Excerpt

This attempt to stop the merger is just one more skirmish in the NAB's war on competition. "If you're an anti-trust enforcer and you see that all the competitors are banding together to oppose a merger in the name of 'public interest,' it's pretty easy to figure out that the truth is exactly the opposite," Tom Hazlett, who teaches law at George Mason University in Virginia, says.

What the NAB really hopes is that if the merger is blocked, Sirius and XM -- which are both losing money -- will go bankrupt. Then, to hear actual entertainment programming rather than ads, we'll have to listen to our iPods. Until the NAB figures out a way to get them banned, too.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070302/Ent05/703020453/-1/ENT/CAT=Ent05

Satellite has 3.4% of total radio listening time

http://www.mediabuyerplanner.com/2007/03/01/arbitron-satellite-snares-34-of-total-radio-listening-time/

What a shame...Congress is a bunch of street walking hookers...

Anyone want to come protest with me on wednesday? Start some riots maybe? I got my chant already..."We love satellite RADIO, Let the Sirius/XM Merger GO, Congress is a dirty HO!

I wasn't aware that Ashcroft actually had a soul!

I still say that satellite is obviously a threat to terrestrial, but not the other way around. Once someone leaves FM for satellite - they aren't EVER going back. I don't agree with trying to block satellite services from having local content, nor much of what the NAB says. I hate them in fact. But I'm against the merger so unfortunately I'll support their absurdity. If these two companies were better managed there'd be no need for a merger in the first place. Enforcing pricing restrictions through government isn't the answer either. Should we just let government run and manipulate everything? I thought we fought Communism decades ago, now we're for it? LET THE MARKET DECIDE.

The emerging technologies such as WiMax and other Wifi services are NO WHERE near being nationwide, nor will they ever have the coverage of XM or Sirius. To somehow presume without them even existing yet that they are "competition" is desperate absurdity. With all these mergers, and fewer and fewer companies - who knows what the restrictions on it will be? Same with streaming content over a cell phone. It's not like your home internet connection where you have choice - the corporations want you listening ONLY to their approved streams.

He has proven time and time again that he is an idiot. Remember, he lost a Congressional race to a dead man:

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/11/07/senate.missouri/

Ryan - This has turned into an all out competetive fight between Terrestrial and Satellite radio. The fact that NAB is fighting this so vehemently is probably the single best thing that could have happened for this Satellite radio deal.

As a person who is totally in favor of this deal I personally hope NAB hires every lobbyist in the country to fight it. COMPETITION fights.

Ryan writes:

We all know that the NAB opposes the merger, but now they're bringing in the big-guns. It's just sad to see that someone like John Ashcroft, who served as head of the Justice Department for four years, can be bought out so easily.>>

The more the claim "morality" the bigger the theives they are. Ashcroft is just another phony like Ted Haggard, the televangelist bloodsuckers, and Pat Robertson, who claims to speak to God. They are an embarassment to our country.

SteveWeBB- I like your thoughts on home internet choice. Only problem is when I was looking for high speed internet I only had one choice.

I am honestly scared if satellite radio was going to go under. Well maybe not I guess I will just talk on my phone while driving more often. Can't turn terrestrial radio on anymore.

Isnt Asscraft the same tard who when dancing moves from side to side rather than back to front?

Ryan, I don't agree with his conclusions, but why would you assume that Ashcroft has been "bought out"? You don't think it's possible that the NAB went LOOKING for someone who agreed with their view?

This is the man who desecrated our nation's honor by arguing that it's ok to torture people in secret prisons and suspend the constitution when it isn't convenient. So you can take his words for what they're worth.

BTW - Dems hate Ashcroft so his opposition might not be too persuasive with a lot of the folks on the Hill.

Finally, if you watched the hearing on Wednesday it was amazing how many members have either Sirius or XM.

Anyone have the fag Ashcroft's email address? I would love to send that paid off POS a piece of my mind. The NAB is the monopoly. Paying off anyone and everyone to try and remain supreme. They are crooks and liars and why I hope Congress is not being persuaded by these jerks.

The sat radio merger is not a monopoly. Media is media, the technology that delivers that media does not make it a monopoly period. I get tired of the lobbyist that are involved in this mania. Of course, the NAB has tried to destroy alot of companies over the years. I hope the FCC and DOJ do not fall prey to the lies told by these paid off people to speak their nonsense.

"Ryan, I don't agree with his conclusions, but why would you assume that Ashcroft has been "bought out"? You don't think it's possible that the NAB went LOOKING for someone who agreed with their view?"

Of course, and the easter bunny will be coming to town in just a few short weeks. Ashcroft runs a lobbying firm. He gets PAID to have opinions. I'm sorry, but Mr. Ashcroft didn't give two hoots about sat. radio until he was paid for it. To believe otherwise is about as naive as it gets.

Dow Jones is reporting that Ashcroft actually offered his lobbying services to XM, which declined, so he went to the NAB, took their money, and is arguing their position instead.

