FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said today on CNBC that the agency will act "soon" on the decision for the pending merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.Martin noted that Sirius-XM had agreed to concessions - such as A La Carte pricing - and said the Commission "will hopefully be able to do something on it soon."
Additionally, he noted that the delay in coming to a decision was due to further complications in the changing of a rule in the FCC licenses, barring the two satellite radio providers from merging.
[Watch the Video via Reuters]
AMEN!
Pathetic.
Kevin Martin fails consistently to understand his role in one of the biggest examples of Big Money screwing the little guy. If he had any sense, along with the zombie-looking idiot democrats Copps and Adelstein that are puppets of the NAB and Jesse Jackson, they would have made this move 2 months ago along with DOJ.
FCC = Fraught with Corruption Commission.
"SOON"
Exactly what does that mean in terms of days?
A day is the same as a month to martin.
"Extraordinary".... :)
I sure hope so ! The public will soon find out all of the problems with the F.C.C. and how they have failed to serve the public interest !
Note , he was taken back when told it's taken over a year and a half so far..What the hell does [ we hope] mean. we hope , you hope Kevin your a dope.
The FCC is doing their JOB. You guys want to piss and moan at someone it would be Mel and Sirius and Nate and xm.
"the delay in coming to a decision was due to further complications in the changing of a rule in the FCC licenses, barring the two satellite radio providers from merging."
The delay could should have also been that both sat radio companies were also told to make radio's with would work with BOTH services, that FCC mandate was also ignored.
Let'em wait Kevin, do your JOB, it's satradio's problem they brought on themselves, desperate for a government handout to make up for poor management.
"he noted that the delay in coming to a decision was due to further complications in the changing of a rule in the FCC licenses, barring the two satellite radio providers from merging."
When the rule was put into place it was assumed that both companies would be profitable by now, that clearly has not been the case. Therefore it is appropriate for both companies to merge in order for their survival. His predecessor (chairman Hundt) has already conceded on this point.
I look forward to a speedy approval soon.
Soon. Next quarter. Last quarter of '07. I don't care what excuse they use; there is NO EXCUSE for this shameful delay! Just another example of the dysfunction and total failure of the Bush administration. All of this time and money wasted over a pay service, even after both companies have made concessions that clearly benefit the consumer.
HERE IS THE BIG QUESTION, FOLKS:
ARE THE "RULES" WRITTEN FOR THE PUBLIC INTEREST?
IF SO, THE RULES CAN BE CHANGED.
Did anyone notice how Martin mentioned the $20 billion spectrum sale?
What would the value of Sirius-XM spectrum be worth in a sale today?
Any ideas?
I don't know how much Sirius' spectrum is worth but XM's is worth 4.6 times the price of Sirius' stock. Since no one else has outbid them, I guess that's the value.
I can't believe he said that he "hopes" it would be soon.
Which will get FCC approval first, the XM/Sirius merger or the 27 billion dollar merger of Verizon & Alltel to make the largest cellphone company in the US?
BLAH-BA-BA-BA-BLAH----..... and so on.
to Kevin Martin:
SET A DATE. You sound like the Bush Administration. OOOP's, wait a minute, you're part of it.
Chairman Martin seems to be reasonable. I have hope he will allow the merger without undue restrictions. I hope the value of the combined company will reflect the fury of the opposition. If so, this new company will redefine radio. If they can survive the recession.
Soc
Martin was misquoted he actually said, “The FCC will decide after America returns to the MOON”. I mean they still need to consult with a million other unrelated special interest groups and leaches. “Sorry Mel even the International Teabag Packers Union is against the merger unless you add tea brewing capability to your new radios I don’t see any way for the merger to happen”!
Say No To The Merger!!!!
“Sorry Mel even the International Teabag Packers Union is against the merger unless you add tea brewing capability to your new radios I don’t see any way for the merger to happen”!
ibiquity is sueing because they want access to the brewing technology as well
SOON for this guy means another year. This is from the same guy who said they were willing to act quickly once the merger passed through DOJ.
The FCC is too bureacratic. Either say "Yes" or "No" to the merger already but issue a decision. Regardless what they do now, I am afraid that the FCC has unfortunately already taken all the air out of this merger.
Still thinking it over after 16 months? Absolutely reprehensible! Any other President would do something...ANYTHING! What a bunch of JACKASSES!
This thread is missing something.. oh yeah, that's right:
"Merge" monopoly
"Merge" monopoly
"Merge" monopoly
It does not take a year and fuckin half to go back and revise a previous rule in a license , he basically said it did and that's why it took so long. BS!!!!
this thread is long
“ibiquity is sueing because they want access to the brewing technology as well”
I heard that cross platform tea brewing capability was an FCC mandate that SatRad ignored.
Fuck yourself weasel.
I can't believe Kevin Martin is 41. He looks like he's barely 30.
TWO WEEKS,
THAT IS WHAT WE ALL SHOULD SAY WHEN ASKED " When will the FCC make a decision?"
WHEN ASKED IN THE FUTURE, JUS SAY------------ TWO WEEKS.
Wassup with all the nasty words about Kevin?
I find him v-e-r-y hot!
It will be the end of this month!!! or so he said last month.. but it will be by the end of June.. June Cleaver I believe.. he didn't actually say month, did he??..
