WASHINGTON, DC – NAB this week sent two separate documents to Members of Congress and their staffs, highlighting mounting opposition to the proposed government sanctioned monopoly merger of XM and Sirius Satellite Radio.
The first document came from Philip M. Napoli, director of the Donald McGannon Communication Research Center at Fordham University, one of the leading progressive authorities in media policy. Napoli authored an eight page report which found that such a merger would "lead to conditions of both monopoly and monopsony that our antitrust laws are intended to prevent. The public interest remains better served by the preservation of competing service providers seeking to provide the best possible service at the lowest possible price."
Additional opposition came from former Federal Trade Commission Chairman James C. Miller, who authored a letter in opposition to the proposed XM/Sirius merger. "This is a two-down-to-one merger. There are no other providers in the market." wrote Miller. "Accordingly, I conclude that the merger of XM and Sirius would be contrary to the public interest."
The National Association of Broadcasters retained Napoli and Miller to examine the proposed satellite radio merger and offer their assessment as respected experts in the telecommunications and economics arena.
James Miller, is the former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and former director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget during the Reagan administration. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia in 1964, and a doctorate in economics from the University of Virginia in 1969.
Philip M. Napoli is an associate professor in the graduate school of business, and director of the Donald McGannon Communication Research Center at Fordham University in New York. His research and books have focused on media regulation and policy, receiving awards from organizations including the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the International Communication Association, the Broadcast Education Association, and the National Business and Economics Society. Napoli has testified before Congress and the FCC on media regulation and policy issues and his previous work has received support from organizations such as the Ford Foundation, the Benton Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and the Center for American Progress. He holds a Ph.D from Northwestern University.
About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association that advocates on behalf of more than 8,300 free, local radio and television stations and also broadcast networks before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Courts. Information about NAB can be found at www.nab.org.
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