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Reaction Mixed on Sirius/XM Merger OK
There was some weekend reaction to news that XM and Sirius won Federal Communications Commission approval for their pending merger, a decision that was handed down by the communications regulator late Friday night.
As expected, the National Association of Broadcasters blasted the FCC move.
"The vote certainly comes as a disappointment to NAB. We continue to believe that consumers are best served by competition rather than monopolies," said NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton.
Gigi Sohn of the group Public Knowledge provided a more conciliatory statement, saying the FCC placed on the XM/Sirius merger several conditions that the organization was seeking to cushion anti-competitive impacts related to the deal.
Public Knowledge had asked the commission to require a merged satellite radio monopoly to provide a la carte programming choices, a three-year price cap, a set-aside for non-commercial and minority programming, and an open-device requirement allowing for reception of both XM and Sirius platforms by a single radio. The FCC placed those conditions on the merger.
"Consumers will be better off than had the merger been granted without any conditions," Sohn said in a statement. "At the same time, we eagerly await the details of the commission's order to see more closely the degree to which the conditions will serve the public interest."
There was some weekend reaction to news that XM and Sirius won Federal Communications Commission approval for their pending merger, a decision that was handed down by the communications regulator late Friday night.
As expected, the National Association of Broadcasters blasted the FCC move.
"The vote certainly comes as a disappointment to NAB. We continue to believe that consumers are best served by competition rather than monopolies," said NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton.
Gigi Sohn of the group Public Knowledge provided a more conciliatory statement, saying the FCC placed on the XM/Sirius merger several conditions that the organization was seeking to cushion anti-competitive impacts related to the deal.
Public Knowledge had asked the commission to require a merged satellite radio monopoly to provide a la carte programming choices, a three-year price cap, a set-aside for non-commercial and minority programming, and an open-device requirement allowing for reception of both XM and Sirius platforms by a single radio. The FCC placed those conditions on the merger.
"Consumers will be better off than had the merger been granted without any conditions," Sohn said in a statement. "At the same time, we eagerly await the details of the commission's order to see more closely the degree to which the conditions will serve the public interest."