FCC's Martin Gives Thumbs Down To Possible Satellite Radio Merger FCC Chairman Kevin Martin talked about the potential merger of XM and Sirius Satellite Radio yesterday, and based on what he said, that merger is not looking good. Martin told reporters after yesterday’s FCC meeting that a restriction against having a single owner for both satellite services was written into regulations that authorized the two licenses in 1997.
Martin summed it up in one sentence: “There is a prohibition on one entity owning both of these businesses.”
Following Martin’s comments, shares of XM fell 9.9 percent, its biggest drop in eight months; while Sirius fell 7 percent for its biggest decline in a month.
