The Reverend Jesse Jackson today at an FCC hearing on localism voiced his opinions on the potential competitive harms he feels could come to minorities should the Sirius-XM merger be approved.

"The proposed Sirius-XM merger would eliminate the potential of any meaningful competition in the satellite radio market, which would, in turn, permanently block the potential for diversity of ownership and control by minorities in the only medium capable of nationwide broadcasting," said Jackson.

Jackson continued, "I urge this commission to view this proposed transaction - as it is currently structured - not in the public interest. It will eliminate diversity of content and meaningful opportunities for minority partnership in media ownership. This cannot happen. This commission must uphold the statutes and regulations that promote content diversity and opportunities for media ownership by minorities."

"The commission should seize the opportunity presented by this transaction to make a difference that serves the best interests of all concerned: Sirius and XM in their objectives, the marketplace and diversified ownership and competition, and the public's right of access to benefit from varied programming that is appropriate and feasible," Jackson continued.

"The proposed transaction would result in the business combination of the two most significant and largest companies in satellite communications. In effect, this creates a monopoly, virtually making competition impossible and programming dangerously subject to the combined entity's self-interests and whim. This puts the public at a disadvantage. It has the potential of serious economic havoc on any business attempting to be a part of this marketplace and to the communities of which these businesses serve," said Jackson.

This is in direct opposition to the opinion of the NAACP, which came out in favor of the merger earlier this year, stating that a merged satellite radio company would "strengthen its commitment to diversity."

As we near the final stretch of this high profile merger, it looks like things are really starting to heat up.

[Radio Ink]

Looks like XM reserved some key OEM announcements for SEMA 2007 this year. First we had the Hyundai announcement this morning, and now the word is out that Toyota's first factory-equipped XM vehicles are set to available this upcoming spring.

The all-new 2009 Toyota Corolla and Matrix (pictured) will be the first Toyota cars to offer XM as factory-installed equipment. The popular models will also offer XM NavTraffic as an option when equipped with a navigation system... another first from Toyota. XM and XM NavTraffic are already available as factory installed features on the Lexus LS 460 and 600h models, and will be available factory installed on the upcoming 2008 LX 570.

XM will be a standard feature on all 2009 Corolla and Matrix vehicles that come with the JBL premium audio system. These will of course include the standard 3-month free trial subscription.

Toyota announced earlier this year that they've extended their partnership with XM through 2017. They've also stated that the annual factory production of XM-equipped vehicles is expected to exceed one million by 2010.

[Photo courtesy of Jalopnik]

Hyundai has expanded its rollout of XM as a factory-installed, standard feature across several new vehicles in its lineup.

For the 2008 model year, Hyundai will add the Tiburon, Accent and Tucson as new vehicles with XM Satellite Radio as a standard feature. On top of that, XM will also be standard on the new 2009 Elantra Touring - the concept vehicle (pictured above) was revealed today at the 2007 SEMA Show.

Hyundai's rollout of XM as a standard feature the U.S. started with the 2007 model year. Since then XM is a standard feature on the Azera, Elantra, Santa Fe, Sonata and Veracruz.

All Hyundais with XM installed include a 3-month free subscription.

The new Elantra Touring is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. in 2008 and is taking advantage of the strong resurgence in small hatchbacks. The photo above shows the unveiling of the Elantra Touring "Beach Cruiser" Concept, a pimped-out, customized version by K-Daddyz Kustomz of Bakersfield, CA.

Glass, Lewis & Co., a leading independent proxy advisory firms, has recommended that stockholders of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) vote "FOR" the companies' merger proposals.

According to Glass Lewis's analysis, "the transaction is fairly priced and will yield substantial cost synergies for shareholders of both companies." As a result, Glass Lewis believes that the "proposed merger is in the interests of shareholders of both companies."

I'm not a shareholder of either company (never have been, never will be), but I know a lot of you are. So I'm curious, how will you vote?

This might very well be the last quarter that we will be comparing XM and Sirius subscriber numbers, as two separate companies at least. So, let's get to it before time runs out and we're forced to hold hands and sing Kumbaya together.

And because pictures are much easier to look at than a matrix of mind-numbing digits, here's some charts to help us along.

Total Satellite Radio Subscribers

• Sirius Satellite Radio: 7,667,476
• XM Satellite Radio: 8,570,000

In other words, Sirius is currently where XM was in 4Q06 (~7.6M). In the 2nd-quarter of this year, Sirius was where XM was in 3Q06 (~7.1M).

Remember, there's a seasonality in retail which historically sees a spike in Q4. So this may not be a fair comparison. The killer question is whether either company has the momentum to have a stellar holiday season this year to make a difference. So far, the signs have not been encouraging.

Quarterly Net Subscribers

• Sirius Satellite Radio: 524,938
• XM Satellite Radio: 315,000

Quarterly Gross Subscribers

• Sirius Satellite Radio: 999,284
• XM Satellite Radio: 952,000

Since gross subscribers scrubs out the effects of churn, and evens out other factors like including together promotional/non-promotional subscribers, here we can gather a better sense of market penetration. So I really do like to look at gross subscribers over net subscribers when looking at how both are performing.

Again, we see that in 4Q06, there was a tipping point where Sirius now leads XM consistently in gross subscriber additions.

XM and MySpace have announced the grand prize winner of their “Show Us What Ya Got!” contest: Tanya Morgan.

Selected from among the three finalists chosen by the MySpace community, Tanya Morgan (pictured below) won the chance to appear live at the Power Summit last week. They performed their original song, “Walk My Way,” at the Las Vegas event which also featured performances from artists Chamillionaire and Talib Kweli.

A re-broadcast of the industry-packed event will premiere tomorrow, October 31st at 6pm ET on RAW (ch 66).

