The first thing to usually do when confronted with a situation/question/problem in Washington is to look for a way to avoid responsibility or come up with a law or rule that was passed to justify your answer. The second thing to do is to CYA by letting others come up with a game plan so you can say something like "It's not my plan, but their plan might work!" That's probably the direction we're headed in with the XM and Sirius merger. We're talking not only about the egos of the CEO's and programmers and staff, and the future of each company but the money that GM, Chrysler, Honda, BMW and others have put into the satellite radio business. And they've got high paid lobbyists who are all dressed up and likely kicking the tires and making the rounds in the showrooms of Capitol Hill right now. What would a merger take? Technically, you just modify and marry the similar channels and satellcast the same programs and channels over both XM and Sirius radio sets. The rest is just a matter of doing the paperwork. No need to make any changes in the satellites or build new XM or Sirius radio sets. Use 'em both for a few years until a new generation of sets are built that will receive either existing satellite's signal. The answers do not dwell on Wall Street, but you will find them on K Street and where Independence and Pennsylvania Avenues meet. So, if the CEO's and parties, and their lawyers (Sirius and XM) can come up with a game plan so that the 1997 FCC rule can be replaced to allow a merger, the FCC just might shuffle their feet and then go along with it. Hey! It's Washington. It's the land of wiggle room. Give all of the parties enough wiggle room and they'll be happy. What more does one need to say? Rules and laws were written to be reviewed, modified and quantified to meet the times and needs. Prohibition was passed and repealed, wasn't it? If the Bush administration can change their game plans on the War on Terror and phone tapping a couple or a half dozen times, what makes you think that the FCC can't modify or revise its rules? After all, we're just talking about people here, aren't we? Show them the way and they will follow. That way, everybody who's had an opinion about the success of satellite radio can say, "I told you so!" and be right -- and everybody wins. Larry Shannon |
