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FCC Approve XM-Sirius Merger: Consumers Shafted Contact us if you're interested in advertising on a relevant page! Entire site copyright 1996-2008 by David Citron All rights reserved. Posted July 27, 2008.

LISTENERS LOSE AGAIN! FCC Approve XM-Sirius Merger: Consumers Shafted (Washington, DC -- July 26, 2008) ... At long last, it finally happened. Monopoly wins; Listeners lose again. Sirius will be allowed to take over XM, according to a 3-to-2 vote of the FCC. The South Florida Radio Pages need your support! Please click the button above to donate via PayPal. Thank you! "The FCC's decision ends a 13-month review process, during which consumer groups and traditional radio operators had lobbied hard against the merger" says Jim Cramer in FCC Approves XM-Sirius Merger in The Street. "I think it's going to be, in the end, a good thing for consumers and be in the public interest," said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, "Consumers will enjoy a variety of programming at reduced prices and more diversified programming choices." Yes, the XM-Sirius merger will theoretically produce more programming choices -- from among whatever programming the combined company deigns to offer, now that it has no competition to worry about. Inevitably, this gives no choices for the choosy shopper, because there will be zero companies competing to get their business. How can the FCC rationalize a decision taking away consumer choices, and then claim it is in the public interest? Their decision in this case will harm Americans much more than anything Howard Stern could ever say, or anything that Janet Jackson could ever reveal. Only those three bureaucrats at the FCC could think that this is good for the consumer. Competition ensures more choices and better prices for the consumer. A monopoly such as the XM-Sirius combination does just the opposite. Using the same logic commissioners used, why don't we just eliminate either the Republican Party or the Democrat Party and give the voter more choices among candidates in just one party? It "worked" in the USSR for about 70 years. It's a shame our FCC commissioners aren't smart enough to understand the analogy. A provision of the agreement that promises a certain amount of community and minority programming is being challenged by of a public-interest law firm. Denver-based Mountain States Legal Foundation contends that the FCC is violating the Constitution's equal protection guarantee by demanding use of racial preferences or quotas. See FCC approves long-proposed XM, Sirius merger in Washington Business Journal. I haven't heard whether this was part of the final agreement, but earlier in the negotiations I heard that they had promised that if the merger was approved, that they wouldn't raise prices for three years. Do you believe that? Of course, left unsaid is the fact that even requesting this merger is breaking a previous promise made by both XM and Sirius. Are those three FCC commissioners (who voted to approve the merger) corrupt or just plain stupid? I don't have enough evidence yet to form an opinion. Their decision in this case will harm Americans much more than anything Howard Stern could ever say, or anything that Janet Jackson could ever reveal. I can only hope that the coming Wi-Fi radios put the combined company and the greedy bastards who run it out of their misery very, very soon. Even before Sirius-XM can offer a lucrative consulting gig to any retiring FCC commissioner. Related story: See The FCC: Radio's Worst Enemy ... Commentary by Ian Bernard, Co-Host of Free Talk Live.

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