So...is the deal good for consumers? http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117207428228715027.html?mod=djemTECH
Key quote from the antitrust lawyer, Donald Russell: "Antitrust lawyers often use a simple rule of thumb -- if competitors oppose a merger, it's usually good for consumers. And here, the AM and FM broadcasters, through their trade association, the National Association of Broadcasters, are opposing the merger very strongly. " The consumer activist, Mark Cooper, strikes me as a whiner with knee-jerk responses. A typical quote: "A satellite-radio merger to monopoly is about an avalanche of mergers. There was a key moment a decade ago when the Department of Justice decided that a large monopolist is no worse than two smaller monopolists and allowed the Bell Atlantic-Nynex merger to go forward. That decision opened the door to a wave of mergers that doomed head-to-head competition in telecommunications. The old telephone monopoly was recreated as two huge geographically distinct monopolies that rarely if every compete." For most people, that last point merits a "so what?!" in that these firms compete with other companies in related industries in a way that the original Bell Atlantic-Nynex firms never did. The analogy is highly flawed. As a competitive analyst in my day job, I clearly award this round to Mr. Russell. -- Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA International broadcasting / shortwave blog: http://www.intlradio.blogspot.com _______________________________________________ Swprograms mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms To unsubscribe: Send an E-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED], or visit the URL shown above.
