[opendtv] Re: Here we go again...
- From: "Adam Goldberg" <agoldber@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2008 15:40:16 -0400
Requiring specific features in hardware is not the government's job. In the
case of the digital /television/ transition, the downsides of the tuner
mandate arguably are justified in the face of the public interest in
transitioning to OTA digital. However, for radio, there is no /transition/
taking place (and therefore no public interest in encouraging it).
The satellite vs. terrestrial radio battle is and should be a marketplace
interaction. If HD Radio is an attractive service (in light of its price),
then (1) it'll succeed, (2) all radio vendors will be pressured to include
it, (3) the price will come down, and (4) all radios will end up having it.
It may well be that #2 takes longer to work on automobile manufacturers, but
that's irrelevant.
ATTENTION BERT: This is the first and only email I'll send to this list on
this topic.
-----Original Message-----
From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Craig Birkmaier
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 10:13 AM
To: OpenDTV Mail List
Subject: [opendtv] Here we go again...
Radio broadcasters have lost significant market share to alternative
forms of audio distribution:
- Satellite Radio subscription services
- iPods
- Audio Books and Podcasts
- Internet Radio stations
Satellite radio has found a marketplace niche, but growth has slowed
significantly and most surveys suggest that post merger growth will
be tepid at best.
But this does not stop the NAB from working overtime to block the
merger, and for the politicians on the sidelines to tell the
regulators what they should do. THus it comes as no surprise that a
group of Senators is suggesting that the Satcasters be forced to do
something akin to what the FCC required of TV manufacturers - i.e.
force the manufacturers of satellite radio receivers to include HD
radio receivers in their devices.
On the surface this makes sense - the inclusion of an HD radio
receiver should not add much to the cost of the new radios that the
merger will require (the systems use different modulation, thus
existing receivers do not work with both). Once again the NAB and
their buddies in Congress smell the opportunity to prop up
broadcasters, rather than letting the marketplace decide...
Form the article: "Consumers deserve the opportunity to choose from
all of the latest radio technologies, whether they listen at home, at
the office, or in the car."
Hmmmm... does this mean that all satellite radio receivers should
support WiFi and include an iPod?
Regards
Craig
http://www.radioink.com/HeadlineEntry.asp?hid=142716&pt=todaysnews
Senators: Merged XM-Sirius Should Offer HD On All Receivers
WASHINGTON -- June 30, 2008: In a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin
Martin, Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Claire McCaskill (D-M), and Ben
Cardin (D-MD) cite the merger conditions FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is
ready to accept for XM and Sirius, and which the satcasters have
agreed to, and say, "We believe that these proposals fall short of
what is necessary to permit the commission to conclude that the
proposed meger meets the public interest test, as required by the
Communications Act."
XM and Sirius have agreed to lease 12 channels to minority
programmers and set aside another 12 channels for noncommercial
informational programming, but the Senators say, "We believe that
these commitments are not sufficient to ensure a viable competitor."
They call the 12 channels of minority programing a "token offer" and
say, "alloting 12 channels for minority programming squanders the
great opportunity for truly enhanced minority ownership or control
created by the proposed merger."
The Senators would like the FCC to require a combined XM-Sirius to
lease "as much as 50 percent of its satellite system capacity, thus
preserving the essence of the current FCC rules [which block the two
satcasters from merging], and certainly no less than 20 percent of
its capacity."
Kerry, McCaskill, and Cardin would also like device manufacturers
after the merger to be required to integrate HD Radio into all
satellite radio receivers. They write, "Consumers deserve the
opportunity to choose from all of the latest radio technologies,
whether they listen at home, at the office, or in the car." They say
requiring HD "is an essential check against the merged entity using
its monopoly power to stifle a promising new free, over-the-air radio
technology."
The Senators also ask Martin to have the commission enforce its
requirement for interoperable receivers. Because XM and Sirius
haven't produced interoperable receivers so far, they write, "we
remain skeptical about the merged entity's ability to deliver on this
fundmantal requirement" and say that, to make sure that merger
condition is enforced, as well as the a la carte condition, the FCC
or another third party should certify interoperable radios, "as well
as enforce a robust open-access requirement so that the merged entity
cannot be a gatekeeper to equipment attached to its system."
Finally, the letter asks Martin to develop a "meaningful mechanism"
to make sure XM and Sirius stick to the pricing commitments they've
made as part of the merger conditions.
The Senators conclude by reiterating that they think the FCC's best
course would be to reject the merger.
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