“Chairman Martin has been a longtime participant in Aspen
Institute forums,” said Charles Firestone, executive director of the
Program. “We look forward to working with him and to the advice he will
give us.” Firestone also noted the past participation of the
anticipated next Chairman, Julius Genachowski, in the Aspen Institute
Forum on Communications and Society (FOCAS), an annual summer
conference in Aspen, pointing out the non-partisan nature of the Program. 

“I have long enjoyed and respected the Communications and
Society Program,” Martin said, “and will relish the opportunity to
reflect on the nature of leadership that I exercised in this field for
the past several years.”

According to reports Martin will step down as FCC Chairman next Tuesday.

In his letter of resignation to President Bush, Martin pens: “As a
result of the market-oriented and consumer focused policies we have
pursued the American people are now reaping the rewards of convergence
and the broadband revolution including new and more innovative
technologies and services at ever-declining prices.”

Later Kevin, you will not be missed.

The merger had still not been voted on this Friday morning as everyone was expecting. Apparently there is a hold-up on a vote by the
commissioners on a consent decree.

Even thought Martin was expected to sign off on the merger there is a thought that the hold up could be administrative or strategic. A source said commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate was not planning to vote
on the merger until that enforcement action was taken, and she already
cast her vote for it. Commissioner Robert McDowell also voted to
approve it.

That leaves the only vote left (Martin) to finally end this extremely long merger process.

The two commission Democrats haven’t voted on the enforcement action and they are already on record opposing the
merger, so they are unlikely to tip the balance even if they agree that
the companies should pay a combined $20 million for the
violations related to the placement and power levels of equipment.

I guess we will be waiting until next week to finally get a word on this. Or maybe two weeks from now, or three?
The way this has been going nothing would surprise me anymore.

[Via: B&C]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080616/ap_on_go_ot/fcc_xm_sirius

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin made his recommendation Sunday in exchange
for a number of concessions, including turning 24 channels over to
noncommercial and minority programming. That sets the stage for a final
vote that could occur any time after Martin’s recommendation is
circulated among his fellow commissioners.

The provision on noncommercial and minority programming along with several others — including a three-year price freeze for customers.

The other four commissioners have kept their views on the deal
largely to themselves. Unlike most FCC decisions, there is no clear
indication how the vote will go.

Martin said the conditions will make the combination of the two companies good for consumers.

”As
I’ve indicated before, this is an unusual situation,” Martin said in a
statement. ”I am recommending that with the voluntary commitments they
(the companies) have offered, on balance, this transaction would be in
the public interest.”

The companies also agreed to an ”open
radio” standard, meant to create competition among manufacturers of
satellite radios, according to FCC officials who spoke on condition of
anonymity because the agreement had not yet been made public.

Martin is recommending approval despite intense opposition from the
land-based radio industry and most consumer groups, who say the deal
will create a monopoly.

I will have more info as it comes in and also when and if the merger is announced.

Stay Tuned!

They are saying this will not affect any decisions made by the FCC during the time he is gone…but do you really believe that or anything the FCC has to say?

I guess we will not be hearing about the merger until July now. By then I’m sure something else will pop up and it will be delayed another month!

Don’t you just love the FCC?

Here is a link to the source:
http://www.thedeal.com/dealscape/2008/06/will_martins_itinerary_delay_x.php

In an interview on CNBC television, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said
the XM-Sirius deal raised difficult regulatory issues. But he noted the
companies had agreed to concessions and said the agency “will hopefully
be able to do something on it soon.”

The merger would bring entertainers such as Oprah Winfrey and shock
jock Howard Stern under the same banner. It has been criticized as
anti-competitive by the traditional radio industry, and by some U.S.
lawmakers.

Antitrust authorities at the Justice Department approved the
combination in March after concluding it would not harm consumers. The
department said satellite radio companies face stiff competition from
traditional AM/FM radio, high-definition radio, MP3 players and audio
delivered by mobile phones.

Read the rest here.

Video Here.

I’m sure soon means 3-4 months to the FCC. It would be nice to hear the news by the end of the month.

“I still think the commission could act by the end of the
second quarter,” Martin told reporters at a press conference in
Washington today. The combination of the two U.S. pay-radio
companies wasn’t placed on the agenda for the commission’s
regular monthly meeting on June 12.

Commissioners are privately debating what conditions to
demand in exchange for approving the transaction. Some U.S.
lawmakers and interest groups are asking that the combined
entity allocate part of its spectrum to competitors including
minority-owned broadcasters, and that it be required to let any
manufacturer make receivers to boost consumer choice.

Martin declined to discuss details of the commission’s
deliberations.

The FCC isn’t required to vote by a specific date, and may
delay the matter beyond June if commissioners can’t reach a
decision. The U.S. Justice Department approved the combination
on March 24, saying competition from broadcast radio and
digital-music players would prevent price increases.

Via:Bloomberg

Could this really be happening? I’m not holding my breath but at least this is the most solid news I have heard from anyone, including the FCC yet.

I will be keeping my fingers crossed and my eyes open for any more news on this.

How exciting is that!

And to top it off Kevin Martin the FCC Chairman was quoted on the merger saying:

Sirius-XM: Traditionally the commission doesn’t act on those
after the Department of Justice –99 out of 100 times the Department of
Justice goes first and the Department of Justice hasn’t acted yet on
that merger. We have some more information we requested at the
beginning of the year from the companies so that we’re trying to
finalize our conclusions but we’re coordinating with Department of
Justice. I don’t have a timeline.

GREAT!!!!! No timeline!!!! The Chairman of the FCC has no timeline for the merger!

So he has no timeline for this merger but every other merger that the FCC is looking over has a timeline but Sirius and XM.

I love this country, I love the FCC………

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