Clear Channel wants the FCC to force XM / Sirius to obey indecency laws
By Paul Miller 
posted March 25th 2008 9:32AM
posted March 25th 2008 9:32AM
Apparently Clear Channel's new motto is "if you can't beat 'em, make life suck on the other side of the merger." The broadcast giant has dropped a whole big list of requests on the FCC to impose as conditions upon XM / Sirius for a merger, not the least of which is asking for broadcast decency rules be applied to satellite radio. Clear Channel feels the competitive threat of satellite radio could be mitigated a bit if the "edgy" content (Howard Stern) ceased to make terrestrial radio's edgy stuff look weak by comparison. Of course, the big difference is that XM and Sirius are paid subscription services, and we're guessing they're going to pound the "but HBO can do it" argument for all they've got, but it seems like these days no request is out of reach for terrestrial radio: Clear Channel also wants another satellite radio competitor, 5 percent "public interest" radio, and zero local programming or local advertising.
Good ol Clear Channel. First they are "looking out" for us along with the NAB in saying a merger would be bad for us subscribers, but when the merger passes the Justice Dept, they decide to screw the subscriber by suggesting ways to cripple it to the FCC.
FUCK CLEAR CHANNEL!
Oh yeah, FUCK THE FCC TOO!
i wont be surprised to the annoyed replies to my comment.... just sharing my view like everyone else...
Are you kidding me??? The nerve of that pompous bastard. You (Clear Channel) own 1225 Radio stations in 300 cities across this land of ours and you want to impose restrictions on privately owned Satellite radio??? Yet you've bugged the hell out of the FCC to buy more radio stations. What, not making enough money owning nearly 10% of ALL radio stations in the US.
Why does he want another Satellite competitor?? Deal with it!! You chose to be in a business of advertise driven revenue, go fuck yourself.
I've subscribed to XM for two years now, and I honestly can't imagine going without these days. We've got three radios subscribed now and it's totally worth it. I pay that money for uncensored music and talk. I don't need the FCC and Clear Channel telling me what I should and shouldn't listen to because they think my poor innocent mind shouldn't be corrupted by naughty people. Parents are allowed to remove the XL channels from radios that say, their kids use, just like they can with satellite and cable. If it's so freakin' bad that your child or yourself might possibly maybe get exposed to the F word once, here's a solution: don't subscribe. I don't listen to Opie and Anthony, but you know what? I don't care! I'm not having it shoved down my throat, even as a subscriber. The most *I* hear about them is the occasional blurb during breaks on CNN.
Clear Channel owns stations in my listening area, and ever since they were acquired by them, they've gone to hell in a handbasket, and I certainly point to CC being the cause. Yet, I do thank them for it since the lack of variety pushed me to XM. :)
Ironically, I switched to a SkyFi3 Sunday, a day before the merger. But I can't wait for the whole thing to go through. It's going to be a bit more a month, but more channels? Sign me up!
Is it even possible for Clear Channel to whine and cry any more????
Sorry, I don't have time to read all the posts, so this may be a repeated notion, but if the scumbags at Clear Channel are jealous 'cos not having censorship on Satellite radio drives the public away from crippled radio to free-speech radio, then aren't the very same public merely sending a Clear (npi) message about what they (the actual receiving end) find acceptable?
Jesus H Krist, let us figure this shit out for ourselves. I'm sick to death of being spoon fed and coddled (unless by a nubile, barely legal dirty talking little.... OK, I'd better stop :) )
Bloody FCC.... get knotted and go set up some emergency channels or something.
F**ing amazing. Clear Channel destroyed local radio and now they want to do the same to satellite.