Garvey, Schubert, Barer’s Media, Telecom and Technology Group has filed a Petition for Rulemaking asking the Commission to repeal the radio and television Main Studio Rule. The current rule requires radio and television stations to maintain a main studio within or near their communities of license. There has been a push, as of late, to get the rule repealed, partly because it will help stations run more efficiently. And as GSB points out, there are other reasons as well.
The group says adoption of their proposal will not reduce or remove broadcasters’ “bedrock obligation” to serve the needs and interests of their local communities. GSB argues that the current rule continues to prevent broadcasters from realizing full efficiencies. “Technology and consolidation have progressed to the point where a broadcaster can deliver responsive local programming without the economic drain of maintaining a main studio within an arbitrary geographic area. Not only do licensees have the ability to continue to meet their ‘bedrock’ local service obligations without a main studio, but competitive marketplace forces will ensure that stations will continue to be accessible and responsive to their audiences. Eliminating the Main Studio Rule could therefore greatly reduce the regulatory and economic burden that broadcasters face, especially small stations that are expending their very limited resources to comply with minimum operation and staffing requirements, without harming the relationship that these stations have with their communities. In addition, providing broadcasters with the flexibility to structure their operations more efficiently will lead to an elimination of the Commission’s current waiver request scheme, further reducing administrative costs.”
Just last month at the Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference, FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly discussed eliminating the rule. “Doing so could allow for cost savings that could make a real difference for some stations, while at the same time providing them a security dividend through more efficient channeling of public access. And the argument in favor of the restrictions has been significantly weakened in a time when people almost universally contact their radio stations by telephone, mail, or online.”
Read the entire GSB filing with the FCC HERE.
