Satellite Vs. Local: Karmazin, Broadcasters Square Off

SATELLITE VS LOCAL: KARMAZIN, BROADCASTERS SQUARE OFF
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
At the House Telecom Subcommittee hearing on the Future of Radio, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin again made the case for the merger of his company and XM. But Peter Smyth, president of radio station owner Greater Media, wasn't buying the pledge of lower prices, saying "subscription prices will rise because there will be no competition to restrain monopoly rates," then, sounding like an anti-media consolidation activist, he added: "Jobs will be eliminated. Innovation will suffer. Neither listeners nor advertisers will benefit. Put simply -- private corporate interests will benefit, but the public will suffer." Gene Kimmelman of Consumers Union said the merger as advertised would not be in consumer's interest. He said that satellite radio was a distinct service, a mobile national offering, that broadcasters do not directly compete with. One legislator pointed out that Kimmelman had seen some "significant benefits" in the proposed merger of DirecTV and EchoStar in 2002 -- a merger that was found to be anticompetitive -- while he opposed outright the current satellite radio merger, not even proposing conditions on a possible merger. Kimmelman said the difference was that cable prices were going up three times the rate of inflation and that he was looking to satellite to be a governor on that price. By contrast, he said, "last time I looked, the price of free radio wasn't going up." He also said there had been a proposal of spectrum divestiture. He then suggested that if the combined companies wanted to divest some spectrum and combine into one service, that would be an interesting proposal.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6422600.html?display=Breaking...
* Karmazin Counters Character Qualification Criticisms
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6422620.html?title=Article&sp...

* For more on the hearing see http://energycommerce.house.gov/cmte_mtgs/110-ti_hrg.030707.future_radio...
* Sirius-XM Merger
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2007/03/more_openers_siriusxm_m...
* Women & Minority-Owned Radio
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2007/03/openers_women_minorityo...
* XM, Sirius Pitch Merger to Hill
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/07/AR200703...
* New Net radio rules draw fire on Capitol Hill
Rep Ed Markey (D-MA) had harsh words for a ruling released Tuesday by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board. It proposes raising the amount that commercial Internet radio services pay to record companies by 30 percent retroactively to 2006 and in each of the next three years through 2009. Each station would have to hand over a minimum $500 royalty payment.
http://news.com.com/New+Net+radio+rules+draw+fire+on+Capitol+Hill/2100-1...
* Markey Examines Radio Industry, Merger at Hearing
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2660&I...