Following yesterday's article about who's going to be the next FCC Chairman, an observant Orbitcast reader points out that one those hopefuls has very distinct ties to the satellite radio industry.

In fact, this possible future FCC chair actually worked at one of the satcasters in recent years. Click the jump to find out who it is...

Counsel for both Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. met with top officials from the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday, according to a recent filing with the agency.

The meeting was with FCC Chairman Kevin Martin; Daniel Gonzalez, Chairman Martin's Chief of Staff; and Michelle Carey, Chairman Martin's Senior Legal Advisor.

According to the filing, the meeting was held with the Commission to discuss action on the merger following the decision by the Department of Justice. In addition, the filing included the programming packages and proposed pricing seen here and here.

View the FCC filing after the jump...

A gaggle of state Attorneys General today urged the FCC to impose restrictions on the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

The AGs - coming from 11 states that include Connecticut, Ohio, Missouri, and Iowa - told the Commission that they were "disappointed" by DOJ's decision to let the deal proceed without conditions.

"The combination of these companies will result in a single corporation controlling access to all nationally available satellite radio," the attorneys general said.

And what do they want?

The states are saying that the FCC should consider requiring Sirius and XM to make interoperable radios available to customers (uhm, ok), offer different packages of channels on an a la carte basis (uh huh), and divest some radio spectrum that would allow another competitor into the business (it depends, how much?).

"Our offices stand ready to share with you our thoughts on the potential value of various remedial conditions available, such as mandatory publicly available interoperable receivers, a la carte pricing, and divestiture of spectrum."

I don't think there was ever a question of concessions. Mel Karmazin, during the many hearings on Capitol Hill, clearly stated the companies' willingness to provide concessions so that regulators would deem the merger in the public interest. I'm not exactly sure where these Attorneys General have been, but much of what they're asking for has already been baked into the merger. But that's politics for you...

[via Reuters, RadioInk]

The next President will not only get a cozy seat in the Whitehouse, but also gets the power to place positions throughout the capitol - one of those being the next chairman of the FCC. And even though there's still three candidates fighting to become the leader of the free world, that doesn't mean we can't speculate right?

The Hollywood Reporter helped us embark down this road of speculation by researching and digging up which "friend of a friend" likely has the juice to grab that position at the Commission.

Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA) today issued a statement regarding the Justice Department's approval of the merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

"I am pleased that the Department of Justice has concluded its investigation and determined that the XM-Sirius merger does not pose significant competition concerns," stated Boucher. "The Department appropriately defined the relevant market for competitive purposes as the entire marketplace for audio entertainment, including terrestrial radio, Internet radio, and consumer devices, such as iPods. In that broader market, the merged company will have limited ability to raise consumer prices."

"While creating no consumer disadvantage in terms of pricing of services, the merger will lead to significant other consumer benefits," Boucher added, citing the synergies that would allow for a la carte packages to be available to consumers.

"This unprecedented approach will provide subscribers with more choices and lower prices and will pave the way for a form of content acquisition based on the individual programming preferences of listeners."

Boucher concluded: "Given the vibrancy of competition in the audio entertainment market and the substantial consumer benefits that will result, the merger is clearly in the public interest.  I urge the FCC to complete its review of the XM and Sirius transaction expeditiously and allow the two companies to proceed with their merger plans."

Rick Boucher has a history of promoting technology and being active on Internet-related legislation. Boucher's proposals to promote competition in the cable and local telephone industries contributed to the enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Boucher also originated the House Internet Caucus (and is currently its co-chairman) and created the Digital Media Consumer's Rights Act (DMCRA) legislation.

Now that Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. have approval from the Justice Department, let's check in on the investment analysts' take on the road ahead...

• Benjamin Swinburne, Morgan Stanley:
  Following closing of the merger, both Sirius and XM "should benefit from some lift in demand from combined programming offerings." But a critical factor, from an investor's standpoint, will be the ability to renegotiate large OEM and programming contracts, in addition to creating new demand and increasing conversions.
  
  "The challenges facing the industry, however, will not go away as a result of the merger," writes Swinburne. Now the focus shifts to free cash-flow.
  
  
• Jeff Wlodarczak, Wachovia Capital Markets:
  "With the DOJ decision now out of the way, FCC approval would appear to be a foregone conclusion," writes Wlodarczak in a recent note, noting that there are likely to be conditions placed by the Commission.
  
  Wachovia doubts the merger will "materially reignite demand" for satellite radio, but "realistically as a combined entity they have a much greater chance for long-term survival," in their view.
  
