The two satellite radio companies, XM and Sirrius, are merging pending, among other things, F.C.C. approval.
The F.C.C is concerned that there are only two existing satellite licenses that would now be owned by the same company. They want XM/Sirrius to demonstrate that the merger will give consumers more options.
XM/Sirrius says that they are presently not only in competition with each other but with terrestrial radio, internet radio, cell phones and IPods. They say that the merger will allow them to offer more to the consumer and thus, be able to compete better with the aforementioned.
The National Association of Broadcasters (terrestrial radio) is upset because one company will hold both licenses. Although they don’t seem upset with one company owning over 1,200 licenses on their end.
If the merger were truly an anti-trust issue, there would be an easy solution; issue more licenses.
The problem, of course, is hardware. The consumer is forced to buy a compatible receiver. XM/Sirrius says that they will develop a radio that can pick up both signals. So, conceiveably a receiver could be developed that would be universal in the event that more companies were able to get into the satellite radio business.
How hard can the N.A.B. push the issue? More choice for the consumer is their enemy. The merger may very well give the consumer more choice in the short run but ultimately less choice than a truly level satellite playing field.
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