Andre Yoskowitz
5 Mar 2007 20:01
Sirius and XM issued open letters to their customers this past week hoping to ease the minds of consumers who were anxious over their upcoming merger. In the letters, the companies assured that all radios and receivers would continue to work after the merger, and that the current monthly fee for current members would not be raised in any way.
During the weeks that followed the announcement of the proposed merger analysts of both companies began to contemplate that the monthly rates would increase and also that newer radio and receiver models would replace the current ones.
There does not seem to be any plans for major changes in the near future, although the letters do leave the opportunity open for rate increases for new customers as well as new radios that have added functionality for the merged company.
XM had this to say in a statement about the proposed merger: "Sirius has millions of radios in the market, including many that are built into the vehicles manufactured by its automakers...Following the merger, XM expects that the existing radios will be able to receive a mix of programming from both services."
XM had its letter published in the Monday edition of USA Today, while Sirius has begun a new iniative called the "Sirius Guarantee" which is being printed in national papers.
After the merger, which both sides hope to close by the end of this year (pending regulatory approvals), Sirius said it would most likely change the current $12.95 USD monthly fee to a more flexible structure that allows customers to pay for whatever select programming they choose to recieve.
Source:
Betanews