Sirius XM won court approval for settlement with subscribers who sued the satellite- radio broadcaster over claims it broke the law by raising prices after acquiring its only rival. U.S. District Judge Harold Baer in Manhattan endorsed the accord in a filing today over the objections of some subscribers. ?I have reviewed the settlement?s substantive terms and conclude that they demonstrate sufficient fairness, adequacy and reasonableness,? Baer wrote. ?The vast majority of class members will benefit in the course of their normal subscription payments.?
Subscriber Carl Blessing of Florida sued Sirius XM in 2009, claiming the company violated federal antitrust law and state consumer-protection law when it raised some prices and levied a music royalty fee after Sirius Satellite Radio acquired XM Satellite Radio in 2008. The basic monthly charge is $12.99. Sirius XM increased the rate a subscriber paid to get service on an additional radio to $8.99 a month from $6.99. The class also decried a $2.99 charge for Internet access, which had been free. The music charge, assessed after new royalty rates with record companies were set, amounted to $1.98 a month.
The deal, valued at $180 million, provides that prices for basic service and Internet access, as well as the music royalty fee, will remain at current levels through the end of the year. Subscribers who canceled can reconnect without paying a fee. Those whose plans expire after Dec. 31 can renew before that time at current rates. Subscribers will get no cash.
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