The FCC has released a Public Notice announcing its approval of the XM and Sirius satellite radio merger. The public notice is only two pages long, with a four page appendix providing very brief summaries of the conditions imposed on the two companies which a majority of the Commissioners found sufficient to protect consumers from harm from the merged entity. The full text of the decision, providing the full reasoning of the Commission on its approval, has not yet been released. Until it is, the impact for broadcast ownership and the treatment of broadcast consolidation set by the precedent of this decision remains unclear.

San Diego - Slacker, a digital music start-up whose products include a Web radio service and satellite- and Wi-Fi-enabled portable player, has raised $13.5 million in its first round of venture capital, from Sevin Rosen, Austin Ventures and Mission Ventures, VentureBeat reported.

New York - Radio ratings provider Arbitron this week delivered its first survey of the satellite radio industry, which found that while satellite radio subscribers listened to more radio than others, they spent more time listening to terrestrial radio than their satellite services.

Washington - Shares of XM Satellite Radio jumped more than 12% on Tuesday, despite fears from many analysts that the company's proposed $13 billion merger with rival Sirius Satellite Radio may not pass regulatory muster.

Washington - XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite radio service to more than 7.6 million subscribers, is negotiating a deal to sell its XM-4 satellite for as much as $300 million, and then lease it back, Barron's Online reported. Citing information from UBS analyst Lucas Binder, Barron's said the deal would provide extra liquidity for XM, removing the need for it to access its revolving credit line. The company is scheduled to report its fourth quarter and full year earnings next week.

New York - Sirius Satellite Radio, a provider of radio programming with over 6 million subscribers, announced on Wednesday an agreement with Frank Sinatra Enterprises to create a Frank Sinatra channel. The 24-hour Siriusly Sinatra channel will feature Sinatra's music, in addition to that of other similar artists. Programming will also include a weekly show hosted by the crooner's daughter, Nancy Sinatra; another program, The Chairman's Hour, will be hosted by Frank himself -- based on archival spoken word and music material.

Washington - Just a day after announcing a new 10-year pact with American Honda, XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite radio service to more than 7.6 million subscribers, said on Wednesday that it has signed a similar deal with Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. The latest deal extends the current partnership between XM and Toyota through 2017. XM is the factory-installed satellite radio provider for Toyota and Lexus vehicle models. Toyota said that its annual products of XM-equipped vehicles is expected to exceed one million by 2010.

Washington - XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite radio service to more than 7.6 million subscribers, said on Tuesday that it has extended its relationship with American Honda Motor Co. through 2016. XM is the exclusive satellite radio provider for American Honda, which markets both Honda and Acura vehicles. Honda was one of XM's original partners, and introduced its first factory-installed XM vehicles in 2003. The automaker has produced more than 1.5 million cars with XM factory-installed radios to date.

Washington - XM Satellite Radio announced on Tuesday a program that will offer three months of free service to buyers of Honda Certified Used Cars with factory-installed XM radios. Honda models equipped with XM include the Accord, Civic, CR-V, Element, Odyssey, Pilot and Ridgeline. XM recently announced a similar free service offer with Acura for used cars.

New York - Sirius Satellite Radio announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with actor Jamie Foxx to launch The Foxxhole, a new urban comedy, entertainment and lifestyle channel on Sirius. Foxx will serve as executive producer of the channel, along with Marcus King; Foxx will also appear as an on-air host and contributor.

Washington - Ken Rosenthal, a former baseball columnist for the Baltimore Sun and current senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com, has signed with XM Satellite Radio to become a weekly contributor on its baseball talk radio channel, MLB Home Plate. Beginning this week, Rosenthal will appear on XM's "Baseball This Morning" with hosts Mark Patrick, Buck Martinez and Orestes Destrade. He will also make appearances on "Baseball Beat" with host Charley Steiner, and will also appear on the channel when major news breaks on or off the field.

New York - A federal judge has ruled that record labels may sue XM Satellite Radio over the company's new devices, which allow consumers to record and store copies of songs played on the radio service as MP3 files.

New York - Sirius Satellite Radio announced on Wednesday that it has added CNN Online to its website. In addition to radio channels, Sirius offers online streams of all of its channels to subscribers. New York-based Sirius also simulcasts CNN TV programming on its satellite radio service.

Silver Spring, Md. - WorldSpace, a provider of satellite radio service in more than 130 countries, announced on Wednesday that its Italian unit has partnered with Telecom Italia to deploy a terrestrial repeater network in Italy. The network of "gap filler" repeaters will allow WorldSpace Italia subscribers without a direct line of sight to its satellite to receive broadcasts.