States Fret Over XM/Sirius Merger
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/31/2008
Attorneys general from 11 states asked FCC Chairman Kevin Martin last week to closely examine the Justice Department's decision not to challenge the XM/Sirius satellite radio merger on antitrust grounds.
“The combination of these companies will result in a single corporation controlling access to all nationally available satellite radio,” Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann and 10 others wrote to Martin. They told Martin that at the least, Justice should have imposed conditions like a la carte pricing or divestiture of sufficient spectrum to create room for a competitor.
The FCC, which had hoped to complete its review by March 31, still hadn't weighed in as of presstime.
