NAB = presumptuous cocks who just want all of us to go back to listening to their commercials so they can make more money

let me turn this middle finger upside down...

Pay no attention to that giant fucking Clear Channel banner hanging up in our offices, no sir. We're totally impartial and unbiased. Plus, our programming is awesome; how else are you supposed to hear 21 minutes of loud Mazda dealership commercials for every 6 minutes of (heavily edited) entertainment programming? Sirius? XM? Think again, pal! And don't even get us started on those liberal morons at PRI, with their Birkenstocks and "day sponsorships"!

Funny... they aren't putting out any press regarding the recent payola scandal that is sweeping the radio indusrty on their website, but there sure is a lot of anti-sat radio stuff. Thanks for looking out for me, NAB! Make sure I only hear one song from the highest bidder!

Oh, no, can't have Satellite actually becoming competitive with regular radio and making a profit.

I mean, sure, they agreed to price fixing, but they're going to screw consumers somehow, right? Right?

those poor radio stations and disc jocky's. do you guys know how tough it is to take bribes and favors just to play 3-4 crappy, overplayed songs every half-hour?!? i mean, if sat radio takes over, we'll have no choice but to listen to constant music. playing constantly. over & over. and who wants all that noise...

They should have included "Satalite's Biggest Competitor" under the NAB logo...

I wonder if your average Joe Citizen understands that's the NAB's biggest concern...

one of the best ads i've seen in a while, quick and right to the point

Howard Stern isn't right about a lot of things, but he's dead on about the NAB. A bunch of clueless, dickless, lying bastards who see their industry dying on the vine and have no clue how to save it.

Guess what, NAB ? If given ANY kind of a choice - Satellite, iPod, CDs - ANYTHING, the consumer will choose that over broadcast radio. There is NO ONE who wants to sit through 30 minutes of commercials every 1.5 hours just to listen to some "regionalized" disc jockey (who can't say anything interesting thanks to FCC) playing the same 10 crappy songs over and over.

The only good news is that the NAB is losing clout left and right. They've been bribing the auto makers for forever to not include radios with input jacks ... but finally the automakers are telling them to suck off.

Dont get me wrong, I'm not big on NAB either, but I do think that free radio needs to stick around, simply for the fact that if free broadcast radio died, all the censorship zealots would move to satellite radio, and it would become as bad as broadcast is today. At least nowadays you can just say, if you dont like it, change the station or go back to free radio.

I am really fed up with all of the commercials on free radio. I need sattrlite radio in my car and home.

I don't see how having a single satellite radio provider is a monopoly, but having only one cable TV provider serving my house isn't.

Given the constant price increases of cable TV, and the fact that cable companies have really been using the same basic technology and network for decades (ie: they don't need to recoup the cost of launching satellites!), I bet consumers would be much better served by true house-by-house competition among cable companies. As it is now, the choice is free OTA TV with limited stations, satellite TV (relatively new companies, need to recoup investment in satellite launches, etc), or cable TV (which should be cheap, but isn't).

EQC...

Don't forget FiOS TV...coming to a town near you soon! Well, I know I'm getting it installed March 22nd! Can't wait to make that phone call to Comcrap to tell them it's ALL over baby! No more copper cable for me!

Here's to risking a double post...refreshed several times without seeing my post, but....

Like I was saying (or maybe did already)., Don't forget about FiOS TV! That should give Comcrap a run for the money for REAL!

Oh, and I second adaminc's comments... "Free Radio" needs to stay around...just to keep the FCC busy with anything that ISN'T satellite radio!

As much as I'm against the merger (I'm an XM subscriber), some FCC regulations deserve to be ignored, particularly the ones regarding censorship and subjective "decency" fines, which is why I bought a satellite radio in the first place.

They have a FREE product, but their product sucks. This is NOT one of those cases where you can compare pizza and sex. Both are good anytime. FM radio sucked once O&A and Stern left. Freedom of Speech is entertainment, and value. Even if it costs $13 a month.

