Long wait for satellite radio deal may end soon

Karmazin and other executives said the delay is causing confusion among consumers and cutting into the company's retail sales. Both XM and Sirius are now obtaining most of their new customers through partnerships with automakers, which pre-install the satellite radio receivers in some cars.

Analysts say that aggressive lobbying by the NAB and broadcasters such as Clear Channel Communications Inc. has helped extend the government's review, though some previous telecom and cable deals have taken longer.

The NAB spent $2.5 million lobbying the federal government in the first quarter, though not all of that was spent on the satellite radio deal. Still, its lobbying coffers are far deeper than those of the satellite radio companies combined.

XM spent more than $200,000 in the first quarter lobbying on the deal and other issues, while Sirius paid several lobbyists more than $200,000 to promote the acquisition.

"The amount of opposition is directly correlated to the amount of time the review takes," said Scott Cleland, a consultant at Precursor LLC.

But Art Brodsky, a spokesman for consumer group Public Knowledge, defended the FCC's review and said it provided an important opportunity for public comment. The group recommended that the FCC clear the deal, with conditions.

"Is it political?" he asked. "Sure, but what isn't?"

Indeed, Wall Street analysts expect a close vote at the five-member FCC, with the commission's three Republicans likely voting for the deal and its two Democrats possibly opposing it.

The NAB and many consumer groups argue the deal will harm consumers by reducing competition, which could enable a combined company to raise prices.

The companies, which provide hundreds of channels of music, sports and talk radio programming for about $13 per month, say they will continue to face competition from broadcast radio, Internet radio and digital music players. Washington-based XM has 9.3 million subscribers while New York-based Sirius has 8.6 million.