A satellite that carries a large number of radio programs, including heavy usage by ABC, Clear Channel, Jones and Westwood One, is experiencing power circuit failures, according to a report from Radio magazine. The report says that SES Americom has notified the users of the AMC-8 satellite that failures of three power circuits have pressed the company to begin work to relocate the services currently distributed by the satellite.

Three separate power circuit failures on the south solar array have reduced the satellite's power by about 25 percent. However, the satellite has compensated for the power loss and the problem has not resulted in any signal reception problems as of yet. While the satellite's power is reduced, the output power of the transponders is still above the minimum acceptable power margin.

Radio also says that if a fourth power circuit fails, SES Americom will shut down an unused transponder to conserve power. If a fifth circuit fails, some of the satellite users will need to turn off some of their transponders. There is a backup satellite in orbit, but it is not exclusive to AMC-8. Therefore, SES Americom is working with the four main users to arrange relocation plans. It is expected that the radio companies will work together to move to the same replacement satellite for the ease of its customers instead of relocating to different locations.