Sirius Stand-Off: Tate, Martin Holding Off Votes
FCC chairman Kevin Martin waiting for commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate to vote to approve satellite-radio combination.
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/25/2008 12:17:00 PM
The stalemate continued Friday afternoon over the XM Satellite Radio-Sirius Satellite Radio merger, which was turning into a game of who blinks first.
The merger had been pronounced all but consummated Thursday, but by late Friday there was not deal and most FCC staffers had gone home.
According to a source close to the chairman's side of the negotiations, commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, FCC chairman Kevin Martin’s fellow Republican, had not yet signaled her willingness to sign off on the merger.
According to the source, Tate approached Martin saying that she would vote in favor of the merger if the enforcement actions against XM and Sirius were approved.
But Martin has not cast the third vote for approving the consent decree because "he has no indications at this time that Tate is willing to approve the merger," the source said.
The source added that it is Tate's move to let the chairman know she is ready to vote to approve, at which time he will cast the third vote for the enforcement actions.
Tate's office was unavailable for comment, but sources close to the commissioner said she was not prepared to vote on the merger until there had been a vote to improve the enforcement action, which would require XM and Sirius to pony up a combined $20 million to settle complaints over its unauthorized placement of equipment and excessive power levels.
To recap: There are two votes for the enforcement action (commissioner Robert McDowell and Tate); two votes for the merger (Martin and McDowell); and no third and deciding vote yet on either. Martin appears to believe the ball is in Tate's court, with one theory being that he is concerned that he could vote the enforcement action and Tate could decide not to approve the merger.
Another commissioner's office said it had just received another draft of the merger proposal.
