 Consumer
group ready to oppose satellite radio merger
With the announcement of a long-anticipated merger agreement between
XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio,
one consumer group is ready to fight for the rights of subscribers in
the merger approval process.
In a statement released earlier, the Consumer Coalition for Competition
in Satellite Radio (C3SR) said the group “is ready to oppose the
merger and fight for consumer choice and public interest.”
Due to legitimate antitrust concerns, the merger proposal will face scrutiny
from government regulators at the Department of Justice and the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) over the coming months. An approval of
the merger would give way to a single satellite radio operator, and according
to Chris Reale, a founder of C3SR, “a monopoly satellite radio provider
would be able to raise prices and cut programming to a growing number
of consumers that have come to rely on satellite radio for news and entertainment.”
When the FCC originally granted the SDARS licenses to XM and Sirius,
the Commission concluded that the public interest was served and that
it “includes the protection of competition not competitors.”
“If this merger is permitted to go forward, there will be no protection
of competition and there will be no competitors,” Reale said.
C3SR seeks additional support from Sirius and XM subscribers and from
other consumer groups and key industry allies who oppose this merger.
“While C3SR will never compromise its independence as a voice for
Sirius and XM subscribers, we are looking to join forces with other groups
that are willing to support our cause,” said Reale. “Satellite
radio subscribers’ investment in equipment and specific programming
packages must be protected, and we hope that alliances with established
interest groups will be possible.”
C3SR was launched earlier this year by a group of law students - all
satellite radio subscribers - to counter the potentially dim prospects
facing subscribers of satellite radio under a monopoly provider. “Our
main goal right now is to stop this merger,” Reale said. “If
a merger were to be approved, subscribers would likely end up paying more
for less programming, and would end up subsidizing unwanted services.”
C3SR website
Source: Media Network
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