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"This aquisition has the potential to profoundly change the multichannel video marketplace in the United States to the ultimate benefit of all pay-TV customers," Murdoch said in testimony to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee
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The report, based on public records, details trips worth more than $250 taken by agency commissioners and staff between May 1995 and February 2003 The deal, valued at $6 chairman Rupert Murdoch sought to assure lawmakers Thursday that his proposed acquisition of DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite television provider, would not harm competition or limit consumer choices
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La "It is time for the commission to act
FCC spokesman David Fiske said the trips are meant to be educational and are reviewed internally to make sure they are ethical He told senators the proposed DirecTV deal combined with eased media rules "threaten to seriously harm meaningful competition between media companies gov
Many lawmakers and Commerce Secretary Donald Evans back him
The Senate hearing was the latest in a series on media consolidation held while the FCC considers whether decades-old ownership restrictions still reflect a market altered by satellite broadcasts, cable television and the Internet
"There will be no decrease in the number of U struck a deal in April to acquire 34 percent of Hughes Electronics Corp The commission is to vote June 2 on overhauling the rules
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FCC: http://www A letter from the NRA told members that "a small group of top media executives could literally silence your NRA
"The FCC is currently undertaking the most thoughtful and thorough review of our nation's broadcast ownership rules in the history of their existence," Tauzin said households "
Murdoch said the merger will improve DirecTV, providing consumers with more local TV stations and better high-speed Internet access Murdoch owns a programming juggernaut," said Gene Kimmelman, public policy director for Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports magazine
A proposal being considered by the commission would allow companies to own more TV stations in local markets Murdoch Defends DirecTV Acquisition
May 22, 10:07 AM EST
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The Federal Communications Commission rejected a proposed deal last year between DirecTV and its chief competitor, EchoStar The total cost of the trips was $2
Critics have asked Powell to delay the vote to allow more public discussion, but Powell has said no 6 billion, has yet to be approved by federal regulators S His group reported Thursday that FCC officials have taken more than 2,500 trips in the last eight years, most of them paid for by the telecommunications and broadcasting industries the agency regulates The two Democrats say Powell is rushing to vote without properly advising the public "
Critics including lawmakers, academics, artists and consumer advocates warn that eased ownership rules could lead to a handful of giant companies controlling what people watch, hear and read
FCC Chairman Michael Powell and the two other Republicans on the five-member commission favor easing regulations, an outcome sought by many large media companies that say the rules are outdated , wrote lawmakers Wednesday, asking them to oppose proposed legislation requiring the FCC to keep a rule preventing a single company from owning TV stations that reach more than 35 percent of U "
Charles Lewis, director of the Center for Public Integrity, questioned whether the FCC can be objective in the ownership review competitors S 8 million
All the trips appear to be legal under government guidelines, the report said Fiske said the shows and conferences help officials stay current on technology they regulate , the division of General Motors that operates DirecTV It also would eliminate many restrictions on one company owning combinations of newspapers and TV and radio stations in the same city "
National Rifle Association members have sent thousands of post cards to the FCC in recent weeks
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