Sounding off on merger of Sirius, XM

As an XM subscriber, I wish I shared David Lazarus’ enthusiasm for the Sirius-XM merger. (“Listening to reason on radio merger,” Consumer Confidential, March 26.)

It seems awfully naive of him not to believe that prices will rise substantially over time in otherwise seemingly painless increments, just as they have with cable TV.

As for a la carte pricing, my prediction is that the least-ordered channels will be jettisoned for lack of interest.

Joel Engel

Westlake Village

If our Justice Department truly believes a Sirius-XM merger will be good for the customer, I’d like to have some of what they’re smoking. (“Sirius-XM merger clears major hurdle,” March 25.) This isn’t about competition. It’s about choice, and satellite radio choices are about to go the way of the dodo.

Under the proposed a la carte channel setup, niche programming won’t be subsidized as part of a universal package. Offerings such as classical and jazz music will be quickly dropped when they can’t pay their own way.

The only winners of the merger will be corporate heads at Sirius-XM and their stockholders. Is anyone really surprised?

Bonnie Sloane

Los Angeles