>It's confirmed – XM & Sirius are merging.
I just heard it on Cosmo of all places. It's hard to get live radio without Howard.
I tuned to Playboy first, and they were talking about commercials they had seen. If I really want to do that I'd talk to the guys at work. It's mind numbing, and the same reason I don't listen to Maxim – like a college party without drinking.

I'm sure it has to go through regulatory approval, and last I knew FCC stated they like having 2 companies because competition is good. I'm not really pleased because I don't want Clear Channel in my radio. Of course I don't have to listen to the XM channels but I just don't like the thought of them possibly convincing Sirius they need commercials on their music channels.

They say both companies will do business as they do today, at least until the end of the year. I can't imagine what would happen after that. XM is too proud to be under Mel's wing, but Mel has been running Sirius well so far and I can't imagine a merger would change his skills – though it may change the people approving his major financial decisions, and commercials are a major financial decisiion.

I'm hoping they will now make enough money by sharing the ring with Sirius that they may dump Clear Channel – it's the right thing to do, and will bring everyone together. I'm sure every major DJ will be on there – they almost already are with Paul Van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold, DJ Icey, Armand Van Buren… they got some major players, and some good programming.