XM Radio

The story of XM Radio begins with the formation of the American Mobile Satellite Corporation (AMSC) in 1988, a consortium dedicated to satellite broadcasting. In 1992, this group established a unit to develop a satellite-based digital radio service. This venture was eventually spun off and founded as XM Satellite Radio by Lon Levin and Gary Parsons. XM went public in October 1999, raising capital to build out its ambitious satellite network. The company launched its first broadcast on September 25, 2001, beating its sole competitor, Sirius Satellite Radio, to market. This head start allowed XM to build an early subscriber lead in the nascent pay-for-service radio industry. The business model was straightforward: provide a wide array of music, news, and sports channels for a subscription fee, free from the constraints of terrestrial radio signals. A pivotal moment in the company's history occurred in February 2007, when XM announced a merger with Sirius. After a lengthy 17-month regulatory review, the $13 billion deal was approved by the FCC, and the two companies formally merged on July 29, 2008, creating Sirius XM Radio. At the time of the merger, the combined entity had 18.5 million subscribers. The deal consolidated the two players in the satellite radio market, ending their costly battle for content and customers and creating the single entity that dominates the satellite radio landscape today.