  
• David Bank, RBC Capital Markets:
  RBC continues to "remain on the sidelines" from an investor's view, noting that "any 'bounce' from potential completion of the merger may largely factored into current valuation."
  
  But what of the FCC? Bank notes that the FCC tends to "follow in the DOJ's footsteps" so they're more confident in final approval.
  
  "In terms of timing, it's difficult to know, but some time in the next 2 weeks to 8 weeks would seem realistic given chatter we are hearing from our Industry sources," write the RBC analyst. The question now is the conditions that the FCC will impose.
  
  
• Blair Levin, Stifel Nicolaus:
  Aside from what was already posted, Stifel Nicolaus notes that there has been some significant negotiations regarding conditions at the FCC. And that there's one wildcard still out there: The NAB.
  
  "If the FCC clears the deal, it's possible the NAB could challenge the FCC decision in court," writes Levin. "But we would expect the broadcasters' legal prospects to be uphill."

Now that the Department of Justice has closed its review of the Sirius-XM merger - without any conditions - the focus now shifts to the Federal Communications Commission.

Will Sirius and XM gain the FCC's approval? Blair Levin, analyst at Stifel Nicolaus believes so.

"We believe the companies will likely be able to [win FCC clearance]," writes Levin in a recent note reflecting on the DOJ's announcement. "While there is always a risk that three commissioners could decide the merger is not in the public interest -- and in this case we suspect at least one and maybe two commissioners will vote that way -- we note the FCC has never, to our knowledge, rejected a merger approved by the DOJ. We don't believe this one is likely to be the first."

Those "one or two" commissioners are likely the Democratic commissioners Adelstein and Copps (pictured above, in order from the left, followed by Martin, Tate and McDowell), who have historically been opposed to media consolidation.

And what of timing?

The last we heard, the FCC might not reach an agreement by the end of this month (one can always hope though). Stifel Nicolaus thinks that the timing will depend on how the two Democratic commissioners will choose to rule: do they impose further conditions? or do they simply oppose the deal?

If it's the latter, the decision will likely be done in a matter of weeks.

Elaborating on what was reported yesterday, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin held a press conference in Washington, stating that he has asked his staff to start drafting documents on the proposed merger of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. - but added that a decision may not come this quarter.

"I'm not sure we'll make it by the end of the first quarter any longer," Martin said. "I've got the staff drafting various options. I haven't figured out what I think we should do on it yet."

Martin said he expected the Federal Communications Commission to rule after the Department of Justice makes its decision.

"I still think the commission will act on it after the Department of Justice acts," Martin added. "If there's a need for us to go forward, then we'll go forward quickly after that."

"I have asked the staff, after we've gotten all the final information that we needed, to be doing drafts, and when there were issues outstanding to do a range of options for us," Martin said during the press briefing.

However, Martin said he still had not made up his mind on whether he would back approval of the deal.

"I haven't decided what I'm going to end up doing on it. I think that [the FCC staff] will have various cuts and options as a part of it, but I haven't decided yet."

[Bloomberg, Reuters]

Federal regulators may be nearing a decision in the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. with the FCC leading the charge, according to firm Stifel Nicolaus.

We've all heard this ad nauseam over the recent months, but Stifel Nicolaus analyst Blair Levin writes in a recent research note this morning that he understands that the FCC is drafting a document to approve the deal. This may be an indicator that the DOJ will make their move soon as well, as presumable the agencies are coordinating their efforts.

"The FCC rumblings bolster our sense that the DOJ will likely clear the deal followed by FCC approval with conditions," writes Levin.

While the exact merger conditions are unknown, Levin thinks that the FCC could require some capacity to be leased to independent programmers. Hopefully the FCC is seriously considering Public Knowledge's proposals, and not Georgetown Partners' agenda.

"We think the critical FCC question is whether the two Democrats [Commissioners Copps and Adelstein], both of whom have expressed concerns about the merger, could be persuaded to vote for the deal if a leased-access condition were included," he writes.

[via Barrons]

Representatives from Wiley Rein LLP, counsel for Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., met with the Federal Communications Commission to discuss the merger with XM, according to an ex parte filing posted online today.

Richard E. Wiley and Gregg Elias of Wiley Rein, met with Daniel Gonzalez, Chief of Staff for FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, to review pending issues raised in recent filings. While no specific filings were mentioned, it can be assumed that these "issues raised" were those by Georgetown Partners, US Electronics, iBiquity and Clear Channel among others.

This is the first in-person meeting, on record, that the company has had with the FCC since January 11th (PDF). This most recent meeting occurred on Tuesday, March 11th.

[FCC Filing (PDF)]