SiriusXM. For those of you who aren’t in the US or Canada, SiriusXM is a satellite radio company that is the closest thing we have to DAB or digital radio in North America — and we have to pay for it.

Which wasn’t so bad when they were separate companies. But then they merged (technically, Sirius acquired XM) and everything went to hell.

Their merger was approved by federal regulators on the argument that it was necessary to keep up with shifting technological trends and competition. They argued they needed to keep up with Pandora and streaming radio (this was before Spotify and the rest).

Before the merger, they each cost $13 a month. Which wasn’t bad considering you got everything from whichever service you had — all the channels, the ability to stream online and pretty slick radios.

Post-merger, they raised prices, started charging for online streaming and moved toward more pop-ish music formats. They eliminated niche genres that had been a pretty attractive reason to pay for radio and let go of a lot of good talent.

Most people only shell out the cash to listen to Howard Stern. I have no idea what they’re going to do when he leaves or dies.