More broadcasters asked the FCC to deny (CD Feb 22 p17)...

News Group. If the transaction goes through, “GCI would hold an almost complete monopoly on providing video to much of rural Alaska, where the only other access now is a single-stream satellite channel relying on analog translators,” said a petition to deny the license transfers filed Friday by Northern Lights Media, Coastal TV Broadcasting, Ketchikan TV and Vision Alaska. Kurt Wimmer, a Covington & Burling partner and counsel for GCI, couldn’t be reached immediately Friday. In an email last week in response to a separate request to deny the license transfer, Wimmer said GCI’s application complies with FCC rules and should be granted expeditiously. “It will increase competition and result in more high-quality news and local programming for underserved audiences in Alaska,” he said. “New entrants into local broadcasting should be applauded rather than criticized.” That’s not how the other broadcasters in Alaska see it. In a declaration attached to the petition, William Fielder, president of Coastal TV Broadcasting, described a meeting with GCI subsidiary Denali Media Anchorage in which an executive from that company said “GCI was not concerned about profitability of the station itself, but was interested in obtaining a unique asset that GCI could use to enhance GCI’s business presence in Alaska.” The executive said GCI planned to offer commercial-free newscasts and develop a statewide news network to “dominate the news market in Alaska and impact the content of news received by Alaska viewers,” the declaration said. The broadcasters asked the commission to designate the applications for a hearing or at the very least put stronger conditions on the deal than those the commission imposed on Comcast when it bought control of NBCUniversal.