FCC Kevin Martin will approve the the proposed $5 billion merger of XM and Sirius as long as the companies agree to set aside 24 channels (8%) for noncommercial and minority programming. The 16 months of waiting for this deal to be done will come an end when all five FCC commissioners vote on Martin’s recommendation.
“I am recommending that with the voluntary commitments they’ve offered, on balance, this transaction would be in the public interest,” Martin said in a statement. “They have voluntarily committed to setting forth price constraints, so the prices for consumers do not increase; smaller packages at lower prices; an open standard for radios; the sale of interoperable radios; and additional public interest programming for noncommercial use and for qualified entities who have not been traditionally represented.”
Sources: June 16 International Herald Tribune, WSJ, NYT, RBR, PC Magazine