Sirius XM stock is hovering below $1 and their growth prognosis is limited; so why did it take so long for the FCC to approve the Sirius XM merger. Clearly the time it took has hurt their ability to be competitive in a quickly changing world. Perhaps the shareholders should sue the FCC for this delay because surely it has hurt them. The push toward HD radio, itunes, and even internet radio makes it hard to build and maintain a subscription radio model.
How compelling is Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, and now Chris "Mad Dog" Russo to the equation. In the past, I've argued that content is king; at the same time, the content has to be regarded as differentiated and valuable. With these personalities and other "exclusive" sports programming, Sirius XM should be fine. Still it would have been nice to have approved this merger a year ago so they could compete effectively.
