WASHINGTON, and NEW YORK, March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Following the approval of their merger by the Department of Justice (DOJ), satellite radio companies XM Satellite Radio and SIRIUS Satellite Radio , today highlighted the many organizations and individuals who have publicly endorsed their merger. They have all championed the lower prices and increased programming choices that the merger will afford consumers and have urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to approve the merger without delay.
Wide Range of Support
In a strong indication of the consumer benefits inherent in this transaction, the companies unveiled an array of new programming options, including two first-of-their-kind a la carte options where consumers can individually select the channels they wish to receive. A public opinion survey found that over 70% of voters thought the two new a la carte packages would be a good deal for consumers.
Since first announcing their intentions to merge, the public reaction to the merger of SIRIUS and XM has been staggering. Representatives from every possible stakeholder group in this debate have weighed in supporting the merger: thousands of unique public comments from consumers have been filed with the FCC; a number of Members of Congress from both political parties have urged approval; two former FCC Chairman and former FCC staff have voiced their support; leading car manufacturers have all indicated the consumer benefits inherent in the merger; the nation's leading voices for minority audiences, including the NAACP and LULAC, have asked the FCC for approval; religious leaders and family values advocates, including Cardinal Egan and American Values, have also supported the merger.
Minority Interest Organizations -- NAACP -- Second District of the African -- National Council of Methodist Episcopal Church Women's Organizations -- Hispanic Federation -- National Latino Farmers and Ranchers -- Independent Women's Forum -- New York State Federation of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce -- Latinos in Information Sciences -- National Black Chamber of and Technology Association (LISTA) Commerce -- League of United Latin American -- The Latino Coalition Citizens -- Women Impacting Public Policy -- Women Involved in Farm Economics Corporations and Manufacturers -- Chrysler -- Circuit City -- Crutchfield Corporation -- Ford Motor Company -- General Motors Corporation -- Harpo Productions -- Honda -- Hyundai -- Kia Motors America -- Loral Space & Communications -- NASCAR -- Oracle -- Toyota -- RadioShack Think Tanks and Consumer Groups -- 60 Plus Association -- American Association of People with Disabilities -- American Trucking Associations -- Americans for Prosperity -- Americans for Tax Reform -- American Values -- Citizens for Community Values (CCV) -- Club for Growth -- Competitive Enterprise Institute -- FamilyNet Radio -- Family Research Council -- Federation of Southern Cooperatives -- Intertribal Agriculture Council -- League of Rural Voters -- National Taxpayers Union -- Rural Coalition -- The Free State Foundation -- The Heritage Foundation -- Tennessee Conservative Union Current and Former Public Officials, and Federal Regulators -- Mayor Karl F. Dean of Nashville, TN -- Former Senator Bill Bradley -- Congressman Joe Baca -- Congressman Sanford Bishop -- Congressman Rick Boucher -- Congresswoman Corrine Brown -- Congresswoman Yvette Clarke -- Congressman Danny Davis -- Congressman Eliot Engel -- Congressman Bob Filner -- Congresswoman Virginia Foxx -- Congressman Ralph Hall -- Congressman Alcee Hastings -- Congressman Connie Mack -- Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney -- Congressman Ted Poe -- Congressman Bobby Rush -- Congressman Pete Sessions -- Congressman Ed Towns -- Congressman Anthony Weiner -- Reed Hundt, former FCC Chairman -- Harold Furchtgott-Roth, former FCC Commissioner -- Mark Fowler, former FCC Chairman -- Randolph J. May, former FCC Assistant General Counsel -- Thomas Hazlett, former FCC Chief Economist What People Are Saying
Here are just a few examples, in their own words, of why they support the merger:
On Diverse Programming ...
"We are convinced that the pending Sirius-XM merger will be a positive development for consumers -- more diverse, accessible and appealing options at lower prices in satellite radio will help further expand the reach of this medium." - Hillary O. Shelton, Director, NAACP
On Competition ...
"I think that if XM and Sirius combined, it will be pro-competitive in all likelihood. It seems to me that there's no indication of any anticompetitive outcome if they do combine, so let's give them a chance to have a sharper point on the arrow and see if they can do better in terms of penetrating the listener audience." - Reed Hundt, former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
On Greater Choices and Lower Prices ...
"[SIRIUS and XM] have promised to offer consumers more choice at lower prices after the merger. Service offerings that let subscribers pay less would permit even more Americans to experience satellite radio." - Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York
On Innovation ...
