
Although the FCC said current rules prohibit a merger between Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:
SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio Holdings (NASDAQ:
XMSR), FCC chairman Kevin Martin said the rules barring a merger could be altered, if requested. "The commission looks at anything that is presented to it (and) all of the commission's rules are open to be changed," Martin said, according to a Reuters report
While many believe a possible merger between the two companies would be difficult, including the Wall Street Journal, Bank of America, Janco Partners and CRT Capital Group, they all stop at the same two obstacles: the FCC's regulations and the potential for a monopoly.
If you consider XM and Sirius to be in the same group of broadcasting radio companies as Cumulus Media (NASDAQ:
CMLS), Citadel Broadcasting (NYSE:
CDL), Clear Channel Communications (NYSE:
CCU), and others, then the potential for a monopoly does not exist.
And what if the FCC changed the rules?