Sirius wooing XM into merging?

XM and Sirius, Sirus and XM -- fanboys, start your engines. Not that there's really much to go by here, but a very fluffy bit from the NY Times suggests that the company with the larger market cap (Sirius, at $5.26B) is increasingly saccharine about the idea of forming with its market-leading counterpart (XM, at $4.08B). Sure, judging by a number of statements and quotes from senior Sirius execs who seem anxious at the idea of cutting their losses, pooling their subscribers, and letting America live in one content-bountiful satellite radio utopia, one might think this is a real possibility. Unfortunately we don't yet have any real reason to believe there have been talks going on behind the scenes, nor has XM said much of anything of the idea -- and don't even get us started on what the SEC and FCC would think about the only two players in the market merging to become a sat-rad monopoly. We're not saying it's not gonna happen, but the NY Times is singing the same tune about an XM and Sirius merger that many have sung since day one. Still, Howard and Oprah peacefully coexisting on the same network? Bring it on.

[Asaf @ Jan 3rd 2007 9:53PM]

Howard and Opera?

or...

Howard and Oprah?

i'm no howard expert but i don't think he has anything against pavarotti?

by the way, this would rock if they merged. i just hope my xm radios would be compatible. i'd hate to buy new radios.

[JRA219psu @ Jan 3rd 2007 9:57PM]

If this merge thing is true then i may finally get satellite radio. crossing my fingers

[Ryan Block @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:05PM]

Heh, too many years of writing about Opera, my favorite browser!

[hatchetman751 @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:10PM]

DO NOT WANT. Competition creates better products and lowers cost.

[Kido1986 @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:19PM]

I hope they merge. I have XM now and much much rather have Sirius but don't want to buy new equipment. I have Sirius on my DISH Network and they provide MUCH better rock and Alt Rock music stations than XM.

[Dan @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:24PM]

What will happen to the stock prices?

[marty @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:25PM]

hatchetman751 is right. if they merge, we're screwed because the cost will go up. They also wont try to improve too much wither, cause it's not like they'll be competing with anyone. Let's all hope this doesnt happen!!!

[SuperChuck @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:26PM]

Wow, I really hope this doesn't happen.

I love Sirius and really dislike XM.

I can only imagine that Sirius would start to suck.

Nothing against XM. They're very different services. XM has very deep playlists while Sirius has rotations more like terrestrial radio. They play to very different tastes. Personally, I like stuff I know and can sing along with.

[IWantTouchScreen @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:36PM]

About a year ago, I tested XM & Sirius for their online services (I can stream both with my Treo, I'm not married to either service due to hardware investment unlike the fanboys above ^^)

The quality of the XM feeds were better than Sirius and XM had more, higher quality stations to choose from.

...I too would prefer they remain competitors, but if they must do this to survive financially, then so be it. I don't want to lose my commercial free radio.

[Keaton @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:37PM]

I dunno... This could be good for satellite radio... Its taking way too long for US satellite radio companies to roll out any kind of Internet functionality... WorldSpace (Satellite radio company for Asia and Europe) has offered data services for quite a while... I have owned Sirius stock for 3+ years hoping they would roll out this service but they haven't! Argh! I'm so mad! What is taking them so long? Maybe a merger will kick Sirius and XM's butt into gear so they can finally provide truly "anywhere" Internet connections. Think of having an Internet connection whenever you can see the sky... That would ROCK! Bring it on!

[Matt @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:39PM]

Yeah, if this happens I would be sad. I don't want to loss my good jazz channels on XM for the crap jazz Sirius plays. :(

[Philip @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:51PM]

As an XM subscriber, I don't like this merger talk. I like competition, and I don't want to pay Howard Stern's salary. That was one reason I went with XM in the first place.

[JBDragon @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:52PM]

This will NEVER happen. I don't know where people get these Idea's. It won't/Can't were for Several Reasons.
Which User's are going to have to replace their Hardware? That's 6 million + on either side. Your going to loose a lot of people in a switch. What are they going to do with the not worthless Satellites?
They can't just combine them, the way they each work is totally different.

