the companies can not survive on their own... if the government screws this up they truly dont know what they are doing. it would be a monopoly in literal terms pertaining to satelite radio but its clearly not a monopoly in the music broadcasting sector because there are too many other ways people get their music. FM, HD radio, and internet radio will make for good competitors simply because its FREE. sure people will lose jobs during the merger... but without it both companies and all of their employees will find their bank balances at a disadvantaged state. this is not to say there wont be any mandatory restrictions and conditions put in place.
new article to check out:
(goldman more bullish)
http://seekingalpha.com/