Sono troppo ignorante in materia di diritto statunitense per giudicare sull'importanza della cosa, ma sulla strada della definitiva approvazione della fusione tra XM Radio e Sirius Satellite Radio da parte della FCC adesso c'è solo l'ostacolo del Wisconsin. L'avvocatura di quello Stato ha inviato alla FCC una lettera in cui si chiede ufficialmente che il regolatore blocchi l'accordo ora che l'autorità antitrust del Dipartimento di Giustizia ha dato la sua approvazione. Se non ricordo male, le avvocature degli Stati avevano avuto a che fare anche con la causa tra il DOJ e Microsoft per Windows e Internet Explorer, quindi devono avere voce in capitolo in questioni di monopolio. L'Attorney General del Wisconsin, un repubblicano, afferma che radio terrestre e radio satellitare non sono la stessa cosa e che una fusione porterebbe a una situazione di monopolio in un mercato. Per ora nessuna delle parti in gioco ha fatto commenti su questa richiesta, che forse non influenzerà in alcun modo sulle decisioni della FCC.
Intanto dal Canada arriva la notizia secondo cui le filiali canadesi dei due operatori continueranno a farsi concorrenza sul piano commerciale anche dopo l'eventuale fusione, almeno in un primo tempo. Questo articolo del Globe Mail spiega la curiosa strategia alternativa.
State wants XM-Sirius radio merger blocked
The Associated Press
MADISON — Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen wants the FCC to block a merger of the nation’s only two satellite radio companies.
The U.S. Justice Department decided earlier this month to permit Sirius Satellite Radio’s proposed $5 billion buyout of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings. The FCC still has to sign off.
Van Hollen, a Republican, sent a letter to FCC chairman Kevin Martin and Wisconsin’s congressional delegation on Monday complaining the deal would eliminate competition in the satellite radio industry, drive up prices for services and reduce channels available to Wisconsin listeners.
“Broadcast radio is no substitute for satellite radio,” Van Hollen wrote in the letter.
Sirius wants to buy XM for about $5 billion.
Van Hollen sent a letter to antitrust regulators in the U.S. Justice Department in September making the same arguments. But the agency approved the merger on March 24 with no conditions attached.
The Justice Department said the two companies didn’t compete against each other because subscribers had to purchase equipment exclusive to either XM or Sirius and ample competition exists in other audio entertainment forms, including iPods, high-definition radio and Internet radio — a key argument the companies have used to push the merger.
The FCC has the authority to block the sale or impose conditions on pricing or program offerings.
Eleven other state attorneys general sent a letter to the FCC’s Martin in March expressing
Intanto dal Canada arriva la notizia secondo cui le filiali canadesi dei due operatori continueranno a farsi concorrenza sul piano commerciale anche dopo l'eventuale fusione, almeno in un primo tempo. Questo articolo del Globe Mail spiega la curiosa strategia alternativa.
State wants XM-Sirius radio merger blocked
The Associated Press
MADISON — Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen wants the FCC to block a merger of the nation’s only two satellite radio companies.
The U.S. Justice Department decided earlier this month to permit Sirius Satellite Radio’s proposed $5 billion buyout of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings. The FCC still has to sign off.
Van Hollen, a Republican, sent a letter to FCC chairman Kevin Martin and Wisconsin’s congressional delegation on Monday complaining the deal would eliminate competition in the satellite radio industry, drive up prices for services and reduce channels available to Wisconsin listeners.
“Broadcast radio is no substitute for satellite radio,” Van Hollen wrote in the letter.
Sirius wants to buy XM for about $5 billion.
Van Hollen sent a letter to antitrust regulators in the U.S. Justice Department in September making the same arguments. But the agency approved the merger on March 24 with no conditions attached.
The Justice Department said the two companies didn’t compete against each other because subscribers had to purchase equipment exclusive to either XM or Sirius and ample competition exists in other audio entertainment forms, including iPods, high-definition radio and Internet radio — a key argument the companies have used to push the merger.
The FCC has the authority to block the sale or impose conditions on pricing or program offerings.
Eleven other state attorneys general sent a letter to the FCC’s Martin in March expressing
concerns about the Justice Department’s decision and urging the FCC to address anticompetitive aspects of the merger.Per i testi delle missive, ecco i link riportati sulla pagina Web dell'avvocatura:
FCC spokeswoman Mary Diamond declined to comment. Sirius and XM officials didn’t immediately return messages today.
Citing concerns about anti-competitive and anti-consumer effects, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced today that he has asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to utilize its role to carefully review the proposed license transfer between Sirius and XM. Sirius and XM are the only two companies in the United States that provide satellite radio service. In a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, Attorney General Van Hollen asked the Commission to take into account the broad public interest of the proposed license transfer between XM and Sirius. Van Hollen issued this letter to the FCC after the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it would not attempt to block the Sirius-XM merger, nor order divestitures, despite the fact that the merger would eliminate all competition in the satellite radio industry.In September, 2007, Van Hollen wrote a letter to Thomas O. Barnett, the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust for the United States Department of Justice to block the merger between XM and Sirius."The FCC's standard for reviewing a license transfer is broader than the United States Department of Justice's merger review, and I think that this transfer should raise several red flags for the FCC," Attorney General Van Hollen said. "The Sirius-XM deal is anti-competitive and anti-consumer."
A copy of Attorney General Van Hollen's letter to FCC Chairman Martin can be found by clicking www.doj.state.wi.us/news/files/XM-Sirius.pdf.
A copy of Attorney General Van Hollen's letter to Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Barnett is available at http://www.doj.state.wi.us/news/files/Sirius.pdf.
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