You also can
t have to 2 join up because then you have a Monopoly, and this is the whole point of having 2 services. What do we want $20+ XM/Sirius bills? It seems like a good Idea at first, but it's NOT. Personally I think XM is in a much better Position then Sirius and their fuzzy math and almost worthless Stock. Of course they keep talking about this being a possibility, it keeps the stock prices from dropping really low. Every time they get really low, this Rumor comes right back out once again.

[bsgk @ Jan 3rd 2007 11:15PM]

Monopoly? Come on.

The price will still be set to what the market will bear. Monopolies are more commonly related to products you must buy, like oil, energy, operating systems. You are not forced to buy sat radio.

If you aren't willing to pay $20/month, and say most people are like you, they won't be able to charge that because people can do without their service. There are alternatives like CDs, DAPs, or regular radio. Those are the competition to their service.

[Dustin Leiblein @ Jan 3rd 2007 11:10PM]

Howard and Oprah?!

More like, Howard and Opie & Anthony. They CAN NOT coexist on the same network! They hate each other to DEATH!!! And I will not pay Howard's salary either!!

Opie and Anthony are my boys and I'll be damned if they have to put up with Howard's sh**!!!

[Tekiek @ Jan 3rd 2007 11:15PM]

Hey Dustin you tard, O&A and Howard were both on K-Rock for 5+ years. It's sad that disc jockeys still have to go after Howard to try to be considered "number one". That’s the point of satellite radio, there is no #1, its all about content.

[Earl @ Jan 3rd 2007 11:28PM]

I hope this doesn't happen, competition is good. On the other hand XM may be scared of Sirius putting them out of business.
Sirius had a monster year last year with Howard Stern joining their company. They went from 600,000 subscribers to 6 mil in a year. That is insanity!
Don't flame me, I own neither radios. Got hundreds of CDs to listen to, no need for a radio.

[flamer\\\'s grill @ Jan 3rd 2007 11:54PM]

I dunno if XM is scared of Sirius. Why would Sirius be pursuing a merger, then? If anything, Sirius is afraid of XM, or at least afraid of their own uncertain future.

I currently have XM and love it for many many reasons. I'm a huge baseball fan, love O&A, and I have really come to LOVE XM 163 - Sonic Theater.

On the other hand, I listen to Sirius at work and really really love Channel 14 - Classic Vinyl. XM has three classic rock stations (40 - Deep Tracks, 46 - Top Tracks, and 49 - Big Tracks) and none of them come CLOSE to Sirius' Classic Vinyl. It's just an awesome awesome station.

Still, if I had to choose, it'd be XM every day of the week. Better hardware and more of the stuff I like personally. I dunno how I feel about a merger, though - competition is the impetus behind better hardware and more exclusive signings. Without competition, why would XM or Sirius race to add exclusives? Keep em apart.

[jay @ Jan 4th 2007 12:12AM]

I think that the merger would be good for both companies; like that they can spend more time concentrating on brining quality programs and not over paying for people like Howard Stern. Obviously Sirus would have to figure out a way to get XM users like myself to upgrade to a Sirus receiver by giving them for free or with heavy rebates. For those that think that both companies merging would create a monopoly, you would be wrong because satellite radio isn’t a necessity, and still indirectly competes with am/fm/cd/internet radio and mp3 players. Also it would benefit them because it would allow them to consolidate some resources while increasing the new company’s user base. Maybe 2007 will bring us SM satellite radio?

[Dan @ Jan 4th 2007 12:23AM]

And now, XM is playing commercials on some of their music stations - they really blow!

HOWARD RULES!!!

(Love my lifetime subscription!!!)

[Sam @ Jan 4th 2007 12:47AM]

As long as the NFL is still available, I don't care.

[greg @ Jan 4th 2007 2:08AM]

merging the two companies would be a bad thing. competition is always good. not to mention the vast amount of technical issues in the equipment.

what i'd much rather see is for them to be forced to live up to the spirit of the agreement they both made with the FCC that they would come up with equipment that will work with both services. i want a radio that will receive both sirius and xm. that way it's reasonable to either switch w/o having to buy new equipment or to have both services on one unit so you don't need two separate receivers to get xm and sirius.

[greg Sciulli @ Jan 4th 2007 2:30AM]

"Monopoly? Come on.

