The New York Post reports that Sirius and XM Satellite Radio have discussed the possibility of a merger according to the article, “…executives from both sides have been meeting lately to discuss the possibility of a merger…. executives have not yet discussed price. They have, however, been weighing any potential antitrust concerns that would arise from a deal, which would create a monopoly in the nascent satellite radio business.”
It’s interesting that people would call a merger between XM and Sirius a monopoly. Each satellite radio service currently requires a separate receiver. I’d be interested in a merger that would at least unite the satellite radio delivery infrastructure, so that potential customers could buy a receiver and be able to subscribe to either service.
Maybe such a unified receiver will be built by a consumer electronics company in the near future (a quad-band device, AM, FM, XM, and Sirius?), but it hasn’t happened yet and I don’t understand why. Maybe it has to do with subsidies that retailers receive from satellite radio carriers when they sell a customer a receiver and a subscription?