Over 6,000 original song entries were reviewed and considered by a panel of judges which was comprised of music editors and industry artists who narrowed the submissions down to five finalists. The final three, Tanya Morgan, Metafore and Mitch Gunz, were then selected by the MySpace community to perform at The Power Summit.

The competition was hosted by Mz. Kitti from XM’s RAW. The performances were judged by XM’s DJ Xclusive of The City (ch 67) and Leo G of RAW and Dion Summers of The Heat (ch 68).

As the grand prize winner, Tanya Morgan will receive a mixtape created with a high profile DJ; the opportunity to appear as the opening act on the MySpace Secret Show; a local grassroots sniping promotional campaign; and all expense paid trip to be a guest on XM Satellite Radio and two weeks XM airplay; and a MySpace Music Feature.

Check out myspace.com/xm to view Tanya Morgan’s winning song, “Walk My Way” as well as view the other finalists' songs. Or follow the jump to see a ridiculous amount of photos from the event...

Here comes another round of public support from Capitol Hill, this time from Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Jim DeMint (R-SC).

The Senators have both praised Sirius and XM for the programming packages and a la carte pricing plans. DeMint stated that "these options will give American consumers more control over the programming they pay for.”

I'm still curious to know why there's this increased support from politicians who have previously remained silent. But for merger advocates, the political pressure is obviously quite welcome.

"Sirius and XM have responded to the market’s desire for more choice, and we applaud them for voluntarily offering subscribers new and innovative listening options. We are particularly pleased that they will offer family-friendly options that allow subscribers to block adult programming,” added DeMint.

"This is a great example of how private industry can and will respond to the demands of consumers without the need for government intervention," said Ensign. "We hope that other entertainment providers will follow XM-Sirius’ lead and offer Americans increased choices and customization."

[XMmerger.com]

In honor of Porter Wagoner, XM will be airing special programming this week as a tribute and celebration to Wagoner’s life and work.

He died from lung cancer yesterday at the age of 80.

Porter Wagoner was a legend in country music, with a string of hit songs in the '60s, appearances at the Grand Ole Opry, and is known for launching the career of none other than Dolly Parton.

Below are several features that XM will be airing in remembrance of this music legend...

XM will air a special Porter Wagoner memorial show tomorrow, October 30th, at 6am and 8pm ET on XM's classic country channel America (ch 10). The special will feature a retrospective of his songs, as well as interview and performance highlights from Wagoner's prolific career in country music.

A rebroadcast of country legend and Hall of Famer Bill Anderson’s interview with Porter Wagoner from the regular series "Bill Anderson Visits with the Legends" will air all day tomorrow on XMX (ch 2), featuring Wagoner’s first-person accounts of some of the most definitive moments in country music history.

A special encore of Bob Edwards' conversation with Porter Wagoner, originally broadcast in June, will air on Friday, November 2nd, at 7am ET on America (XM 10). Fans will hear Wagoner discuss his life in country music as well as his final project, "Wagonmaster," which was produced by country artist and XM host Marty Stuart and earned Wagoner some of the best reviews of his 50-plus year career.

These are currently the only confirmed airdates, but given XM’s relationship with the Grand Ole Opry it’s safe to say that XM will have additional Porter Wagoner tribute programming throughout the week.

Eleven members of Congress voiced their support for the Sirius-XM merger, in a letter addressed to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

The letter was signed by:
Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA), Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL), Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL), Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX), Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), and Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY).

"...the merger of Sirius and XM will create new opportunities for this type of diverse programming that has been overlooked by terrestrial-radio broadcasters. This merger will allow the companies to offer even more diverse content by consolidating programming and better utilizing capacity to offer even more unique and diverse programming to currently underserved populations."

The timing of this is interesting.

The NAB came out with their own Congress-backing letter to the FCC many months ago. Meanwhile, Sirius-XM lately have seen momentum build on Capitol Hill with support from various lawmakers. Is this a calculated "killing blow" tactic? Or did it just take them this long to garner this level of support?

[Read the letter here (PDF)]

According to the on-air promos, XM Satellite Radio's Holiday Music channels are set to debut on November 19th. Except for Holly, of course... and Radio Hanukkah.

Here's the quick breakdown:

• Holiday Traditions (ch 104 / XMRO 79) - Traditional recordings from the '40s through the '60s will keep you swinging through the holidays. Crooners like Bing Crosby, Andy Wlliams, Ray Conniff, and Nat "King" Cole welcome the season with grand style.
• Music City Holiday (ch 105 / XMRO 17 / DirecTV ch 809) - Country's biggest superstars sing contemporary and traditional holiday hits. Selections from Faith Hill, Alabama, George Strait, and Reba McEntire will keep your Christmas country. (US Country will be on hiatus during this time)
• Classical Christmas (ch 106 / XMRO 113 / DirecTV ch 866) - Traditional carols sung by the greatest classical musicians of all-time like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Luciano Pavarotti, and Leontyne Price grace the XM airwaves through Christmas day. (XM Pops will be on hiatus too)
• Special X-Mas (ch 107 / XMRO 154 / DirecTV ch 848) - This is the soundtrack to your dysfunctional family holiday. Comedy routines, parodies, seasonal insanity, and just plain bad music help turn your "Bah-Humbug" into a "Ho, Ho, Ho."
• ...and Radio Hanukkah (ch 108 / XMRO 108) - on air from December 4th through December 12th - Classic and off-the-wall renditions of traditional Hanukkah songs, such as "I Have a Little Dreidel" and "Maoz Tzur," will be showcased along with nightly broadcasts of the traditional Hanukkah candlelight blessings attended by some of the nation's most prominent Jews from the worlds of music, entertainment, politics, and comedy.

See more details and schedules on XM's Holiday Music page.

Thanks Karl!