Anti Merger Camp Stacks Deck
The form letter frenzy of anti-merger comments to the FCC is happening again. In an organized campaign, identical form letters expressing anti-merger sentiment are arriving at the FCC. Though the official comment period has long been closed, comments continue to arrive at the FCC and get published.
To date, this identical form letter has been used well over 2,000 times and has been filed in bulk with the FCC. Strikingly, this means that nearly 60% of the anti-merger comments filed with the FCC have been this exact form letter, and ALL of these letters have arrived after the official comment period had ended.
Prior to these bulk comments, 75% of the filings to the FCC had been positive towards the merger. These form letter filings have tilted the scales, and now the percentage of positive comments stands at 57%. This represents an 18 point swing as a result of this campaign.
While the comment period is officially over, consumer comments are still being accepted and published by the FCC. In my opinion, a true heartfelt comment from a consumer carries much more weight than bulk form letters. If you would like to send your comments in, you can do so easily by visiting siriusmerger.com or xmmerger.com. Both sites make submitting a comment easy, and best of all you can express your opinion in your own words.
Position - Long Sirius, Long XM
September 14th, 2007 at 11:18 pm David Says:
i think the merger is great for xm so they can get NFL games
September 17th, 2007 at 12:45 pm Kathy Says:
I’m looking forward to the merger. I pay to have the choice to listen to entertainment in my car, house, beach, wherever because I want the service. Now I’ll have the choice of more programming or less monthly subscription fee. It can’t happen soon enough for me! Where’s the downside??
September 19th, 2007 at 8:59 pm m.j. Says:
If I was the FCC I`d dismiss all form letters since they are all the same except for signatures. Seems to me that sounds like sneak tactics from the NAB. m.j. PRO MERGER!
October 4th, 2007 at 7:57 pm Frank Says:
All letters after the comment period was over shouldn’t even have been counted or opened and should be considered junk mail!
October 17th, 2007 at 1:53 pm Vote For The Merger. The People Want It - SiriusBuzz Says:
[...] filing falls directly in line with, and responds to the questionable form letter campaign we reported about, that an anti-merger group had launched. The form letter campaign literally clogged the FCC [...]