Broadcasters Trying to Kill XM-Sirius Merger

Tim Carney notes that the National Association of Broadcasters have hired John Ashcroft to represent them in fighting the proposed merger of XM and Sirius on anti-trust grounds. The money quote: “The logical question, then, is: why do the broadcasters care so much about a powerful XM-Sirius if they are not in competition with XM-Sirius?”

FILED UNDER: Uncategorized, ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. DC Loser says:

    Ashcroft also was pimping his services to XM (who turned him down) before being hired by the NAB. Seriously, I don’t know if a merger is a good thing or not. I fear Karmizan’s plans for XM, making it more like Sirius. But I also understand the situation both companies are in and what will happen if they keep losing money.

  2. To say that terrestrial radio broadcasters are not in competition with XM/Sirius is to not understand the market. The fact that iPods are a bigger threat to both may be true, but that doesn’t mean that the two aren’t in competition with each other.

  3. Billy says:

    Truth on the Market has an excellent rundown of why the market in question shouldn’t be limited to satellite radio broadcasters only, here and here.

    If anyone knows antitrust, those guys do.

  4. DC Loser says:

    YAJ – you’ve just made the case for the merger.