He told reporters on Friday that if the other commissioners have concerns about the deal and they want conditions on it they need to propose them. "They need to figure out what it is they want and propose it," Martin said. "I'm not opposed to people proposing anything they want."
Sources inside the agency and outside observers said there is little chance the review will be completed before the middle of next week at the earliest. More likely it will take two to three weeks before it comes to a vote. Martin, who has already endorsed the merger with a series of conditions, said it was unlikely that commissioners will vote on the deal at the agency's Aug. 1 meeting (which was officially scheduled Friday). "I hope the commission will vote on it before then [the Aug. 1 meeting]," Martin said.
In an interview with The Deal after Martin's meeting, Democratic Commissioner Michael Copps said he wasn't sure he planned to submit condition requests. Copps didn't go so far as to say he opposed the deal. "We're still looking at it," he said.
Martin needs the votes of two other commissioners on the agency's five-person panel. In addition to Copps, Democratic commissioner Jonathan Adelstein and Republican commissioner Deborah Tate have expressed concern about the deal. It's possible that Tate could join the two Democratic commissioners, and together they could vote 3-2 to block the merger. Alternatively, Tate, who is in Africa on business until July 15, may desire some conditions on the deal before she approves it. Martin also said at least one other commissioner has endorsed the deal. He declined to comment on what that is, but most observers expect that Republican commissioner Robert McDowell has given the deal his approval. - Ron Orol
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Ron Orol is a Washington-based reporter for The Deal and author of Extreme Value Hedging: How Activist Hedge Fund Managers Are Taking on the World.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin isn't happy with how the agency's review of the controversial $13 billion hookup of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. is going. 
