A group of law school students at George Washington University in Washington have formed a consumer advocacy group for subscribers to satellite radio.
The “Consumer Coalition for Competition in Satellite Radio” was created in response to rumors about the potential merger of XM and Sirius, the group stated.
It said merger reports for XM and Sirius began to surface last year. As RW has reported, such speculation has circulated from time to time ever since both satcasters launched; recently rumors took new currency after publicized remarks by Mel Karmazin of Sirius.
“The competitive duopoly in satellite digital radio created by the FCC in 1997 is clearly at risk,” according to Chris Reale, one of C3SR’s founding members. “If the only two companies operating in the satellite radio industry are permitted to combine, consumers not only will lose their choice, but they will be totally at the mercy of a monopoly provider.”
The group announced its formation at the recent National Conference on Media Reform in Memphis.
Will the group disband now in light of the FCC chairman’s subsequent remarks about the likelihood of such merger approval?
