• Monopolies In Space

    FCC Approves Sirius-XM Merger

    Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of Sirius-XM. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new anti-consumer practices. To seek out new revenue streams and crowd out new competitors. To boldly safeguard the dangerous monopoly granted last night by the FCC. More »
  • rumors

    XM-Sirius Merger Will Double Monthly Prices?

    What does the XM-Sirius satellite radio merger mean for XM customers? Well, according to one customer service rep, it means mean prices are going to roughly double in May. Here's what she said to one of our tipsters:
    This is strictly confidential, but all the paperwork is signed and ready to go, and XM has fully acquired Sirius Radio. Come May, there will be a substantial price increase for XM Radio, as it will, in June or so, host all the Sirius channels. It would be best to simply extend your XM plan as we will honor your current contract price per month before we begin hosting the Sirius stations.
    The tipster said he believed she said the price was going to double. Perhaps the customer service rep just wanted to score a renewal, but if true, it would certainly at least be ironic considering when the DOJ approved the deal was they said, "the evidence did not show that the merger would enable the parties to profitably increase prices to satellite radio customers." However, reader comments on this post and this post over at Orbitcast say this customer service rep is full of pure baloney.
  • rejected

    Best Buy Refuses To Sell You An XM Radio Without Your Phone Number

    Reader Travis would like to purchase an XM radio from Best Buy. Sadly for him, Best Buy refused to sell him the radio without first learning his phone number. Travis does not want to share his phone number with Best Buy, therefore Travis has no radio. More »
  • monopolies

    Tell The FCC What You Think Of An XM-Sirius Merger

    The FCC seeks public comment on proposed XM-Sirius merger. Namely, what might the common people think about repealing a 1997 FCC ordinance specifically forbidding such a merger...No merger until Amos and Andy Opie and Anthony are back on the air! Oh, they already are? Since June 15th? Ok, cool. Merge away. Competition is such a hassle. You can file comments online or by snail mail. FCC [via Cnet] (Thanks to Tino!)
  • state of the backlash

    Sirius Satellite Radio CEO: "We Suck Less!"

    In an effort to make our self-imposed job of nicknaming America's CEOs easier, Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin took Sirius' annual shareholder meeting as an opportunity to announce that Sirius "sucked less" than XM radio. Mel's exact words were, "We suck less." More »
  • state of the backlash

    Zipcar Drops XM

    To be perfectly clear, this has nothing to do with the recent Opie and Anthony dust-up. That being said, it suddenly seemed relevant to the future of satellite radio, so we thought we'd post the news. Again, they already canceled. It's not over Opie and Anthony. Ok, on to the news. More »
  • state of the backlash

    VIDEOS: XM Subscribers Destroy Radios To Protest Opie And Anthony Suspension

    Opie and Anthony fans are sawing, blowtorching and smashing their XM radios after the satellite radio provider suspended the shock-jock duo. Here's a roundup of 7 of such videos, several of which contain cursing. More »
  • state of the backlash

    XM Radio Subscribers Are Pretty Darn Ticked Off

    Reader Al writes in to appraise us on the satellite radio backlash that is currently going on. Satellite radio is a hot mess! Al writes:
    As you probably know, XM has touted their service as uncensored radio with the ability by the user to block specific channels. A method of self censorship that they constantly promote in their advertisements. These channels are tagged with the "XL" moniker showing the subscriber that they can put parental controls.
    More »