I still like Xirium as a name. No one else does. They're all wrong. Dead wrong.

I like xirium also. However, just like the name sirius people will still mispronounce it no matter how easy it is to sound out and remember. I am still amazed that there are people in the world that do not know that the letter "X" can make a ZZZZ sound.

With that being said, if you did not intended to make the company name sound like, "Zirium" than you are wrong, dead wrong. :) :) :)

I can't even begin to say how many people have spelled SIRIUS like "Serious" or "Serius" or some other stupid mixup. Its just not a familiar word. As much as I love the service, I think SIRIUS is a stupid name. Ya great, its the "dogstar" but who the hell ever gets that?

if they are trying to say they're part of a greater "audio entertainment" market, then highlighting the SATELLITE/SPACE thing doesn't work either. AM/FM/XM makes sense. Its just radio.

mind you, I'm a SIRIUS subscriber. but I'm also open minded.

So, the merger is approved? Why would the Washington Times make a statement like that?

More importantly, how hysterical is it that Mel keeps talking like the merger wil actually go through.

I still think "FUBAR" would be an appropriate name for the merged company.

I think they should keep XM radio as the name. Sirius doesn't sound right. XM sounds parallel to AM and FM so it's the best name.

Could someone from XM please start talking too ?
With Mel making all these statements it gives credibility to the perception that Sirius is taking over XM. I thought this was supposed to be a merger of equals.

Exactly...Mel's doing all the talking here, it'd be nice to hear from Gary Parsons or someone from XM on some of these issues. In the beginning, I was for the merger...At that time, it sounded like both services would remain mostly intact, and the channel line-up would be some sort of hybrid of both services. But the more Mel talks, the more opposed I become.

There was an article I read here on Orbitcast (sorry, can't remember the date/title) in which I recall Mel saying one of the packages would be all of Sirus's programming plus XM's sports content, and Oprah, and some other stuff. To me, that implies the XM music channels, and possibly other XM channels, will go away, thus making it sound more like Sirius is taking over as opposed to this "merger of equals" Mel and Gary were touting in the beginning.

If I knew for certain that certain XM programming, such as The Boneyard, America, X-Country, Willie's Place, O&A, Deep Tracks, and a few other things weren't going to be eliminated, I could more easily stand behind this merger and maybe see some benefit from it. In truth, I wouldn't mind having the NFL and the Blue Collar Comedy channel (I could live without XM's National Lampoon channel...Who wants edited comedy anyway?)

>>>"Could someone from XM please start talking too ?
With Mel making all these statements it gives credibility to the perception that Sirius is taking over XM. I thought this was supposed to be a merger of equals."

Technically, Sirius IS buying XM. And Mel will be running the combined company. He's the only player in this merger (and to a lesser extent, Stern) that Wall St. gives a shit about so he's the only one you're gonna hear.

"To me, that implies the XM music channels, and possibly other XM channels, will go away, "

That was never said. You're reading into his statements what you want to hear. Wait until there's any official word before deciding.

Technically, from a stock valuation and share for share consolidation it is the Sirius stock that will be used to complete the transactions, BUT if you look @ the composition of the the Senior Management group (btw... who will be the Chairman of the newly formed/proposed merged company?? no need to answer, its a rhetorical question people) and the composition of Board of Directors you will soon realize who is more equal than who..

Wes Derby wrote:

There was an article I read here on Orbitcast (sorry, can't remember the date/title) in which I recall Mel saying one of the packages would be all of Sirus's programming plus XM's sports content, and Oprah, and some other stuff. To me, that implies the XM music channels, and possibly other XM channels, will go away, thus making it sound more like Sirius is taking over as opposed to this "merger of equals" Mel and Gary were touting in the beginning.

Mel was speaking in regards to what Sirius' service would look like after the merger.

A couple of days later, Parsons said that XM would offer a package featuring the XM programming plus Stern, NFL, etc.

I'm hunting for the link on Orbitcast, but Parsons did say that.

If I'm reading this right, they're only keeping one of the headquarters (XM's), so I wonder what will become of Sirius's other than what the article states.

Hmm, at least there is one positive in this development. XM does have a very nice facility. I hope they keep XM as the name.

"Hmm, at least there is one positive in this development. XM does have a very nice facility. I hope they keep XM as the name."

The same nice facility that has a rat infestation and is located in a relatively ghetto area of Washington DC? The building is nice but it's not a great facility.

Thanks, leviramsey. I don't recall seeing Gary's comments, honestly...I may have missed them while I was out of town with no access to the internet. If that's the case, then I might be able to stand behind the merger and see it as an almost-good thing.

