In a somewhat unsurprising move, the FCC has approved the merger of Sirius and XM after protracted -- and incredibly boring -- multi-year negotiations. The Federal Communication Commission decided tonight to allow a deal that will bring the two satellite radio providers together, creating a combined subscriber base of roughly 18 million users. The deal isn't without catches, however, with the Commission stating that the companies must cap prices for three years following the merger, allow subscriber choice on content, and lower fees for channel packages. FCC head Kevin Martin seemed pleased with the final outcome, stating, "Consumers will get to enjoy the best of the programming on both services." You know who wasn't so stoked? Clear Channel.

Sirius' Starmate 5 stopped by the FCC last month, so it's only fair to see a portable player from the "other side" mentioned as this month draws to a close. Orbitcast has it that a new handheld satellite radio is floating around the labs with a codename Phoenix. Early word suggests that it is "slightly smaller than the existing Inno with a much slicker interface and a rotating wheel that functions similar to the SkyFi 2." There's also a microSD slot for external music (and external music alone), a screen size larger than that of the Inno and a small possibility for WiFi. The unit should be loosed on the general public this fall, but we'll be sure to keep an ear out for more details as the run-up continues.

While the FCC hasn't announced any decision, the Associated Press says that its chairman will recommend approval of the $5 billion merger between XM and Sirius. Kevin Martin does so, however, on the condition that the two satellite broadcasters freeze consumer prices for three years and turn over 24 channels (that's 8% of their combined satellite capacity) to "noncommercial and minority programming." The merged giant must also offer an "open radio standard" meant to create competition amongst radio manufacturers and an "a la carte" service that would allow customers to only pay for the channels they want as long as they purchase new radios. Speaking of those non-existent radios, the two claim that Interoperable radios capable of receiving both XM and Sirius broadcasts would be available "within one year." With DoJ Antitrust approval out of the way, all that's left now is to circulate Martin's recommendation for final vote from the FCC's four other commissioners -- a vote on a merger which, as strange as it seems, was expressly prohibited by the FCC when it licensed the satellite radio industry back in 1997.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

We'll cut straight to the chase: on the surface, there's nothing all that enthralling about the Sirius Starmate 5. In most every respect, it looks, smells and likely acts much like its predecessor. Granted, the color schemes have been updated a bit and you'll still find that delicious Sirius Replay support included, but the humdrum 5-line display, obligatory FM transmitter and bundled remote don't do much to get our saliva glands workin' overtime. As Orbitcast points out, however, there is one thing about the FCC filing that piques our interest more than anything else, and it's a simple phrase from a posted correspondence letter: "We used the satellite radio signal coming from either XM or Sirius." Whether or not this actually means anything is yet to be seen, but it makes for some decent fodder at the very least, yeah?

[Via Orbitcast]

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment.

The Slacker Portable is the proverbial elephant being inspected by blind men. One is the crop of portable MP3 players, to which the device's service represents free, fresh music on the go in exchange for user control of track selection. Another is the bevy of online internet music sites such as Pandora, Last.fm, Finetune and others, to which it represents the leap from the beb to portable entertainment. A third is the traditional consumer electronics industry for which it portends a connected future. And a fourth are XM and Sirius, which now appear on track to merge in part due to the kind of competition that the Slacker Portable will ultimately provide.

The Slacker Portable picks up where last year's promising Sansa Connect left off. While that device was billed primarily as an MP3 player that boasted tight integration with the Yahoo! Music Unlimited service (now shuttering), the Slacker Portable is labeled as a "personal radio". MP3 files can be loaded onto the device, but that feature is more of an afterthought.

The device comes in three capacities that are billed as storing a different number of stations, which are either genres preset by the internet radio service available at slacker.com, or customized for the user based on a particular artist. One nice touch is that a device ordered from Slacker comes pre-populated with any stations you have set up on the site.

There's no telling where in the command chain this came from, but Boston talk show host Howie Carr got censored yesterday afternoon for uttering those nastiest of words: Sirius and XM. He was reading off yesterday's news about the DoJ's approval of the merger when his producer blanked out his mention of the two companies involved. Howie's station, WRKO, is owned by Entercom, a major competitor of Clear Channel -- who of course has its own opinions on censorship.

[Via Orbitcast]

While many of you have likely forgotten all about the retail SCV1 backseat TV tuner that Sirius announced way back in August of last year (and promised for Q4 2007), those hooked from the word go will be elated to know that they can finally get their hands on one. As of right now, Sirius partners are finally stocking (and shipping) the SCV1 Backseat TV System. The pain? $299.99 for the unit itself and $6.99 per month for TV service. In other words, an absolute bargain to maintain sanity on that upcoming 18 hour road trip.

