FCC backs more conditions for Sirius-XM merger approval

The FCC approved an order this week requiring the satellite radio provider Sirius-XM to set aside at least 4 percent of its channels on the company's Sirius and XM services for independent programming.

The order, adopted Monday, is part of the ongoing conditions set by the FCC when it approved the merger of the nation's only satellite radio providers in 2008. The independent programming provision was added at the time to address concerns from critics of the merger that it would "harm viewpoint and program diversity."

As part of the order, the commission reversed a previous decision and will now allow Sirius XM to choose the independent programming, which is defined as having no financial tie to Sirius XM, that will make up this 4 percent requirement but does not allow the satellite radio provider to have editorial control over the programming. In addition, the company must submit the independent channels it plans to add to its XM and Sirius lineups to the FCC's Media Bureau for review before signing agreements with those channels. The company also must establish a transparent selection process that involves the creation of a public website detailing the criteria for proposed channels.

"This Order ensures that Sirius XM will reserve channels for programmers truly independent of Sirius XM, who will be new voices on the satellite radio platform, providing original programming of a type not already available, or service to historically underserved audiences," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement.

Genachowski's Democratic colleague, Michael Copps, opposed the commission's approval of the merger in 2008. In a statement released following the approval of Monday's order, Copps said he hopes the latest conditions will address some of the problems he raised about the merger when it was approved.

"The original merger condition for these particular programming commitments created legal vulnerabilities not only for the commission, but for the company, too," Copps said. "Hopefully this item corrects the original error and will open the way for more of the kind of diverse programming that our country so desperately needs."

The Media Access Project praised the order, saying it included some of the recommendations it made to the FCC aimed at addressing concerns with the merger.

"The requirements set by the commission allow people to access more content addressing the needs of minority communities, independent artists, and other niche audiences," MAP Senior Vice President Andrew Jay Schwartzmann said in a statement.