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First Quarter Losses Shrink for Sirius, Widen for XM

Sirius losses shrunk in the first quarter, while XM’s losses widened, the companies announced yesterday, in what they hope will be their last quarterly financial reports as stand-alone companies.

Clear Channel Sale on the Cusp of Reality

Clear Channel said yesterday that it was close to settling with the banks financing the deal to take the company private.

Sirius, XM Extend Merger Agreement

XM and Sirius still want their marriage to go through, despite the fact that the FCC is almost endlessly dragging its feet on a decision about the regulatory issues involved in such a merger.

Clear Channel Gripes about Proposed Localism Regulation

Clear Channel has filed comments with the FCC opposing the adoption of new localism regulation. Clear Channel says the proposed regulations would turn the broadcast industry upside down and bring the industry back to a regulatory regime “long ago rejected” as being fraught with First Amendment difficulties.

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Murdoch’s Plan to Acquire ‘Newsday’ Faces Uphill Battle

Public interest groups and lawmakers are gearing up to fight against a Rupert Murdoch-owned Newsday.

Commerce Committee Works to Overturn FCC Media Ownership Changes

The Commerce Committee is hoping to reverse changes to the ban on media cross-ownership that the FCC voted for last December.

Six Digital B’boards Coming to Long Beach

Orange, Calif.-based Media Management Services is attempting to place six digital billboards along three major highways in and around San Diego.

Pittsburgh City Council Fights Lamar over Digital Board

Ho hum, another digital billboard battle is taking place, this time between Lamar and five members of Pittsburgh’s City Council.

Drug Ad Requirement in Mags Begins Today

The FDA’s requirement that print publishers include information on where to report side effects on drug ads began today.

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Justice Department OK’s Satcaster Marriage

The Justice Department’s antitrust division has approved the proposed merger between XM and Sirius satellite radio companies; the deal now awaits FCC approval.

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Sirius XM Marriage May be Legal By April

Sirius Satellite Radio is keeping the faith that the FCC will soon rule on the proposed merger of Sirius and XM Satellite Radio.

NAB Files Brief against CRB’s Royalty Decision

The NAB, Bonneville International Corp and the National Religious Broadcasters Music License Committee has filed a brief with the DC Circuit Court challenging the Copyright Royalty Board’s decision, last year, which raised performance royalties for music streamed on the internet.

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FCC Chair Martin Frowns at Satcasters

The proposed merger between satellite radio companies XM and Sirius awaits approval from the FCC before moving forward. It must have been discouraging, then, for the companies to hear FCC chairman Kevin Martin say, during a press conference on Tuesday, that such a merger faces a “high hurdle.”

Philly Township Hopes to Avoid Digital B-Boards

Yet another township is taking steps to block digital billboards from its communities. Plumstead, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia, is working to tighten language that already prohibits signs with flashing or intermittent lights.

Presidential Hopefuls Back Measure to Overturn FCC’s Media Ownership Rule

A group of bi-partisan senators, including Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, is pushing to nullify the FCC’s December decision to allow single companies to own newspaper-broadcast combinations in the nation’s top 20 markets.

FTC to Review Green Marketing Guidelines

The FTC has decided to review its decades-old environmental marketing guidelines after noticing a proliferation in the marketplace of companies claiming to be “green.”

USPS Gets Funky, Asks to Make Post-Its Permanent

Direct mailers rejoice: The U.S. Postal Servicehas asked the Postal Regulatory Commission to allow sticky notes on letters and packages on a permanent basis.

XM Works with iTunes to Reduce Cust. Acquisition Costs

XM’s cost of acquiring new subscribers rose from $108 in 2006 to $121 in 2007. The company is now engaged in a push to promote XM and recruit subscribers via online channels in the hopes of reducing the cost of new subscriber acquisition.

Ofcom to Conduct Spot-Checks of Call-In Shows

Britain’s Office of Communications (Ofcom) will begin making spot-checks of TV broadcasters to be sure they are complying with some new license conditions the independent regulator is putting into place come March.

CC Sale Clears Final Regulatory Hurdle

The deal for two private equity firms to purchase Clear Channel can go through, the Justice Department’s antitrust division says, if Clear Channel sells radio stations in four cities.

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