Filed under: Deals, Products and services, XM Satellite Radio (XMSR), Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), Politics
Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.’s (NASDAQ: SIRI) $3.5 billion acquisition of rival XM Satellite Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR) might at long last be approved by the Federal Communications Commission, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“Republican commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate is the only FCC member left to vote on the deal and she’s expected to do so shortly, two FCC officials close to the negotiations stated,” the paper said. “She is expected to sign off on the deal in exchange for a consent decree that resolves several enforcement issues involving the satellite radio companies and a combined fine of about $20 million, an FCC source close to the deal.”
Even with the regulatory hurdles just about cleared, the future of satellite radio is far from clear. As my colleague Douglas McIntyre noted earlier this day, losses at both companies are narrowing but their subscription growth rates are slowing. Both firms also are more than $1 billion in debt.
Though I’m a large fan of the medium, I wonder sometimes whether its moment in the sun has past. Remember BetaMax and 8-track players were considered slicing edge at one time.
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