FCC Extends Deadline For Sirius XM To Lease Channels

[GoodDog]

The deal was that they lease channel space. That implies that they will be paid for it.

An outfit called Georgetown Partners with the backing of Jesse Jackson brought up this lease idea during the merger negotiations.

They wanted as much as 20% of the combined Siri/XM spectrum. Their plan was to provide free channels (no subscription required) and to make money from advertising.

Whether Georgetown does get a lease or not remains to be seen. Many aspects of the merger remain unclear for subscribers and shareholders.

That makes no sense to me, who has a sat radio (besides ex-subs) that does not have a subscription?

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

That's what I thought the deal was, but I seem to be outnumbered.
A lease implies a payment or some other sort of compensation. It might have to be break-even sort of thing, but I never assumed it was a freebie.

I think the channels will be leased from the FCC not Sirius XM. Sirius XM has agreed to provide them. I would not expect these channels to be available online or have logos or backgrounds or even proper names (minority channel #1 perhaps) or even show up in the channel guide.

 

[hexagram]

I believe they are leased by Sirius XM and I don't see any huge problem with the new leased channels showing up on the radios (correct logos and accurate PAD on the other hand is another story).