There’s only one Howard Stern, but music formats offered by satellite radio broadcasters Sirius and XM frequently overlap.
So a long-gestating merger of the two companies — expected to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission in the next few weeks — would initially mean duplication of content. But radio industry insiders anticipate that much of that redundancy will be eliminated once the deal is finalized.
Some have speculated that reducing redundant formats could enable record labels to better target their promotion resources toward one station. But in general, most of the label promotion representatives polled by Billboard — especially those specializing in niche formats — think fewer stations means fewer promotion opportunities.