XM/Sirius sees White Smoke

From the chimney of the FCC, according to various reports early this morning which claim FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is giving his blessing to this long-awaited merger. That would remove the last regulatory hurdle and allow the marriage to go to the altar. Details are sketchy, but according to the WSJ there will be a few conditions that will have to be met to protect the interest of consumers, namely controlling any price increases by the satellite services. The WSJ reports another condition is that the satellite guys have to set aside 8% of the merged operation's channels for noncommercial and minority interests.