Sirius and XM Get To Merge

It took the Gov't a long time to figure out that satellite radio was not a monopoly; that it had other competition and the NAB knew it all along. While the merger was waiting to go through, it subsequently put Sirius and XM people on hold in their careers until things fell into place. I didn't like how it held up two profitable companies in limbo.

But just as the wait for approval was painstakingly slow, the vote came down to the wire as well.

The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 to approve the buyout, with the tiebreaker coming Friday night from Republican commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate.

That is the most stand out sticking point to the whole storyline. Howard Stern, a subculture pop icon, railed against Pres. Bush for the ongoing war, but now he has to eat crow that the party lines have been drawn.

The approval was a major blow for the land-based radio industry, which lobbied hard against the buyout. It was also opposed by consumer groups, various members of Congress and state attorneys general, all of whom argued a satellite radio merger would hurt consumers and was not in the public interest.

I currently own a Sirius Starmate and Boombox and listen to it a lot in the late night hours. My dad just bought a car with XM in it. So, as a sports fan, I would really love to get to hear all the sports on one system soon.

I will keep up on how they will amalgamate the stations into one product.

FCC Looking For Feedback

The FCC is considering retrofitting its rule book with a slew of vintage regulations that broadcasters say will mire them down with endless paperwork and tax their resources into a state of paralysis.

Among the rules the FCC proposes to reinstitute are ascertainment panels for neighborhood watch groups to give their input on such topics as the songs on a station’s playlist, hosts, advertisers and overall content of stations. The FCC also is considering re-crafting procedural guidelines for processing license renewal applications, similar to the process in place in the 1970s, and re-enacting the main studio rule to eliminate remote studios and stop voicetracking.

I love the idea that voicetracking is getting a look at during this examination process. With the advent of station formats that feature jock-less and wide ranges of play lists, this rule could affect the way station managers hire and demand the on-air talent be live while broadcasting.

Terrestrial radio must pull out all the stops now that it will be competing with a Sirius/XM company. I expect a renaissance of local talent to rise up against national broadcast formats.