There’s no doubt that there has been a roller-coaster of emotions the past 400 days, but no one could be happier waking up this morning than the future CEO of a soon merged Sirius-XM: Mel Karmazin.
“He’s going to feel better about this than anything he’s done in his
career,” said Tom Freston, former CEO of Viacom Inc. “It’s a big triumph for
Mr. Karmazin.”
Freston and others credit Karmazin’s relentless efforts with
regulators, politicians and investors in pushing through approval of
the deal.
“I think he is the most diplomatic, skilled negotiators that I know,”
said Joel Hollander, former CEO of CBS Radio.
“Everyone knows he’s a great salesman, but he knows how to leave a
little bit on the table.”
“He just grabbed onto this and ran through an endless amount of hurdles
and made it seem more and more possible,” Freston said. “This is
probably the most difficult deal of his life.”
But it’s not over yet. Even after FCC approval, there’s still realities that the merged company will need to face. Like turning a profit in a slowing economy.
“The bottom line is they’ll be able to cut costs. but they’ll have to
figure out a way to increase the subscriber base,” said Hollander.
“It’s not so easy today.”
“If there’s anyone that can do it, it’s
certainly Mel,” Hollander added.
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