"More broadly, this merger proposes to combine two small players in the audio entertainment market. As a result, the merger will bring greater vitality and financial resources to this upstart technology. Allowing this to happen will, in turn, spark a new generation of services and products with more advanced and user-friendly features. Consumers, of course, will be better off as a result." - Julian C. Day, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, RadioShack
On Benefits to Consumers ...
"General Motors believes the proposed merger is and will be in the public interest because the merged company will be able to offer consumers expanded programming choices and a broad range of service packages, including packages at lower prices." - Richard M. Lee, Executive Director of Satellite Radio Services, General Motors
On the Audio Entertainment Marketplace ...
"The relevant market for competition purposes is the entire marketplace for audio entertainment, including terrestrial radio, Internet radio and Internet-protocol enabled applications. The relevant market clearly includes all of terrestrial radio, as evidenced by repeated statements by leading broadcast companies that they are in competition with satellite radio." - Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA)
For more information on the SIRIUS-XM merger, please visit http://www.siriusmerger.com/ or http://www.xmmerger.com/ .
About SIRIUS
SIRIUS, "The Best Radio on Radio," delivers more than 130 channels of the best programming in all of radio. SIRIUS is the original and only home of 100% commercial free music channels in satellite radio, offering 69 music channels. SIRIUS also delivers 65 channels of sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic, weather and data. SIRIUS is the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, NASCAR and NBA, and broadcasts live play-by-play games of the NFL and NBA, as well as live NASCAR races. All SIRIUS programming is available for a monthly subscription fee of only $12.95.
SIRIUS Internet Radio (SIR) is an Internet-only version of the SIRIUS radio service, without the use of a radio, for the monthly subscription fee of $12.95. SIR delivers more than 80 channels of talk, entertainment, sports, and 100% commercial free music.
SIRIUS Backseat TV(TM) is the first ever live in-vehicle rear seat entertainment featuring three channels of children's TV programming, including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network, for the subscription fee of $6.99 plus applicable audio subscription fee.
SIRIUS products for the car, truck, home, RV and boat are available in more than 20,000 retail locations, including Best Buy, Circuit City, Crutchfield, Costco, Target, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, RadioShack and at shop.sirius.com.
SIRIUS radios are offered in vehicles from Audi, Bentley, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep(R), Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercury, Maybach, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Rolls Royce, Scion, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo. Hertz also offers SIRIUS in its rental cars at major locations around the country.
Click on http://www.sirius.com/ to listen to SIRIUS live, or to purchase a SIRIUS radio and subscription.
About XM
XM is America's number one satellite radio company with more than 9 million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, Nashville, Toronto and Montreal, XM's 2008 lineup includes more than 170 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: commercial-free music, premier sports, news, talk radio, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and the most advanced traffic and weather information.
XM, the leader in satellite-delivered entertainment and data services for the automobile market through partnerships with General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Porsche, Ferrari, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota is available in 140 different vehicle models for 2008. XM's industry-leading products are available at consumer electronics retailers nationwide. XM programming is also available through XM Radio Online, the exclusive home on the Internet for XM's commercial-free music channels; as downloads of original XM shows via podcasts from XM's Web site or the Apple's iTunes Store; and as streams of commercial- free XM music channels to AT&T and Alltel wireless customers through XM Radio Mobile. For more information about XM hardware, programming and partnerships, please visit http://www.xmradio.com/.
This communication contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the business combination transaction involving Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., including potential synergies and cost savings and the timing thereof, future financial and operating results, the combined company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to future operations, products and services; and other statements identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "will," "should," "may," or words of similar meaning. Such forward- looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of SIRIUS' and XM's management and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of SIRIUS and XM. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements.
The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statement: general business and economic conditions; the performance of financial markets and interest rates; the ability to obtain governmental approvals of the transaction on a timely basis; the failure of SIRIUS and XM stockholders to approve the transaction; the failure to realize synergies and cost-savings from the transaction or delay in realization thereof; the businesses of SIRIUS and XM may not be combined successfully, or such combination may take longer, be more difficult, time-consuming or costly to accomplish than expected; and operating costs and business disruption following the merger, including adverse effects on employee retention and on our business relationships with third parties, including manufacturers of radios, retailers, automakers and programming providers. Additional factors that could cause SIRIUS' and XM's results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in SIRIUS' and XM's Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2007, June 30, 2007 and September 30, 2007, which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and available at the SEC's Internet site (http://www.sec.gov/). The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and SIRIUS and XM disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication.