The price will still be set to what the market will bear. Monopolies are more commonly related to products you must buy, like oil, energy, operating systems. You are not forced to buy sat radio.

If you aren't willing to pay $20/month, and say most people are like you, they won't be able to charge that because people can do without their service. There are alternatives like CDs, DAPs, or regular radio. Those are the competition to their service."

This is exactly right. End of discussion.

[funkymunky @ Jan 4th 2007 2:58AM]

Who would want only one company....? No competition and quality decreases.....

[Andy Anonymous @ Jan 4th 2007 3:10AM]

Both services have something to offer. Sirius has superior playlists and sports offerings. XM has superior sound quality, channel selection, and talk (Opie & Anthony are a lot funnier than Stern these days). Sirius has superior celebrity support (not including Stern), while XM has superior hardware.

I agree with those who say it's better to have competition...the problem is that both companies are struggling right now, and it's possible they may NEED to merge in order to stay afloat.

[Aaron @ Jan 4th 2007 3:11AM]

The only reason XM is playing commercials on some of their music channels is because they lost a lawsuit to Clear Channel Communications requiring them to. As soon as that happend they added new commercial free channels to make up for the difference.

I got all pissed at them when it happend and sent off some nasty e-mails. They forwarded them to Clear Channel to no avail. So don't blame XM for the commercials. It's Clear Channels fault.

[GoonieGooGoo @ Jan 4th 2007 3:54AM]

This is fluff......because if DishTV and DirecTV were not allowed to merge....no way are XM and Sirius.

SIRIUS is definitely not in a rush to merge as they can just wait and watch XMs stock devalue.

One Service is headed up and one is down.....guess which one?? Its the One that has STERN and is now getting in with the automakers, gets NASCAR in 07, and has grown its userbase by almost 10x in little over a year.

Having had both systems all of last year....giving each a fair comparison.....Sirius won hands down. Sold all my XM stuff (to purchase a stiletto) or gave it to my sister to be her in office music system instead of MUZAK.

[GoonieGooGoo @ Jan 4th 2007 4:23AM]

Also...for the commenter that said O&A were funnier than STERN....get real...

There's a reason O & A had to go back to free normal radio....absolutely NO ONE was willing to pay for their extra fee program on XM.....

While Stern......well throw in the Sirius Tuners, Sirius Internet Listeners (my friends abroad are soo happy since this debuted), Howard TV subscribers....etc.....its not even fair to compare.

[sbrannan @ Jan 4th 2007 10:10AM]

"There's a reason O & A had to go back to free normal radio....absolutely NO ONE was willing to pay for their extra fee program on XM....."

Get your facts straight - there is not a premium fee for O&A on XM. Howard only wishes that he could do both satellite and terrestial - because O&A reach many times more listeners than Stern.

[ManekiNeko @ Jan 4th 2007 4:49AM]

Ha ha, you actually think the freakin' FCC would oppose a Sirius/XM merger? Judging from their eagerness to sell out net neutrality for millions of dollars in AT+T cash, they'd be all too willing to rubberstamp this deal as long as they get a cut of the money.

JR

[GhostDoggy @ Jan 4th 2007 5:47AM]

Considing the FCC denied the merger between the two largest satellite television providers (on reason it would eliminate competition within the satellite industry) this merger notion should never happen.

[Ramone @ Jan 4th 2007 8:46AM]

RAMOOOOONNNEEE!!!! Get Howard Stern a shovel because his material was dead in 1994!
Hoo-Hoo I invented Satellite Radio.
Did ya?
O&A PARTY ROCK! I hope Sirius falls in a puddle of AIDS

[Rusty @ Jan 4th 2007 8:54AM]

I just like the fact that both services music selections are free of STUPID commercials, although I wish XM (don't know about Sirus) would quit the self promoting of other shows on the channels I listen to. If I wanted to see what was on the other channels, I'd look it up!

[Eric @ Jan 4th 2007 9:15AM]

Having had both services; XM is in a downward spiral - wasting money on Operah (whose friends populate the channel) and O&A who now is taking their show to regular radio (so much for unique content). O&A is a bad immitation of Howard Stern. Sirius us outselling XM 2 to 1 for new receivers.