Hey anybody on here a good pic editor? I'd love to see this little campaign slung around at Comcrap instead! Now that's flippin' monopoly that the anti-trusts don't seem to care about... I woul love to see this add manipulated to be against Comcrap. I'd post it at my front door with the Comcrap guy comes to the house to pick up their shiz, after my FiOS gets installed March 22nd! Muhahahahahaha!!!!!

pharmboy: I'm jealous. I'm a (grad)student, so I get my internet, etc. "free" in campus housing. But when I go home, my parents are still on dial up because (1) for some reason we're in the one neighborhood in our city that doesn't get DSL service, and (2) they don't get cable TV, so getting cable internet would basically cost double, since that Comcast monopoly makes you pay for TV to get internet...and cable internet is much pricier than DSL anyway.

FiOS would be sweet.

DUGG: http://digg.com/tech_news/Totally_Unbiased_National_Associ...

I totally agree with the NAB's pro-competition stance. In fact, I think I'll write my Congressman and Senators to not only put a stop to this anti-competitive sattelite merger, but to limit terrestrial broadcast company station ownership to no more than 7 stations, with no 2 in the same market. (Take that Clear Channel, Cumulus, Infinity, ABC/Disney!)

I'm pretty sure that most will see the transparency of their ad. At least I hope they do. Who is the ad targeting anyway?

It's only a monopoly if they prevent others from doing the same. Tell the jackasses at the NAB to launch a satellite and charge people for it. This type of merger is fully legal. The NAB is just a bunch of dumb bastards, maybe they should merge with the RIAA. Then we can fence them all in in texas and poke at them with sticks.

I don't get it, NAB. You keep saying that satellite radio having only one provider is a monopoly. You're saying they don't compete with you. So if they don't compete with you... why do you care if they merge? And not just care, you're testifying in front of congress and buying ad space. Sounds to me like you ARE competing, and thus the merger would NOT make them a monopoly, as you are there to compete with them.

And don't feed me that line about protecting the consumer. You're radio, not Consumerist. You take payola money to play songs you're told should be made popular. You're a talking head for the labels. Give it a rest, we all see right through you.

X2 XSteveMurphy...took the words right out of my mouth.

Screw commercials, chatty DJ's who talk over the songs, and hearing the same song played over and over again every day.

In fact, I think I'll ditch my XM and go back to broadcast radio where at least I don't have to pay for all that crap.

If you think I'm joking try listening to the 60s on 6 sometime. I'm so fed up with crappy DJs screwing with the music that I won't even listen if 'Motormouth' Young is on anymore.

@inajeep:

I don't think most people will see through it, most people seem not to bother looking behind the message. They'll see someone bashing the merger, and if they even remember it they'll probably think it's a bad thing automatically. Fortunately most of these people won't have any say in the matter, however.

To Charybdis:

I'm hoping that the merger doesn't end up making SIRIUS anything even remotely close to XM in that regard....

Ya know, when satalite radio was first introduced, the NAB was the biggest opposer...

It seems like the NAB had no problem trying to protect their own monopoly...

EQC makes a great point - how would a single SatRadio provider be any different than having but one cable provider in an area? It wouldn't. I love Sirius. Never had XM, but I don't believe it's that different. I welcome anything that would make SatRadio a stronger competitor to "free" radio, iPods, CDs, and the like.

@maier_m: Yeah! I'd love to see Clear Channel and Infinity restricted to only one radio station per market, myself.

Too bad there's no regulatory body that could mandate that radio stations not play the same song more than once per 24-hour period as well.

I once had a conversation with a Clear Channel mid-management drone who went on at great length about why satellite radio would never succeed... at the same time his company was broadcasting ads for XM up the ying-yang. Nothing like burning the candle at both ends, hmm?

@Charybdis: No kidding. I used to love 60s on 6. They're imitating the way the real DJs mangled songs in the real 60s way too much to be listenable any more. Sigh.

How can any of you be against this merger? I won't buy Sat. Radio till it happens. I want everything in one place, thanks.