FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly spoke at the NAB’s annual State Leadership Conference Tuesday and encouraged radio executives to be active participants in the debate over how ownership rules are reformed as the Commission does a review of those rules. He noted that the rules have not changed since 1995 but the radio marketplace certainly has. And that’s sweet music to the ears of many in radio.
With backing of the NAB, many radio executives have been calling for more deregulation and the ability to own more stations. There’s a theory that if some companies are able to own more signals they’d be able to get closer to a level playing field with the digital giants taking big chunks of ad revenue off the table. There is another contingent in the radio industry that doesn’t buy that theory for a second.
O’Rielly said Tuesday that central to the debate would be what to do with the existing subcap limits. “At the initial stages, there seems to be agreement that eliminating the AM ownership limit is more than timely. Although some may argue that certain AM radio stations have become the de facto news source once provided by local newspapers, that recognition is not a good argument against allowing for greater common ownership. On the contrary, allowing consolidation of AM stations may be a key way to preserve this function.”
O’Rielly also recognized that there are several proposals that would permit a relaxation on the number of FM stations owned in a market. “I am pleased to see that a large portion of the industry has moved past the issue of whether some cap relief is needed and towards just exactly what form it should take. Now that we are past the initial rhetoric, we can figure out how best to provide relief while preserving sufficient diversity of voices in markets.”
The NAB has backed the following plan:
– In the top 75 Nielsen Audio markets, allow a single entity to own or control up to eight commercial FM stations, with no limit on AM ownership.
– To promote new entry into broadcasting, an owner in these top 75 markets should be permitted to own up to two additional FM stations (for a total of 10 FMs) by participating in the FCC’s incubator program; and,
– In Nielsen markets outside of the top 75, and in unrated markets, there should be no restrictions on the number of FM or AM stations a single entity may own or control.
There’s no clear indication when this Commission will take any action on the ownership issue. One thing is very clear. This is one the most radio friendly FCC’s we’ve seen in a very long time.
