Posted on 06/24/2008 3:16:24 PM PDT by The Raven
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin said yesterday that he will support a merger between the nation's sole satellite radio operators, XM and Sirius, a decision that could remove the last regulatory hurdle in the lengthy and heavily criticized move to make the companies one.
...
The companies have agreed to:
... set aside 4 percent of their radio spectrums, or 12 channels, for noncommercial services such as educational and public safety programming. They would lease another 12 channels for programming run by minorities and women, groups that are underrepresented in entertainment broadcasting
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I have Sirius. I will cancel. I’m totally serial.
2 companies.
I guess there is such a thing as too much competition.
Satellite radio must be really important. Other mergers sail right through, but not this one. Go figure.
What are congress and the FCC going to do? Make the companies split apart again?
Then some executive will make a contribution or two to the necessary lefty Senator, and no one will ever care again.
ROTFLOL!! Radio welfare!!
Goldman Sachs has all but killed both companies over the past week. I have been investing a long time but never seen a more corrupt attempt by politicians, FCC, National Association of Broadcasters, etc.. to kill two companies. Guys, and girls, this is your gov at work.
That would be CONSERVATIVES!
Interestingly little piece of political judo, there. The NAB originally opposed ANY establishment of satellite broadcasting, arguing it’d take customers from them. Now it’s opposing the merger, most likely because it figures they’ll both go under if they don’t merge.
i have subs with both siri and xm. love them both. i called bothy ir depts in both companies to voice my disgust if they willingly give away spectrum. check out the group demanding freebies...you will see al sharpton, and jesse jackson writen all over them. they are nothing more than blackmailers.
The NAB and their group C3SR has all but succeeded in killing both companies with the assistance of congress and the FCC.
Let me work through the logic of this....
The same people who didn’t listen to (Dead) Air America when it was on free radio are now expected to listen to it on satellite for a fee. That’s some business plan!
Why would they be pulled? Your monthly bill would continue to fund them regardless of the ratings and they would have to exist by government mandate.
(snort) There aren’t enough hours in the day, for even a bed bound Media addict to listen to even more than a handful of channels. Fart America, even without much in the way of Liberal competition, drowned like a mute boy who fell overboard from the Titanic, miles before it hit the berg....
” Hello Hello Hello, Is there anybody out there?....”
Pay for radio? trend sheep.
The same people who didn’t listen to on (Dead) Air America when it was on free radio are now expected to listen to it and who were paid with stolen tax dollars from charities like Boys & Girls Club will now receive subscriber dollars on satellite for a fee by liberal government edict. That’s some business plan!
Yep it is some business plan, because the hosts need their media station whether anyone listens or not. They can be guest hosts on anything from MSNBC programming to the Tonight Show. They can be guests ON the Tonight Show and Letterman. They have "credibility" because they can finally earn a living at their huckster profession.
They become the go to guy. They could even moderate debates or be called upon to submit questions. Not so much when they don't have a job.
They are members of "the media". And unlike a fat cat capitalist like Rush Limbaugh, they wouldn't have to "sell out" to corporate sponsorship.
Insist that all of this "community" programming be held to the same rules as 501c3 non-profits. NO political advocacy for or against a candidate, party, or piece of pending legislation. HA!
As an XM subscriber, I’m already subjected to Err Amerika, the Oprah channel, Take Five, The Power, and XM Public Radio.
But I also get America’s Talk, America Right, Talk Radio, Fox News Talk, and Family Talk.
It all balances out.
No. The libs get 48 channels. It will be lumped into your service. YOU will pay for keeping the liberal channels on the air. It won't matter whether anybody actually listens. They've found a way to soak the existing customer base to subsidize the liberal garbage channels.
Just look at all the crap programming lumped into your DishNet or DirectTV service. Nobody watches it, but you have to pay for it. The same applies to the liberal channels. You'll be subsidizing their access whether anybody listens or not.
Pay for non-Nanny radio? Absolutely.
I don't believe such a critter exists. The Left has denied in print many times for years that there is no homosexual "agenda". There is no goal. No endgame.
Oh come on.
Nothing quite like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
As far as I can see, paid programming like XM/Sirius, is not going to be subject to the "fairness" doctrine if the RATs ever manage to resurrect that. And if Obama wins in November, look for it to be back less than 12 weeks after the coronation.
The article said they were going to set aside the channels. Big whoop. They will still be able to charge something for them. Or, even if bad comes to worse, and they have to give away the airtime for free, they don't have to subsidize the content.
No one listened when it was free, and no one is going to pay to listen to cr@p. Without a subsidy for content, liberals, community groups, and "underrepresented" groups are going to have a hard time competing.
Plus, one of the big reasons talk radio is so successful is that radio is the medium for people with jobs. The mindless unemployed watch TV, those with something worthwhile to do listen driving to work or sometimes at work. This is not a liberal audience.
If the price of having conservative pay radio is that they also carry liberal channels no one will listen to, that is the price and I am willing to pay it.
I am an XM subscriber. If this merger goes through, I will cancel. I have no intention of supporting a company that supports Howard Stern and his garbage.
...then don’t listen to stern. if you have cable tv, then you already have seedy content that you skip. do the same and enjoy the music, sports, and conservative talk.
You're right, of course. The Agenda is a program, not an entire channel. My bad.
Yet you support Opie and Anthony.
“To all: Please cancel your subscription if the Government forces left wing content —”
Will do.
“groups that are underrepresented in entertainment broadcasting” LOL
That’s a laugh.
Will conservatives get equal time OR ELSE!
“YOU will pay for keeping the liberal channels on the air.”
See the devious always comes up with something. I refuse to buy any of it.
Lefty broadcasting is not worth it.
>>It all balances out
No...when the government gets involved - that’s dangerous. It’s not free speech if it’s forced on us.
And “forced” can be subtle - so as to look like the companies are “volunterring” to do this.
>>If the price of having conservative pay radio is that they also carry liberal channels no one will listen to, that is the price and I am willing to pay it.
But...if politicians were successful in shaping content in the past.....why not in the future?
If no one listens to the lib channel - they just close down the conservative channel.
It’s why the NRA goes after even the smallest attacks on the 2nd amendment.
You are supporting Oprah, Opie and Anthony, and other crap.
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