a brain in your head used for thinking and learning you would know the FCC's job is not just regulation of terrestrial and satrad, like terrestrial radio the FCC has nothing to worry about. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is a United States government agency, created, directed, and empowered by Congressional statute and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current president. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating all non-Federal Government use of the radio spectrum (including radio and television broadcasting), and all interstate telecommunications (wire, satellite and cable) as well as all international communications that originate or terminate in the United States. The FCC's jurisdiction covers the 50 states of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions.

Ryan what has www.orbitcast.com turned into a contest to see which poster can be more ignorant than the prior one?

AC

your absolute ignorance has once again made its return! how is it that your total ignorance
overshadows your absolute incompetence. maybe its because your friends at the NAB brainwashed that stupid little brain of yours! i continuously laugh at your blind & ignorant ways of lying to sat radio listeners and u continue to do so...How awful is it that you must fall down the path of desperation! why is it that you continue to display non sense to the people?

sorry incompetent NAB consultant, your days of terrestrial dominance are numbered!

Guy Smiley, your desperate, blind fanboy, ignorance is causing you and others to ignore reality and truth which others who THINK post. Nothing posted about the FCC is lies, nothing is posted by the NAB.

Keep on dreaming ignorant Guy, in the real world the satrad industry is a complete mess and hasn't earned a dime. Not even a "merge" MONOPOLY is going to save it. More and more posts here at orbitcast.com prove what we can all see, satradio customers have become a small group of sad, desperate, ignorant blind satrad fanboys.

Ryan why has www.orbitcast.com turned into a contest to see which poster can be more ignorant than the prior one?

The FCC doesn't have the power to override the original agreement that the two satrad companies made to not try to buy each other out. The FCC doesn't have the power to change or revise or amend that original agreement, even if the technological landscape we're in 10 years later has changed, offering more competition through innovation. The FCC must adhere, by law, to that agreement no matter what and DOES NOT have the power to make changes with regard to any changes that may have come about in technology. AM I RIGHT? WHO DISAGREES?

I don't know Anonymous Coward, why don't you tell me? You're certainly contributing to the cause with your ignorance.

Lets Get This Straight,

NO yet again your desperate, blind fanboy, ignorance is WRONG. This fanboy cheerleading is LAME. The FCC could make changes but only if it's deemed pro-consumer and pro-industry. HOWEVER the Sirius/xm "merge" MONOPOLY is neither pro-consumer nor pro-industry. The Sirius/xm "merge" MONOPOLY is for a quick cashout leading to a complete demise of the satrad industry.

Sirius/xm "merge" MONOPOLY = Takes away choice, Takes away direct competition, Raises the prices.

The FCC has all the power it needs to vote NO! to Sirius/xm "merge" MONOPOLY.
The FCC has all the power it needs to turn over any frivolous lawsuit that Mel thinks he can use to get what he wants.

NO! to cheerleading, desperate, blind fanboy, ignorance.
NO! to Sirius/xm "merge" MONOPOLY.

BLAH,,
BlahBlahBlahBlah,ignorant,BlahBlahBlahBlah,Dorgan,BlahBlahBlahBlahNAB,BlahBlahBlahBlah, Fanboy,BlahBlahBlahBlah,mergemonopoly,BlahBlahBlahBlah,terrestrial,
BlahBlahBlahBlah,FCCrules,BlahBlahBlahBlahradio,BlahBlahBlahBlah,mergemonopoly,
BlahBlahBlahBlah!!!

BLAH,
NAB COWARD

Anyone see a pattern with NAB Coward??

I DO

Sirius/xm "merge" MONOPOLY = Takes away choice, Takes away direct competition, Raises the prices.

Hey, dipshit! There is no possible way I will be paying more under a merged company than I am now. I will save about $7-10 per month while still getting everything by both companies.

I'm just tired of waiting, since it looks like it's not gonna happen anytime soon.

If you were paying attention to orbitcast you would have learned satrad customers are a VERY small minority. Terrestrial, "free" radio as you call it has nothing to worry about.

