WASHINGTON, DC – The competitive environment for XM and Sirius remains exclusive to the nation's two satellite radio companies, according to a new study by The Carmel Group, an influential telecommunications research group based in Carmel, CA. Local radio stations are not a substitute for either satellite subscription service, the report concludes.
Central to The Carmel Group’s new analysis is an updated “ping-pong chart,” which highlights in detail the actions initiated by either Sirius or XM and the subsequent reaction of their satellite radio competitor. Notably, the report shows that despite the companies’ February merger-to-monopoly announcement, XM and Sirius have continued to competitively respond to each others’ programming and product announcements on at least nine additional occasions.
Under a monopoly regime, such competition would not exist, the group says.
“[W]ithout this continued competition, consumers will not be able to obtain substitutable competition from competitors within the all-important vehicle; and importantly, choice, competitive pricing restraints and service will undoubtedly – and significantly – suffer,” the report says.
The report also highlights much of the exclusive programming that would be lost if the two entities were to merge into a monopoly.
Commenting on The Carmel Group’s new report, NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton said, “Contrasting XM and Sirius’s history of competitive behavior with their track record of abusing FCC rules, the central question remains: Should two fierce competitors with a demonstrable record of FCC rule-breaking be rewarded with monopoly power? We -- along with consumer groups, minority organizations, antitrust experts and more than 80 members of Congress -- think the answer is no.”
The Carmel Group was retained by NAB to review the proposed monopoly merger, given the analyst group's expertise in providing analysis related to telecommunications issues on a global scale. Five years ago, The Carmel Group registered critical analysis and opposition to a nearly-identical proposed monopoly merger of the nation's only two satellite television companies -- DIRECTV and EchoStar Communications. That merger was rejected the FCC in a 5-0 vote.
Jimmy Schaeffler, chairman of The Carmel Group, can be reached at (831) 643-2222.
To date, the following groups and lawmakers have publicly expressed opposition to the monopoly-merger of XM and Sirius:
Consumers
Union
Consumer Federation of America
American Consumer Institute
Common Cause
Free Press
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
Minority investment group, Georgetown Partners
National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors
Prometheus Radio Project
Consumer Coalition for Competition in Satellite Radio
Alabama House of Representatives
The Carmel Group
Bustos Media
National Alliance of State Broadcaster Associations
American Antitrust Institute
Donald McGannon Research Center (Prof. Phil Napoli)
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.
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