Merger

Those of you who are XM radio subscribers may or may not be aware that, as part of the merger with/takeover by Sirius, the music offerings of Sirius and XM are to be merged…and that merger is quietly happening tonight.

Orbitcast has posted a leaked copy of XM’s new lineup, effective tonight.

It seems that more Sirius channels are surviving, rather than XM, although it remains to be seen whether Sirius-style programming (shallower playlists, more common appearance of hits) or XM-style programming (deeper playlists, less recurrence) survives on which channels.

I have to admit that I am a little bummed.  I listened to the original POTUS ’08 channel for the last time today, and got to witness the sign-offs of the major personalities of the channel, who have apparently been laid off due to the merger.   A new POTUS channel is supposed to start up tomorrow, however.  I’m pleased to see that style of channel survive the election, but it won’t be the same.

I’ll reserve judgment on some of the channels which are supposed to be almost 1:1 swaps (e.g. Ethel, Fred, and Lucy being replaced with 1st Wave, Alt Nation, and Lithium).  However, I am sad to see more artist-centric channels appear on XMs lineup.  I mean, do we need a 24/7 Elvis channel?

It looks like the Hip-Hop/R&B and Dance sections of the dial will see some attrition, while a few new comedy channels are being introduced – changes I’m also uncertain about.

However, there are some changes that do seem promising.  The line-up drops WorldSpace’s U-POP in favor of BBC Radio 1, which I enjoy streaming online every now and then.  I know that some folks will be disappointed with replacing the BBC World Service with BBC World News…but for car-based listening, I don’t actually mind that change.  And, unless my eyes deceive me, it looks like we’ll get the NPR channel that, for a while, had me wondering if I should’ve subscribed to Sirius.

Oh, and I do like the opportunity to listen to selected Premiership (English Football) games via “Best of Sirius”….but I already get the games I want via TiVo-to-iPhone transfer, and I wouldn’t want to seem like a Howard Stern fan by signing up.

My subscription runs through March…so I’ll give the merged service a shot.  However, since I joined the iPod/iPhone cult a few months ago…well, I do occasionally opt for listening to my iPod in the car (or stream online audio) in lieu of radio.

We’ll see.

Looks like those orphan miles I have in my Delta SkyMiles account might finally be salvaged. Quoting the New York Times:

Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines agreed to merge late Monday, in a $3.1 billion deal that would create the world’s biggest airline and could prompt other airlines to pursue mergers of their own.[...]

Seven board members from Delta and five from Northwest would join the board of the new airline, to be known as Delta. The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents pilots at both airlines, would receive a board seat.[...]

Pardus Capital Management, an investment firm, estimated in November that a combination of Delta and Northwest could reduce costs by about $1.5 billion a year, in large part by combining hubs. Delta’s hub in Cincinnati is close to Northwest’s in Detroit. And Northwest’s hub in Memphis is close to Delta’s in Atlanta.

Some earlier discussion that I read indicated that the merger proposed maintaining current levels of operations (i.e., not shutting hubs) for about a year post-merger. Assuming that’s true, and remains true in light of fuel cost pressures…I’d still expect CVG and MEM to be de-hubbed as soon as the merged Delta can get away with it.

What will be very interesting is to see how the competition responds to that eventual reduced utilization of those soon-to-be-former fortress hubs. If it weren’t for the pressure high fuel prices is placing on airlines’ bottom lines, I’d expect Southwest, for example, to attempt to move in big. After all, Southwest already has a loyal crowd in Memphis who drive to Little Rock or Nashville to take advantage of the significantly lower fares.

I suppose that this reduces the odds that I’ll see direct passenger flights between my current home airport (BDL) and my old hometown (MEM) anytime soon. However, relief from the tortuous cost to fly into Memphis will be welcome.

Update: The BDL spotters mailing list passed along a link to a DL-NW merger propaganda website, which includes information on what the merged airline would look like for different airports. BDL-MEM still shows on that website…but I won’t be surprised if that disappears too long post-merger in a savings-driven dehubbing of MEM.

This has, for the past couple of years, seemingly been a question more of “when” than “if”, but it looks like those questions might be getting an answer soon. From the Financial Times:

Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines are closing in on an agreement to merge the two US carriers, people familiar with the discussions said.

The airlines may clinch the landmark accord as early as the middle of this month, the people said, though they cautioned that negotiations could still stall or even collapse.

Like most folks with some connection to Memphis, I’m wondering:

• How quickly will Northwest disassemble its fortress hub there, allowing fares to drop to an affordable level?
• How soon will Southwest move in and/or Airtran expand at MEM?