Consumer advocates and public interest groups on the Mainland are raising alarms about the merger of news and business operations at KGMB9, KHNL and K5.

The nation's television industry has gone through radical consolidation in the past decade, with the relaxation of rules prohibiting dual ownership of stations and as more broadcasters move toward the sharing of news videos and other content.

But the so-called shared service agreement between KGMB, KHNL and K5 takes consolidation to a new level, said Corie Wright, policy council for Free Press, a Washington, D.C.-based media reform group.

The deal, she said, sets up a triopoly that places much of the local news decisions and programming in the hands of a single organization.

"This seems worse than any of the ones I've heard of," Wright said. "This is the same news, the same staff, the same everything. ... Ultimately, it's not good for the consumer."

KGMB, KHNL and K5 announced Tuesday that they plan to merge newsrooms, cut about a third of their staff and simulcast some news programs starting as soon as November.

Raycom Media, the Alabama-based owner of KHNL and K5, said the deal passes regulatory muster and that it has been implemented in 20 other markets around the country with little controversy.

The company said the deal doesn't require FCC approval because there's no change of ownership and the licenses of the stations aren't being transferred.

"Instead of lessening competition, it will increase competition and quality for local news," said Tom Henson, a Raycom attorney.

Media Council Hawai'i, a local media watchdog, said it is considering legal challenges to the merger, saying the deal is an attempt to skirt federal rules barring ownership of multiple stations, or duopolies, in a local market.

Mark Cooper, research director for the Consumer Federation of America, also sees the deal as anti-consumer.

Most consumers get their fix of local news from television stations, said Cooper. He believes a three-station joint venture will lessen competition in a five-station market.

"That is a big concern," Cooper said.

Raycom Media said the deal is necessary to preserve local television stations hard-hit by the economic downturn.

Henson, the Raycom attorney, said the company has similar arrangements involving two stations each in Columbus, Ga., Wilmington, N.C., and Richmond, Va.

When Raycom set up the Wilmington share agreement between its NBC affiliate and a local Fox station in 2003, the Fox station didn't even provide news, Henson said.

And while the two Wilmington stations may have the same staff, they don't simulcast the news, he said. The NBC station has an 11 p.m. newscast while the Fox station has a 10 p.m. newscast, and the stories are different.

He likened the arrangements to that of a hotel operator such as Hilton or Sheraton that manages a hotel and generates revenue for the hotel owner for a fee.

"It's (the) same people but it's a different newscast," Henson said.

By creating Hawai'i's largest television newsroom, Henson believes the deal increases competition because there will be more resources to do in-depth reporting on local issues.

"The local Fox and ABC stations will have to up their games dramatically," he said.

"For the person who is a consumer of the news, I truly believe that this will be a wonderful situation."