RSSSirius + XM merger still under fire from broadcasters, legislators
By Tim Conneally | Published June 12, 2008, 6:23 PM
A senior Republican US Senator has accused Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin of misleading Congress and the Justice Dept. about the XM + Sirius merger deal. But this round of opposition has a familiar flavor to it.
Sen. Sam Brownback (R - Kansas), ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee, has long opposed the XM + Sirius merger, saying in April that the Department of Justice had "made a mistake" last March when it found nothing anti-competitive about the combination of the two satellite radio companies.
According to the New York Post, Sen. Brownback has asked that a letter to the FCC from trade organization C3SR (Consumer Coalition for Competition in Satellite Radio) -- a group funded by the National Association of Broadcasters -- be released to the public. Believed to be included within the redacted portions of the letter is content that would contradict Sirius' testimony to the US Department of Justice about the interoperability -- or lack thereof -- of satellite radio receivers from both companies.
It has been frequently noted that the merger of XM and Sirius -- which together are satellite radio, but which constitute only a small fraction of the overall radio market -- has been in deliberation by Congress longer than both the Exxon-Mobil merger and the Chevron-Texaco merger. Despite both being smaller than the typical oil company, the potential impact of their union would undoubtedly represent a huge blow to the National Association of Broadcasters, a group which includes terrestrial radio and broadcast television companies.
The satellite radio model offers subscribers access to far more content -- and subsequently far more space for advertisements -- than terrestrial radio can. Furthermore, partnerships with automobile manufacturers, rental car companies, satellite TV companies, and airlines have allowed receivers to be integrated into new platforms.
Terrestrial radio is stuck in a position where it cannot substantially raise its ad fees for fear of losing sponsors, nor can it allocate any more airtime to ads for fear of losing listeners.
Since 2003, broadcasters have pushed "HD radio," a digital multicast radio signal that allows for more terrestrial stations per square mile. However, consumer awareness of the technology after five years is at a paltry 24 percent, according to Arbitron and Edison Media data released in April of this year. This is after a $200 million advertising campaign that the HD Digital Radio Alliance ran in 2006.
So in the interest of keeping XM and Sirius in competition with each other rather than with conventional and HD radio, the powerful NAB has been lobbying members of Congress in both parties to oppose the merger. Now that the DOJ has placed its approval upon the merger, it is no surprise that the 3CSR/NAB has been trying to convince the FCC to oppose it.
By saying Sirius has been "less than candid" in its testimony and questioning its truthfulness, the opposition is hoping yet again to stanch the progress of the merger.
In 2004, when Mel Karmazin sat on the board of Viacom, Sen. Brownback confronted him over content on the Howard Stern radio show that he deemed indecent by not only Viacom's standards, but also by the FCC's. This correspondence took place after a listener complaint resulted in the show's producers being slapped with a $495,000 FCC fine.
In 2006, Brownback was outspoken on his support for the Broadcast Decency Bill. Upon its passage, he was quoted as saying, "I am glad the Senate took action and increased fines for broadcasters who show indecent material. Radio and television waves are public property, and the companies who profit from using the public airwaves should face meaningful fines for broadcasting indecent material." The bill increased fines for decency infractions.
After both Karmazin and "The Howard Stern Show" left the public airspace and moved to the subscription-based Sirius satellite radio, Brownback still did not relent in his criticism, saying "explicit programming will continue to play a prominent role in the business model" of the merged satellite company and that he is against allowing the combination of companies "peddling obscene and indecent material."
This just proves how out of touch our "leaders" in Washington are. (And I use that term very losely). Satellite radio competes with more than just terrestial radio. They are battling iPods, CD's, DVD's, even AUX inputs on new cars! What kind of monopoly are they worried about? It isn't as if a new car buyer is being forced to chose XM or Sirius or else the radio does not function. There are many choices for the consumer and merging the satellite companies will not have any impact on this choice.
