Broadcasters Trying to Kill XM-Sirius Merger
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James Joyner | Friday, March 9, 2007 |
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?”
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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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.
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.
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.
YAJ - you've just made the case for the merger.
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