All Things Digital

The U.S. Justice Department has managed the impossible. It’s brought Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey together under a single aegis.

This morning the DOJ approved the merger of satellite radio companies Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) (home to Stern) and XM Satellite Radio (XMSR) (home to Winfrey), a move that will create a satellite radio company with about 14 million subscribers.

In a statement, the DOJ said it found no reason to think that combining the only two satellite radio players in the market would create a pay-radio monopoly. “After a careful and thorough review of the proposed transaction, the division concluded that the evidence does not demonstrate that the proposed merger of XM and Sirius is likely to substantially lessen competition, and that the transaction therefore is not likely to harm consumers,” the DOJ explained.

“The Division reached this conclusion because the evidence did not show that the merger would enable the parties to profitably increase prices to satellite radio customers for several reasons, including: a lack of competition between the parties in important segments even without the merger; the competitive alternative services available to consumers; technological change that is expected to make those alternatives increasingly attractive over time; and efficiencies likely to flow from the transaction that could benefit consumers,” said the DOJ.

When Steve Jobs described the iPhone at D5 as “the best iPod we’ve ever made,” he set the bar high for future iterations of the iconic device.

Now, in the run-up to tomorrow’s invitation-only Apple event, the question is: will Apple meet it? And with what? The answer, if the latest rumors prove true, depends on your feelings about digital radio. Because according to “a reliable industry insider,” the touchscreen iPod that Apple is expected to uncrate tomorrow will support digital radio. “The source said that the new iPods will be able to receive digital radio, and will include a ‘buy-now’ function to allow the user to download and buy tracks as they are being played,” Vnunet reports. “This facility will be limited to tracks sold from the iTunes store, but Apple hopes to dramatically increase the number of tracks available via the service.”

An interesting rumor, and one we’ve heard before. Back in 2004 word on the street had it that Apple had cut a deal with Sirius to offer an iPod with a built-in satellite radio receiver. But it hadn’t. And according to Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin, it probably never would, because the feeling at Apple was that “they don’t need to put a satellite radio in their box.”

Has Apple reconsidered its position in the ensuing years? It’s certainly possible. Remember Jobs once said “people don’t want to watch video on their iPod” too.