Satellite radio merger, high profile dems chime in...

[TankRizzo]

Senate Democrats Weigh In on XM-Srius - 6/30/2008 1:49:00 PM - Broadcasting & Cable

Senate Democrats Weigh In on XM-Srius

Kerry, McCaskill, Cardin: Compromise proposal not enough.

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/30/2008 1:49:00 PM

With the Federal Communications Commission members kicking around the compromise proposal for an XM Satellite Radio-Sirius Satellite Radio merger and both Democrats and Republicans still talking of wanting to get a decision out the door "soon," several high-profile Democrats weighed in saying that the proposal does not go far enough for their liking.
That came in a letter Friday to FCC chairman Kevin Martin -- who is circulating the compromise proposal -- from Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.).
For one, they said, the proposal to set aside 12 channels for minority programmers and another 12 channels for noncommercial informational programming -- a total of 8% of their spectrum -- is not enough to ensure "viable competition" to the combined company. They added that it needs to be at least 20%, or as many as 50 channels.
The senators also want XM/Sirius to be required to build HD-radio capability into their receivers, which means that they would be able to receive free, over-the-air signals, as well as the pay service. The legislators called that an "essential check" on the ability of the merger company to "stifle" competition from digital-radio broadcasting.
Also on their list was FCC enforcement of price caps, interoperable radios, open access and a la carte promises made by the two companies as part of the compromise.
"The proposed conditions fail to provide meaningful competition in the SDARS [satellite digital audio radio service] marketplace and would leave the merged entity in a position to exercise its market power in anticompetitive ways against other media, including free, over-the-air radio," they wrote.
They also argued that allowing the two companies to merge would violate the FCC's rules in establishing the two satellite-radio licenses. The FCC said when establishing the service that the two national satellite-radio licenses should not be held by one company. But the Democratic FCC chairman at the time, Reed Hundt, has since said that the rule was not meant to be set in stone and he would favor allowing them to merge.
They closed the letter by saying that they still opposed the merger, but that their suggestions would "mitigate the harms to the public and consumers" if the FCC goes ahead with the deal.
Currently, the commission is thought to be split 2-2, with the chairman and Republican commissioner Robert McDowell said to be OK with the compromise, the two Democrats on the commission not convinced that the compromise conditions are sufficient and Republican Deborah Taylor Tate still weighing them.
Two weeks ago, three Republican legislators wrote Tate to ask her to oppose the merger. They were among 69 who had written a letter exactly one year before to express their opposition.

...it's pretty clear that commercial radio is lining the pockets of representatives of both sides of the aisle, but Kerry's proposal is just plain preposterous. First off he wants them to be forced to come with HD radio receivers (red flag). That one I at least can comprehend, but the fact he wants to stipulate how many minority channels they should have...as much as 20%??? That's absurd.

[lew]

Why the fuck is our federal government involved with any of this at all?

[Phantom]

I wonder what satellite radio would cost if they didn't have to deal with this shit.

[thewise1]

Originally Posted by lew

Why the fuck is our federal government involved with any of this at all?

.

[TankRizzo]

Originally Posted by lew

Why the fuck is our federal government involved with any of this at all?

they filed for the merger 468 days ago. This has about zero serious implications as far as consumers go, it's not like Exxon/Mobil merging, why is it taking so long (other than the obvious that they're taking money from FM radio)?

Look at this!





....and then there's this:

Post merger: What happens to Howard Stern's contract?

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 at 9:58 AM
Tags: Howard Stern, Merger, Satellite Radio, Sirius, XM Assuming the FCC approves the Sirius and XM merger, both companies will need to take drastic steps to bolster their balance sheet, including cutting costs and refinancing massive debt. And Fortune writer Scott Moritz questions whether one of the areas to trim, would be Howard Stern contract.

"The question is, is there anyone out there who would pay him $700 million," asks Scott Cleland, a Washington-based analysts with Precursor. "Good luck."

Total programming costs, in total, came in at $475.4 million last year, or 23% of total revenue - the biggest single expense for the two companies. And Stern's contract - along with the NFL ($220 million for 7-years), NASCAR ($107.5 million for 5-years) and MLB ($650 million for 11-years) - are some of the biggest contributors.

Depending on the health of the combined company, Moritz figures that Stern may be in for a tough negotiation when renewal time comes up in 2010.

Cowen & Co. analyst Tom Watts thinks that's exactly what Sirius will do: wait until Stern's contract expires before seeking new terms. Watts says the more pressing issue is refinancing XM's $1.46 billion debt, a move he says could happen soon after the merger.

Sure, some significant belt-tightening is in order, but the real factor in negotiations isn't whether there's only one satellite radio player in town: it's who needs who more. So the question is: does Sirius-XM need Howard Stern, more than Howard Stern needs Sirius-XM?






....and Opie and Anthony have been saying they havn't been paid in 2 months

[7960]

Originally Posted by lew

Why the fuck is our federal government involved with any of this at all?

because the signals go through the air and the entire radio/tv/microwave/infrared/ultraviolet/blah/blah spectrum is under govt control.

