XM-Sirius to Finally Be Approved

It’s about time. The XM-Sirius merger will go through, as the FCC finally gets the third commissioner on board. But now, in addition to an enormous wait and a series of draconian restrictions on the new company, XM-Sirius will also be fined $20 million for not building an interoperable receiver – a point that will, of course, be moot once the companies merge.

It’s good news that XM and Sirius will finally be allowed to merge, but the FCC made the process a total nightmare. Let’s hope that Google-Yahoo doesn’t suffer the same fate.

Update: Enforcement issues are still standing in the way of the deal, but they should be resolved soon.