The "Consumer Coalition for Competition in Satellite Radio" - or "C3SR" - is at it with their hijinks. This time around, the best connected group of college students side , has issued a press release demanding the FCC hold a hearing on the Sirius-XM merger.Their reason? Because of a letter C3SR filed with the Commission today which they say "brings new light" to the proposed merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.
C3SR further labels the merger as "an anticompetitive merger to monopoly that would harm consumers." (Note the "merger to monopoly" wording? Sounds familiar... like, something the NAB might say. Oh right, C3SR is "supported" by the NAB.)
The filing, which numerous parts are redacted due to confidential information, claims that documents filed by Sirius on April 10th "cast the merger in a very negative light," according to C3SR. This "new light" appears to be based on Sirius-XM's failure, or as they call it, a "coordinated plan to restrain trade," to bring interoperable radios to market.
The group adds that Sirius' filing, in their opinion, calls into question "the truthfulness and candor of both Sirius and XM with respect to their dealings with the Commission as licensees and during this proceeding."
Seriously? Are we still stuck on the same NAB talking points from Spring '07? Does the failure to bring an interoperable radio to market completely trump the entire merger process?
Oh, and speaking of truthfulness and candor. Remember that last year C3SR's founder Chris Reale told Corporate Crime Reporter:
"If we were out there in the media telling people who funded us, it would detract from support from different groups."Groups like... consumers.
[Read Filing (PDF)]
I bet if we prolong this merger for another year, there will be a slew more press releases from NAB sponsored groups and senators. Anyone think I might be on to something?
It amazes me that all the crap we are hearing about satellite radio is the same crap we heard about cable TV and then satellite TV. Now look, all local stations are having to go digital in less than a year. While Ma & Pa Kettle keep playing with the rabbit ear antennas, technology advances with or without them. So all the SatRad naysayers, just keep putting those vinyl albums on your turntable or shoving that 8-track tape in the under-the-dash player in your Pinto...the times they are a changin'.
Do we REALLY have to endure this? Just because the FCC has Sirius and XM held hostage, must they allow a bunch of frat brothers take pot shots at them?
I mean COME ON!
Any more of this, and Sirius and XM will lose every last bit of self respect they have left.
Its really outrageous we have to endure this. The FCC has ALL the info they need. They should block ANY further petitions from ALL special interest groups from this moment forward.
Its almost as if the FCC is enjoying this.
I'm really beginning to think their plan is to make Mel go crazy and just call it off. That way they can't be accused of "denying" the merger...when in reality they did.
Ugh. This is getting sickening.
I'm so sick of this shit. Everytime the little guy stands to get ahead some government agency steps in and fucks it up. I've been with Sirius for five yrs and an invester, thinking this might be a great investment. I'm realy starting to lose interest, not because i don't believe in the company, because i love satellite. Words cannot describe what i'm feeling and i'm sure what the other investors are feeling. Everyday this bullshit gets more rediculous. I want to thank all the government agencies that are involved in this bullshit. Kevin Martin i'm sure mom would be proud. Mel, don't take any shit from these assholes pull out now SIRIUS will survive. Its pretty odvious they need you more than you need them. God, i wish this got to someone that matters. Charles Scott
It sounds as though they are implying that sirius and xm either have interoperable radios and have lied about having them for some time and that xm and sirius lied to the DOJ or something. But who knows...
This is outrageous. It is time some real journalists / investigative reporters looked into this group, the NAB and the FCC.
The DOJ has concluded that a merger would not be anticompetitive. The FCC is responsible for determining whether the merger serves the public's best interest.
-Dragging out and delaying a decision on the merger for about 400 days DOES NOT serve the public's interest.
-More programming choices and a la carte pricing DOES serve the public's interest.
-Allowing special interest groups such as Georgetown Partners to hijack the process DOES NOT serve the public's interest.
-Allowing a group who purports to advocate for consumers yet is funded by the NAB to deceive the public and distract from the process DOES NOT serve the public's interest.
This is outrageous. When the FCC is either incompetent or being controlled by the NAB and elected public officials who is responsible for looking into it and calling them on it?!?
The government is corrupt. This is a clear example of the big problem.
The most amazing part of this all is that the American public lets this go on. I am completely amazed that this c3sr group can actually waste the FCC's time. Why doesn't the FCC ask any questions other than "So what do you want?".
Whoever said that this whole process should be looked at by investigative journalists is bang on. There is an incredible story here that affects a huge amount of the population and the best part is that once extended to the halls of government and beyond all the ridiculous requests, it implicates the government in the corruption.
It's a perfect story.
