Free Republic

And we thought that the idea of a monopoly was what was holding up the Sirius-XM satellite radio merger. Nu-uh. Nope. It's about setting aside a ton of channels on the new satellite conglomerate for "minorities" and "public broadcasting." So says the BUSH-nominated "Republican" chairman of the FCC, Kevin Martin. Who needs liberals when Republicans are doing the "Heckuva Job"?: Much of the attention at the FCC over the next few weeks will focus on the issue of satellite channels that are set aside for noncommercial programming and minority-owned programming. FCC Chairman Martin suggested 8% of the combined company's lineup...

Senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus yesterday criticized a compromise plan for the proposed merger of the XM and Sirius satellite radio companies, saying the deal does not provide enough opportunities for minority-owned programming. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin said over the weekend that he would support the merger after XM Satellite Radio Holdings and Sirius Satellite Radio voluntarily agreed, among a series of other concessions, to lease 4 percent of their radio spectrums, or 12 channels, for programming run by minorities and women. Members of the black caucus on Capitol Hill have been arguing for the...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sirius Satellite Radio's $4.59 billion purchase of rival XM Satellite Radio was given antitrust clearance on Monday as the Justice Department concluded consumers have many alternatives, including mobile phones and personal audio players. The deal, announced in February 2007, would combine the only two providers of satellite radio in the United States and is still being reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission. "Competition in the marketplace generally protects consumers and I have no reason to believe that this won't happen here," Justice Department antitrust chief, Thomas Barnett, told a conference call with reporters. The traditional radio industry,...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department approved Sirius Satellite Radio's $5 billion buyout of rival XM Satellite Radio on Monday, saying the deal was unlikely to hurt competition or consumers. The deal was approved despite opposition from consumer groups and an intense lobbying campaign by the land-based radio industry. The buyout received shareholder approval in November. The companies said the merger will save hundreds of millions of dollars in operating costs—savings that will ultimately benefit their customers. The Justice Department, in a lengthy news release explaining its decision, said the two companies compete not just with each other but also...

Satellite radio held hostage THE $4 BILLION merger of satellite radio companies Sirius and XM continues to languish in the hands of government regulators, despite hopes that the 10-month antitrust investigation wouldn't drag into 2008. An otherwise clear-cut approval process has been hijacked by competitors seeking to prevent consumers from receiving better service, more choices and lower prices. As a result, the government could become an accomplice in bankrupting satellite radio and removing a popular product from the market. Before granting approval, antitrust officials at the Department of Justice must determine whether the merger creates a monopoly, an easy question....

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. will no longer broadcast the Starbucks XM Cafe channel after ending a marketing agreement with the coffee chain operator, the company said in a regulatory filing Monday. As part of the breakup, Starbucks has the right to sell $22 million in XM shares. At the time of the filing, that amounted to about 1.85 million shares, which represents less than 1 percent of XM's total 314.2 million shares outstanding at the end of September. XM said in the filing that if Starbucks does not realize $22 million from the stock sale, XM may be forced...

A study sent yesterday to the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice demonstrates that the proposed merger between XM and Sirius would create a monopoly, constituting a likely violation of the antitrust laws. Conducted by one of the country's leading economists and scholars, the study lends concrete evidence and analysis to some of the most important questions that have plagued lawmakers since the merger was announced earlier this year. As lawmakers on Capitol Hill began to focus increasingly on what the relevant product market is for satellite radio and what impact this merger would have on consumers, the...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kevin J. Martin, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, 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. As he sought to sell the proposed merger of Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and XM Satellite Radio (XMSR.O: Quote, Profile, Research) to Congress, Mel Karmazin, the chief executive of Sirius, vowed last Wednesday that prices would not be raised and that listeners would benefit...

Sirius CEO argues for radio merger WASHINGTON — Despite vowing not to raise their prices, the nation's only two satellite radio providers found their proposed merger to be a tough sell Wednesday on Capitol Hill. "You've got some high hurdles to overcome, don't you think?" House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) told Mel Karmazin, chief executive of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. Karmazin, who would run the new company if federal regulators approve Sirius' proposed merger with XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., tried to overcome those hurdles by promising not to hike for an unspecified period the $12.95 monthly...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. pledged on Tuesday to work with regulators to close their proposed $4.9 billion merger by year's end, seeking to calm concerns that U.S. antitrust authorities would block the deal. Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin, a seasoned dealmaker and media veteran, said the goal of the deal was not to raise consumer prices but to boost subscriber growth by combining the two satellite radio services and bringing stars like Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey under one roof. But he acknowledged that Sirius's planned takeover of XM has...