[lew]

Originally Posted by 7960

because the signals go through the air and the entire radio/tv/microwave/infrared/ultraviolet/blah/blah spectrum is under govt control.

Ignoring the whole point of that issue, the whole point of Satellite radio was to be free from the FCC and free from government as much as possible. Looks like somebody was lied to.

[7960]

Originally Posted by lew

Ignoring the whole point of that issue, the whole point of Satellite radio was to be free from the FCC and free from government as much as possible. Looks like somebody was lied to.

there is unlicensed spectrum but that's full of 802.11b/g/n traffic as well as microwaves and cordless phones and shit I'm not remembering.

other than that (and even though it's unlicensed spectrum it's still regulated), there is no way to shoot a signal through the air that is not under some form of govt regulation. You, as an extremely rich private individual, can not just decide to blast a satellite into space and beam a signal back to earth without govt approval. The FCC may not regulate the *words* you say because it's a for-pay service, but they certainly can regulate everything associated with getting that voice to come out the box in your car.

[DosEquis]

I wish i could afford representation

[Smull]

Originally Posted by DosEquis

I wish i could afford representation

hahaha, yeah one day man we'll buy us some good legislation and fix things up real nice.

[Stylerod]

That came in a letter Friday to FCC chairman Kevin Martin -- who is circulating the compromise proposal -- from Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.).

Oh hell! I listen to Stern all the time and he keeps blaming republicans and Bush for the slowdown. I wish I would have been around to hear his response to this!

But anyway, yeah, this is complete bullshit. Telling a private company what kind of programing they must have. Jesus, and this is probably the tip of the iceberg. Wait until the Dems really have control. Talk about losing freedoms.....

[7960]

Originally Posted by Stylerod

Jesus, and this is probably the tip of the iceberg. Wait until the Dems really have control. Talk about losing freedoms.....

kerry is squarely behind the fairness doctrine.

cardin says he's against the fairness doctrine but believes "media outlets should be open to broadcasting talk shows that provide a variety of news" (isn't that the fairness doctrine?)

I can't find anything on claire and I wont' guess.

[kinggovernor]

they have been trying to do this to rush and other right wing radio for years

[Stylerod]

Originally Posted by kinggovernor

they have been trying to do this to rush and other right wing radio for years

"If you can't beat them in the market place, stifle them with legislation" - Democrats

[motivez]

What does he mean by 'minority' channels?

[kombayn]

The internet is next...

House Leadership Moves to Silence Twittering Members « The Batterista Blog

I’ve been following and interacting with two members of the US House of Representatives, John Culberson, Republican from Texas, and Tim Ryan, Democrat from Ohio. It has been great and refreshing to have this direct line of communication with these two Members of Congress and gain insights into what’s happening on Capitol Hill, often a black hole of mystery unless it’s your full time job to know what’s going on.
Rep. Culberson just sent a series of messages on Twitter indicating that the Democratic House Leadership is requiring that he submit each message for approval prior to posting. This move apparently invokes a little-known broader regulation that all Member communications posted on any public social networking site receive prior approval.

Are you kidding me? The Police State is here.

[Stylerod]

Another update:

WASHINGTON (AP) - During his tenure at the Federal Communications Commission, Jonathan Adelstein has been a fierce critic of government policies that allow big media companies to get bigger. So it came as a surprise when the Democratic commissioner put forth a proposal that would allow the nation's only two satellite radio companies to merge.

Adelstein, the potential deciding vote, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he would support Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI)'s $3.1 billion buyout of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) if the companies agree to a six-year price cap and make one-quarter of their satellite capacity available for public interest and minority programming, plus other conditions......


They also agreed to turn over 24 channels to noncommercial and minority programming.

Adelstein is seeking 25 percent of the companies' satellite capacity for public interest programming - 10 percent for noncommercial programming and 15 percent for minority programming. That potentially would work out to about 75 channels.




My Way News - Satellite radio saga takes unexpected turn

They have got to be kidding. They want to set aside 75 channels to minority and pubic interest???

When Stern got back from vacation last week he mentioned that it was Democrats that were holding this up and he was pissed. He was a HUGE Hillary supporter and when she lost he was leaning towards Obama. But now that Obama wants to fix our energy problems by adding more taxes to oil and his party is responsible for the merger delays he is leaning towards McCain.

[JaJae]

Originally Posted by Stylerod

Another update:




They have got to be kidding. They want to set aside 75 channels to minority and pubic interest???

When Stern got back from vacation last week he mentioned that it was Democrats that holding this up and he was pissed. He was a HUGE Hillary supporter and when she lost he was leaning towards Obama. But now that Obama wants to fix our energy problems by adding more taxes to oil and his party is responsible for the merger delays he is leaning towards McCain.

Stern is a powerful voice in America. A lot of people listen to him in the morning. That is very good publicity for McCain.

[Stylerod]

Originally Posted by JaJae

Stern is a powerful voice in America. A lot of people listen to him in the morning. That is very good publicity for McCain.

And now with Artie and Gary having just come back from a USO tour in Afghanistan they are both now saying they are leaning towards McCain.

A lot of people will think that it's no big deal but you are right, Stern has a lot of followers.