The NAB is clearly hoping the media picks up this ridiculous C3SR story...
Instead I hope the media uses this as a way to shine light on the deceptive practices of the NAB and the inappropriate influence the FCC is allowing to third parties, leading to one of the longest merger approval decisions in the history of our country!
Sirius and xm brought this whole issue on themselves for their half brained scheme for a cash grab before the whole sat radio industry implodes.
NO! to "merge" MONOPOLY
YES! to dropping sat radio before it's quick coming demise, there is no way smart, thinking consumers will support a "merge" MONOPOLY. HD Digital Radio • IT'S TIME TO UPGRADE! • HD Digital Radio It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT! http://www.hdradio.com/
YES! to the FCC continuing to do it's job of holding corporations to their previous agreements and not allow changes based on half brained schemes for a cash grab
NO! to "merge" MONOPOLY
ha! the only negative comments on the merger are posted by non subscribers who have an interest in direct competitors!
and they are all anonymous cowards! no one ever backs up their opposition with a legitimate reason from a real consumer.
the whole thing is a bunch of self interested people trying to block competition to their sub standard product.
America is supposed to be a place where competition drives innovation and creates products and services which are good for consumers. Not where a few greedy power hungry businesses stifle anything that forces them to improve.
THe merger will go through with no more concessions than what has been already offered by Sirius-XM. No political party would want to piss off 21+ million voters (subscribers) this close to an election. All of the current talk is simply window dressing so they (FCC) can say that they thouroughly investigated the issue before pretty much going along with the DOJ. This is how they do things in Washington. June is the month.
HD=No compelling content. Content is King. Terrestrial is hoping that the merger implodes so they can get Howard back on their airwaves. But it ain't happening. He is taking over the whole satrad industry with Mel, and then once the crap has been removed, he will dominate all radio.
Prepare for the Revolution.
It really shouldn't surprise anyone. This is exactly the sort of thing Mel K. was talking about when he said certian groups were taking advantage of the review process, and making an industry out of th review at everyone's expense. Martian should just exert some authority and have the commissioners vote NOW in order to have a fair outcome that is "in the public interest".
It really shouldn't surprise anyone. This is exactly the sort of thing Mel K. was talking about when he said certian groups were taking advantage of the review process, and making an industry out of the review at everyone's expense. Martian should just exert some authority and have the commissioners vote NOW in order to have a fair outcome that is "in the public interest". Expect a new group to come out of the woodwork daily the longer this thing drags on.
More whores. What a surprise.
It sounds like XM and Sirius had interoperable radios a few years ago but told the FCC that they didn't, and maybe Congress too. This raises a few questions for XM and sirius subscribers - would you have liked it if XM and Sirius had sold interoperable radios? Would you have liked to have had that option for the past few years? If the answer is yes to any of these, then XM and Sirius SCREWED YOU. They ripped all of us off. Why isn't anyone mad about this? I mean, one of the main reasons so many people want the merger to happen is so they can get both baseball and football and other shows from both XM and Sirius. If XM and Sirius could've made this possibe years ago, but didn't, then I am mad. And if they lied to the FCC about it, then maybe the FCC should investigate. If they did lie to the govt, how can all you be okay with that? I could understand if you're just investors in their stock, but should loyal subscribers be upset?
Don't let this latest C3SR statement worry anyone. We all know that founder Chris Reale is only working with half a brain and is nothing more than a NAB puppet trying to look important. Notice thay never post an address for themselves. I would venture to say that it is in Chris' parents basement.
article says:
(Note the "merger to monopoly" wording? Sounds familiar... like, something the NAB might say.
sounds like something ignorant NAB fanboy would say!
i called sirius last nite to reactivate my sportster 4 and during the wait sirius sayed "get ready for big things to happen" they must know something!
and to the clown that supports HD radio! HD RADIO is so awful...you cant even compare sat rad to HD radio! i have sirius and HD and believe me when i tell u...the only advantage is AM sounds like FM (good for local sports talk)...FM-HD is HORRIBLE there is NO diffrence in playlists!!! why should HD be included with sat rad receievers
BLAME CLEARCHANNEL, BLAME RADIO ONE, BLAME YOURSELVES FOR PUTTING SUCH A PATHETIC PRODUCT AND playing the blame game makes you sound more desperate!!!
FUCK FM/AM...im done with testicle radio....how does a #1 rated show like booker (q102 philly) get canned?????
im sick of format changes
im sick of excuses
im sick of repetitive play lists
and im sick of uneducated fools like annonymous coward who support a pathetic product like HD radio and waste peoples time with lies
Here is an e-mail I sent to C3SR that i am sure is a bogus address: info@c3sr.org
"You should be ashamed of yourselves.....uh nevermind that’s impossible. You're a small group of lawyers representing big business.
