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FCC Issues Strict Price Cap on Merger
In terms of the order granting the XM/Sirius merger, there were few new details in a FCC press release distributed late Monday.
The only surprise was language pertaining to the three-year cap on prices for a merged satellite radio entity. According to the FCC release, the commission will seek public comment on whether the cap would still be necessary six months before it's set to expire. The merger approval is conditioned on the commission's ability to modify or extend the price cap beyond the three-year commitment period, the agency said.
As for other conditions, they include requiring a combined satellite radio entity to provide a la carte programming choices to consumers. In addition, a combined satellite radio entity must include interoperable receivers capable of obtaining both satellite radio services within a certain timeframe.
Also, the FCC is requiring a set-aside of 8 percent of channel capacity for minority and public access channels. That would amount to 24 channels, with 12 dedicated to minority programming and the remaining 12 to public access streams.
In terms of the order granting the XM/Sirius merger, there were few new details in a FCC press release distributed late Monday.
The only surprise was language pertaining to the three-year cap on prices for a merged satellite radio entity. According to the FCC release, the commission will seek public comment on whether the cap would still be necessary six months before it's set to expire. The merger approval is conditioned on the commission's ability to modify or extend the price cap beyond the three-year commitment period, the agency said.
As for other conditions, they include requiring a combined satellite radio entity to provide a la carte programming choices to consumers. In addition, a combined satellite radio entity must include interoperable receivers capable of obtaining both satellite radio services within a certain timeframe.
Also, the FCC is requiring a set-aside of 8 percent of channel capacity for minority and public access channels. That would amount to 24 channels, with 12 dedicated to minority programming and the remaining 12 to public access streams.