It's been 70 days since Sirius-XM filed with federal regulators, and yet the merger hasn't even passed the preliminary review process. The FCC has yet to start its 180-day merger-review clock, and that smells like trouble for many.

"This constitutes the longest application-to-clock delay in FCC history," David Trout of M&A Researcher says in a report Wednesday. "There is simply no way to view the delay in a positive light."

And the delay seems to indicate that a decision won't arrive until sometime in 2008. That's cutting it close to election time, when political attention is far more focused elsewhere.

"It seems relatively safe to assume that the intervention -- in the form of face-to-face meetings -- of several politicians and organizations represented by former politicians is slowing the preliminary review process," Trout continued.

This chart illustrates how long this merger review process is taking, when compared to other major mergers:

"Each passing day without the FCC's pleading cycle and review clock being initiated threatens [hopes for] an FCC decision before the end of 2007," Trout writes.

[via TheStreet]

The League of Rural Voters today announced their support for the Sirius-XM merger, joining with several other organizations who have recently publicly supported the merger.

It's an interesting addition to the roster of supporters, because while the prior organizations addressed the FCC's concerns on ethnic diversity in the media - this directly addresses concerns of adequate competition in rural areas.

The League of Rural Voters said the combined entity would offer listeners in rural communities more content options at lower prices than what is currently available from Sirius and XM separately.

"In many rural areas throughout America, commercial radio reception can be extremely limited. Satellite radio has offered listeners in rural areas a robust alternative with hundreds of specialized channels that meet the programing needs of rural America," said Niel Ritchie, the League’s Executive Director. The organization also pointed to rural listeners who depend on satellite radio’s emergency and public safety stations, while terrestrial radio's corporate consolidation has created so-called "local news and weather" service which are actually delivered from offices hundreds of miles away.

One of the key reasons why the DirecTV-EchoStar merger wasn't approved by the FCC was because it was felt that rural communities (areas where an over-the-air TV signal isn't available) would lose out in competitive choices.

It seems that the League of Rural Voters is seeing that the merger would be more of a "standardization" of the satellite radio medium - opening up the exclusive content from both providers under a single subscription.

Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin will participate in a keynote discussion at the 2007 Lehman Brothers Worldwide Wireless and Wireline Conference at the Crowne Plaza Times Square in New York City.

The keynote will be at approximately 4:30pm ET, tomorrow, May 31st. A webcast of the keynote discussion will be available here.

There's a couple o' changes going down over at Sirius Blog Radio on Left of Center (ch 26).

First, Sirius has added It's A Trap and Aquarium Drunkard to their repertoire of bloggers. And second, Sirius has moved the timeslot to air at 12-noon ET, with encore broadcasts at 12-midnight ET. So here's the breakdown by day:

• Monday - Gorilla Vs Bear
• Tuesday - My Old Kentucky Blog
• Wed - BrooklynVegan
• Thursday - ProductShopNYC
• Friday - Aquarium Drunkard
• Saturday - It's A Trap

 

Good stuff.

[via ProductShopNYC] 

The largest and oldest Latino organization in the U.S., the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), has publicly affirmed their support for the merger of Sirius and XM.

"This is obviously important to LULAC, and this is likely to provide both Hispanic programmers and consumers with opportunities and choices," said Rosa Rosales, LULAC National President. "More programming means that the ever diverse American consuming public can look to Satellite radio for news and entertainment."

Several channels are cited as being important to the Hispanic American population, including ESPN Deportes, CNN Espanol, and several Latin music channels.

"More programming means more jobs -- from the on-talent to production crews. And more programming means that the ever creative and entrepreneurial American spirit has yet one more potential outlet and distribution channel," said Brent Wilkes, LULAC Executive Director.

Interestingly, in most cases, LULAC said they would support the maintenance of competition in a relevant market - but this merger is different. In this case there are "considerable benefits from the proposed merger" that they say outweighs any countervailing concerns.

There's an obvious media blitz of minority groups coming out in support of the merger.

While the NAB continues to beat their repetitious drum, it seems that the team on Sirius-XM's side is addressing the FCC's concerns of diversity in media. With minorities now representing nearly 1/3 of the U.S. population, it's a legitimate purpose, and one that can be directly attributed to serving the "public interest."

UPDATE: If you're looking for the latest incident where Artie Lange quit the Howard Stern show, go here.

Artie Lange, after more than six years with The Howard Stern Showm, said on air late last week that he intends to leave the Sirius program in January.

In an interview with the New York Post, Lange said the pre-dawn hours of the Stern gig, brutal stand-up comedy touring schedule, a recurring role on FX's "Rescue Me" and recent guest shot on HBO's "Entourage" has taken its tole on him.

"I just feel burned out," he told The Post.

Lange's weight - now over 300 pounds - and his admitted long-term struggle with drug and alcohol addiction, are also concerns.

"Nothing is set in stone, but it's something I'm seriously thinking about," the 39-year-old comic actor said on the radio program. "The schedule is destroying me. I love the show, and I love the people. I'm just really concerned about my health. I have to find a happy balance...none of this is going to be worth it if I drop dead at a Best Western in Milwaukee."

Stern discussed possible replacements for Artie, with names like Greg Fitzsimmons and Dave Attel. There was even a discussion about bringing back Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling.

[The New York Post]

Sometime ago I was sent these spec TV spots (videos below) that took a different approach to promoting Sirius. And I really think the concept has potential.

In most other commercial spots - by both Sirius and XM - it's essentially been a one-way message: The companies telling the viewer how great the service is, and the variety of content available to them.

But these spots take a different approach.