Score: 0
|I am old enough to remember a time before satellite communications and before cable television. Cable television started with promises of being commercial free, uncensored content. Unfortunately, this didn't last. Pretty much the only content on cable that isn't censored and packed with ads is the premium movie channels. Don't get me wrong, cable and satellite television are fine... but they aren't what was originally claimed, and an unhappy side effect was the death of all local content programming except news.
I would expect subscription satellite radio will follow a similar path. That does NOT mean that I endorse or disdain either side of this topic, beyond being saddened at the eventual loss of local flavor as entertainment goes ever more global.
I don't speak for anyone else, but I miss local television programming, and I will miss my local radio DJs if satellite replaces local terrestrial radio.
Score: 0
|i'm in a unique position of owning both an hd radio and a satellite radio.
i can tell you that by far, hd radio is so much of a joke that it is unbelieveable. hd radio advertises itself (at least hear in louisville, ky) as being commercial free radio. and it's true. it is commercial free. however what they do not tell you is that the side channels are pretty much more corporate crap that you could pick up with a transistor radio except there aren't any commercials. one of the hd side channels in town used to be worth it. they aired songs that came from live concerts. it was a format that i could dig. it was also a format produced locally. then they altered that format to a classic metal format i believe. i found out by going to their website that this format was a satellite feed centrally programmed from someplace else. i felt cheated, and this is essentially what turned me off of hd radio.
these markets may air ads about the greatness of hd radio, but unless you listen to a bunch of am radio or have a high end audio system, it's just not worth it. and those who live in markets who don't have an hd station or just have a few, it's even less of a viable option, especially if there are no side channels. i think we have 9 or 10 hd stations here, a whopping 4 have side channels, all of them feeds from afar.
it's not to say that satellite is that much better however. and since this satellite merger hangup continues, i don't think that it's going to be getting any better anytime soon. but the difference is that i can cancel satellite anytime i wish if i think its really awful.
so in the end, who will be the winner between satellite radio and terrestrial radio?
mp3 manufacturers.
Score: 0
|The hypocrisy is unbelievable. How can so much opposition be made to a merger of two small companies that are not even making a profit and are non essential to consumers' needs when the government allows a merger of now the largest company in the world, exxon/mobile. Since that merger occurred the price of gasoline has skyrocketed and has put a HUGE strain on the average American. The American government is clearly in the pockets of big business and their powerful lobbyists to the detriment of the American people.
Score: 0
|I somehow doubt the exxon/mobile merge is responsible for $140/barrel oil...
Score: 0
|Kevin Martin, Brownback and Senator Pat Leahy have proven that the US Congress is the best money Government can buy. Martin is kissing up to Congress to get a job while both Brownback and his daddy Leahy get $$$ from NAB... what a pity America can be sold by the pandering elite.
Here's my real point.... if Brownback is concerned that Sirius may have "mislead" congress is he also upset that Bush "mislead" Congress and the American people which has resulted in the death of 4500 Americans and cost over 2.0 Trillion dollars that could have been used here at home? .... I doubt it.
People, write your Senator (and hope they are not crooks too) asking them to move Martin on this issue and, most of all, vote against Brownback (and Religious nuts like him) and Leahy at every opportunity.
Score: 0
|Satellite radio is not about "Howard Stern" or "indecent" material. It is a private,uncensored,paid subscription radio service with over 18 million subscribers in less than 5 years. It is a crystal clear, coast to coast, static free, radio service with over 260 stations. There are commercial free music stations,christian stations,left, right, center, political talk stations,educational stations, entertainment stations, and much more. Any subscriber who has it knows how valuble a public service it is, and why so called "free" radio does not want you to have it. Mr. Brownback is the one who should be censored.
Score: 0
|a senior republican?? that says it all
Score: 0
|iBiquity/HD Alliance/NAB keep beating the HD Radio dead-horse:
http://hdradiofarce.blogspot.com
Score: 0
|F#ck you brownback....modern day nazi
Score: 0
|