In an interesting development in the proposed merger of Sirius and XM, General Motors and Toyota jointly issued a letter to the FCC stating their opposition to the requirement that HD be mandated in all SDARS receivers.
The letter states, ” The proponents of the proposed condition are seeking an unprecedented requirement regulating the choice of entertainment technologies in an automotive environment.”
GM and Toyota also point out that HD radio is already making inroads into the OEM channel without regulation.
Contrary to statements from Ibiquity that SDARS is blocking the ability of HD to be installed in cars, GM and Toyota point out, “Nothing in our companies’ respective agreements with XM inhibits our ability to offer HD radio.”
It has been my contention for quite some time that Ibiquity is seeking to avoid negotiations with OEM partners who may want not only subsidies, but a revenue share as well. By seeking a regulated installation, Ibiquity could piggyback on SDARS, and leave the OEM’s with nothing.