Instead they give the personal experience of a single subscriber (a taxi driver... who is character) from their own point of view. I could see different spots featuring personal experiences from soccer moms, truck drivers, real estate agents, contractors, etc. Anyone who spends a lot of time in their car.

Anyway, take a look, and remember that they're test spots, so you're viewing them in raw form:

Sirius Satellite Radio will broadcast an all day-long Howard Stern special featuring the most memorable Beatles-related interviews, cover songs and bits from the past 25 years of The Howard Stern Show.

The special airs Monday, May 28th (Memorial Day) starting at 6am ET on Howard 100 (ch 100) - or for folks on the left-coast, at 6am PT on Howard 101 (ch 101) - with encore broadcasts throughout the day on both channels.

Monday’s broadcast will present uncensored versions of some of the most entertaining moments in Howard Stern show history involving Sir Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, Sean and Julian Lennon, Pete Best and Billy Preston. Howard Stern along with Robin Quivers, Fred Norris, Gary Dell'Abate, Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling, and Vinnie Favale will reflect on these bits throughout the day.

The special will feature cover songs performed live and in-studio by Jon Bon Jovi, Enuff Z Nuff, The Fab Faux and Stone Temple Pilots, plus Howard singing “Blackbird” (classic!) and “Fool on the Hill,” Fred singing “Imagine I’m John Lennon,” and Scott the Engineer singing “With a Little Help from My Friends.”

Sirius' music channels will feature in-studio guests and special programing for this Memorial Day Weekend. Check out the highlights below (all times Eastern):

Big 80s (ch 8), May 26 at 9am and 5pm; May 27 at 4am and Noon; and May 28 at 3pm ET.
The ‘OmiGod’ One Hit Wonders Big '80s Summer Countdown!
Hosted by four of the original MTV VJs, Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood, Alan Hunter and Martha Quinn will count down the top 40 one-hit wonders of the decade as voted by listeners.  Each host will also pick an extra one-hit wonder that did not make the listener choices.

Buzzsaw, (ch 19), May 26 at 9am through June 1 at 12 midnight ET.
Air Guitar Week
Buzzsaw is celebrating the one guitar that everyone can play: air guitar.  Björn Türoque, air guitar champ and star of documentary, “Air Guitar Nation,” is coming in to host air guitar tunes and give you tips on how to achieve air guitar greatness.  Throughout the week, Buzzsaw will play the greatest air guitar anthems so you can play along.

Underground Garage, (ch 25), May 26 starting at 8 am ET through May 27 at 8 pm ET.
Summer of Love 2007
A salute to the 40th anniversary of the “Summer of Love” (the summer of 1967) jam-packed with special features revolving around the “Summer of Love”.

Left of Center, (ch 26), May 26 through 28 at Noon ET.
Blog Party Weekend
Your favorite Blog Radio hosts playing the best in indie, underground and alternative for the Memorial Day weekend.  Plus, please welcome our newest blogger to Left of Center, Aquarium Drunkard.

Faction, (ch 28), May 27 at 9 pm ET.
Joan Jett’s Radio Revolution
Joan Jett’s new radio show exclusive to Sirius launches Sunday, May 27 with a special salute to the men and women in the US military. Joan will be giving our troops, both stateside and abroad, the opportunity to request their favorite music and send a message home to friends and family.

Sirius Disorder, (ch 32), May 26 at 2 pm and 4 pm ET.
Rufus Wainwright discusses his new release The Stars in a two part interview with Sirius Disorder’s Meg Griffin.

Area 33, (ch 33), May 26 at 3 pm through 5 pm ET and rebroadcast: on May 27 at 6 pm-8 pm ET; and May 28 at 1 pm-3 pm.
StoneBridge: The Flavor The Vibe from Stockholm, Sweden
DJ StoneBridge takes his show on the road and broadcasts from Club Solidaritet in Stockholm, Sweden.

Outlaw Country, (ch 63), May 28 at 6 am-12 pm ET.
Memorial Day with Charlie Daniels
Southern rock icon Charlie Daniels gets behind the wheel in Outlaw Country, sitting in for DJ RigRocker on this six hour run of songs with a hickory-smoked patriotic flavor.

Siriusly Sinatra, (ch 75), May 27 at 5 pm ET and rebroadcast June 1 at 9 pm ET.
Nancy for Frank launches featuring Nancy playing favorite hits as well as rarely heard recordings by her father and other great artists dedicated to the time and spirit of Frank Sinatra.

Broadway's Best, (ch 77), May 25 at 7 pm and rebroadcast at 7 pm; May 26 at 3 pm; May 27 at 12 pm; May 28 at 2 pm-8 pm; and May 30 at 2 pm ET.
Seth Rudetsky’s Studio A Cabaret Memorial Day Weekend Special
Studio A highlights from Jennifer Hudson, the Jersey Boys, Kristin Chenoweth, Ben Vereen and others.  Plus, one-of-a kind live performances every hour on Memorial Day.

Nancy Sinatra's new show on Sirius is set to debut this Sunday, May 27th at 5pm on Siriusly Sinatra (ch 75).

The show, entitled "Nancy for Frank," will feature Nancy playing her favorite hits as well as rarely heard recordings by her father and other great artists dedicated to the time and spirit of Ol' Blue Eyes. This is all part of the on-going rollout of Siriusly Sinatra, which debuted back in April.

Nancy Sinatra also has access to rare live concert performances and archived material that has never been released before - and she'll be present them on her show.

"Nancy for Frank" will air every Sunday evening from 5-8 pm ET with encores on Tuesday afternoons from 2-5 pm and Thursday evenings from 9 pm- 12 midnight ET.