Satellite radio operators Sirius and XM are expected to announce their long-awaited merger today, according to a source familiar with the deal. The two sides were locked in negotiations over the weekend trying to hammer out a final agreement with an eye toward going public with the merger today in Washington, D.C., where XM is based, this source said. Talks were still going on at press time and the deal could fall apart at any time. With antitrust issues of paramount importance, this source said lawyers for both companies were working overtime to fine-tune the language of the agreement and...

Sirius has always been a complicated company with a complicated story. First of all, you've got the blue-sky opportunity of satellite radio, which has lured in many only to see them washed away in a sea of red ink and missed expectations. Then you've got the deal with Howard Stern, a mythic figure with the cult status of Steve Jobs and whose importance to the well-being of the Company (and its stock price) is a topic of endless conversation. Next you've got Mel Karmazin, yet another big personality in a small company with an agenda all his own. And finally...

NEW YORK — Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) paid shock jock Howard Stern a bonus worth nearly $83 million on Tuesday for surpassing subscriber goals set in a 2004 contract that had already turned heads with its $500 million compensation package. The freewheeling and ribald Stern joined Sirius one year ago... His defection marked a turning point for the nascent business of satellite radio, with both Sirius and larger rival XM Satellite Radio (XMR) paying millions more to sign on other talent and attract listeners to their subscriber model. Sirius had roughly 600,000 subscribers when it signed Stern in 2004 for...

Testimony links firm to Jefferson probe In papers filed with the FBI, Suleiman YahYah, a Nigerian businessman listed as a target in the ongoing probe of Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, said that one of the 2004 meetings he attended with Jefferson and iGate Inc. CEO Vernon Jackson, occurred in the Washington offices of Worldspace Inc., an international satellite radio provider. YahYah's statement is the first to provide any kind of link between iGate and Worldspace, whose CEO, Noah Samara, said in a June filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he turned over documents and gave testimony to...

Are you tired of flipping through the radio trying to find tunes to jam to, but all you find are boring channels with a lot of chit-chat or ads? That was me a few months ago, until I subscribed to satellite radio. With hundreds of commercial-free music stations and specialty channels like live football coverage and talk shows, you will definitely want satellite radio in your car too! You can even buy devices that will allow you to have satellite radio almost anywhere - in your boat, house, even on capable cell phones! So if you decide you want the...

Reprinted from NewsMax.com Thursday, June 22, 2006 9:10 p.m. EDT Quinn & Rose Go National on XM Pittsburgh's legendary conservative talk team Quinn & Rose are now on satellite radio, taking their popular mix of conservative activism and common sense patriotism to a national audience. The morning duo can still be heard in Western Pennsylvania on FM NewsTalk 104.7. But as of May, fans of political talk around the country have been able to access Quinn & Rose on XM Satellite Radio's Channel 165. "Satellite is different in that we're hearing from people all over the country," Rose Somma Tennent...

I looked on the Best Buy and Curcuit City sites. Not a lot of help there. So, I turn to the smartest and savviest folks on the planet for advice. I want a portable unit - car and home/office. Also speakers for the latter. I have a great set of speakers in the car.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The recording industry sued XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) on Tuesday over its new iPod-like device that can store up to 50 hours of music for a monthly fee, sending to the courts a roiling dispute over how consumers can legally record songs using next-generation radio services. The federal lawsuit, filed in New York by the largest labels, accuses XM Satellite of "massive wholesale infringement" because its $400 handheld "Inno" device can record hours of music and automatically parse recordings by song and artist. The device is sold under the slogan, "Hear it, click it,...

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. said Wednesday it would create a new channel of Catholic-themed programming with the Archdiocese of New York. The channel, which will launch in the fall, will carry live daily Mass from St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York as well as talk and music programming. Financial terms of the arrangement weren't disclosed. Sirius already carries other religious-themed programming, including Catholic-themed syndicated talk shows, news and teachings from the EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network as well as programs from FamilyNet, the broadcast arm of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Those shows are also...

LOS ANGELES -- Four TV broadcast networks and their affiliates have filed court challenges to a March 15 Federal Communications Commission ruling that found several programs "indecent" because of language. ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, along with their network affiliate associations and the Hearst-Argyle Television group of stations, filed notices of appeal in various federal courts, including in Washington D.C. and New York. Some were filed late Thursday and the rest Friday morning. The move represents a protest against the aggressive enforcement of federal indecency rules that broadcasters have complained are vague and inconsistently applied. Millions of dollars in fines...