No Existing FCC Rule Blocks Merger, Sirius and XM Say
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/21/2007 10:05:00 AM
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday that announces their intention to merge, satellite companies Sirius and XM say there is no FCC rule that bars the merger. While opponents of the merger have said the FCC said that "one licensee will not be permitted to acquire control of the other" when it created the satellite radio licenses in 1997, the companies argue that the language was not codified. They say it is merely a policy statement that can be changed, rather than "a binding FCC regulation." Current FCC rules do not prohibit the transfer of the licenses, they argue. As expected, the filing includes the promise that, "while customers of both companies currently have the
option of blocking adult programming
, the combined company will provide customers a credit if they choose to do so."
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin would not comment directly on the XM/Sirius argument since he had not studied the filing. But he suggested to reporters Wednesday that just because something wasn't codified does not mean it isn't binding.
"I haven't seen their filing, but let me just say generically, without this issue...not every aspect of a commission order is codified in a federal regulation, but that doesn't mean the commission's orders themselves aren't binding."
He added that "that doesn't mean the commission can't find a way to address it, but that doens't mean that it's still not a binding and legitimate order of the commission."
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