[Mrmean @ Jan 4th 2007 9:26AM]

I cancelled my XM due to those crappy ass commercials

[GeneMack @ Jan 4th 2007 10:15AM]

For those throwing around numbers quoted by Stern, you better watch out who you listen to. I am sure you heard the "600,000 to 6 million subscribers in a year" figure on Stern's Leno appearance. Those numbers are so far out of whack, it has brought the attention of the SEC. He covered himself by saying "from what I understand" and can claim he that's what he "thought" the numbers were, but you can't just throw false figures about a public company around like that. Do some research for yourself and you will see how absurd those numbers are. Simple fact - those numbers are not true.

And you do not have to pay for O&A on XM, so whoever states that is either blatantly lying, or is, again, just being a sheep and following what they heard blindly. At one time, why back when, it was true, you had to pay for their station on XM. There was also a Playboy station you had to pay for also. But XM figured out that was a bad business model. That was over 3 years ago and they have been free since. They were free for 2 years when they went back on terrestrial radio. So making the statement "they had to go to free radio, because nobody would pay for their extra service" is an asinine statement.

Think for yourselves and look at the data. That’s all I ask. I am an XM subscriber, but not because of Howard or O&A. I like the talk channels on XM and their hardware. And the Golf Channel. Plus, as long as MLB is on XM, they will get my subscription. I used to be a moderate Howard fan, but not enough to push me to Sirius. And I got to know the O&A show and found it more entertaining. I also found out, with no trickery and with proven examples with his own words, Howard lies an awful lot and his fans seem to give him a pass on everything.

[Matt B @ Jan 4th 2007 10:42AM]

Howard, NFL, Raw Dog, Octane, Hardattack FTW!!!!

[Frankenstein Black @ Jan 4th 2007 10:51AM]

FOLKS the 2nd bad thing about a merger (besides the obvious) is THE DARK HAND OF CLEAR CHANNEL coming in and snapping up whatever the new combined entity is. Now that’s what you call true predatory, monopolistic power! And after they finish gimping what used to be satellite radio with shite loads of commercials (like they have done on old fashion ball-sack radio), be prepared for price hikes, SUCKERS!!

A MERGER IS GOOD FOR THE GREEDY SUITS ON WALL STREET BUT BAD FOR THE CONSUMER PERIOD!


----------
FB (aka LDM)
Water-bending Master
http://www.eternal-champions.com/images/ldm_master_builder!.jpg

[Mattso @ Jan 4th 2007 11:28AM]

Guys, I know it's just my opinion, but Opie and Anthony are absolutely unlistenable. I had a car accident a while back and when I was driving to work in my rental car for a while, I tried to listen to them on "Free FM" and it literally started making me feel nauseous. It was almost completely humorless and uninteresting radio. I like Jim Norton's stand-up, but I heard him on that show and O&A somehow managed to make him seem so unfunny. I switched over to sports talk and actually muted the radio during commercials.

I never listened to radio much, and I only started to listen to Howard over the past 2-3 years (because before that I was always in school or not waking up early) and after losing him for a while, it's become clear how amazing it is that he can put on a show that is just so much more interesting than everyone else. There is so much Howard-imitation, worthless radio out there, and O&A are a perfect example of it.

Lastly, no matter what the absolute sales figures are, it's completely clear that Sirius gained a massive amount of subscribers over the past year and has closed the gap significantly. I wish they had more hardware choices, but for pretty much every other reason, including Howard, I'm happy to be in the Sirius camp.

Should I now duck and cover in fear of the "O&A Army"? No... no I shouldn't.

[GeneMack @ Jan 4th 2007 11:45AM]

"Should I now duck and cover in fear of the "O&A Army"? No... no I shouldn't."

No you shouldn't, yours was a fine opinion. Like I said, I used to be a Howard fan back in the day, until his megalomania got to be too much for me. When it came time to decide which sat radio to subscribe to (just months before Howard was to be on the air), Stern was actually part of my equation when deciding. But I decided XM was the better choice for me. And when I started listening to O&A, I didn't get them. The term "Virus" is actually quite fitting, because they grow on me.

As for imitators, they are not. They are a completly different type of show. Howard is about celebrities and women. O&A is about stand-up comedians and cringe humor.

