It's Official!
The U.S. Justice Department has officially approved the merger between satellite radio companies Sirius and XM, more than a year after the two companies first announced their deal.
But for fans of Howard Stern, Opie & Anthony and other Sirius and XM on-air personalities, there are still many questions about how much a combined Sirius-XM service will cost and what programs they'll be able to hear. Plus, Sirius and XM face one more regulatory hurdle before the deal can officially be completed.
In its decision, the Department of Justice determined that an XM-Sirius merger was not anti-competitive. The Justice Department argued that other media companies such as Clear Channel (CCU, Fortune 500), CBS (CBS, Fortune 500), or even Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) with its iTunes software and iPod music player served as alternate options for music and media customers.
The Department of Justice did not place any conditions on the merger.
"Since we determined that there was no competition between the companies, we did not need to set any conditions as such," said Assistant Attorney General Thomas Barnett during a conference call with reporters Monday afternoon.
But the Federal Communications Commission must also approve the deal. The FCC has yet to make a decision on the merger and it could decide to place conditions on the deal. A spokesperson for the FCC was not immediately available for comment. [CNN]