03.24.2008 — The merger between satellite radio companies Sirius and XM, which was announced just more than a year ago, was approved today by the U.S. Department of Justice, citing that the merger does not “substantially lessen competition.”

Now, fans of Howard Stern, Oprah Winfrey, Major League Baseball and the National Football League can all get their entertainment fix under one roof.

“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 explains.

“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.”

The main reasons for the merger are consumer choices and corporate savings, according to the DOJ.

The name of the new company, which will have approximately 14 million combined subscribers, has yet to determined.

Sirius or XM subscribers can currently only receive broadcasts from one of the two services. In a statement Monday, XM said its current subscribers, however, would not need to be replace their radios to continue receiving programming.

The Federal Communications Commission must also approve the deal before it is official.