- From The New York Times, today: Sirius XM Prepares Bankruptcy Filing
- From The Washington Post, less than eight months ago: Satellite Radio Merger Approved
I was involved in some discussions regarding this merger and had one main underlying concern about it. On the one hand, XM and Sirius failed to create interoperable receivers (and, hence, raised the barriers to access to the product), but then, on the other hand, sought approval for the merger based on the competition from iPods and other non-radio media products. They themselves were making it harder for people to choose their product, but then complaining that other products made it less likely that people would choose their product.
It seemed to me that they should have needed to exercise self-help before the extraordinary merger — from a duopoly to a monopoly — should have been approved.
The fact, however, that the markets have done what they have done since the merger’s approval likely made this result inevitable — I’m not certain satellite radio purschases and subscriptions make the cut when car purchases aren’t even making the list — regardless of whether the merger had been approved or not.
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Chris Geidner is the award-winning senior political editor at D.C.'s Metro Weekly and has written for The Atlantic Online, The American Prospect, Advocate.com, Salon and other publications, as well as at his blog, Law Dork. In 2011, he received the Excellence in News Writing Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his coverage of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal. Prior to moving to D.C. in 2009, he served as an attorney on the senior staff at the Ohio Attorney General's Office and had earlier worked for a leading Columbus law firm. An extended biography can be found