FCC Asked to Deny Denali Media TV Station Purchase

By Kevin Eck 

Broadcasters in Alaska are asking the FCC to deny the purchase of three TV stations by Denali Media Holdings, a subsidiary of General Communication, Inc.

Denali announced its plan in November to acquire KTVA in Anchorage, KATH in Juneau and KSCT in Sitka, AK. According to General Communication’s website,”GCI…is the state’s largest provider of internet services with cable modem, wireless and dedicated access. Its cable television services pass 90 percent of the state’s households with 64 percent penetration.”

In their petition to block the purchase, the owners of ABC, CBS and FOX affiliates throughout Alaska told the FCC, “Grant of these applications would result in the combination of ownership of television stations in two of the three television markets in Alaska with ownership of the largest, indeed in many cases the exclusive, provider of terrestrial cable and broadband service to much of Alaska’s population.”

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The broadcasters also cite GCI’s stated intent to restrict competition in the Alaska market. “GCI officials have boasted to business executives and employees of other television stations that they intend to use their combined assets to restrict competition in Alaska, and to reduce the diversity of news and information sources for Alaskans,” the broadcasters added.

From the KTUU website, the broadcasters who filed the petition are:

  • KTUU-TV owner Northern Lights Media, Inc.
  • Vision Alaska LLC, owner of ABC affiliates KYUR-TV in Anchorage, KATN-TV in Fairbanks and KJUD-TV in Juneau
  • Ketchikan TV LLC, owner of Southeast Alaska CBS affiliates KXLJ-TV in Juneau, KUBD-TV in Ketchikan and KTNL-TV in Sitka
  • Coastal Television Broadcasting LLC, owner of Anchorage Fox affiliate KTBY-TV
[TVNewsCheck]

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