The proposed $4.59 billion purchase of XM Satellite Radio by rival Sirius Satellite Radio has been given antitrust clearance by the U.S. Justice Department on Monday. The investigation into the proposed merger that would combine the only two providers of satellite radio in the United States concluded that nowadays things are much different than they were when Sirius and XM were licensed.
These days, consumers have portable audio players and mobile phones that can play digital audio. Other services can now also be considered competition such as HD Radio. "Competition in the marketplace generally protects consumers and I have no reason to believe that this won't happen here," Justice Department antitrust chief, Thomas Barnett, told a conference call with reporters.
Consumer groups and traditional radio bodies criticized the proposed merger as anti-competitive. In 1997, both companies were barred from acquiring the other. A source has told Reuters that while the FCC must determine whether the purchase is in the public-interest, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has not proposed what should be done just yet, but has request staff to draft documents for different possible outcomes.
The source said that the FCC's decision may be strongly influenced by the findings of the Justice Department, and it may agree that Satellite Radio now has much larger competition from other forms of digital media services to consider.
Consumer groups and traditional radio bodies criticized the proposed merger as anti-competitive. In 1997, both companies were barred from acquiring the other. A source has told Reuters that while the FCC must determine whether the purchase is in the public-interest, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has not proposed what should be done just yet, but has request staff to draft documents for different possible outcomes.
The source said that the FCC's decision may be strongly influenced by the findings of the Justice Department, and it may agree that Satellite Radio now has much larger competition from other forms of digital media services to consider.
