TMF Joins Others Who Take Issue With Carmel Report
April 10, 2007
NAB/Carmel Group White Paper Fundamentally Misinterprets the Competitive Environment for Satellite Radio, Satellite Consultant Claims
MENLO PARK, Calif., April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by Telecom, Media and Finance Associates, Inc. (TMF Associates):
Telecom, Media and Finance Associates, Inc. (TMF Associates), the specialist Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) consulting firm, today released a research note on the competitive landscape for satellite radio in light of the proposed XM/Sirius merger.
This research analyzes the positions taken by Carmel Group in its recent white paper on behalf of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and concludes that this white paper ludicrously overstates the case for opposing the merger of XM and Sirius and fundamentally misinterprets the competitive environment for satellite radio.
Tim Farrar, author of the note, commented, "Satellite radio is essentially a car-based audio service at present, so the primary alternative for consumers is free-to-air AM and FM radio, supplemented by the playback of pre-recorded music such as CDs. The competitive position of
these subscription-free services vis-a-vis satellite radio has been substantially enhanced by the widespread use of accessory adapters, allowing iPods and other MP3 players to be connected to car stereos, and we estimate that today as many drivers have access to MP3 content in their
vehicles as subscribe to satellite radio. Carmel Group's assertion that MP3 players are not even relevant to today's in-car audio market is quite simply bizarre. In our view, increasingly convenient access to pre-recorded content via MP3 players will enable subscription-free services to dominate the in-car audio market for many years to come and therefore even if Sirius and XM were to merge, it would be inappropriate to describe them as having
a monopoly of in-car audio services."
The research note forms part of TMF Associates' information service on Mobile Satellite Services and can be downloaded from:
http://www.tmfassociates.com/articles .
It was produced independently, and was not commissioned, funded or instigated by XM, Sirius or any other party. More details about TMF Associates' research publications are available at: http://www.tmfassociates.com/reports .
TMF Associates, headquartered in Menlo Park, California, is a leading consulting and research firm providing business and technical analysis in satellite, wireless and broadband telecommunications. The firm specializes in Mobile Satellite Services, including Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) technology, and works with operators, investors and equipment
manufacturers to analyze complex market issues. For additional information, please visit http://www.tmfassociates.com .
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appropriate link.
Tim Farrar
http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=60577
SOURCE TMF Associates
4/10/2007 08:21:00 AM
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