By Malik Khan, co-Founder & Exec. Chairman, LTN
The FCC is advancing its mandated task of auctioning up to 180 Megahertz (MHz) of Upper C-Band spectrum by July 2027. While the latest comment and reply windows invite debate and perspective from across the media and wireless industries, most in the broadcast world are coming to accept that the majority — if not all — of the remaining C-Band spectrum will be freed up for 5G and connectivity services.
For broadcasters that have long relied on satellite for delivery and B2B content distribution, this has direct implications for how content is delivered today and in the years ahead. A ‘head in the sand’ mentality won’t work any longer. Broadcasters, content providers, rights holders, networks, and content distributors (media companies) are waking up to the unavoidable reality that they need to find trusted, broadcast-grade alternatives to transporting live video at scale.
A race against the timeline
As the FCC prepares to define the range of spectrum to be auctioned, along with process and pricing arrangements in the months following the November 20th, 2025 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), broadcasters should be moving quickly. Regardless of the final scope of the auctions, the simple truth is that the certainties satellite once offered in terms of cost, availability, and long-term planning are becoming obsolete.
This process is forcing media companies to confront some uncomfortable questions. Will existing transponder contracts be renewed on acceptable terms, if at all? How much will costs increase as capacity tightens? And perhaps most importantly: Which alternatives exist that offer a truly comparable, reliable way of delivering mission-critical content?
Decisions around distribution methodology are now absolutely central to change management, cost certainty, and long-range planning. And while final FCC rulemaking is still ahead, many media companies are already taking methodical steps to secure their future distribution pathways.
How media companies are responding
Along with assessing hybrid options using a mix of Ku-band and IP backup feeds, a wide range of media companies have already decided to adopt a managed, IP-based distribution model in place of – or as a complement to – satellite. I’m not talking about general-purpose, consumer-grade streaming technology used to watch videos over the internet. I don’t mean best efforts, protocol-only IP or public cloud workflows either. I mean a business-to-business (B2B) IP distribution solution that guarantees performance, reliability, availability, and delay with contractual Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
B2B live video distribution powering large-scale broadcast footprints and major live sporting events demands an entirely different infrastructure. Purpose-built, global multicast IP networks exist that reliably distribute live video via broadcast-grade transport technologies, overcoming latency and delay issues and providing SLA-backed availability levels that media organizations require.
Meeting or exceeding the reliability of satellite is one of the biggest non-negotiables for media companies weighing up an alternative, particularly for the biggest and most valuable networks. The flexibility to harness high-performance, low-latency video transport for occasional use during live high-value sporting events is another priority – something that’s becoming unfeasible with satellite. Across the board, gaining cost predictability, regionalization opportunities and the ability to reduce operational expenditure through automation is a no-brainer.
Trusted, managed IP-based distribution models are delivering on all of these requirements. That’s why many content providers, including Moviesphere Gold, Tennis Channel, Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, Televisa-Univision and MSG Networks have moved to an SLA-based IP distribution model. At LTN alone, our channel count is growing 45 percent year-over-year – over 8,000 channels are delivered via our IP network.
Some of the concerns that downstream partners might not be ready for IP have also fallen away. Multi-channel video programming distributors (MVPDs) and stations today are already connected to large-scale IP fiber, with the infrastructure growing to bring new services online quickly. As a case in point, our footprint into MVPDs surged 200 percent last year alone. The same applies for stations — we work with over 900 stations in every U.S. TV market, and onboarding new locations is easier and faster than ever.
When to act (and why)
Most organizations will be driven by cost, trust, and value calculations. They’ll be asking questions like: How much time can I squeeze out of my remaining satellite contract? How can I best leverage migration reimbursements to make the move as cost-effective as possible? And if they’re moving to an IP option: does my mission-critical content require broadcast-grade delivery I can rely on, or a best effort combination that could go wrong when it matters most?
Industry veterans and innovators I speak with are taking the front foot and moving to an IP model that makes sense today – and unlocks a host of customization, ad enablement and versioning capabilities that will power new revenue long after the spectrum auction.
Media companies that act early have more options and more negotiating power. Satellite distribution may remain part of the mix for some, but we’re approaching a crossroads that will shape the long-term face of the industry. Demand reliability and performance SLAs, real-world experience and vision from your migration partners as they help you carve a new path.
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The views expressed by the writer are entirely their own. Neither the author nor the publication received compensation for this guest column.
