Former Attorney General John Ashcroft is blasting a proposed satellite radio merger between Sirius and XM.
Ashcroft now works for the National Broadcasters Association, which represents traditional radio stations that are fiercely opposed to the deal.
From the Wall Street Journal:
" . . . Ashcroft concluded that 'the proposed Sirius/XM merger, which reduces the number of competitors from two to one, raises most serious competition concerns."
"He compared it to satellite TV, and TV Echostar Communications Corps attempt to takeover Hughes Electronic Corp. In that case, he said, the Justice Department recognized that reducing competition from three to two was anticompetitive and opposed the transaction, which was eventually abandoned."
The Sirius-XM deal needs approval from the Justice Department and the FCC to go through.
1 comment:
First, who cares what Ashcroft thinks?
He was out of touch in government, now out of touch with broadcast.
Someone tell him to go drape nude statues on his property or something.
Second, TV/Radio broadcast must adapt. Increasing strains on the system from lower viewership/listenership mean mergers and cost-cutting. That inevitably means consolidation. If the new market of sat radio isn't big enough for two, let alone three or five, then it makes good sense for Sirius and XM to merge. That's just as American as apple pie.
We don't need someone who's lost in la-la land and wishes Father Knows Best and Andy Griffith ran 24/7 speaking for a national broadcast group.
Unless, the National Broadcasters Association wants to head back to black-and-white, monophonic programming again.
(Oh... I just remembered, Ashcroft probably is against "evolution" of anything).
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