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Sirius XM in bailout talks with DirecTV


Safe to say that satellite radio is far down the list of priorities for Uncle Sam's bailout bucks, so Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin pounded some pavement today, hitting up DirecTV and its parent company Liberty Media to try and save his bankrupted radio hydra. Apparently Smelly Melly isn't as hot for EchoStar owner Charles Ergan to buy Sirius XM out as was previously rumored, but there's a showdown brewing: Ergan's been busy taking control of Sirius XM's debt, so any deal with Liberty / DirecTV would result in feuding ownership interests. Making things even more interesting, it sounds like Ergan and Karmazin don't really get along, so this deal with DirecTV is basically his last shot at keeping his job. Desperate men do desperate things -- we'll see how this one shakes out.

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