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Mar.04
6:34 PM ET
Tuesday, 4 Mar 2008
Why Washington Should Allow the Sirius-XM Merger

The saga continues…

Cramer added another installment Tuesday in his crusade against members of Congress holding up the Sirius [SIRI  Loading...      ()   ]-XM Satellite Radio [XMSR  Loading...      ()   ] merger. This time Cramer wanted to rebut points made by Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, a key opponent to the deal, during his Mad Money appearance last Friday.

Green was concerned a combined Sirius-XM would jack up prices, hurting the consumer and limiting his or her choices. He also couldn’t understand how anyone thought this deal would go through after the Federal Communications Commission shot down DISH and EchoStar’s attempts to join forces.

But as Cramer pointed out, the FCC and the Department of Justice already emphasized their willingness to force Sirius and XM to stick to the a la carte packages the companies announced last summer for years. And these packages actually cost less than each individual service, and they offer customers more choices.

As for the DirecTV [DTV  Loading...      ()   ]-EchoStar [SATS  Loading...      ()   ] deal, the FCC cited monopolies in certain markets would prevent fair competition and, again, limited choice for people living in those markets. But while there may be some places were terrestrial radio is out of range, for the most part there isn’t a place on the map where customers can get only satellite radio. So the Green’s reasoning doesn’t carry over.

Green even said that both companies claimed they’d survive if the merger never went through. But find a CEO who’s willing to admit his company’s about to go under, Cramer demanded.

The bottom line for Cramer is that a Sirius-XM deal is a good one for the public, too. It would mean lower prices for subscribers, more choices and better service. He’s hoping Washington finally lets the deal go through.

Read more about Cramer's take on the Sirius-XM merger here and here.

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