|
|
 |
|
|
|
Snowe, McCaskill Request Conditions On XM-Sirius Merger
WASHINGTON -- May 21, 2008: Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) have written to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to ask for conditions on the merger of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio if the commission decides to allow the satcasters to combine. The XM-Sirius merger, approved without conditions by the Department of Justice in March, has been pending at the FCC for more than a year.
Snowe and McCaskill acknowledge that satellite radio has been "a boon for consumers" but say they are concerned that the merger could undermine competition. So they've asked Martin to look into requiring a combined XM-Sirius to divest as much as half of its spectrum, on the grounds that "allowing a single entity to hold the entire amount would essentially bar any possible new entrant into that market."
Snowe and McCaskill would also like the FCC to "take steps to ensure that interested manufacturers are 'not locked or blocked' from developing equipment to deliver the merged company's satellite radio service." In addition, they ask that the FCC block a merged satellite radio company from establishing exclusive deals with automakers that would block the integration of HD Radio in OEM receivers.
Snowe and McCaskill also want the FCC to reaffirm that satellite radio is a national service only and to "make clear that the merger company is not authorized to employ its terrestrial repeater networks to differentiate or localize content from market to market." They add, "Local news, weather, and political information are essential to our communities and should not be undermined by national programming."
The Senators call their requests "minimal conditions" that are "necessary to protect the public interest" if XM and Sirius are allowed to merge.
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) earlier asked the FCC to deny the merger or, failing that, to impose "appropriate conditions," and the National Hispanic Media Coalition has also weighed in with suggested conditions, including a 15 percent set-aside of spectrum for Latino broadcasters.
Back in March, Clear Channel also offered a list of proposed conditions, including a requirement that XM and Sirius give up at least half of their satellite capacity, build HD Radio into all their receivers, and become subject to the FCC's broadcast decency regulations.
Comment on this story
E-mail this story to a friend
Sign up for Radio Headlines
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
From the Publisher
|
|
|
