Sirius, XM Satellite Radio Merger Approved By U.S. Justice Department

MTV.com reports that on Monday, March 24 the U.S. Justice Department approved the merger between satellite radio companies Sirius and XM more than a year after the two companies first announced the initial deal. According to its Web site, the Justice Department's Antitrust Division cleared the merger after determining that Sirius' takeover of XM would not harm competition or consumers. After the merger, there will only be one provider of satellite radio for the United States. They're not in the clear yet, though, as the merger still faces challenges from the Federal Communications Comission and the Securities Exchange Commission.

One of the proposed benefits of the merger is that it will offer more channels to the subscriber base if all non–redundant channels are kept. But, due to lack of competition in the satellite radio market, it is debatable whether or not this will constitute a monopoly, which, according to standard capitalist economics, may result in driving subscription prices higher while eschewing innovation. Both networks currently provide a wide array of programming, including punk channels and related genres. For those interested in more details, you can check the Wikipedia page dedicated to this merger.

(Source: MTV.com)