Ryan - The competitive war between terrestrial and satellite escalates -

WSJ

"After the merger was announced, Mr. Ashcroft's firm contacted us about hiring him to assist us," said Nathaniel Brown, a spokesman for XM. "We declined. Apparently the National Association of Broadcasters opted to pay him to parrot their views."

http://public.wsj.com/SB117297131783726186.html

Muscle - That's the coolest thing to come out of this whole thing. Ashcroft was bought out by Bush with a medal and now he's being bought out by the NAB. The guy was able to look the other way when he had proof that Iraq was a lie, and manage the CIA into a two-bit sheriff's Department; why not take it another step and sell your name for a bunch of San Antonio used car salesmen?

1. Ashcroft has no soul ... he only has a name and even that is MUD to many Americans.
2. I have a real problem with so-called satrad supporters who choose to alighn themselves with the NAB/FCC. If your against the merger you have the right to voice your opinion and state your case. However when you give your support for the NAB/FCC position just so the merger won't go through YOU are worse then they are. At least we know what we have with these scumbags. When one of these "fans" of satrad props up their argument by saying "I hope the NAB wins" then you may as well go back to terr radio because us true satrad supporters don't need another knife in the back..
RANT_OFF

Personally, I am AGAINST the merger anyway, and really don't understand the "lovefest" here at this site over it. I will be very happy if it is defeated. I think a merged, "one-company" dominated market is BAD, and will certainly lead to less choice. (You can bet that the duplicate music formats will be merged and I DON'T want that. I like having two sets of choices.) So I will support anyone who will block this merger. And I also don't agree that one will go away anyway if the merger fails. Even if one company goes belly up, someone else will step in and put some sort of programming up on the bankrupt system. And, yes, that still leaves TWO choices!

Gee Stan, if Ashcroft wasn't bought out by the NAB, then why is XM saying he was lobbying for money from them to support the sat companies? XM declined to hire him to lobby, and now he is totally against a merger. Sounds like a rat, smells like a rat, its probably a freaking rat!!! A BIG RAT!

Maybe I don't know what interoperable means and maybe this has been discussed at length and maybe it doesn't mean anything but here's this from Visteon's website:

http://www.visteon.com/products/automotive/media/satellite_radio_spec.pdf

"there are simply no substitutes in the marketplace for the product XM and Sirius sell," said Juleanna Glover Weiss, a spokeswoman for Mr. Ashcroft.

-------

Ain't that the truth!

Just read that Ashcroft approached XM after the merger announcement and offerred to represent them in the merger approval process--paid of course--XM said no thanks as they had their people in place--The NAB then hired him(or he sought them out then) It about the money and as long as someones paying your firm, you will fight for them--Thats what a lobbyist does--I thi nk this is a one day headline as someone with a reconizable name and then it gos away--The more NAB fights, the more it becomes obvious why--its competition!

But its still radio! just with different features.
Its still a music carrying device like an ipod or mp3...

like having a cellphone with walky talky or gps. Differentiation is how I look at it. Terrestrial Radio is the fucking Monopoly.

Ain't that the truth?

Is that why the car manufacturers are intalling ipod jacks into the dashboard? Is that why digital HD radios are being installed as well?

this is a good sign , i hope the rest of them follow suite.

An iPod is NOT competition with Satellite Radio. The iPod, and the WiMax phone services are more or less dealing with "digital downloads". iPods and Phone MP3s compete with traditional sales points, like record stores and the DVD. It is not the same experience as radio. Radio is a wealth of music being selected based on popularity or what DJs like and prefer.

Terrestrial Radio is one, so is HD radio, but don't ever say the iPod or the input jack is competition. It's a different medium. Nobody ever considered cassette or CD players in cars "competition" to the radio.

I would argue given the fact that radio stations are mostly owned by less than a dozen big companies, that there is too much of an oligopoly and merging the only two satellite radio stations would just contribute to the problem, not help it.

Latest story out in the WSJ says that Ashcroft approached XM first, and they turned him down, before he went to the NAB.

I'd say that demostrates he was "boughtout" and likely now has zero credibility. But with lobbiest is it money or credibility that counts?

The beauty of a lot of those "ipod" jacks (as people like to call them for whatever reason) is that connecting our satellite radios will be that much easier and much better sounding than fm direct.

- Is that why the car manufacturers are intalling ipod jacks into the dashboard? -

Theu always show ipods in the commercials, but most of those are simply standard line-in jacks. You could use it to plug ANYTHING into it, such as a PDA, laptop, or even XM or Sirius (it'll sound better than an FM modulator). There are makes offering ipod integration with the head unit but it's usually an ad-on option. Even so, I replaced (for the most part) using my MP3 player in the car with satellite. I still use the MP3 player, but only to listen to specific albums now and then. My Inno plays the occasional downloaded show from the net thus nega

Is that why digital HD radios are being installed as well?

As much as I disagree with most government interference, I gotta agree with what he is saying. I believe that satellite radio, in a very very round about way, competes with other forms of media, but definitely not directly. I think both companies can be and should be successful on their own. I like having a choice and I like my current service.