Regardless of how I feel about the merger though, I'll still remain a satrad subscriber if it goes through...Whatever may happen, it's still going to be better than terrestrial radio. I was reminded last weekend of how unlistenable THAT is...We bought a new Chevy HHR, which, sadly, didn't have XM installed. So, the first couple days, we had AM and FM (thank god for the CD player and my iPod). My brother-in-law helped me install my XM unit on Sunday though, so the trip home from Yakima to Seattle was much more pleasant.

i feel the same way wes. no matter what happends , its still better than testical radio. i have a plug-n-play for over two years now it's great. then i bought my mother a radio for her car for mothers day and she loves it. my sisters b-day is comming up i plan on getting her one and for christmas i plan on getting friends a radio. just to get people to listen word of mouth doesn't seem to be doing it.

Not a bad idea...My mom's birthday is coming up, as is dad's...Wal-Mart has both Sirius and XM PNP models on clearance; might be time for an XM for each of their cars. I can't get THEM to buy their own unit; they don't see the point or what makes it better than regular radio.

How quaint. The Sirius people are already ready to roll over for anything that the white-haired shyster gives them.

And you call the O & A listeners mindless lemmings.

Wake up people. Sirius and Hoo Hoo aren't won't just go away if the merger fails. The company may fail, but it wil be bought out by another company that will be forced to maintain the same high level of programming to compete with XM.

Netflix just notified me that the cost of my subscripton went down. Why? - because Netflix is now in competion with Blockbuster.

Competition is the key. It's the great American way. It's dirty, sometimes slimey, but it's absolutely necessary.

Down with the merger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, yes, all of my Stern bashing on behalf of O & A aside, Howard was, and sometimes still is, the greatest talk radio personality who ever lived.

Satellite radio needs both of them.

Stop Mel, and stop the merger.

for a "shyster" he paid greg and tony to do nothing.
there is competition from am/fm internet ipods. ican see where greg and tony would hate the merger.mel is known for not hiring people who have crossed him and with stern being on sirius who needs opie and anthony. but like what sludge said competition is a good thing.

>>"The restored printing factory is also cheap compared to Sirius' rent at Rockefeller Center in NYC."

Well duh! One's a rat-infested, refurbed factory located in a shitty Washington DC neighborhood. The other, beyond being located in NYC (way more desirable than DC even on a bad day), also happens to be located at one of the most famous addresses in the world.

It's truly amazing that Mel is concerned about which offices and studios will be used post-merger when there has been no merger yet and certainly, from the looks of it isn't going to happen - not now, not in 2008 or beyond.

Between FCC and DOJ approval which won't be forthcoming and the freebased lawsuits to tie everything up, worrying about being in NYC or DC is like worrying about whether or not the chairs are correctly lined up on the poop deck of the Titanic...

Dain Schult, CEO, American Radio Empire, Inc.

Dain, look up the terms "sentience" and "hubris" and get back to us. If nothing else, it should give you a good break from Googling yourself and/or admiring yourself in the mirror. But most of all, keep entertaining us with your semi-intelligent posts.

JB - you can look up apperception as your homework assignment (LOL) or as they would say in Latin, "Nescio quid dicas," eh wot? If I was looking in the mirror, was that you I saw?

This is a country built on competition so therefore XM and Sirius need to fight to the finish and if one goes Chapter 11 or 7, then whoever is left standing can get the whole franchise to themselves - but only then.

So far the only consistent thread running through this whole satellite franchise debacle in the first place is broken promises on the part of both Sirius and XM. The FCC has allowed this to happen and they are at fault too. Sirius and XM both have made a mockery of the deal struck from the Telcom Act of 1996. A pox upon both of their houses....

Dain Schult, CEO, American Radio Empire, Inc.

Might as well use the name HD Radio, because after we merge we'll see churn away from us to HD Radio, just like the ch ch ch CHURN we saw from xm to SIRIUS.

Using sat's to broadcast music is very costly way to try to beat terrestrial radio, it's upgrade to HD Radio is gonna run us into the ground.

Mel wants to keep the XM head quarters, so he can go there and take a dump and wipe his ass, and laugh at those who bet him he could never pull a merger of this kind off...

"Well duh! One's a rat-infested, refurbed factory located in a shitty Washington DC neighborhood. The other, beyond being located in NYC (way more desirable than DC even on a bad day), also happens to be located at one of the most famous addresses in the world."

IIRC, NYC is pretty well rat infested as well. As for that famous address, it gets pretty expensive having a fancy address. Those dollars could be better spent on upgrading programming and technology.