Georgetown Partners calls A La Carte a "fairytale"
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 8:50 AM
Tags: FCC, Georgetown, Merger, Satellite Radio, Sirius, XM
Georgetown Partners, the minority-owned company that wants 20% of satellite radio infrastructure handed over to them, has filed comments with the FCC calling the Sirius-XM proposed A La Carte pricing a "fairytale."
"The Sirius-XM 'A La Carte' offerings are a 'fairytale'." writes Georgetown Partners in the ex parte filing. "There are no public interest benefits in the near or even in the intermediate future."
Georgetown's claims go on to state that all satellite radio receivers would have to be replaced in order for the A La Carte packages to be made available to subscribers.
"Even assuming that sometime in the distant future these radios were actually to be produced and could be purchased, the more than 30 million present owners of installed automobile satellite radio receivers and the tens of million of future car owners of such radios would have to rip these radios out of their dash boards, junk them, and pay whatever monopoly price the post-merger company would charge for the 'next generation' radios," writes Georgetown.
(As opposed to waving a magic wand and making those receivers capable of new features?)
"Unlike the Sirius-XM 'A La Carte' offerings, [Georgetown's] proposal provides true benefits for the public including to every owner of a satellite receiver today and in the future and a competitive presence in the market that otherwise would be ruled by a monopoly," the company writes.
"Georgetown’s proposal requires the combined Sirius-XM to carry Georgetown’s advertiser-supported programming to everyone with a satellite radio receiver – subscriber or not. The result would be immediate, continuing and permanent tangible benefit to the public."
So let me get this straight, the public interest solution that Georgetown is proposing is to... introduce commercials into a free service?
Wait ...and why can't the FCC require that Sirius-XM do this themselves?
[FCC Filing (PDF) via Orbitcast Forums]
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Posted by: 0.0 | January 30, 2008 9:24 AM
Georgetown Partners are the NAB.
Posted by: STINKY | January 30, 2008 9:40 AM
Sounds like this group is a low-rent, remedial JV team of extortionists.
Posted by: Jerry | January 30, 2008 9:49 AM
so they say they have an answer to the replacement of receivers for the combined entity and its to let them have sat space and advertise?? Thats the answer? Are you kidding me? Which 5th grader wrote this proposal---Geeze(and who would get the advertising revenue hmmm)
Posted by: gary | January 30, 2008 9:55 AM
interesting, just a "heads up", Ryan, there is a typo there in the headline...
Posted by: Bandwagon03 | January 30, 2008 10:02 AM
Replace a piece of technology?!?! That's unheard of!!!
Because Blu-Ray discs play in a regular DVD player.
You get 1080p resolution on a tube TV.
And HD Radio comes in crystal clear on a standard FM/AM radio.
Posted by: Alex the Sane | January 30, 2008 10:29 AM
Boy, I wish I could gain entry into a business with high entry cost for free just because I am white.
Posted by: Scott | January 30, 2008 10:47 AM
Maybe the FCC is holding off on the merger announcement so that they can say yes to the merger on Friday Feb. 1st, and in honor of Black History Month give over 20% of these two companies bandwidth to some poor disadvantaged people of color. Sorta like SatRad Reperations.
Hell they could just give them 202. It'll be "redundant" when the merger is through anyways. Tell em Fred.
Posted by: Anonymous Coward | January 30, 2008 10:52 AM
There goes the neighborhood...
Posted by: racist | January 30, 2008 12:37 PM
FYI... remember when O&A were an additional fee... and on top of that you could also subscribe to the Playboy channel for another fee, and even today, the XM canadian offer is different from the US offering.
A-La-Carte (as in pick only the stations you want) may be a "Fairy Tale" But a tieried program packag is do-able with present receivers.
Well... atleast with XM receivers.
Posted by: jeff | January 30, 2008 1:17 PM
He has a point with the a la carte offerings. How many new radio's will I need to buy? I have hundreds of dollars in equipment now. And I also remember when XM had tier programming. It raised my bill.
Posted by: pfreak | January 30, 2008 1:22 PM
"I have hundreds of dollars in equipment now"
does any of that equipment produce 0.0 ratings that you claim are #1?
Posted by: pest spin | January 30, 2008 1:28 PM
Everybody , give me a nappy headed ho .
Posted by: Anonymous Coward | January 30, 2008 3:19 PM
Ryan ,
Not to nitpick , but it's "fairytale" , not fairytail.
Posted by: Anonymous Coward | January 30, 2008 3:23 PM
Ah, the old public interest argument again. If patriotism is the last refuge of a coward, then surely the public interest is the last refuge of an entity wanting the government to do something for them they are unable to do for themselves.
Posted by: Jim | January 30, 2008 7:18 PM