The FCC is about to approve the merger of XM and Sirius, radio's only two satellite radio companies. The NAB and the Black Caucus in Congress are having a fit about this merger taking place. The Black Caucus issue is politics as usual...not enough minority stations as part of the merger. The NAB's issue is competition. They do not believe the government should allow more competition in radio by allowing the only two financially strapped satellite radio companies that exist to merge. They are calling this merger a monopoly. That is a weak argument at best. If Sirius and XM were the only companies offering audio entertainment, then that would be a monopoly. They are far from it with all of the various devices that are now available for consumer entertainment. A better argument would have been for the NAB to have presented a case against XM-Sirius merger due to the complete lack of compliance with FCC rules and regulations that were mandated when the radio satellite companies were awarded licenses. They were to have interoperable receivers, which they do not and they were to comply with interference protection for land radio stations with their repeater broadcasting, which they have not done. In addition, the mandate in the beginning also would not allow the two companies to merge in any scenario. This now is also being skirted with the favorable ruling about to come down from the FCC. I have all along thought it was a good idea. Why? Some ask. They point out that I am in the radio business. That is true, but I like competition. Free market competition. With competition, the best and brightest emerge. Better products mean consumers get better service.
The NAB, which we are members of, is representing the old guard big public companies that are terrified of competition. They have gotten fat and lazy and now are in a fight for their lives to remain viable in a changing media landscape. What is missing in free radio is ideas, entertainers and new content from the top down. The public consolidators lack the ingenuity to do something truly new and great for fear of Wall Street back lash. When CBS hired Dan Mason as CEO, they went back to a guy that was one of the most successful programmers radio has ever seen. Dan began making changes across the country by programming an Oldies format on FM stations. With the wide variety in music, the result is large audiences have come back in droves to those previously failing stations. Dan is a pro, but even Dan knows that going with an Oldies format is a quick fix. I bet if he was at a small private company as opposed to the big public CBS, we would be seeing a lot more risk and innovation from Dan and people like him that this industry has sorely missed.
The same old radio dog that has been breathing for the last 10 years is about to die. It is an exciting time to be in the media world. Multimedia opportunities are available for those who want to embrace the challenge and become relevant again. Get ready. The sea change is about to happen in the radio business. Those that embrace it and look to the future will thrive. Consumers and advertisers will benefit greatly with what is about to happen in the audio entertainment world.
Bruce Maduri has been the President of Genesis Communications, Inc for 20 years. Genesis is radio broadcast group specializing in News Talk and Sports formats. Bruce can be reached at ceo@radiogenesis.com
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