Chris Blount
04-15-04, 06:39 AM
The National Association of Broadcasters stepped up its pressure on satellite radio and its delivery of local content Wednesday, submitting to the Federal Communications Commission a "Petition for Declaratory Ruling" on the subject.
In its filing, the NAB urged the FCC to prohibit satellite radio companies from providing locally oriented services on nationally distributed channels. It also asked the commission to stop satellite radio companies from using technology that allows the delivery of content aired on a receiver in one location that differs from content delivered to a receiver in another location.
"In lieu of the promised niche audiences, foreign language services, senior and children's programming, they (satellite radio companies) have instead devoted substantial bandwidth to compete directly with local broadcasters with local content, without being subject to any public interest obligations," NAB said in its FCC filing.
The NAB also accused satellite radio companies - Sirius and XM Satellite Radio - of developing a next generation of receivers that can deliver advanced "localized" programming - including advertising and news - by using GPS and store-and-forward technologies.
In March, XM and Sirius took the wraps off their respective local traffic and weather services, offerings that target about 20 markets.
In response, a Sirius spokesperson said, "We acknowledge that we are a national service, and everything we do is 100 percent within that mandate. We broadcast nationally, and we will continue to broadcast nationally." As of press time, XM had no comment on the NAB filing.
http://www.skyreport.com (Used with permission)
In its filing, the NAB urged the FCC to prohibit satellite radio companies from providing locally oriented services on nationally distributed channels. It also asked the commission to stop satellite radio companies from using technology that allows the delivery of content aired on a receiver in one location that differs from content delivered to a receiver in another location.
"In lieu of the promised niche audiences, foreign language services, senior and children's programming, they (satellite radio companies) have instead devoted substantial bandwidth to compete directly with local broadcasters with local content, without being subject to any public interest obligations," NAB said in its FCC filing.
The NAB also accused satellite radio companies - Sirius and XM Satellite Radio - of developing a next generation of receivers that can deliver advanced "localized" programming - including advertising and news - by using GPS and store-and-forward technologies.
In March, XM and Sirius took the wraps off their respective local traffic and weather services, offerings that target about 20 markets.
In response, a Sirius spokesperson said, "We acknowledge that we are a national service, and everything we do is 100 percent within that mandate. We broadcast nationally, and we will continue to broadcast nationally." As of press time, XM had no comment on the NAB filing.
http://www.skyreport.com (Used with permission)