Top management from both Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.and XM Satellite Radio Holding Inc. met with the Federal Communications Commission this week according to separate ex parte filings made with the agency.

From XM, four representatives attended the meeting: Gary Parsons, Eric Logan, Mark Vendetti, and Jeff Blattner. Latham & Watkins LLP (counsel for XM) also attended the meeting. XM met with the FCC on Wednesday, September 26th.

On Sirius' side, five representatives attended the meeting: Mel Karmazin, Scott Greenstein, David Frear, Patrick Donnelly, and Terry Smith. Representatives from Wiley Rein LLP (Sirius' counsel) also attended the meeting. Sirius met with the FCC on Thursday, September 27th.

During the meeting, both XM and Sirius discussed various aspects of the satellite radio business, including the topics of subscribers and service, content and advertising, technical issues, and business relationships with automobile manufacturers and retail outlets (so pretty much... everything).

[View FCC Filings: 1, 2 (PDF) via Orbitcast Forums]

The Heritage Foundation's Edwin Meese III (Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies), and James L. Gattuso (former FCC official) have written an article summarizing the NAB's fight against the Sirius-XM merger.

It's an endorsement for the merger, systematically debating all of terrestrial radio's points against the merger, not to mention using the NAB's own words against them (which isn't hard).

Entitled "Beyond the Fairness Doctrine: Radio’s Fight over the XM–Sirius Merger" it's a well written piece and a highly recommended read, regardless of where you stand on the merger debate.

There's a radio war going on in Washington, and this one has nothing to do with the Fairness Doctrine. Talk of re-imposing the requirement by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that broadcasters air opposing views on controversial topics sparked an intense and highly publicized debate this summer. Almost lost in the "fairness" furor, however, has been a second, but no less intense, radio industry battle over the merger of satellite radio providers XM and Sirius. After months of review, a ruling from the Justice Department is expected within weeks, to be followed by a decision by the FCC, which also must approve the transaction. The merger debate is different from the "fairness" debate in that it involves the structure, rather than content, of the radio industry. Like the "fairness" debate, however, the outcome could determine how Americans will listen to the radio for years to come.

Jim Gattuso, who co-authored the article, has quite the interesting background, especially with the FCC. From 1990 to 1993, he was the Deputy Chief at the FCC's Office of Plans and Policy. From May 1991 to June 1992, the FCC detailed him to the office Vice President Dan Quayle, where Gattuso served as Associate Director of the President's Council on Competitiveness.

[The Heritage Foundation]

Oprah Winfrey's weekly show on XM Satellite Radio, "Soul Series," will debut its 2nd-season on Thursday, October 4th on Oprah & Friends (ch 156).

Oprah's first guest on the new season of "Soul Series" will be Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, best-selling author and internationally renowned speaker in the field of self-development.

Oprah's "Soul Series" airs on Thursdays at 4am, 10am, 4pm and 10pm (all times Eastern).

XM was airing encore broadcasts of "Soul Series" throughout the summer, with two episodes airing back-to-back every Thursday. Fans can still get the opportunity to catch up on every episode with Oprah's "Soul Series Weekend," which starts this Saturday, September 29th and continues throughout the weekend.

In addition, it appears that Oprah has quietly sneaked (snuck?) into the DirecTV lineup, with Oprah & Friends now becoming available to DirecTV subscribers on channel 807. Perhaps it's a sign that Harpo is stepping up its public partnership with XM? It's been a year since Oprah has debuted on XM, and there's been little from Oprah (that I've seen at least) in terms of external promotions. It'd be nice if we saw more of a presence of XM on her show this holiday season.

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps expressed skepticism today about whether he would endorse the proposed merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

Copps, one of two Democrats on the FCC, said it would be a "steep climb" for him to cast a favorable vote because he has serious concerns about media consolidation. Copps had previously referred to the proposed Sirius-XM merger as a "steep climb" as well back in mid-April.

"Somebody's going to have to make a pretty powerful and potent demonstration that it serves the public interest," Copps said of the XM-Sirius deal.

"The parts of the (public) record that I've looked at so far have not shown me that (the deal) serves the public interest," Copps told reporters at a briefing.

Copps declined to comment on how he will vote, but said he had "very serious worries" about media consolidation in general. "I think localism, competition, diversity (in the media) have been seriously threatened." The Commissioner has historically had problems with the overall state of consolidation in U.S. media, and has expressed this vocally in the past.

[Reuters]

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will headline the National Journal’s first show on XM Satellite Radio's POTUS '08 channel, set to debut tomorrow at 1pm ET.

