The View From Wisconsin

I'm excited and yet jaded when I heard the news about XM Radio and Sirius planning on merging later this year.

I'm excited because this means that I can finally listen to all of the major sports on my XM radio, but I'm jaded because I know the FCC and the FTC won't let this one go by the wayside.

The term "monopoly" doesn't get thrown around lightly in DC, but it's already being used to describe this merger.

The problem is, of course, that no one else outside of XM and Sirius provide satellite radio coverage in North America. And that means that the FTC would have to allow XM/Sirius to operate as a monopoly - which wouldn't be a good thing for consumers.

My fear is that if the two don't merge, one of them will end up going belly-up anyways. And my biggest fear is that it'll be XM Radio.