O rly??? Then why are NAB hacks like you making so much noise on these forums now? Just go away and ignore us and satellite radio, if we "are a very small minority". Why do you care?

Free radio is dead. Esp music radio. And you know it. The NAB's idea of "competition" is putting potential competitors in a regulatory strangleholds through their political buddies, and they have quite a track record of doing so. They tried to strangle the development of cable, TV itself, and even FM radio way back when. How is this any different?

Terrestrial would like nothing more than for all of this technology to just disappear and go back to the days of having audience by default. Those days are over. We ain't coming back.

This is all so fin stupid. The AG's claim they care about sat rad subs but must realize that the NAB et al for whom they are fronting wants less sat rad competition not more (as the merger will bring). Clearly what the market has shown is that two satrad competitors will create a situation where neither is profitable. Thus neither can provide listeners what they want in the long run--which is precisely why they want two competitors so that ultimately their are none.

FYI - Anonymous Coward

Anyone who posts and does not use a name. So Anonymous Coward could be multiple people.

listen i know this is a sat rad site but i just wanna go outside the box for a purpose!

im done with this merger discussion and the battles with A.C!...in life we as people go through bullshit!

a friend of my family was murdered by a bunch of piece of shit FAKE THUGS!
nothing is worse then these bitch made street clowns walkin around acting all tough with a gun in their hand thinkin they have power!
how does a group of cocksuckers kill a person with little money, then after the murder, tag up their BITCH MADE gang name on a tree next to my friend lying there in a pool of blood and the cops have no leads???, with all the technology they have, cops cant catch these stupid uneducated high school dropouts???? i live in philly and all we have is 9 homicide detectives????? 350 murders last year and 9 detectives were on all these cases????
NO ONE CARES ABOUT THE PUBLIC, NO FCC, NO COPS, NO POLITICIANS!!!!!!!!!
if this merger doesnt go through? honestly i wouldnt be surprised!!!!!!

R.I.P. BOB STONE!

peeoed,
"Hey, dipshit!" KEEP ON DREAMING. Your not going to get more for less, its the other way around your going to get less for more $$. Remember Sirius and xm are a business.

NO! to cheerleading, desperate, blind fanboy, ignorance.
NO! to Sirius/xm "merge" MONOPOLY.

If the Sirius/xm "merge" is APPROVED by the FCC, then combination will benefit consumers and shareholders:

Provides consumer with best-of-breed programming and innovative
products and services
􀂄 Company better positioned to compete in rapidly evolving audio
entertainment marketplace
􀂄 Best-in-class combined management team with proven leadership
􀂄 Potential for meaningful value creation through cost savings
􀂄 Merger accelerates and enhances cash flows

Lou-
man, if you are for real, i feel for you man. so sorry to hear about your bro.
i don't know what to say except keep your voice high and keep it going for what you believe- and for your bro who has fallen. such bullshit. violence doesn't solve anything. even our Anonymous Coward would agree with that i'm sure. We're all Americans. God Bless, man.

Maybe if Tate was getting the bone, and Martin had a bone, the merger would be done.

14 months...... say it again 14 months..... and your government is still jacking off!

Washington makes Poland and Russia look efficient.

To the "Anonymous Coward" that continues to post....

Please step in to the 21st century. I'm sure there were all kinds of horse drawn carriage manufacturers who opposed Henry Ford's business, but progress cannot be denied. This format that is broadcast through my CAR RADIO competes with Terestrial Radio. Period over and out. Anyone who discusses "merge" monopoly is either short sighted, near death (read - old enough to have listened to War of the Worlds broadcast live) or flat out stupid. This format, satellite radio, delivers huge benefits....some beyond the content. Think about a National Early Warning System, or National Amber Alert. The monied interest (NAB) doth protest too much. FCC, stop wasting time and my tax dollars and move on to your next a la carte target. Cable. If you thought the NAB Radio Mafia was bad...just wait until the FCC brings their precedent to the Television industry.

To the "Anonymous Coward" that continues to post....

