An unusual voice of opposition recently surfaced on News Corp.'s takeover of DirecTV and Hughes at the Federal Communications Commission.
Tecsat, a Brazilian satellite TV provider, told the commission in comments sent late last week it wanted to bring attention "to the fact that in the Brazilian DTH market, News Corp. and DirecTV are horizontal competitors." Sky Brasil Servicos Limitada, a subsidiary of News Corp., has a market share of about 57 percent, the company said. And Galaxy Brasil, associated with DirecTV Latin America, has a 38 percent market share in the country's satellite TV market, Tecsat said.
"It is our opinion that the proposed merger will have adverse effects on competition in the DTH segment in Brazil and in the pay-TV market as a whole - which is already highly concentrated," the company told the FCC. "Tecsat understands that the proposed merger between News Corp. and DirecTV raises substantial competition concerns about the impact the transaction will have not only in the North American hemisphere but also in other geographical locations as well.
The company said it has joined other parties in addressing concerns tied to the News Corp./Hughes deal with Brazilian antitrust authorities. While the FCC cannot do anything with regards to competition concerns in Brazil, Tecsat said it wanted to urge the FCC "to take these factors into consideration when ruling on the matter."
A decision is expected shortly on the News Corp./DirecTV deal from the FCC and the Justice Department's antitrust staff.
