In a letter submitted to the FCC, the NAB is asking the Commission to “act expeditiously to reform its outdated and inequitable broadcast ownership rules.” With politics taking center stage in Washington, the future of the Chairman unknown, and all hands on deck for the TV spectrum auction, it’s doubtful the Commission will get to this issue, one it has dragged its feet on for many years.
In its comments, the NAB cited the U.S. Court of Appeals for Third Circuit opinion that singled out the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule, observing that the “1975 ban remains in effect to this day even though the FCC determined more than a decade ago that it is no longer in the public interest. The NAB says it ‘strongly agrees that this rule is outdated, and has long urged the FCC to eliminate it.'”
The NAB also says the Commission must remove the last restrictions on the cross-ownership of radio and television stations. “The FCC tentatively concluded in 2011 that the radio/TV cross-ownership rule was no longer necessary to promote the public interest. Since 2011, the media marketplace has only become more competitive and diverse, and no commenter in the pending proceedings has presented empirical evidence showing that elimination of the rule would harm viewpoint diversity. Especially in light of the limited effects of the remaining radio/TV cross-ownership restrictions, the existence of separate local radio and local TV ownership rules, and multiple studies finding that radio/TV cross-ownership promotes localism.”
Read the full NAB letter HERE
