The National Association of Broadcasters has sent a message to the FCC that they intend to file a petition to oppose the merger of Sirius (SIRI) and Xm Satellite Radio (XMSR).
The message was sent in a letter to the Chairman of the FCC, Kevin Martin. In the letter, NAB President David Rehr referenced the merger as a monopoly which would violate the antitrust laws.
He continued by saying this would definitely lead to huge price increases, implying the lack of competition would allow them to charge whatever they wanted. He added that it would "harm the public by erroding the valuable, advertiser-supported programming and services provided by local stations. [The] NAB intends to submit a Petition to Deny the proposed merger at the appropriate time,"
Rehr, sending the letter on behalf of the NAB, did it now because the official application for the merger has now been filed at the FCC and the SEC. The NAB has taken out ads in the Washington political papers along with arguing on the Hill against the approval of the action.
David Rehr
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