How about this to piss off Clear Channel– as a condition of approving the merger, limit the number of “channels” the XM/Sirius company can have at any given time to 1168. I believe that logically answers the CC complaint, though not in the way they’d like.

I guess I don’t understand what’s stopping CC from getting into the satellite-subscription business. All their terrestrial stations use the same playlists anyway– it seems to make sense for them to consolidate all of the market-based transmission equipment, frequency leases, office space, and staff down to a single point-of-origin that can reach the entire contiguous U.S. and most of Canada, Alaska, and Hawaii. Local issues could be handled the same way DirecTV does– everyone gets everything, and the receiver blocks out-of-market stuff.

In fact, let the corporations start leasing satellite receiver frequencies and abandon the AM/FM spectrums. The satellite transmission costs more than individuals can afford, but extends the reach of the deep-pocket broadcasts’ footprint (at a higher return, if done correctly). This would return the cheaper-to-use FM and AM bands back to the people. Now that the record companies have made it too expensive to broadcast on the internet, the 100w radio station should be encouraged to flourish, along with the crackpot ideas uttered on those 100w stations.