The XM/Sirius Satellite Radio Merger

The Sirius – XM merger could be a great thing – That is if the FCC will allow it to happen. Sirius and XM recently announced new pricing options for their potential merger, including two different a la carte options, for people only wanting a few of the many channels both satellite companies offer. There are still some questions about these options, but at least it’s nice to know that there will be more flexible options. The new a la carte options include:

· 50 channels of XM or 50 channels of Sirius- $6.99/month (a 46% savings)

· 100 channels of XM with some Sirius channels and vice versa- $14.99/month (a 42% savings)

These new options seem to cater to new customers, not existing customers. After doing a little bit of digging, I found out that the XM Everything package for existing customers will be $12.95/month before AND after the merger. But, the XM or Sirius Everything only gives you XM or Sirius channels. If you want XM Everything and some Sirius channels, or vise versa, you have to pony up $16.99/month after the merger. The only way to get the last option now, is to buy two radios and subscribe to both XM and Sirius (what a waste of money!).

My one big issue is this: What are the some XM and Sirius channels we will be able to get with the $16.99/month? Currently, I can get some of the XM channels online, but not CNN, E!, Women’s Talk or the many of the others that are my favorite. But at least I can get Bluegrass Junction and Watercolors (thank God).

Because most of my family has XM, we currently use the family plan, so it only costs me $6.99/month for all the XM channels. There is no mention of the family plan (multiple radios) pricing after the merger, so I have no clue if I will still be able to listen to all my favorite channels for $6.99/month after the merger. If I can, decreasing my channels to 50 and making me pay the same price wouldn’t do me any good (not that I listen to all the channels in a given month, but I like the option to if I’m spending the money on them).

After spreading the news about the XM-Sirius Pricing Plans, some people in the office voiced their opinions too:

· I’d seriously consider subscribing $6.99/month if I could get Howard Stern on an XM radio. – Tony

· Hmmm….I don’t have satellite radio, and I’m unlikely to get it soon since I don’t drive much and I mostly just listen to NPR anyway. But this new a la carte pricing at least made me interested in it, which I’ve never been before. It’s the sort of thing I’ve wished cable tv would do for years. – Sara

· I’m interested to see the legal finagling involved with the merger of the two satellite radio companies. I’ve read that Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin has made mention of creating price caps and being flexible with government regulation. I suppose that’s all well and good that he’s trying to make nice considering the merger crosses the Sherman Antitrust Act and Clayton Act of 1914. The FCC, DOJ, and FTC’s decision will mark an interesting legal precedence in the business world.

Someday when I have my own car and not my dad’s 1989 Chevy Silverado (which has a stellar original sound system, mind you), I’ll think about purchasing satellite radio. Until then, it’s 97.5 MOVIN’! - Alyssa J

· I like the options to choose a select number of channels, I personally like the variety of stations available. This would be ideal for someone with less eclectic preferences in music and programming. I plan to stick with the $12.95 standard. – Chris – Sirius User

· I don’t have satellite, and frankly I wouldn’t bother buying it with the new pricing plan.

It isn’t the monthly amount that keeps me from subscribing. $6.99 a month isn’t really so much cheaper than $12 or even $20 a month. But the radios are really expensive, and they don’t have one I can carry around. I could get a second recorder device so I can play recorded shows on the go, but then I also have to record them, and it still isn’t live, and it’s a second device I need to pay for…

If they had a cheaper package where I could listen to satellite online only, that would be different. But then they would be taking twice the bath, once for not selling their radios and again for all the bandwidth that would be used by people like me.

So instead, I pay for Yahoo! radio, where I can listen to streaming stuff, or tell it exactly who I want to listen to – and for that I already pay $6.99 a month. – Eric

· I don’t have it yet but I do like the ala carte plan and would consider getting it. My reasons for not getting it before was that my car is only wired for Sirius and I wanted XM…plus, I don’t need 4,000 channels! Now that they’ve merged AND I can pick just the channels I want, I would totally consider doing it. - Mandy

About the Author: Ellen Stevens

As the Search Media Manager for Off Madison Ave’s interactive division, Mighty Interactive, Ellen develops and manages strategic online paid search and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaigns for clients of all sizes. She is also the head of the internship program at Off Madison Ave. Ellen uses her previous agency internship experience to be an effective mentor and help the students develop skills they will need professionally after graduation. Ellen graduated from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a certificate in international business.

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