[Via Orbitcast]

According to Pacific Crest Washington analyst Erik Olbeter (yeah, you know, Erik Olbeter), the seemingly ill-fated, extremely drawn out XM and Sirius merger now seems, "Less likely." It shouldn't come as any surprise if you've been following this story, which is now entering its 13th month of heel-dragging and unfulfilled promises. With last week's announcement that the deadline would be extended an additional two months, Olbeter feels that, "Prospects for the merger have become increasingly cloudy." He goes on to suggest that, "The FCC and Department of Justice are having a hard time justifying the deal," though he believes that both are, "inclined to approve the merger." Still, not a terrific outlook by any means, and certainly a contributor to the increasing feeling that this thing might never really happen.

[Via Orbitcast]

XM's going to be debuting a service they're calling XM NavWeather – featuring "Threat Matrix" technology – next week at the 2008 North American International Audio Show. No, this isn't an up-to-date color-coded LCD panel alerting you to Homeland Security's current threat level (seriously, those things would be worth their weight in uranium), it's a service that provides immediate alerts on developing weather conditions like storms, hail, tornados, and radioactive lizard attacks. Not impressed? The data is "mapped to the driver's specific location and driving route" meaning, if need be, you can avoid unnecessary monster and/or tornado delays. They'll be announcing auto partners in early '08 but those of you sporting the XM-enabled Bushnell ONIX 400 can look forward to being threat matrixed within the next 30 days.

It looks like a recent letter from two members of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee to Attorney General Michael Mukasey won't be enough to derail the seemingly inevitable XM / Sirius merger, at least according to one of those ever-present analysts. As OrbitCast reports, Representatives John Conyers and Steve Chabot had complained that Justice Department staff "may be trying to rush through the merger" before the Attorney General himself had time to fully participate, and that "Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Thomas O. Barnett may intend to grant the merger over the objections of department staff." According to the AP, however, Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. analyst Blair Levin says that while the final outcome is indeed a "close call," he believes that "the department will give its blessing," paving the way for the FCC to give its go-ahead.

[Via OrbitCast]

Over nine months after the two satellite radio companies announced their intentions to merge, XM and Sirius may finally find out the fate of their plans today, if the Justice Department issues a ruling as is being rumored. Orbitcast reports that the general consensus among industry watchers is that the DOJ will hand down a decision before the closing bell on Wall Street -- a prediction further buoyed by Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck, whose contacts in DC claim that a ruling is "imminent." As you're probably well aware, this proposed marriage is no ordinary merger, with strong opposition coming from terrestrial broadcasters who cite anti-trust concerns, but who are really just fearful of the market power such an entity would yield. Stay tuned for further updates as this story develops...

No surprise here, but Sirius shareholders voted overwhelmingly today to approve the $5 billion acquisition of XM. Those kids with the cash are behind the deal 96 percent strong, and Sirius says it hopes to finish the deal by the end of the year, with some obvious regulatory hurdles to clear first. C'mon FCC and DoJ, we know you want to do the right thing here, make it happen.

Given that the last time we heard about Jensen's NVXM1000 was nearly 11 months ago, we won't hold it against you if you just can't bring back the memories of this well-spec'd XM mini-tuner / navigator hybrid. The $799.99 Rock'N'Road, as it's so affectionately dubbed, is finally ready to take to the streets, and it's packing a 4.3-inch color touchscreen, support for XM Instant Traffic, weather, sports and stocks, 11 million POIs, an 8GB hard drive, wireless FM modulator, an integrated media player / photo viewer, USB connectivity and a SD expansion slot. And if you just so happen to find yourself in a participating GM, Toyota, Honda, Nissan or Hyundai dealership, you can get hooked up with the rebadged Advent ADV800XM for the same amount of dough. Now, whether or not this thing's actually worth all eight Benjamins is another story, but it's available today for those who adamantly feel it is.

As the constant battle between the National Association of Broadcasters and nearly everyone else continues on over the potential XM / Sirius merger, the entity is now asking the FCC to put a stop on the 180-day clock for considering the junction. Reportedly, all the NAB wants is "time to go through documents it said it is getting through a Freedom of Information Request filed in March," and it seemingly feels that some of the articles it's still waiting for contain proof of "serious apparent wrongdoing by XM and Sirius executive and senior-level employees regarding the operation of FM modulators / translators and / or terrestrial repeaters." Of note, both of the aforementioned sat radio providers shot back by stating that the NAB's "allegations are unfounded and its recent filing is just an attempt to stall the process." From the outside looking in, we'd say that sounds just about right. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via BroadcastingCable]