Washington, DC - Jun 16, 2008 - While the official approval is yet to come from the FCC, Chairman Kevin Martin has said that he would approve the merger of Sirius and XM based on the conditions that have been agreed to by the satcasters. The $3.8 billion merger conditions include a three-year freeze on subscription prices, offering services with fewer channels and lower prices, and setting aside 12 channels each for noncommercial and minority access.

It's not certain how the other four commissioners would vote on the merger. The FCC's review process has been underway for about a year already, which is at least twice as long as the organization typically takes. Martin has noted that this merger has several unusual circumstances, which complicates the matter.