WASHINGTON, DC – The following statement from NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton is in response to statements made today by XM and Sirius through one of their public relations consulting firms Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher.
"XM and Sirius have spent upwards of $20 million trying to bamboozle the Beltway into believing that a monopoly is good for consumers. Yet when you cut through all the distortions displayed by XM and Sirius, you are left with one undisputable fact: Never in history has a monopoly served consumers better than competition."
To date, the following groups and lawmakers oppose the proposed merger-to-monopoly of XM and Sirius:
Consumers
Union
Consumer Federation of America
Common Cause
Free Press
American Consumer Institute
National Public Radio
Media Access Project
Black Leadership Forum
U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Independent Spanish Broadcaster Association
National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters
Asian American Justice Center
American Women in Radio and Television
Prometheus Radio Project
Consumer Coalition for Competition in Satellite Radio
Alabama House of Representatives
Bustos Media
National Alliance of State Broadcaster Associations
American Antitrust Institute
Donald McGannon Research Center (Prof. Phil Napoli)
The Carmel Group
Sen. Herbert Kohl (D-WI), Chairman, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition
Policy & Consumer Rights
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI)
Rep. Gene Green (D-TX)
Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA)
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI)
Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR)
Rep. Lee Terry (R-OK)
Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH)
Rep. James Walsh (D-NY)
Rep. John McHugh (D-NY)
Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-OH)
Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL)
Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT)
Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA)
Rep. Steve Rothman (D-NJ)
Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA)
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)
Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN)
Rep. Allen Boyd (D-FL)
Rep. Kristin Gillibrand (D-NY)
Rep. David Scott (D-GA)
Rep. Baron Hill (D-IN)
Rep. Zach Space (D-OH)
Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV)
Rep. Eddie Johnson (D-TX)
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA)
Rep. John Spratt (D-SC)
Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY)
Rep. Nick Lampson (D-TX)
Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-KS)
Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA)
Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN)
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX)
Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN)
Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR)
Rep. Tom Allen (D-ME)
Rep. Marion Berry (D-AR)
Rep. Earl Polmeroy (D-ND)
Rep. Ed Pastor (D-AZ)
Rep. Betty McCullom (D-MN)
Rep Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO)
Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME)
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY)
Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)
Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-IN)
Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY)
Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-KS)
Rep. Albert Wynn (D-MD)
Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN)
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA)
Rep. John Barrow (D-GA)
Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC)
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX)
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH)
Rep. John Duncan (R-TN)
Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ)
Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK)
Rep. John Culberson (R-TX)
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN)
Rep. John Boozman (R-AR)
Rep. Dan Manzullo (R-IL)
Rep. David Davis (R-TN)
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO)
Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL)
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)
Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN)
Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL)
Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)
Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA)
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.
follow me