NAB Files Sat Merger Reply Comments

The NAB's reply comments in the XM-SIRIUS satellite radio merger docket at the FCC argues against XM and SIRIUS' contention that the prohibition against one company holding both satellite radio licenses is not a codified rule, calling the companies' "half-hearted arguments" "not persuasive," and charging that they are "wrong to suggest that a Commission finding that the proposed satellite DARS monopoly would serve the public interest would 'override' this rule." 

The NAB says that "a finding that the proposed merger would serve the public interest is not sufficient to warrant repeal or modification of the satellite DARS anti-merger rule. The Commission would also have to explain why such an abrupt and unprecedented departure from its long-standing policy of promoting spectrum competition and prohibiting spectrum monopolies is warranted." 

The comments also warn, "Given their history of pervasive violations of Commission rules and authorizations, Applicants simply cannot be relied on to keep their promises and comply with any regulatory conditions that might be imposed.26 Indeed, it appears that Applicants cannot even be relied upon to describe accurately their proposed new offerings. SIRIUS’s CEO MEL KARMAZIN recently described those offerings in a manner that (1) is flatly inconsistent with the Applicants’ own filings in this proceeding and (2) appears to have been intended to cast the offerings in an overly favorable light."

Read the comments by clicking here.

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