Jackson urges satellite radio deal be contingent on minority leases

WASHINGTON -- Jesse Jackson met the top U.S. communications regulator on Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s planned purchase of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., according to a company that wants to control some of the broadcasters' channels.

Jackson met with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin on Dec. 9, according to a filing by Georgetown Partners LLC, a black-owned investment company.

Jackson's discussion with Martin "was consistent with Georgetown Partners' filings" urging the FCC to require XM and Sirius to lease at least 20 percent of their channels to minority-controlled firms as a condition of the merger. The FCC posted the filing on its Web site Friday.

Georgetown wants to offer 50 to 70 channels that would compete with programming from a merged satellite company, David Siddall, an attorney for the firm, said Monday. The channels would be used for free, ad-supported programming and could be offered alongside or instead of those from XM and Sirius, Georgetown said in a Nov. 2 letter to the FCC.

A consumer with the appropriate tuner could receive the leased channels, regardless of whether they were satellite subscribers, Siddall said.

The only two satellite radio companies are awaiting approval of their combination by the FCC and the Justice Department. XM and Sirius, in a joint filing Nov. 13, called the proposal for minority control "unwarranted" and said it would undermine opportunities for diverse programming.

The FCC declined to comment on Martin's meeting with Jackson. A telephone call to Rainbow PUSH spokeswoman Kimberly Marcus wasn't immediately returned.