News
Satellite radio merger will create monopoly, call on FCC to intervene
By Attorney General's office
Mar 28, 2008 - 6:27:58 PM

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and 10 other states called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to consider blocking the proposed merger of the nation’s only two satellite radio companies, saying the deal would create an illegal monopoly.

Blumenthal and fellow state attorneys general sent a letter today asking the FCC to step in after the U.S. Department of Justice failed to block the proposed merger of XM Radio and Sirius Radio. The DOJ dismissed concerns expressed by Blumenthal and others that the merger would create an illegal monopoly by leaving the nation with only one satellite radio provider.

“A merger of XM Radio and Sirius radio meets the textbook definition of monopoly: a product controlled by one party,” Blumenthal said. “The Justice Department’s inaction regarding this combination defies law, reason and common sense. Even a child understands that owning every property from Baltic Avenue to Boardwalk is a monopoly.

“This monopoly-making merger will leave Connecticut consumers at the mercy of a single company, leading to skyrocketing prices and diminished service. Customers unhappy with their service will have nowhere to go. The Justice Department’s message to satellite radio consumers: Go pound sand.

“My office, in partnership with other state attorneys general, is demanding the FCC to intervene against this flagrantly anti-competitive, anti-consumer merger. The FCC can and should protect the public interest and radio consumers by killing this monopoly before it’s created.”

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