C3SR has absolutely no interest in consumer opinions or rights.
You are a fake organization set up to push the NAB agenda under the guise of being a voice for the consumer.
Your website is a pathetic, useless, one way stream of corporate and government controlled propaganda.
you should be well aware of that from the firestorm of people you pissed off with your bogus FCC filing. those are the consumers you pretend to represent and yet not only do you ignore their comments, you suppress their voice completely.
Trevor Jordet
A legitimate consumer who is offended by your claim to represent me."
Wouldn't the C3SR being an arm of the NAB sort of qualify as their Hitler Youth?
Mel K has an interoperable reciever in his office! He said that about a million times! The problem is interoperable recievers are more expensive and neither provider was willing to subsidize the cost. Siri wouldn't subsidize it because if they did and the subscriber switched to xm then eventually XM would be much more profitable and vice versa. Jose, do some research before you get upset! Usually the people that are mad all the time are ignorant! The FCC is extremely aware of the situation involving interoperable recievers BECAUSE THIS WAS AN ISSUE 10 MONTHS AGO!!!! The situation was explained XM-Siri kept to the standards set by the FCC initially and it was dropped.
This is how Sirius is fooling people
( Mel K has an interoperable reciever in his office! He said that about a million times! The problem is interoperable recievers are more expensive and neither provider was willing to subsidize the cost)
Truth is they do not cost more worth talking about. The reason cost is not a factor like Sirius wants you to think is because it is done with intergreated circuits called chips.
When they are made it it does not cost more if the chip has more or less in it.
Many times the package costs as much or more than the chip.
If you look at things like a talking card you will see a chip in no package just a covering of glue. Those chips cost almost nothing to make.
Do not be fooled that a Sirius / XM radio costs more to make and the line we are handed about no mfg. wants to spend more making the radio is nothing but a smoke screen because all radio makers get the chips from Sirius and xm. The radio mfg. does not know or need to know what is in the chips only how to connect them.
This filing has no weight. A large portion was blacked out(like someone thinks they work for the CIA). What was not blacked-out was a copy of a filing dated in 2005. And that was from another entity. So this should be filed in something circular.
http://www.c3sr.org/news/C3sr/Redacted-Final.pdf
large portion was blacked out(like someone thinks they work for the CIA)
That is the problem Sirius and the FCC are not telling all.
Sirius did not want it known what is in the blacked out part.
We are being conned.
Poor blind, ignorant, sat radio fanboys using BS as the truth to support the "merge" MONOPOLY which is not at all a positive for the consumer NOR is a positive for the health of the sat radio industry. Prices will go up, there will be no choice and no direct competition. No trevor don't quit your day job, majority of those saying NO! to "merge" MONOPOLY are long term consumers with one or more subscriptions, and are those who understand the role direct competition between xm and sirius played in getting all the positives which used to be part of sat radio.
This "merge" MONOPOLY is a cash grab game by Mel and fellow xm and sirius management before the entire sat radio industry crashes. Neither company has made any money, a "merge" MONOPOLY will not change that, face it fanboy's sat radio is currently all but history.
NO! to "merge" MONOPOLY
NO! to blind, ignorant sat radio fanboys
Stop with the price going up that is not going to happen.
A higher price and they get less subs this is not a must have thing like Gas.
People still have a problem paying for radio and that is what is holding people back.
I know many people that would become a sub if the price was lower.
Less subs and less ad money.
More money for Video Ect. that is true but that is a extra.
It may surprise a lot of folks on this site, but the VAST majority of Americans have no earthly clue that the two sat radio providers are trying to merge. So as dire and important as it may seem, almost everyone else is getting on with their lives just fine.
Anonymous Coward, the price WILL go up with a "merge" aka MONOPOLY. There will be less content for the same or more money = what you get for your money declines = price for what your getting INCREASES. It's a simple fact that has been proven time and time again. You take away direct competition then quality declines, choice is taken away, and price goes up.
NO! to "merge" MONOPOLY (either way both sat radio companies are history)
Better get used to it satradio fanboys.....
HD Digital Radio • IT'S TIME TO UPGRADE! • HD Digital Radio It's here. It's local. It's free. DISCOVER IT! http://www.hdradio.com/
Any question what will happen to HD Radio?
Time maybe running out if you were planing on to listening to it.
http://www.hear2.com/2008/03/this-weeks-desp.html