Please step in to the 21st century. I'm sure there were all kinds of horse drawn carriage manufacturers who opposed Henry Ford's business, but progress cannot be denied. This format that is broadcast through my CAR RADIO competes with Terestrial Radio. Period over and out. Anyone who discusses "merge" monopoly is either short sighted, near death (read - old enough to have listened to War of the Worlds broadcast live) or flat out stupid. This format, satellite radio, delivers huge benefits....some beyond the content. Think about a National Early Warning System, or National Amber Alert. The monied interest (NAB) doth protest too much. FCC, stop wasting time and my tax dollars and move on to your next a la carte target. Cable. If you thought the NAB Radio Mafia was bad...just wait until the FCC brings their precedent to the Television industry.

WASHINGTON, DC and NEW YORK, NY – March 24, 2008 – Following the
approval of their merger by the Department of Justice (DOJ), satellite radio companies
XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) and SIRIUS Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI),
today highlighted the many organizations and individuals who have publicly endorsed
their merger. They have all championed the lower prices and increased programming
choices that the merger will afford consumers and have urged the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to approve the merger without delay.

The leading indicator on when the merger will be approved will be when the stupid meetings stop with all of the outside self serving special interest groups. I don't see any way anything can happen while you have people getting their foot in the door.

Kevin, SHUT THE DOOR AND LOCK IT.

I have two XM radios (which I prefer) in my home and one factory installed Sirius radio in my new Ford. I prefer XM over the factory installed Sirius that is in my new Ford, and I really don't want to install one of my home radios in my car when it already have a satellite radio integrated into my dash. By the way, Ford ONLY offers Sirius radio in their cars, even though I would have preferred to have an XM radio. Okay... so... I would just like the FCC to allow them to merge already, so those of us who have factory installed satellite radios can get ALL the channels that they enjoy on their radios.

I have two XM radios (which I prefer) in my home and one factory installed Sirius radio in my new Ford. I prefer XM over the factory installed Sirius that is in my new Ford, and I really don't want to install one of my home radios in my car when it already have a satellite radio integrated into my dash. By the way, Ford ONLY offers Sirius radio in their cars, even though I would have preferred to have an XM radio. Okay... so... I would just like the FCC to allow them to merge already, so those of us who have factory installed satellite radios can get ALL the channels that they enjoy on their radios.

Why don't we hear publicized all the PRO-MERGER groups and individuals that have weighed in for quick APPROVAL of this merger? It is always some sleazy politico on the take, wanting his name mentioned, most likely for a future payout. The public is getting pretty sick of it.

Why don't we hear publicized all the PRO-MERGER groups and individuals that must also be meeting with the FCC. There are WAY MORE of them. It always seems to be some group or politico with their hand out that wants their named mentioned, for some future payout, trying to through a monkeywrech into the mix to delay the final approval.

Great. If HD Radio gets added into future units we'll pay more to get better sounding crappy programming that we escaped by getting Satellite.I'm sure those commercials sound great on HD.

So, Anymore news on Flytunes?

Worried about the price going up!? WTF? Hey folks (Senators), leave that up to the customers! I mean really?? You're looking out for us on the future price of this merger!? Really??

Could you please tell me why I am paying $80.00/per week in gas.

$12,000/per year in prop. taxes., $200.00/month in Cable., and $6.00/day for coffee.??

Really?? 19.95 per MONTH, 20, 40... whatever? Do you know how much I pay for a bottle wine? Do you know how much it cost to take my family out to dinner??

Damn! I sure wish I could be with my family more, but I can't.... I have to pay 19.95/month

for.... Sat. Rad. Something I have to have, or I will die....

Come on... Really? This is FCC Sabotage, it should be illegal and what has happened to these companies should awake our leaders to what NEEDS to be done... is change the FCC/DOJ merger process. This has been unjust and it should be on EVERY Senators' to-do list! Because - THAT is what is wrong!

PASS THE MERGER and GET TO WORK ON CHANGING THE PROCESS FOR THE FUTURE:

...Which is going to be aweful when Google buys Apple.