Eleven members of Congress voiced their support for the Sirius-XM merger, in a letter addressed to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

The letter was signed by:
Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL), Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX), Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), and Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY).

"...the merger of Sirius and XM will create new opportunities for this type of diverse programming that has been overlooked by terrestrial-radio broadcasters. This merger will allow the companies to offer even more diverse content by consolidating programming and better utilizing capacity to offer even more unique and diverse programming to currently underserved populations."

The timing of this is interesting.

The NAB came out with their own Congress-backing letter to the FCC many months ago. Meanwhile, Sirius-XM lately have seen momentum build on Capitol Hill with support from various lawmakers. Is this a calculated "killing blow" tactic? Or did it just take them this long to garner this level of support?

[Read the letter here (PDF)]

The NAB has been curiously quiet as of late. First they take down the XM-Sirius banner, then a pro-merger piece in Roll Call goes unchallenged... an interesting change in direction considering the vehement opposition we've seen throughout the year (or the past 17 years depending on how you look at it).

Last week, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin expressed his desire to relax media consolidation rules, something that the NAB would very much want. Martin even wants to expedite the agency's review, hoping to conclude the proceeding in November and schedule a vote on December 18th.

Then yesterday, the NAB filed comments with the FCC over a series of research studies regarding media ownership for the Commission's pending quadrennial broadcast ownership review. Unsurprisingly, they urged the FCC to reform media ownership rules, stating that doing so would serve the public interest in light of competition.

"This continuing proliferation of outlets and rapid pace of technological change in the media marketplace further underscores the need for Commission action to update its ownership rules," the NAB wrote in the filing. "Only competitively viable broadcast stations sustained by adequate advertising revenues can serve the public interest effectively and provide a significant local presence." (emphasis added)

The argument that the NAB is using here is nearly identical to the argument that justifies the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc with XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. If in fact the fragmentation of media, and the increasing technological choices that enable further fragmentation, were a reason for relaxed media consolidation rules - then the same rules would apply for a merger of Sirius and XM. And vice versa.

But time is running out... and fast.

Martin wants to fast-track the media consolidation decision, a point that has brought on the ire of big names like Barack Obama not to mention the bi-partisan opposition of Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Trent Lott (R-MS).

The NAB doesn't need any further opposition, nor do they need the sword of "hypocrite" hanging over their heads during this important juncture. Time is running out, and battles must be chosen. If David Rehr has to pick one to lose, it might as well be to cede to the Sirius-XM merger in order to gain in relaxed media consolidation rules (which do you think its members want more?). A satellite radio merger, in the grand scheme of things, really has little effect on terrestrial radio considering that only 4.1% of total listenership is attributed to Sirius or XM. While relaxed media consolidation rules changes everything for the NAB's members.

As suggested in the Orbitcast Forums, a brilliant move would be if Sirius and XM both filed comments with the FCC in support of the NAB's comments. It would further solidify their arguments to merge, not to mention be a wonderful twist of the dagger in Rehr's side. As the old adage says, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

And this is afterall, politics.

The National Association of Broadcasters has asked the FCC to stop the informal 180-day "clock," in a filing with the Commission today.

The NAB's "Petition to Defer Action" requests that the FCC formally stop the clock, so that the NAB can "review and supplement the record with certain documents related to the serious apparent wrongdoing by XM and Sirius 'executive and senior-level employees' regarding the operation of FM modulators/transmitters and/or terrestrial repeaters."

In other words, the NAB wants the clock stopped so they can review the documents released from a previous FOIA request that the Enforcement Bureau felt were fit for public inspection.

The documents haven't been released yet, because they're still under review by various parties (largely consisting of Sirius and XM). The NAB feels these documents are important to the merger proceedings because of the DirecTV-EchoStar merger proceedings. During the DirecTV-EchoStar case, the FCC felt that EchoStar's compliance record "suggests a resistance to taking steps to serve the public interest that do not serve the company's view of its own private economic interest."

So the NAB wants the time-clock stopped, so as to allow for enough time for them to review the documents whenever they're actually released.

They insist that waiting for these released documents will "shed further light on the nature and scope of [Sirius and XM's] malfeasance and the role of senior management."

"Simply put, the Commission cannot in this proceeding rely on information produced in the enforcement proceedings without the parties to this proceeding having an opportunity to review and comment on that evidence," writes the NAB in the filing.

[FCC Filing (PDF) via Orbitcast Forums]

Mel Karmazin said the Department of Justice is seeking more details on the proposed merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

"They continue to ask for information," Karmazin said in an interview following a taping of "The Charlie Rose Show" on Tuesday.

"We still think the timetable will be in the fourth quarter," Karmazin added, though didn't specify what type of data is being sought.

The head of the DOJ's antitrust division, Thomas Barnett, told a congressional hearing last week he needed to know more before making a decision on the proposed combination of the only two satellite companies. He declined to give a timeframe, though said that DOJ wants to move "as quickly as possible."

On September 5th, Sirius and XM they had complied with DOJ requests for more information, causing analysts to predict that a decision on the merger could come as soon as October.

[New York Post]