Karmazin Wants To Merge XM and Sirius



(image via peabody)

Whatever happened to Mel Karmazin (The Corsair sips a Chateaux neuf du Pape)? Remember his larger-than-life media profile when he was the heir-apparent to the Methuselan mastermind Sumner Redstone? That honorific now falls into the Dark soul of Les Moonves and his retrofitted fembot Queen of the Night, Julie Chen (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment). He duly went off to Sirius and has been low profile. Until now. According to Paidcontent:

"This interview in SmartMoney is causing some controversy in various circles: Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio, said in a short interview that he’d be interested in merging his company with XM Satellite Radio, his archrival and the market leader in the hotly competitive $1.5 billion industry. 'Mergers often lead to creating shareholder value...I’ve always been open to that.' He’d floated the idea at a trade conference that he’d like to buy XM, but he predicted there would be regulatory hurdles. He no longer thinks regulators would pose a problem. 'If there’s an iPod with terrestrial radio, it’s hard to believe government is worried about two satellite radio companies combining, he said."

Charmed, i'm sure. You never know, however, with Howard Stern in the mix. More intersting, though, is how Opie and Anthony, Stern's archrivals, would survive an XM-Sirius merger in which Mel Karmazin -- a Stern loyalist -- were CEO. Under a Karmazin regime we imagine O-and-A faring not unlike Russian prisoners in Solzenitsin's Gulag Archipelago (Averted Gaze).

We'll keep you informed ...