BusinessWeek: Radio Wars Are Escalating
OCTOBER 30, 2006,Technology, By Olga Kharif,
www.businessweek.comShooting Down Satellite Radio?
Terrestrial broadcasters are going for an FCC-aided kill in their long-raging fight with XM and Sirius
The radio wars are escalating. In a one-two punch aimed at enlisting regulators to their cause, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and National Public Radio want the Federal Communications Commission to investigate alleged misdeeds by satellite radio companies XM (
XMSR) and Sirius (
SIRI). On Oct. 12, National Public Radio CEO Ken Stern wrote to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin alleging that the satellite broadcasters' devices interfere with NPR broadcasts. And last week, David Rehr, president and CEO of the powerful NAB, fired off two letters to Martin alleging several regulatory violations. Old Radio Vs. New Radio The latest correspondence should strike Martin with a sense of déja vu—and Sirius and XM with a sense of foreboding. Seven months ago the NAB sought the FCC's help in preventing XM from acquiring wireless licenses to provide an array of new services, such as on-demand audio and video, competing more directly with terrestrial radio. XM abandoned the bid in May, figuring that the agency would oppose the effort. That's just one of many instances where terrestrial broadcasters and satellite radio outfits have clashed over the years. And the NAB, which represents land radio stations, with some 260 million listeners every week, has won thus far. "The NAB has tried to kill satellite radio from the beginning," says Tom Watts, an analyst with Cowen & Co. (
COWN) "Because the FCC has listened, broadcasters are using the regulators as a weapon now." That's proving easier, however, since XM and Sirius have recently admitted to some of the violations—which is partially why the terrestrial broadcasters are taking their fight further in this latest skirmish. Satellite Slip-ups Claiming "a persistent corporate (if not industry) circumvention of the FCC's regulations," the NAB and NPR are demanding an investigation into at least three separate issues, two of which the broadcasters raised with the FCC earlier this year. The NAB's goal seems to be stripping XM and Sirius of their licenses. ...read more:
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