# NAB drops bid to stop XM traffic, weather channels



## KTMCDO (May 31, 2003)

NAB drops bid to stop XM traffic, weather channels
Tue Nov 9, 2004 02:29 PM ET 
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 9 The National Association of Broadcasters has withdrawn its petition to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to stop XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR.O: Quote, Profile, Research) from providing local traffic and weather channels, a spokesman for the trade group said on Tuesday.
XM Radio had announced in January that it would launch an instant traffic and weather service, prompting established U.S. radio broadcasters to denounce the move as a "back-door attempt" to skirt regulations.

XM Radio rolled out the traffic and weather channels on March 1 in 15 major U.S. cities, in a move similar to New York-based rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) . XM Radio says on its Web site that it now provides the channels in 21 major U.S. metropolitan markets in addition to several interstate corridors nationwide.

"This is a complete vindication of our position that XM has complied and continues to comply with FCC rules," the company said in a statement, referring to the NAB's withdrawal of its petition. "NAB's action validates that there are no content restrictions on XM."

XM said that the NAB withdrew its petition "because all indications were that the Commission was poised to rule against the NAB, so it decided to withdraw in a last-minute attempt to save face."

A spokesman for the NAB, a trade group representing local radio and television stations, declined to comment.

In the NAB's motion to dismiss its petition, the trade group said: "NAB will continue to monitor the evolution of satellite radio and we intend to bring the matter before (the FCC) when a fuller picture has developed."

The NAB filed its petition on April 14. In response, XM Radio, the Consumer Electronics Association, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Satellite Broadcast and Communications Association, as well as XM Radio customers filed against the petition.

Sirius and XM provide subscription-based music, talk and sports programming under licenses from the FCC that allow them to broadcast nationwide services via satellite. They can use ground-based transmitters to extend their reach, but not to provide individual programming to a local market.

Last month, in a big boost to the nascent satellite radio industry, Howard Stern, the ribald radio host who had become a poster boy for bad behavior on U.S. air waves, announced he would jump to Sirius in January 2006. The move would free him from U.S. regulators because the FCC regulates radio broadcast programs but not satellite radio programs.

XM Radio has 2.5 million subscribers and Sirius has more than 700,000, forecasting last month that it will have 1 million by the end of this year.

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## RichW (Mar 29, 2002)

_XM said that the NAB withdrew its petition "because all indications were that the Commission was poised to rule against the NAB, so it decided to withdraw in a last-minute attempt to save face._

I can believe that.

However, they may also be waiting to build up lobbying pressure in Congress to get what they want. We consumers must be extra vigilent to see that the NAB doesn't muscle its way via the back door.


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