"Sure, it might be pretty clear that the consumers win with a Sirius / XM merger..."
How is this a "sure" thing? From my understanding, monopolies historically have led to a DEGRADATION in the customer experience, not an improvement. Without competition there's no incentive to improve the service and/or reduce prices. That was why AT&T was broken up many years ago -- they were overcharging their customers for decades-old technology. We might not have our precious cell phones right now if that monopoly had stayed in effect.
If XM and Sirius merge, and you're only getting satellite radio from one source, what is pushing them to spend money improving their signal, or their customer service department, or cut prices as efficiencies are brought online? Nothing, really. They do what they want (within limits of course), because what other choice is there? Local radio? Give me a break, it's not the same at all. Staticy commercial-ridden channels that change depending on location vs. clear commercial-free (usually) channels you can rely on? Not much of a choice.
Apples and pears are kinda the same. But if you want a pear, an apple doesn't quite cut it...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Seth @ Mar 20th 2007 6:52PM
"Sure, it might be pretty clear that the consumers win with a Sirius / XM merger..."
How is this a "sure" thing? From my understanding, monopolies historically have led to a DEGRADATION in the customer experience, not an improvement. Without competition there's no incentive to improve the service and/or reduce prices. That was why AT&T was broken up many years ago -- they were overcharging their customers for decades-old technology. We might not have our precious cell phones right now if that monopoly had stayed in effect.
If XM and Sirius merge, and you're only getting satellite radio from one source, what is pushing them to spend money improving their signal, or their customer service department, or cut prices as efficiencies are brought online? Nothing, really. They do what they want (within limits of course), because what other choice is there? Local radio? Give me a break, it's not the same at all. Staticy commercial-ridden channels that change depending on location vs. clear commercial-free (usually) channels you can rely on? Not much of a choice.
Apples and pears are kinda the same. But if you want a pear, an apple doesn't quite cut it...