Like I said, Howard's megalomania was getting to me, even before I had even heard of O&A. But finding out about his gag order on them, plus being shown how much he lies, I just can't stand the guy now. If you do some searching, you will find a couple of good lists of things Howard claimed he invented. Sure, O&A play this up nicely, but take them out of the equation and look at what this guy has actually said he invented! Like reality TV and MTV unplugged (or bands playing on a radio show!). Sure, he has brought a lot to the radio, but there were many, many people before him. He acknowledges none of them! Even O&A acknowledge the contributions Howard has made to the business.

That said, Ron & Fez are actually the best show on XM. Ron has the quickest, funniest wit of anyone I have ever heard. But it is not a shock show, so it never gets the attention Howard, O&A, or Bubba get. Sad, because it really is a jewel.

[Mattso @ Jan 4th 2007 12:27PM]

I appreciate the non-flaming response, and I don't think your points are invalid, but it is pretty obvious that O&A have a show that follows in the footsteps of Howard. I guess it's difficult not to do that, because he was basically the originator of what modern talk radio is, but it's undeniable that they do a... similar show.

I always had a bad opinion of Howard before I ever fully listened to his show. He gets publicity for being outrageous when probably over 70% of his show is nothing like that. I always enjoy the times of simple banter. Guests and bits can be good at times, but there's just something about the guy's style and delivery that hooked me in pretty quickly. His is probably the only show that I immediately "got" and enjoyed, and I always take his ego with a grain of salt. I also don't think he lies about much. I've always thought of him as one of the more honest people in show biz. He does take claim to many things, and it is a bit much at times, but I think he deserves a lot of credit for sort of pushing along the entertainment industry as a whole past the PC BS that existed for so long (and seems to be fighting to make a comeback, unfortunately).

As for O&A's value... I just don't see it. I know I don't necessarily represent the general population, but I think I'm an average guy with a good sense of humor and when I gave their show a few shots, it just didn't resonate with me in any way.

[GeneMack @ Jan 4th 2007 1:18PM]

We will have to agree to disagree about his honesty. I could list at least a dozen lies he has told that have been proven to be lies. The latest one being the "600,000 to 6 million subscribers in a year." For too long, everyone gave him a free pass on these types of lies, but no there are people asking him to back up his statements. Maybe that is why I like O&A - they are taking him to task for undocumented statements. Not just in radio, but in all walks of life, I HATE when people just throw statements out there and do nothing to back them up.

As for their shows being imitators, I still can't agree. They are very different shows. Howard seems much more scripted, while O&A remind me of me and my friends sitting around, drinking and making fun of everyone and everything.

And I agree that Howard stepped up the game in shock radio, but there was shock radio before him. He didn't invent it. Calling all shows that play in the same game "imitators" seem as disingenuous as calling call dare devils imitators of Evil Kneivel. While both Howard and Evil brought their respective crafts to a much higher, national attention, there were many that preceded them and all that follow them are not trying to "imitate" them.

All that said, I still stand behind Ron & Fez. Best show on radio!

[Ted Brown @ Jan 4th 2007 6:00PM]

Good to know that Engadget reports on fluff articles. Just so you guys know this article is completly baseless and did not present any new information on a merger. The guy who wrote the article just transcribed a few press releases and decided to call this "news". There is no talk of a merger outside of the rants of Mel Karmazin. The FCC will never approve a merger and the logistics of such a thing is just about impossible anyway.

Sirius fans can spin this however they want but I think it's very interesting that the CEO of Sirius is the only one who wants a merger. If their company is doing so well why don't they just wait it out? Although there is that 400 million they still owe Howard....

[DaMaDo @ Jan 4th 2007 6:50PM]

Please merge, I have over 1000 sirius shares....

[Brian @ Jan 17th 2007 1:35AM]

"They went from 600,000 subscribers to 6 mil in a year. That is insanity!"
You bought that lie? Such a zombie.
When he first signed the deal back in October '04, Sirius had 600,000 subscribers, and now they have 6 million 2 years later. When he started back in January, Sirius had 3.3 million, ending with 6 million in December. Your hero lied to you to inflate the stock, and I think the SEC needs to take him to task for it.