"National Journal On Air" will also be available on the National Journal’s web site as either a live stream or as podcasts of the show. (Interesting, XM is really pushing this "free to air" concept...)

In addition to Mitt Romney, tomorrow's show also will feature National Journal political writer Jim Barnes, National Journal White House correspondent Carl Cannon, and Senior Editor of The Hotline, John Mercurio.

National Journal Group, through it's partnership with XM Satellite Radio, will host "National Journal On Air" every Friday from 1-2pm ET on XM's POTUS '08 (ch 130).

Contrary to more positive reports on Kevin Martin's appearance at the NAB Radio Show this morning, RadioInk is reporting that Martin has said that the FCC is considering fines against satellite radio.

Martin said the FCC's Enforcement Bureau is investigating claims that some of Sirius and XM's receivers were built to operate at levels that exceed permitted limits. Last year, both XM and Sirius halted shipments of receivers after it was learned that they were over the approved FM modulator limits.

Martin also said the FCC investigating claims that terrestrial repeaters owned by XM were operating beyond the allowed limits. XM said earlier this year that they are working with the FCC on the repeater issue (which they voluntarily lowered last year).

As a result, Martin said that the Commission is considering forfeitures against Sirius/XM for the series of violations.

(I'd personally like to hear the context in which Martin said this, because it could very well just be spin-central coming from the terrestrial radio camp. But hey, it worked, the RadioInk article made it onto the Drudge Report.)

[RadioInk]

Speaking at the NAB Radio Show this morning, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin spoke only generally about the Sirius-XM merger but said that the companies had "interesting proposals" to justify the merger and protect consumers.

During the annual FCC Breakfast, the FCC Chairman fielded several questions: from public interest questions, to changes to the EAS system, and of course, the merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

Martin spoke only generally about the merger, stating that the current rules prohibit both companies from merging, but said that Sirius and XM have provided "interesting proposals" stating their case.

NAB Radio Board Chairman Russ Withers asked about the NAB's concern that the satellite companies are planning to go after local revenue, but Kevin Marin noted that the companies are not prohibited from going after local ads. They just cannot insert local-only ads and material through the local terrestrial repeater network.

"I would be concerned if they were trying to become a local broadcaster," said the FCC Chairman. Martin didn't agree that local material broadcast nationally violates the local prohibition placed on the satellite companies.

[AllAccess]

XM Satellite Radio has expanded their NHL offering from six NHL play-by-play channels to nine channels, allowing for fans to hear every game for every NHL team wherever they are.

Games can be heard on XM channels 204-209 and channels 237-239. Why didn't XM just do a reshuffle of the channel numbers to group them together? That's a darn good question.

Either way, the 2007-2008 NHL season starts this weekend as the Anaheim Ducks begin defense of their first Stanley Cup championship against the Los Angeles Kings. The Ducks and Kings will play Saturday and Sunday at the O2 Arena in London, making this the first time that a NHL regular-season game was played in Europe. The games will air live on XM channel 205.

XM and the NHL have a $100 million long-term relationship that extends through 2015. Their broadcast partnership went exclusive earlier this summer.

Just got word that XM's full-color, split-screen XpressRC plug-and-play receiver is now available and shipping in limited quantities.

Check with your favorite retailer for availability.

XM today announced that they've signed on the Grand Ole Opry. XM will feature the live Friday and Saturday night performances as well as the Tuesday Night Opry, all starting off with Opry's 82nd Birthday Bash on Saturday, October 20th.

The Grand Ole Opry features will be spread out across several channels. First, country hits channel Nashville (ch 11) will feature live Tuesday (8pm ET), Friday (9pm ET), and Saturday night (7:30pm and 10:30pm ET) performances.

Encore broadcasts of new Opry episodes will air on XM's classic country music channel America (ch 10) every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10am ET, along with archival Opry broadcasts.

Many individual performances recorded live on the Opry stage will also be featured on XM's other country music channels, including Willie's Place (ch 13), Bluegrass Junction (ch 14), Highway 16 (ch 16), and U.S. Country (ch 17).

XM will also add "The Eddie Stubbs Show" to their lineup. The popular WSM program is hosted by Eddie Stubbs, a regular announcer for the Grand Ole Opry, award-winning country music DJ, and respected country music historian. "The Eddie Stubbs Show" will premiere later this fall on America (ch 10).

The Grand Ole Opry debuted on the radio airwaves in 1925 on Nashville's 650 AM WSM and can still be heard on its flagship station. Sirius dropped WSM/Grand Ole Opry from its lineup just over a year ago.