I'll tell you what's "extraordinary" ,.... fucking off for 450 days!
Thank you David Faber for having both the brains and balls to get to the point with pussymeister.
In an interview on CNBC Martin said that in attempting a merger, the two satcasters are asking for something that goes directly against a rule that the commission put into place when the two companies first got their licenses. In other words, the request is “extraordinary,” he said.
aka both of sat radio's management teams are complete screw up and they need government buyouts and mandates (part of sirius and xm's fcc licenses) lifted which were never followed.
Martin will soon reply HECK NO! 0.0 to both Sirius and xm.
FCC Chairman Martin Offers No Sirius/XM Timetable
In an interveiw with CNBC Thursday, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin offered no timetable on when the agency would provide a decision on the proposed merger of Sirius and XM Satellite Radio. During the interview, Martin would only say that he hoped the Commission would be able to come up with a decision "soon."
Martin previously said that the agency hoped to have a decision by the end of June. The two satcasters have already received approval from the Justice Department, but the FCC is unlikely to grant the merger since the joining of the two satellite radio operators is against FCC rules. If approved, there will likely be conditions.
"This is unlike any other merger that's come in front of us, where we have a rule that would prohibit it from going forward," Martin said. "They're asking for something extraordinary, and I think the Commission is taking a close look at it." (06-05-08)
http://news.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/$rol.exe/headline_id=b10933
What, exactly, has taken 16 months for the commission to analyze? A rule that was supposed to prevent the two desperate companies from ever merging in the first place.
Mark Haines: WHERE DO WE STAND ON XM?
Kevin Martin: IT'S A DIFFICULT ISSUE FOR THE COMMISSION. WE HAD A RULE IN PLACE THAT WOULD SAY THE TWO COMPANIES COULDN'T MERGE WHEN WE AUCTIONED OFF THAT SPECTRUM. THEY HAVE COME IN AND ASKED FOR US TO CHANGE THAT RULE AND PUT FORTH DIFFERENT SEVERAL PUBLIC INTEREST COMMITMENTS THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO MAKE AND CONSUMERS CAN PICK AND CHOOSE CHANNELS THEY WOULD WANT TO HELP LOWER THEIR PRICES. WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT. I THINK THE COMMISSION WILL DO SOMETHING ON IT SOON.
David Faber: AREN'T YOU UNDER SOME OBLIGATION HERE TO FINALLY GIVE -- IT'S BEEN A YEAR AND A HALF. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE IT CAN BE SO LONG TO REVIEW A POTENTIAL DEAL AND AREN'T YOU UNDER AN OBLIGATION TO ANSWER THESE GUYS IF NOT TODAY, TOMORROW, OR VERY SOON?
Martin: I THINK WE ARE UNDER AN OBLIGATION BUT THIS IS AN UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCE. WE HAVE A RULE THAT PROHIBITS THIS MERGER. THIS WAS UNLIKE ANY OTHER MERGER THAT'S COME IN FRONT OF US. WE HAVE A RULE THAT WOULD PROHIBIT IT FROM GOING FORWARD. I THINK THAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY AND THE COMMISSION IS TAKING A LOOK AT IT. WE'LL GET BACK TO THEM SOON.
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/6/fcc_chairman_martin_sirius_xm_very_complicated
FCC Chairman Gives No XM/Sirius Timetable
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/5/2008 8:27:00 AM
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Thursday gave no timetable for a decsion on the merger of XM and Sirius, which has already gotten the go-ahead from the Justice Department and is being anxiously awaited by the two companies..
In an intervew on CNBC, Martin sa
FCC Chairman Gives No XM/Sirius Timetable
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/5/2008 8:27:00 AM
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Thursday gave no timetable for a decsion on the merger of XM and Sirius, which has already gotten the go-ahead from the Justice Department and is being anxiously awaited by the two companies..
In an intervew on CNBC, Martin said he hoped to be able to come up with a decison "soon," but when pressed for a date did not offer one.
Martin has said recently that he hoped to have a decision by the end of June. And that came after earlier suggesting it might have been done by the end of March..
When asked why it had taken so long to make the call--at press time the FCC's review was in day 361--said that the FCC had "a rule" in place prohibiting such a merger. He has said before that the companies faced a high hurdle, in part because when the commission, then headed by REed Hundt, handed out the licenses in 1987, it said that it did not think it would be a good idea for one company to own the only two national satellite licenses.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6567575.html
Bababooey.
renaldo......how many times did i tell you to leave the orbitcast people alone?
besides the bed is getting cold! and my HD radio is crapping out on me!
can u fix it....then fix me?......
so your dating donald huh? isnt that cute!........
besides its time to let the people know your real name!
stop with the A.C. shit! you fuckin cum dumpster!
Yet another uneducated, classless, crude post from iLL Rated, poor iLL Rated he's keeps on showing us all he's a desperate, blind, ignorant satradio fanboy.
It'll be passed as soon as he can pull his thumbs out of his ass....ooooh feels so good...
The merger will be great for the public, Having Mel manage both sirius and xm, will mean great things for the public, look what he did for Redstone's company. The man is a genius. FCC do not try to reinvent the wheel if this was an oil company merger it would have already been approved, Mr Bush