NAB expresses concentration concerns over SES-Intelsat merger

He told the FCC that the proposed deal would leave the company after the acquisition in control of 96 percent of the C-band spectrum.

The National Association of Broadcasters has filed a letter with the FCC expressing concerns about the impact the proposed SES-Intelsat merger could have on broadcasters.

In the letter, NAB said it was not taking an official position on the merger, but emphasized that it would create a new company that would “collectively operate almost all C-band satellites providing services nationally in the United States.”

She also expressed concern that such a level of concentration would impact both the cost and quality of C-band satellite services, so important to television and radio broadcasters.

In an Oct. 15 filing, NAB General Counsel Rick Kaplan wrote: “NAB joins (NCTA – The Internet & Television Association) in urging the commission to carefully consider the impact the proposed transaction would have on the quality and cost of C. dual-band satellite services.

“C-band is used to distribute network programming to more than 1,000 national network-affiliated broadcast stations, as well as to distribute sports and syndicated programming to commercial radio stations listened to by tens of millions of Americans” , Kaplan wrote. “National Public Radio also relies on C-band “for reliable program delivery to the 475 public radio earth stations which together broadcast public radio programming to 42 million Americans each week.”

“As NCTA noted in its comments in this filing, C-band remains essential for video distribution today. Terrestrial alternatives, such as fiber optic and wireless services, are not necessarily available at remote broadcaster facilities and may be prohibitively expensive when available. Other satellite bands, such as the Ka and Ku bands, suffer from rain fading and do not provide the reliable service that broadcasters, their viewers and listeners demand.

“If the proposed transaction were consummated, SES and Intelsat together would collectively control more than 96 percent of the C-band spectrum in the United States,” Kaplan concluded. “While we have no opinion on how the parties might behave post-merger, we urge the commission to consider the implications of having a single entity control virtually all of the C-band spectrum.”

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