States urge FCC to bar radio deal
The proposed merger of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. was opposed by four states that say the combination of the only two pay radio companies poses a threat to competition.
Connecticut, Maryland, Ohio and Washington urged the Federal Communications Commission to reject the merger in a letter signed by the four states’ attorneys general and posted on the FCC’s website.
The FCC is unlikely to take up the matter by the May 1 expiration of the companies’ merger agreement, which has already been extended, said Paul Gallant, an analyst at Stanford Washington Research Group. FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin omitted the deal from the proposed agenda for the agency’s next monthly meeting May 14.
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