ICO Global Communications will be launching their satellite, the ICO G-1, from Cape Canaveral, Florida in April.

The geosynchronous satellite will be used to transmit video, navigation and emergency assistance information to mobile devices in vehicles. The service, called ICO mim (mim = "mobile interactive media") will be run in trial-mode by the end of this year, and will be offered commercially in early 2009, according to ICO executives.

The American Antitrust Institute the other day asked the Department of Justice to file suit against the proposed merger of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.

AAI, which filed against the Sirius-XM merger back in June, holds strong to its assertion that the merger would "lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly," in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act.

As far as I can tell, the American Antitrust Institute holds absolutely no relationship to the NAB, or has any ulterior motives here. They are simply a nonprofit organization that advocates an aggressive stance toward antitrust enforcement.

Under AAI's definition, satellite radio stands alone in its relevant market:

"Although the merger parties posit many alternatives, including everything audio from AM/FM radio, to Internet radio, to MP3 players and iPods, none of these offer the unique nationwide coverage of satellite radio, content, features, and ability to aggregate demand. There is no evidence, as required under the Merger Guidelines, that any of the audio alternatives proposed for inclusion in the market definition by the merger parties constrain the ability of the merged firm to increase prices."

Oddly, I don't see any mention of mobile audio (streaming audio to cellphones) in their letter. Mobile audio, in my opinion, is the most direct form of competition if you want to define it as a "nationwide multichannel mobile audio entertainment subscription service" as the NAB calls it. And with companies like mSpot, who already have over 1 million subscribers (not to mention the backing of several terrestrial radio companies like ABC Radio, Clear Channel and others), it's hard to say that mobile audio is "burgeoning."

Still, of all the arguments against the merger, AAI has consistently given the best ones to support their views. I know I'm from the "pro-merger camp" and all, but I have to give AAI credit for stating their case better than most. It all boils down to how the relevant market is defined, and that ultimately, is up to regulators to decide.

[FMQB, Wired]

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that social networking giant MySpace is in the process of partnering with the Big Four music groups to become an online music destination.

It's reportedly part of a larger effort to position MySpace more of a media company, and further distinguish itself from Facebook.

Tentatively dubbed MySpace Music, the music service would let users listen to free, streaming music, and purchase DRM-free MP3 downloads, which can be played on virtually any portable device, including the iPod.

The streaming service would be advertising supported and revenue would be split with the labels.

[Wall Street Journal]
Photo courtesy of Robert Scoble.

Clear Channel, now satisfied with their own merger approval, have been increasingly active in their discussions with the FCC regarding the merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

In fact, in the past six months, Clear Channel has actually met with the Commission discussing the Sirius-XM merger exactly 17 times as of writing this. But it's their most recent filing that has given us the clearest glimpse into what these discussions have been about.

The company says that, regardless of how the market is defined, the FCC shouldn't grant approval to the Sirius-XM merger.

"Permitting one company to control so much spectrum would inevitably undermine the viability of free, over-the-air, advertiser-supported radio’s economic model, harming localism and diversity, the pillars of the public interest under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended," writes Clear Channel.

They go on to describe various scenarios. In short:

• Under the current "national pay radio" market definition - the merger should be denied
• If the market is defined as "all radio services" - then it would give Sirius-XM too much spectrum and "undermine" the ability of terrestrial to serve the public
• And if it's defined as the "audio entertainment" market - this would put "intense competitive pressure" on terrestrial radio because everyone else (satellite radio, iPods, internet radio, etc) are unregulated
• "HD radio is not a meaningful threat to satellite radio – not now and likely not for some time..." (the quote says it all)

Should the FCC actually approve the merger, Clear Channel asks that the full 25 MHz of spectrum is "simply too much market power." Their solution? Chop that down to 15 MHz and the remainder would be "divested in some fashion."

Cutting the amount of spectrum wouldn't be enough though. They also would like the government to require that Sirius and XM "embed HD radio reception capability into all satellite radio receivers" - much like what iBiquity and the HD Radio Alliance have been asking for.

[FCC Filing (PDF)]

As expected, the Apple iPhone has gotten a boost in storage capacity from 8gb to 16gb.

The 8gb version runs $399 while the 16gb will cost you $499. There's also a new iPod Touch, weighing in at 32gb at also $499.

While not the fabled 3G version (yet), I'm sure this interim version will help maintain Apple's ridiculous rate of sales.

[Apple via Engadget]

Top execs from five terrestrial radio groups recently talked about the challenges and the competitive factors facing the industry, according to Communications Daily.

But it's what Gary Stone, president of Univision Radio, said that interests me the most. He said that radio broadcasters need to realize they're competing against more than other stations for marketers' attention.

"I'm no longer in the radio business," said Stone, in front of a crowd of media buyers in Beverly Hills. "I consider myself to be in the audio delivery business, marketing multiple platforms to marketers."

'nuff said.

Microsoft has offered to buy Yahoo! in an unsolicited bid, for $44.6 billion.

Consisting of both cash and stock, Microsoft's bid values Yahoo shares at $31 a share, a 62% premium on yesterday's closing price.

Yahoo! is Sirius' music partner for the Stiletto, but beyond that this also would consolidate two big players in Internet Radio. Yahoo runs the popular LAUNCHcast service, and Microsoft has MSN Radio (which is powered by Pandora).

Microsoft's main motivator behind this is search engine competition and advertising mojo, stating that the "resulting benefits of scale along with the associated capital costs for advertising platform providers make this a time of industry consolidation and convergence. Today this market is increasingly dominated by one player. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo! can offer a competitive choice while better fulfilling the needs of customers and partners."

I wonder if their merger will take as long as Sirius-XM? Something tells me it won't.

[Engadget, TechCrunch]