XM and Sirius are trying to merge (or hadn’t you heard?) but have encountered a lot of resistance in both the government and the press, to say nothing of legions of angry, everyday consumers who are also opposed to it. So the companies bought an advertisement to show just how “diverse” their support is. To see it…
Eight organizations have lent their names to the cause, half of which are Hispanic groups. That’s diverse? But my favorite part of the ad is the final sentence: How can we be a monopoly and have more than 10,000 competitors?
Can’t argue with fourth grade logic, no sir. And just what are these 10,000 competitors? I can think of a few, like the iPod and Internet radio, but that leaves 9,998.
But like our esteemed Josh Goldman said, as long as they don’t charge me more or make me change my radio I don’t care if they merge. Well, if I were a customer, I guess.
Diversity Ad (PDF) [XMmerger.com]
The number 10000 refers to the approximate number of US AM and FM broadcast stations – duh.
Come on Chuck let’s give Nicholas the benifit of the doubt and not assume that he doesn’t know who the other 9998 competitors are. Nicholas is smart enough to know what is meant by “10,000 competitiors”; he is simply like most journalists who print half-truths to spin a topic toward their opinion to influence the thoughts of the ignorant and niave.
If you actually read the ad, Nick, you’d see in Big, Bold, Blue text: “Among the groups that have voiced their support:” directly above the groups listed. The key word there is “Among,” signifying the names listed are some-but-not-all groups that have voiced support.
Also, you don’t need equal parts of all subgroups to have a single “diverse” group. Picture several people from each of the groups named, all in the same room, and you’d have to admit that’s one hell of a diverse group of people united together in support of a single cause: a rural voters group, a consumer advocacy group, national black and Hispanic chambers of commerce, Latino groups, a women-in-farming group…
Slow news day, or exercising some “editorial license?” Based on your closing line, “Well, if I were a customer, I guess,” I’m thinking you just have a distaste for satellite radio, so you chose a non-story in which you could vent some passive-aggressive nonsense, making it, in your eyes, a story worthy of posting. I’m also thinking you were wrong.
I do some consulting with the NAB on the proposed merger. The facts are that there is no competitor to XM and Sirius in the satellite radio market and local broadcasters don’t compete against XM and Sirius. A local radio station which delivers local news, weather and entertainment – can only broadcast within its FCC-defined market. Satellite radios channels which are pre-packaged bundles of programming – are heard nationwide. This allows satellite radio to compete with local radio, but prevents local radio from competing with satellite due to its lack of nationwide reach.
That’s an interesting argument… How can it be competition if local radio can deliver locally relevant information, but Satellite radio can’t? It would seem that local radio would have a distinct advantage in it’s local market? And surely people would generally have the choice of internet radio iin competition with local radio in pretty much all places other than their vehicles, which seems a fairly competitve environment…? Especially if you include people’s preference for CD/MP3 players which allow personal choice of music or entertainment in their vehicles?
@Chris:
How can you say that terrestrial radio doesn’t compete with Satellite Radio? And how can you say that Clear Channel (an NAB member) is LOCAL radio when they are the largest NATIONWIDE broadcaster in the U.S.? Drive across the country and show me how many stations carry Rush Limbaugh, or use the same playlists for all their syndicated stations.
Syndication is no different than national broadcasting.
The NAB is trying to position terrestrial radio as being small “mom & pop” stations. That died long ago with media consolidation. Clear Channel is direct proof of that.
Your own NAB president, David Rehr, even cited satellite radio as a competitor in his speeches and Congressional hearings. Not to mention the SEC documents filed by nearly EVERY SINGLE terrestrial radio corporation, listing satellite radio (as well as iPods, Internet Radio, etc) as direct competition.
Enough with the rhetoric.