This is a good place to drop general and weird news, entertainment, and general show prep material that might be interesting to air talent or producers. Hot dog threads ALWAYS welcome.
XM Satellite and Sirius complete merger
Tue Jul 29, 8:12 AM ET
XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio said Tuesday they have completed their long-pending merger.
The combined company plans to use the name Sirius XM Radio Inc. Its stock will continue to be traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SIRI. They first announced their deal in March 2007.
XM shareholders will receive 4.6 shares of Sirius common stock for each share of XM.
The combined company reaffirmed its guidance for the deal in a statement. It expects cost savings of about $400 million in 2009 and to post earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of more than $300 million. It also plans to achieve positive cash flow, before satellite capital expenditures, in 2009.
The corporate headquarters will be located in New York, and XM Satellite Radio will remain headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The new company said it has 18.5 million subscribers.
With so many medium and small market stations programming from a hard drive or from the bird, and with Clear Channel now offering "nationally programmed internet feeds", what's the difference at this point if Sirius/XM gets more into "radio" instead of satellite?
