Re: FCC rejects EchoStar/DirecTV merger 4-0

[Shawn Mamros <mamros@MIT.EDU>]

>I find Michael Powell's comment in this article
>interesting.  Here he states that this potential
>merger goes against competition and would create a
>regulated monopoly instead.  And therefore, the merger
>plan was refused.  But yet, over on the radio side of
>things, he seems to carry a totally different attitude
>and approach, supporting mega-corporate takeovers and
>mergers, and encouraging similar deals such as this to
>occur.  [...]

Aside from EchoStar and DirecTV, how many other companies are there
providing satellite TV?  Offhand, I can't think of one, certainly
not any of sufficient size to take on the proposed merged company.

On the radio side, you have Clear Channel, Infinity (Viacom), Disney,
Entercom, ... all of whom are in competition with one another.  Now,
if all or some of those companies were to merge with one another,
then it would be a different story.  But, for now, there is competition.
It may not be the same sort of competition as what there was before -
a small handful of big companies fighting it out, rather than a lot
of little companies - but it's not a monopoly by any one company.

-Shawn Mamros
E-mail to: mamros@mit.edu