XM and SIRIUS Satellite Radio are finally getting ready to merge their companies. I don’t know if I’m jumping up and down for joy like every other guy out there, but it is sorta cool to have Major League Baseball now an option for SIRIUS Satellite Radio. Honestly, I listen to Howard Stern and the alternative rock channels on Sirius and that’s it. Sure, I put on the NFL games when I want to hear an update, but I can get that on AM radio (even though the quality is a joke on AM radio).

What really concerns me is the merging of the two styles. SIRIUS Satellite Radio has dedicated itself to 100% commercial-free music channels. I like that – a LOT. Each morning when I go to work I have to flip over to regular radio for about 2 minutes when I go into the tunnel into Trenton. Folks, if you want to know how good commercial-free radio is, consider this…

Go through your regular radio dial in a 2-minute period and tell me how many stations that you LIKE to listen to are playing a commercial. Chances are that it’s more than a majority. Sirius’ commercial-free radio doesn’t put you through that crap.

It should be interesting to see how these two brands merge. But I’ll tell you this – if they raise rates and/or put commercials on these music channels, I’ll drop the service in a heartbeat. Yeah, I like listening to Howard Stern and Artie Lange, but they are only in there 3 days a week – 4 days if we’re lucky. Fifteen to 20 hours of programming just isn’t enough to keep me as a subscriber if I have to listen to commercials when I’m listening to the music.

Let’s all hope they do this the right way – the SIRIUS Satellite Radio way.