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Wednesday, February 21, 2007 12:23:03 PM
lousy
signal)
Feb 21, 2007 (New York Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via
COMTEX)--The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has leapt to
the front of
thepackin opposing the proposed merger of XM and Sirius Satellite Radio
- and its
first move is invoking the specter of Howard Stern.The NAB, which
represents traditional terrestrial broadcasters, has never
likedsatelliteradio, which was created to compete with its member
stations and which
has none of the FCC content guidelines that others must follow.But the
NAB also doesn't trust satellite, which it feels doesn't play by
therules.The association complained bitterly when the satellite
services began to
carry traffic and weather reports from major cities, for instance,
arguing
thatthesatellite licenses specified they could only offer national
programming.
Now the NAB points out that the original satellite licenses
specificallyrequiredthe two services to remain separate.
If the merger is going to be approved, the FCC will have to nullify
that
clause.XMand Sirius are expected to say that's OK because the audio
landscape has
options now that it didn't have in 1997 - Internet radio, iPods and so
forth -andtherefore programming diversity doesn't require competing
satellite
services.The NAB says that's nonsense, and also argues that a single
satellite-radioentitywould have both performers and the audience at its
mercy for content and
pricing."Giving the government's history of opposing monopolies, NAB
would be
shocked iffederalregulators permitted a merger of XM and Sirius," said
a statement from
Dennis Wharton, NAB's executive vice president.The association calls
the proposal "a government bailout" and challenges
the FCCbypushing a familiar radio button.
"Policymakers will have to weigh whether an industry that makes Howard
Stern itsposterchild should be rewarded with a monopoly for offensive
programming," said
Wharton.The months ahead will test the NAB's Washington clout, which is
considerable,butthis will be just one of many dramas swirling around
this proposal.
One reason it was advanced now is that satellite people feel
Republicans
will bemoresympathetic to a merger than Democrats, many of whom think
there's been
toomuchmedia consolidation already.
Republicans have a 3-2 majority on the FCC until January 2009, but
should
a
Democrat win the White House in November 2008, those numbers would
flip.
Byadvancingthe proposal now, the satellite companies allow a year for
approval
and hope it will be done before their plan gets caught up in
election-yearpolitics.By David Hinckley
New York Daily NewsCONTACT: Visit the Daily News online at
http://www.nydailynews.com/Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information
Services.
(C) 2007 New York Daily News-0-SUBJECT CODE: NY
Source: Comtex Wall Street News
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