Sirius XM Radio Inc - SIRI ??

molder101 said: "Looks like the Sirius XM merger is complete and the trading is crazy... 52 million shares today. How do people feel about this as a long term? With this economy, it would seem to me that people start to drop the non essential services - ie cable, satellite radio, etc - but over the long run it seems to have real potential especially now since there are not two companies competing against each other. I guess the other question is how low can it go?"

ratAphooey said: "I have never been that excited about satellite radio. I guess some people will pay for it but many will not."

bjohn13 said: "I'm glad I sold a couple of months ago when I gave up on the merger taking place. My view is that the conditions of the merger are so strict, it will take some time before the stock recovers."

molder101 said: "I had SIRIUS and sold around $3.30 way back when. I have satellite radio in my car (no satellite service for tv though) and I find it excellent as I travel a lot and it remains constant regardless of where I am or what country I'm in. While I'm glad that I don't have any stock in it that cost me 3+ a share, I was looking at this stock as a long term investment. I guess I'll watch it for the next few weeks and go from there."

AlfredSokol said: "The combined company won't have any competition. Long term that has to be good news."

bjohn13 said: "They have tons of competition. First and foremost, they are competing against free over-air radio service. In homes, they also have to compete with such services as Muzac, DMX, and Music Choice. In automobiles, they have to compete with mp3 players like ipod and integrated hard drives."

molder101 said: "It's funny you mention their competition. I have an ipod and hardly ever use it now that I have XM. I usually switch between XM and my 6-disc mp3 changer. While they do sell for home use I see them more as a "mobile" company. I anticipate that in the not to long distant future they will be providing gps information services, tv, etc. So their ability to expand is not limited to radio. Besides "regular" radio can't touch XM, which is not quite the same as tv. Until HD radio is a standard, normal radio is not close to satellite. If you ever travelled any distance you would know that. It's beyond convenience to not have to switch stations when they start to fade out because you leave their broadcasting territory. Anyway, I'm still taking a strong look at them because now that the merger has gone through I see them broadening their product portfolio beyond radio only."

bjohn13 said: "I cancelled my subscription to Sirius when I got my mp3 player and FM transmitter for my car. Now, I don't have to sit through crap I can't stand to get to the songs I like. The ONLY thing satellite radio has going for them, IMHO, is football coverage (I'm a 49er fan, and I can still get their games for free via internet feed) and stand up comedy. Most people simply won't pay for radio, and as far as television goes, I can't think of an industry that is more competitive than that especially since Sirius already has two huge players in the satellite TV industry....and both of those competitors already offer satellite music services. Hey, I've been wrong before, but I truly believe that the future of satellite radio has very limited possibilities."