NEW YORK, Aug 24 (Reuters) - A federal judge granted final approval to Sirius XM Radio Inc's settlement of a class-action lawsuit accusing the satellite radio company of abusing its monopoly power by illegally raising prices for subscribers.

The accord calls for Sirius XM to forego about $180 million of fees and hold steady or lower base prices for an estimated 14 million subscribers in 2011. Sirius XM agreed not to impose a $2 a month price rise that was to take effect this month and also agreed to lock in other fees, court papers show.

Home to programming, including "shock jock" Howard Stern and Major League Baseball, New York-based Sirius XM was created when Sirius Satellite Radio Inc bought its only rival, XM Satellite Holdings Inc, on July 29, 2008.

In a Wednesday order approving the settlement, U.S. District Judge Harold Baer in Manhattan turned aside objections from many subscribers, saying the accord's terms reflect "sufficient fairness, adequacy and reasonableness."

He said it was "questionable" whether subscribers could have proven antitrust violations at a trial, given the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission had approved the merger.

Baer also said the settlement and its $13 million of legal fees and costs for subscribers' lawyers was not a "shakedown," as some subscribers contended.

"Nothing suggests that class counsel here went beyond what the law allows," he said.

Subscribers accused Sirius XM of illegally imposing fees on Internet streaming, music royalties and additional radios, even as it complied with regulatory requirements by holding base prices steady. They said these boosted a typical subscriber's monthly fees 40 percent to $27.88 from $19.94.

The case is Blessing et al v. Sirius XM Radio Inc, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 09-10035.

For the plaintiff consumers: Grant & Eisenhofer; Milberg; Cook, Hall & Lampros as class counsel.

For Sirius XM: Jones Day.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel)

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