XM SATELLITE (XMSR)

[hexonx]

News for 'XMSR' - (DJ FCC Chief Privately Questions Satellite Radio
Merger - NYT)


NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Federal Communications Commission chairman
Kevin
J. Martin has privately questioned recent Congressional testimony by
the
architect of a proposed merger of the nation's two satellite radio
companies that subscribers would both pay the same monthly rate and
receive significantly more programming, The New York Times reported in
its
Wednesday editions.
As he sought to sell the proposed merger of Sirius Satellite Radio
and
(SIRI) XM Satellite Radio (XMSR) to Congress, and by extension to
regulators like Mr. Martin, Mel Karmazin, the chief executive of
Sirius,
vowed last Wednesday that prices would not be raised and that listeners
would benefit enormously by getting the best programming from both
companies.
However, the Times reports that in separate conversations with two
people after Karmazin's testimony to a House committee, Martin said
that
subscribers may be surprised to learn they may actually have to pay
more
than the current monthly rate of $12.95 if, for example, they want to
receive all the games of Major League Baseball (now available only on
XM)
as well as all the professional football games (now only on Sirius).
Karmazin, reached on Tuesday, said his testimony was not misleading
and
that he meant to say two things: subscribers wanting to keep their
existing service would not face a price increase, and listeners who
wanted
the best of both services would pay less than the combined rate of
$25.90.
Martin, in an interview on Tuesday, suggested that the details had
not
been clear from the testimony. He emphasized that he was not
questioning
the motives or candor of Karmazin but that there was "a need for
greater
clarity" over what was being proposed for fees and programming, the
Times
reports.
Two people who talked to Martin - one working to get the deal done
and
the other a critic - said they understood his comments to reflect his
skepticism about both the deal and the way it was being sold to
Congress
as more beneficial to consumers than it might actually be. The two did
not
want to be identified because they said these were private
conversations.
Martin said that the proposed deal had "not even been filed with the
commission yet," and that he would carefully consider the arguments of
both the supporters and the opponents before reaching a decision, the
Times reports.
The $13 billion proposed deal cannot be completed without the
permission
of antitrust lawyers at the Justice Department and a majority of the
five
commissioners at the F.C.C.
Newsapaper Web Site: http://www.nytimes.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires March 07, 2007 01:11 ET (06:11 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 01 11 AM EST 03-07-07

Source: DJ Broad Tape